you thought

0.2

it's very hard to ignore someone if you go to a small school. they're right in front of you no matter where you turn.

daniel met me at my locker after school, like usual. he greeted me with a small peck on the cheek. "babe, you won't believe who tried talking to me today."

"hm?" i replied, not paying much attention to him. i was paying more attention to the fact that i couldn't decide if i truly loved him or not. i stood with phone in one hand and a hoodie in the other and acted as if i was paying attention to his words.

"and then she told me to text her after school," he finished with a sigh.

"huh? i'm sorry, i got distracted," i said quietly while looking at my feet.

"of course you did, you're always distracted," he mumbled.

i couldn't tell if he was joking around, or if he was being serious. i always had trouble telling the difference between the two. i often mixed the two up which can be terrible if you take something in a joking matter when it isn't. "danny?"

"yes, i was joking," he said with a chuckle.

"oh, okay. just making sure. i always have trouble with that and-"

"babe, slow down. i understand. you don't need to explain."

i gave him a nod before closing my locker and locking it with the number padlock. my head had began to throb once again because of the constant worry and stress i was going through at the moment. why is this so hard? was it this hard for other people as well? god, this is hell.

"baby, are you okay? you don't look so well," danny said after stopping me.

"i, uh, have a lot on my mind. that's it."

he gave me a small nod and had resumed on our path to the buses in the front of the school. he had given me a small hug and a short kiss before heading to his bus.

i walked home that day. i needed to think.

. . .

you know that feeling you get in your stomach? the feeling when something just feels off or not right? that's how i felt throughout the next few weeks. daniel had became clingy and lovey-dovey in a way that was extremely obsessive. my friends had been growing less and less fond of danny. they had that feeling about him. i did as well some of the time.

my friends hadn't been rude about how they felt about him. they just didn't hide it. at the beginning of the relationship, people found his actions cute and adorable. people 'shipped' us, you could say. at first.

my cell phone vibrated on my nightstand. i quickly picked it up.

DannyBoy💓
iMessage (2)

i unlocked the phone and immediately went to read the messages.

DannyBoy💓: why haven't you text me yet? you said you'd text me when you got home.
DannyBoy💓: i'm sorry, my brother is pissing me off at the moment.

i rolled my eyes at his actions and debated on responding or not. he would be able to tell if i read it or not, shit. i closed out of the iMessage app and opened FaceTime. i tapped on my best friend's name and waited for her to answer.

"what's up, bitch?"

"well, uhm," i didn't know how to explain.

"let me guess. daniel is being an idiot. all guys are idiots, brooke. you'll have to deal with worse, so suck it up."

"if this is how you comfort, then you have serious issues," i said with a quiet laugh.

she rolled her eyes and smiled. "i'm sorry about him, brooke. but either you deal with it, or you don't."

i nodded. "thank you, i'll call you later tonight?"

"yup, go ahead. i've got nothing to do anyways."

shortly after hanging up, i received another message from daniel.

DannyBoy💓: babe, c'mon. i didn't mean to upset you. just answer. i can't function without you. you know that

i had made the decision of giving into his words and typed a response.

me: it's fine. don't let him piss you off, daniel. if he's doing something you don't like then talk to him about it.

DannyBoy💓: there's no point in trying if nothing's gonna change.

me: how would you know that nothing would change if you haven't even tried?

guess who was left on read that time. the feeling in the pit of my stomach had appeared. i felt as if i was going to barf. maybe i just needed some sleep. so then i slept until dinner.

. . .

"honey, you don't look too well," my mother commented after we had sat down for dinner.

"i'm fine, mom. i'm just tired," i told her. i mean, it was partially true. but i wasn't giving her the full truth. i knew she would find out sooner or later.

"are you positive? if anything is wrong i'm here along with your father."

"mom," i had taken a deep breath, trying to calm myself down before i blew up. "i'm perfectly fine other than the fact that i am tired because of school today," i explained in the calmest voice i could manage at the moment. "may i be excused?"

"but honey, you've only just sat down to eat," she begun.

"i'm not hungry."

"well, then i guess so. goodnight, sweetie."

"night, mom."