For Real? ✅

Chapter 33

TESS

If there was a chance for Greg and me to be friends, it's not there anymore.

He seems to be infuriated that I kissed him.

Greg used to avoid me before, but now, he can't even stand to be in the same room as me. Even if it's the huge cafeteria.

I've tried apologising to him, but he ignores me and walks away, pretending like I don't exist.

I guess that I went too far by kissing him.

But I also know that he accepted the fact that he was gay too soon.

Every kiss with him had felt so genuine. He couldn't have been faking it. I know that whatever he was, he was attracted to me. No one can pretend to be such a good actor.

Honestly, I just want him to be clear with his choices. All that I want is for him to be happy.
Not necessarily with me.

I find myself hoping for things that are never going to happen.

*****

I wait on the campus, eating a bagel and enjoying the morning breeze. Leah messaged me that she had to tell me something super important and that she wanted to see me first thing in the morning.

I hope she hasn't had another nightmare where I'm viciously murdering her.

When I see Leah, my jaw drops.
She's dressed like she's going to a party, complete with her favourite outfit, shoes and hairdo. As she approaches me, I notice that she's wearing makeup too.

"Hi, Tess! Today's the big day!" She says cheerily.

"What?" I ask, my mouth still hanging open.
"Is it your birthday or something?"

I know very well that her birthday got over three months ago.

"Obviously not." Leah rolls her eyes at me.
She tries hard not to smile as she adds,
"Adam told me that we're not going to keep our relationship a secret anymore."

"Wait... So you're still with him?" I ask her in disbelief.

Leah rolls her eyes.

"He's changed, Tess. And we're in love with each other. Trust me, I've got this," She gives me a reassuring nod.

I return her nod with uncertainty.

"We're going to tell everyone during the lunch break today. It's time the world knew," Leah tells me.

"Like, for real?" I ask her, unable to believe my ears.

She nods, almost shyly.

Woah. This is so good.
Now I know that he does care about her.

"Congrats Leah! I'm really happy for you!" I reply excitedly.

"Thanks, Tess!" She says, her face shining with joy.

"You know, the other day, I spoke to him about not messing with you..." I tell her slowly, "Maybe that's why he's finally agreed to tell everyone."

"You spoke to him for me? Awww... That's so sweet of you Tess." She replies, hugging me.

I return her hug, thinking of how it made no sense.
What was the whole thing about not knowing Leah? Was he just joking?

Then I realise that he must obviously know Leah since he was dating her.
He was definitely joking.

Although, it was still a very weird joke.

Anyways, they were getting together around everyone today. There was possibly nothing that could go wrong.

I'm really glad that Leah finally got what she wanted.
True love.

And she was very deserving of it.

*****

"Tess, is my hair fine?"

"Yup."

"My dress, is it fine?"

"Yup."

"My makeup?"

"Yup, Leah! If you spend all your time worrying, you're going to be late to see him!"

"Oh, yeah. Okay, but I'm so nervous!"

"Leah, come on! We don't have time..."

"Tess, it could mess up in so many ways..."

"Leah, COME ON!"

Leah was in the washroom, feeling jittery about seeing Adam. Though she knew Adam didn't care about what she wore, she felt like the others would judge her.
Especially his ex-girlfriends.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't even bother, but Leah has a reputation for being perfect. She really cares about how others see her and judge her.

Having never been to high school does make one less confident.
I mean there's nothing much to survive about high school when it's at home.

"Tess, I'm not too late, am I?" Leah asks as we walk to the cafeteria.

"No, you're on time..." I reply.

"Okay", She replies, with worry written across her face.

Is it me, or does Leah look paler than usual?
Maybe it's her makeup?

"Leah, calm down, okay? It's just Adam." I say, in an attempt to comfort her.

"That's the exact problem," Leah mutters. "He's so popular."

I look at her face. Despite having powdered her face five minutes ago, she has beads of sweat in her forehead. It's not particularly warm day outside, so I'm guessing that she's really nervous.

We enter the cafeteria to see a huge crowd.
For a moment, Leah's face falters, as she surveys the people.

Then she runs ahead while calling to me,
"I think that Adam has planned a surprise for me after all! No wonder, he's so perfect."

I run behind her, not wanting to miss whatever Adam had planned.

"Excuse me guys, Leah coming through!" She yells, moving people out of the way.
There's a childlike joy about Leah, innocent and naive, her smile unwavering.

When Leah reaches the clearing, she stops. I guess she's stunned at whatever Adam was doing.

A sudden deja vu of the party, the time Leah had first seen Adam comes to my mind.
Except for this time, I knew that she would unite with Adam.

Wow, Leah's clinginess is rubbing off me...

I reach the clearing, and I hold back a breath.

This. Is. Unbelievable.

Adam is in the clearing.

Heavily making out.

It's not with Leah.

It's with Heather Waters.

I see Leah, her face contorting with rage. I try to grab onto her, but she pushes me behind with so much force, that I fall back onto the crowd.

When I stand up again, I see Leah marching up to Adam. She taps his shoulder, and he momentarily breaks away from the kiss, pausing to look up at her.

"Yes?" He asks, looking at Leah like she was a random girl in the crowd.

WHAT!

"Adam, it's me..." Leah starts.

"Who are you?" Adam asks, then swears at her for disturbing him.

I see Leah trembling, her face full of disbelief as she stares at Adam.

Then she gives him a resounding slap that echoes across the hall.

"Hey!" Adam shouts as Leah walks away.

She doesn't look angry.
She doesn't look sad.

She looks broken.