The school courtyard buzzed with laughter, voices, and meaningless chatter. Diana sat alone on a bench, elbows on her knees, eyes distant. Sunlight filtered through the tree branches, but she didn't see any of it.
In her head, it was still him.
Gale.
She kept seeing his hands on her skin, his lips on hers, his intense gaze as if he could read her. She couldn't forget that night. That heat. The feeling of being… special. Unique.
A shiver ran through her.
She shook her head to bring herself back to reality when a familiar voice broke the flow of her thoughts.
— Hey, are you daydreaming or pretending to ignore me?
Diana jumped. Marlie had just sat down beside her, a soda in hand, eyebrows raised.
— Oh... hi. No, I... I was just somewhere else.
— No kidding. You look like you're chewing on something heavy. What's wrong?
Diana hesitated. She looked down, nervously fiddling with the hem of her sleeve.
— I need your advice... but promise you won't judge me.
Marlie raised an eyebrow, curious.
— You know me, right? Come on, spit it out.
Diana took a breath.
— I slept with Gale.
A silence. Marlie stared at her, mouth slightly open, as if she'd heard someone say a student had stolen the moon.
— Wait... Gale?
— Yeah...
— But... why did you do that?
— I don't know... I felt awful. Really bad. And he was there, he listened to me, he kissed me... And then...
She stopped, unable to keep going. Marlie set her soda down and turned fully toward her.
— You don't have to be ashamed, okay? But you do know Gale isn't the kind of guy for a "one-night thing." He didn't deserve that.
— I know... Diana murmured. And that's the problem. He deserved better than a moment of weakness. I feel guilty... because he's gentle, respectful, caring… and above all, because he's the brother of the man I love.
She paused, then sighed.
— Well… the man I thought I loved. Klaus disappointed me so much...
Marlie nodded slowly.
— Do you still love him? Klaus?
— I don't know anymore. But what I do know... is that I loved that night. I felt… loved. Really. Desired. I hadn't felt that in a long time. So no, I don't regret it. If I had to do it again… I would. Without hesitation.
A silence followed her confession. Marlie looked at her intently, then gently grabbed her hand.
— You know what? Maybe you just made the best choice of your life. Gale is a good guy. And if you want to go after him, go. But do it for you. Not to forget the other one.
— I don't want to forget him anymore. I just want to move forward. And I think... I'm going to try something with Gale. I want to see how far it can go.
Marlie squeezed her hand a little tighter, a smirk on her face.
— Then go for it. And if he ever hurts you... I'll rip his ears off.
They burst out laughing, the tension slowly melting in the warmth of the day.