It had been three days since the fight.
Three days since Kyla slapped her. Since Ellie confessed she still loved Astrid. Since everything between them cracked like glass under pressure.
Kyla hadn't spoken to her since.
At first, Ellie thought she just needed space. A day, maybe two. But when she saw Kyla in the hallway with her other friends, laughing, eyes lit up in that carefree way, something inside Ellie sank.
It wasn't the usual laugh Kyla shared with Ellie—the quiet kind, the one that made her eyes wrinkle slightly at the corners. This one was louder. Different.
Not better. Just different.
And Kyla didn't even glance her way.
Ellie wanted to believe it didn't sting. But it did. It stung in places she thought had already gone numb. The worst part wasn't that Kyla was spending time with other people. The worst part was that she looked fine. Like Ellie's absence didn't leave a dent at all.
By the fourth day, Kyla still hadn't responded to any of Ellie's texts. No replies. No reads. Just silence.
And now, here she was on the rooftop, surrounded by her closest friends, pretending it didn't feel like her chest was being squeezed from the inside.
The sun blazed above them as they gathered in a loose circle on the faded rooftop court. They were all dressed in gym clothes, the breeze fluttering their shirts. The school intramurals were coming up in two weeks, and as part of the dance team, they needed every spare minute to rehearse.
"You look like you just got dumped," Cassandra said, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder.
"Yeah," Irene added, stretching out her arms. "Is Kyla still ghosting you?"
Ellie groaned, tugging at her shoelaces as she sat on the floor. "She's not ghosting me. She's just… processing."
"Processing what?" Veilah asked, spinning a basketball lazily on her finger. "Your betrayal?"
Tisha snorted. "Damn. That's cold."
"I mean," Veilah grinned, "I'm just saying what we're all thinking."
Anastasia flopped down beside Ellie and handed her a cold bottle of water. "Come on, guys. Be nice. You know Ellie's in her emo era right now."
"Oh please," Irene smirked, sitting on the floor with her legs wide open as she reached for her toes. "Ellie's always in her emo era."
Everyone laughed. Even Ellie managed a small smile.
It wasn't that her friends were mean. They were just… honest. Brutally honest, sometimes. But she needed it. Their teasing was weirdly comforting, like a slap to the back that reminded her she was still alive.
Tisha flopped down dramatically onto the floor next to her. "Okay but seriously. What happened between you and Kyla? Spill. Don't leave us hanging."
Ellie sighed, resting her chin on her knee. The rooftop breeze brushed against her cheek, soft and warm. "I told her the truth. That I wasn't completely over Astrid."
Cassandra let out a whistle. "Oh girl… You really said that?"
"She asked," Ellie mumbled.
"And then?"
"She slapped me."
Everyone went quiet for a second.
Then Veilah gasped. "Wait, like, a real slap? Like, on the face?"
Ellie nodded.
"Oh my god," Irene said, wide-eyed. "I mean… I'd probably slap you too."
"Hey!" Ellie groaned.
"I'm just being honest!"
Anastasia tilted her head. "Did it hurt?"
"The slap or the heartbreak?" Ellie muttered.
The group let out a collective groan.
"She's gone full poetry mode," Cassandra said, dramatically pressing a hand to her chest. "Somebody get her a black hoodie and a Lana Del Rey playlist."
Tisha chuckled and reached over to ruffle Ellie's hair. "Come on, sad girl. You need to move your body. Let's dance this depression away."
Ellie let them pull her up to her feet. The music started blasting from someone's phone, and the group shifted into formation. The routine wasn't overly complex, but it needed precision and energy. Ellie knew the steps. She had practiced them a dozen times.
But her mind wasn't in it.
She stumbled a bit during the chorus and nearly crashed into Veilah.
"Focus!" Veilah snapped, but her grin softened the words.
"Sorry," Ellie mumbled.
They reset. Took it from the top.
This time, Ellie forced herself to zone in. One move after another. Arms sharp. Feet aligned. Letting the beat guide her movements instead of her thoughts. It felt good to sweat. To push her body. It kept her from thinking too much.
When they finally finished the full set, everyone collapsed onto the floor, panting and laughing. Ellie wiped sweat from her forehead and lay flat on her back, staring up at the clouds.
She felt lighter. Not happy. Not fixed. But lighter.
"Okay," Irene said, sitting up and brushing grass off her thighs. "Real talk. What are you gonna do about Kyla?"
"I don't know," Ellie admitted. "Give her time, I guess."
"Or," Cassandra said with a sly smile, "you could show up to her next class with flowers and a giant apology banner."
Veilah rolled her eyes. "That's so cringe."
Tisha shrugged. "I'd cry if someone did that for me."
"She doesn't owe her a grand gesture," Anastasia chimed in. "Kyla walked away too. If she cared, she should talk it out, not play the silent treatment."
"She slapped her," Irene reminded everyone, raising her eyebrows.
"Still," Cassandra said, "it's complicated. You can't undo feelings with an apology. And maybe Kyla's realizing she deserves more."
The words hit harder than Ellie expected. She sat up slowly.
"Maybe she does," Ellie said quietly.
No one said anything after that. They all glanced at each other, but the teasing was done.
The breeze picked up again, lifting Ellie's damp hair off her neck. She looked out over the rooftop fence toward the horizon. The sky was beginning to fade into late afternoon hues. Soft pinks and golds, like a watercolor left to bleed.
Tisha nudged her shoulder. "Hey. For what it's worth, we're proud of you."
Ellie looked at her, confused. "For what?"
"For being honest. Even if it messed things up. That takes guts."
Cassandra nodded. "You're owning your feelings. Most people pretend until they explode."
Ellie smiled faintly. "Feels more like I imploded."
Anastasia leaned back on her hands. "Sometimes things have to fall apart before they can be rebuilt. You're not broken. You're just… shedding."
Irene blinked. "Whoa. That was deep."
Veilah clapped. "Give that girl a diary."
Everyone laughed again. And this time, Ellie's smile reached her eyes.
Maybe Kyla was gone for now. Maybe she needed space, and maybe Ellie had ruined something that could've been beautiful. But sitting here, with sweat on her skin and sunlight in her eyes, she didn't feel completely lost anymore.
She still missed Kyla.
She still felt the ache when she saw Astrid across the campus.
But for the first time in a long time, Ellie felt like she was allowed to feel it all.
No more pretending. No more bottling things up.
She was sad.
She was hurt.
She was healing.
And maybe, just maybe, she was still growing.
The rooftop echoed with another song as the girls got up again, laughing and shouting about who messed up the routine most. Ellie stood too, brushing dust off her legs, and joined them in the middle.
Tomorrow might still be hard.
But right now, she had this moment.
And it was enough.