Jace didn't sleep.
She tried, tossed and turned until her sheets tangled like vines around her legs, but her mind refused to rest. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Alex's face. Heard his voice.
"Do you love him?"
"It changes everything
And worse—Michael's voice, soft and casual. "You're easy to talk to." Like it hadn't cracked something wide open inside her.
Now, in the dull blue light of morning, she stood in front of the mirror, pale and hollowed out. Her reflection looked unfamiliar. Like someone unraveling slowly.
She dabbed concealer under her eyes, tied her braids back tightly, and told herself: You are fine. No one knows. Just breathe.
But the moment she stepped into the hallway at school, her stomach dropped. Because Alex was there.
Leaning against the wall by her locker. Waiting.
She froze mid-step.
He looked up and the distance in his eyes was instant Cold Walled-off.
"Hey," she said, forcing it out.
"Morning." His tone was clipped, polite. Like they were strangers again.
Jace opened her mouth, then shut it. What could she even say?
Alex didn't wait for her to figure it out. He pushed off the wall and walked away.
Each step he took felt like it echoed in her chest.
Mira didn't show up to school again. Jace stared at the empty seat beside her all through history, her notes perfectly written, but her focus frayed.
She texted Mira during lunch.
Jace: Hope you're feeling better today. Want me to drop off your assignments after school?
No reply.
Was she still asleep? Or was something wrong?
Or maybe she suspects something, a darker voice whispered.
Jace shut her phone screen off. Paranoia wasn't helping.
Then, during last period, her phone buzzed again. Not Mira.
Michael.
She was wondering how Michael got her number but she didn't question it , Deep down she loved it.
Michael: Hey. Can we talk after class? Just us. I have… questions.
Her pulse jumped.
Questions?
She stared at the screen too long, thumbs hovering, before she typed:
Jace: Sure. Where?
Michael: Old auditorium. Nobody uses it anymore.
That alone sent her heartbeat spiraling.
What did he want to ask? Did he know?
Or worse, was this just him being kind again, and she was the fool still hoping it meant more?
The final bell rang.
Jace walked to the old auditorium with hands that wouldn't stop shaking.
The hallway was quiet. Most students had already left. The heavy door creaked as she pushed it open.
Michael stood near the stage, pacing slowly. He looked up when she walked in, that familiar furrow in his brows.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey."
He didn't smile this time.
He gestured toward the old bench near the back, and they sat—two feet apart, but it felt like an ocean.
He was quiet for a long moment. Then:
"You've been off lately. Not just today."
Jace swallowed. "It's been a weird week."
"Yeah." He paused. "Jace, yesterday… when I talked to you, I felt like you weren't really there. And when I left—"
She cut in, panicked, "Michael, if this is about Mira—"
"It's not."
He turned to her then, and the weight in his gaze nearly undid her.
"It's about you."
Silence.
Jace didn't know where to look. She stared at her hands instead.
"I don't want to make anything weird," he said, voice lower. "I just—yesterday, when I said we should hang out… the way you looked at me."
Her heart cracked open. A breath. A pause.
"I don't know what it was," he continued, "but it felt like… more."
Jace's voice was barely a whisper. "You imagined it."
Michael looked at her for a long moment. "Did I?"
She couldn't lie. Not convincingly. Not anymore.
So she stood instead, turning her back to him.
"You're dating my best friend," she said. "Whatever you think you saw—it doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter."
"But it does," he said quietly.
Her chest went still.
She turned slowly. "What?"
He stood too, uncertain, arms crossed as if trying to hold something back.
"I didn't come here to start anything. But I keep thinking about the way you looked at me. Like I was something you were trying not to feel. And I just—"
"You should stop," she said quickly, desperately. "Because this is how people get hurt."
Michael's face shifted. "Are you hurt, Jace?"
She didn't answer.
That was her answer.
She left before he could say more. Walked fast, heart pounding, air burning in her lungs.
Outside, the world blurred around her.
She didn't cry.
Not until she turned a corner—and saw Alex standing by the gates.
He looked at her. She looked at him.
There was a pause, heavy and strained.
Then he said, "Did you tell him?"
Jace's voice cracked. "No."
Alex didn't move. "Are you going to?"
"I don't know."
He nodded slowly, jaw clenched.
"I meant what I said yesterday," he murmured. "You're allowed to not love me back. But don't leave me hanging in the dark, Jace. I can't stay if I'm the only one trying."
She felt her throat closing. "Alex, I don't know what to say."
"Then be honest with me," he said. "Even if it hurts."
Jace didn't know what to say.
So she didn't say anything at all.
And this time—he was the one who walked away.
That night, Jace stood by her window, staring at the sky, trying to feel anything but guilt.
She had thought secrets kept people safe.
But now, all they did was suffocate.
Something had shifted.
And now… everything was at stake.
Jace's phone buzzed again, making her jump. She hesitated, then glanced at the screen.
Mira.
Her heart tightened.
With trembling fingers, she swiped to answer.
"Hey," Mira's voice came softly through the speaker, tired and fragile.
Jace swallowed. "Mira! Finally. I was worried. You didn't answer any messages."
"I'm sorry," Mira whispered. "I've been really sick. Like… really sick. That's why I couldn't come to school or reply."
Jace closed her eyes, the knot in her chest loosening just a little. "I'm sorry you're feeling so bad. Do you need anything? I can bring you some food, or—"
"No, no. I don't want to bother you," Mira said quickly. Then, quieter, "But… could you come by tomorrow? I'd like to see you. I miss you."
Jace smiled softly, a warmth spreading through her despite the chaos in her heart. "I'll be there. Tomorrow, I promise."
"Thanks, Jace. You're the best."
They said goodnight, and Jace ended the call, holding the phone close for a moment.
For all the turmoil swirling inside her, the thought of seeing Mira gave her a flicker of hope.