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ARKs POV.
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It had been two days since Jade stopped talking to me.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
Not the normal kind of quiet you get when people are still waking up. This was the kind of quiet that feels like someone's missing from the picture, even if you didn't think you cared about them being in it.
Jade had always been everywhere.
On my left, in front of me, leaning against lockers when I passed, brushing past my shoulder in the hallway, his voice in my ear whether I wanted it or not. Hand brushing mine under the table. Eyes burning into mine from across the room. But recently nothing.
He didn't even look at me when he walked into class. No smirk. No lazy lean toward my desk. No eyes tracking me like he was waiting for me to mess up just so he could call me out. He just walked and dropped into his seat, and started scrolling through his phone like I wasn't even there.
It should have been a relief.
It wasn't.
I stared at the corner of my notebook, pen tapping lightly, but the lines on the page blurred. My chest felt… wrong. Like someone had pulled something out of place without warning me.
At first, I thought maybe he was tired, or had something on his mind. But as the hours passed and his silence stayed, a strange unease began to crawl under my skin.
I was used to his constant pestering- his voice wrapping around my mornings like some strange, unwelcome ribbon. The quiet felt wrong. Empty. Like something had been yanked away without warning.
And I hated that it hurt.
By lunch, the feeling had grown heavier. Usually, by now, he would have thrown a comment across the hallway, blocked my way just to get under my skin, or done something-anything-to make sure I remembered he existed. But today? Nothing.
It was stupid. I didn't want him around. I didn't need him in my space, leaning too close or looking at me like he could read more than I wanted him to.
So why did it feel like the air had gone thin without it?
I stayed at my desk again during lunch. My books near me. My mind kept circling the same question I didn't want to admit was there.
Why is he ignoring me?
The easy answer was that he was embarrassed I'd seen him with his father. Maybe he didn't want me to think he was weak. But the more I thought about it, the less it made sense. This was Jade Vale- he thrived on being unshaken, untouchable.
So why was he pretending I wasn't here?
I glanced at the door more times than I wanted to admit. Every shadow that passed made me think maybe- just maybe- he'd walk in, say something sharp or ridiculous, tilt my day back into the shape I'd grown used to.
He didn't.
I needed the bathroom. The tiled hallway was cooler, quieter- until I stepped out of the door and turned a corner and froze.
Just down the corridor from the bathroom entrance, Jade was leaning against the wall, head tilted slightly, his body angled toward a girl I didn't recognize.
It wasn't just that they were talking. It was the way he stood- close enough that she probably felt his breath, close enough that his scent was probably tangled around her.
Like he used to with me.
My stomach twisted so sharply I thought I might double over. I quickly turned my head, pretending to adjust my scarf, hoping he wouldn't notice me. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smirk faintly at something she said.
That tiny curve of his lips felt like a blade.
I didn't wait to see more. I shoved open the bathroom door and leaned over the sink, gripping the cold porcelain until my knuckles went pale.
When we got back to class, the rest of the day blurred. His silence followed me like a shadow I couldn't shake. The ache in my chest wasn't about losing him- I didn't even have him to begin with.
But somehow, it felt like I'd lost something anyway.
By the end of the day, I'd given up pretending I didn't care. I was distracted. Restless. And the worst part? I realized the truth:
Seeing him kiss Melissa had hurt because I hated her. But this- this cold, calculated silence- hurt because I missed him.
Not his face. Not his hands. Him. The version of him who wouldn't let me walk through a hallway without feeling like the ground had shifted.
I hated that I wanted his attention back.
Halfway through the lesson, I couldn't stop myself.
I turned slightly, pretending to adjust my books, and whispered, "Jade… can I—"
He looked at me.
Not the way he used to. Not with the mocking warmth, the dangerous flicker in his eyes.
This time, it was cold. Expressionless. His gaze lingered for a moment, as if studying me for something-;like maybe I had something on my face- before he turned away without a single word.
It was like watching a door slam shut.
When the final bell rang, I packed my things slower than usual. I told myself it didn't matter if he left before me. That I didn't care if I didn't see him at the gates.
But when I walked out into the fading light, there he was.
Not waiting for me.
Not even looking at me.
He stood near the gates with his friends head tipped slightly back like he was listening to something Max was saying, but his eyes stayed elsewhere. His posture was lazy, uninterested, like the world wasn't worth paying attention to.
I slowed without meaning to.
He didn't notice. Or maybe he did and didn't want me to know.
The sharp, stupid ache in my chest told me the answer.
That night, lying in bed, scarf still wrapped around my neck out of habit, I stared at the ceiling and tried to pretend I didn't want tomorrow to be different.
But I did.
The rejection was sharper than I expected.