School started like any other day. Same noise, same morning chatter and same cheap cafeteria smell. Adrian sat at his usual table, poking halfheartedly at his lunch while his friends filled the air around him.
Leon was the first to notice it. "What's that red hand mark on your face?"
Adrian looked up mid-bite, blinking. "Huh?"
"Yeah, that." Marcus leaned closer, squinting like he was inspecting a rare animal. "I thought you got into a fight or something."
Ethan grinned, already leaning back with that smug look that spelled trouble. "Nah, that's too clean to be a fight. Looks like someone slapped him. Damn, who'd you piss off this time?"
Adrian chewed once more, swallowed, and said flatly, "It's Eliana." The table went silent for a beat.
Then Leon choked on his drink. "You mean your girlfriend?"
"Ex-girlfriend," Adrian corrected without missing a beat, rubbing his cheek where the sting had finally dulled.
"Wait, wait, hold up," Ethan said, trying not to laugh. "You mean you got slapped by your girlfriend and still came here like nothing happened?"
Adrian shrugged. "I didn't expect her to be in a public slap-fest mood. I was just trying to pee, man."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "That fast? You two just celebrated your three-month anniversary like... last week."
"Guess she didn't get the memo." He said it lightly, but even Leon could hear the edge in his tone.
Last night had been a mess.
They were on call. Eliana talking about her day, her classes, how some girl from her homeroom had copied her hairstyle. Adrian had zoned out halfway through, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, the phone balanced on his chest.
Then, out of nowhere, he said, "Eli, let's break up."
Silence. Then came the storm.
"What? What the hell do you mean, Adrian?! Because of what?! You're joking, right?! You can't just—"
The rant had gone on for minutes or maybe hours, Adrian couldn't even tell. He had the volume turned down, but her voice still managed to pierce through, sharp and shrill.
"You think you're too good for me now?! Is there another girl?! Is it that pretty-face from your class?! Or are you just bored, huh?! Say something, Adrian!"
He had. Just maybe not what she wanted to hear.
"It's not that. I just... don't think we're meant to be," he'd said, trying to sound calm. "We're still in high school. I wanna focus on studying for now. Maybe it's better if we go our separate ways."
Typical excuse, sure. But it was true, at least partially. Eliana didn't buy it.
Her reply was something between a scream and a curse, and Adrian was pretty sure she invented new swear words just for the occasion. He could practically feel his eardrum crying for help. So, he did the only rational thing he could think of.
He hung up and immediately regretted it. Not because he wanted her back, but because he knew he'd just made things worse.
Now, sitting in the cafeteria, the redness on his cheek had darkened slightly. He tried to laugh it off.
"We broke up," he said simply, shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth.
Ethan grinned like a devil. "Guess that's one way to announce it."
"She also yelled a lot," Adrian replied. His tone was casual, but his expression showed a flicker of exhaustion, like he'd stayed up way too late dealing with emotional chaos. "I said something simple, like "Let's break up," and then, bam. My ears almost committed suicide from the noise."
Ethan let out a bark of laughter. "You actually said let's break up just like that? Bro, that's like stepping on a landmine barefoot!"
"Yeah, well," Adrian said dryly, "the landmine fought back. Verbally and physically."
Marcus leaned his elbow on the table, trying not to laugh too loud. "So, what'd she say?"
"Half the words she used should be censored." Adrian muttered, glancing up briefly.
Ethan snorted. "Classic."
Leon looked half-concerned now. "You okay, though? She's not like… stalking you, right?"
"Nah," Adrian said with a small grin, brushing it off. "She already got her closure this morning. And her friends made sure I remember it too."
Marcus tilted his head. "Wait, what?"
"I ran into her near the bathroom. Thought it'd be fine, you know? Turns out she came with her backup dancers." Adrian mimicked a slap in the air. "Left, right, left, felt like a free facial massage." By the time the teachers came down the hall, he was already half-blind from the assault.
Ethan slammed his palm on the table, wheezing. "No fucking way. You got gang-slapped?"
Adrian rolled his eyes, but a small smile cracked through. "You can laugh. Go ahead. My pain is apparently your entertainment."
Leon was already wiping tears from his eyes. "Man, you really live in a drama series sometimes."
"I'm just saying," Marcus said, smirking, "maybe karma's balancing out. You have been acting weird lately."
Adrian froze for a second. "Weird how?"
Marcus shrugged, playing it off. "Dunno. Just… distracted. Zoning out. Like, maybe someone's been living rent-free in your head."
Ethan's brows shot up instantly. "That person?"
Leon blinked, confused. "What person?"
Marcus only grinned, clearly enjoying how Adrian's face tightened slightly. "No one important, right, Adrian?"
Adrian forced a grin, voice a touch too casual. "Yeah. No one."
Leon tilted his head, suspicious. Ethan, of course, looked like he'd just smelled gossip. Adrian cleared his throat. "Sooo, anyway," he said quickly, his tone light again, "where's Ava? Haven't seen her today. Did she ditch again?"
"Council office," Leon answered between bites. "She's been hanging around there a lot."
"The student council's office?" Ethan frowned. "Isn't that, the forbidden territory for normal students?"
"She said the president took some of her stuff and she wants it back," Marcus said. "You know her. She won't rest until justice is served."
"Mmm. Valid." Ethan nodded solemnly.
Adrian smiled faintly, grateful for the topic change. But his fingers subconsciously brushed the side of his face again, the same cheek Ivan's hand had once grazed during their study session. The irony wasn't lost on him.
One person's touch burned, and the other's… lingered.
"Yo, you okay?" Leon asked suddenly.
Adrian blinked, snapping back to the cafeteria. "Huh? Yeah. Totally. Never been better."
"You sure? You've been zoning out for the past five minutes."
"I'm just thinking."
Ethan snorted. "You? Thinking? That's new."
"Yeah, maybe I got brain damage from all the slaps."
Adrian just grinned wider, but there was something distant behind it this time. His cheek still stung, his chest still felt weirdly heavy. For a moment, between the laughter and the noise, he caught himself thinking about someone else entirely.
Not Eliana. But a certain quiet guy with dark hair, sharp eyes, and the kind of expression that could slice through his bullshit in two seconds flat.