The cafeteria was loud as always — laughter, gossip, whispers filling the air — but Aria's eyes were fixed on one person.
Ethan sat alone at the far end, quietly eating his lunch, headphones in, completely ignoring the chaos around him.
She wanted to join him, but before she could stand, Jackson and Mia, her former best friend, slipped by his table with fake smiles and low voices. They pretended to bump into him, laughing it off as they walked away.
Aria frowned. Something didn't feel right.
Minutes later, she saw Ethan lift his fork again — then his hands started trembling.
His face went pale.
His breath quickened.
"Ethan?" she called, standing up.
He looked at her with dazed, frightened eyes before collapsing, his tray crashing to the floor.
"ETHAN!"
Aria screamed his name as she ran to him, catching his head before it hit the tiles.
The cafeteria went dead silent.
Students gathered around, whispering, staring.
"Someone call the nurse!" she cried. "Call an ambulance!"
But no one moved. No one helped.
She looked up, tears streaming down her face. "Why are you all just standing there?! He's dying!"
Her voice broke as she shook Ethan's shoulders. "Stay with me, Ethan! Please!"
He wasn't responding — his lips were turning blue, his chest rising faintly.
The school nurse rushed in with others, checking his pulse. "He's losing oxygen — we need to move him now!"
They placed a mask on his face, started CPR, and the crowd gasped.
Aria's heart shattered. She turned to the stunned faces around her and yelled, voice shaking with rage:
"Do you all know what you've done?!"
Her voice echoed across the hall.
"He has a liver infection! He only has four months to live!" she screamed through tears. "And you made it worse because of your cruelty—because you hate that I care about him!"
The crowd fell silent.
Even Jackson froze, his smirk fading.
"If it's me you want to hurt, come for me!" she shouted, standing over Ethan protectively. "Not him! He did nothing to you—nothing!"
Her knees hit the floor again as she clutched his hand, crying. "Please, Ethan, don't leave me… please…"
The ambulance sirens wailed outside. The paramedics rushed in, placing Ethan on a stretcher, connecting him to oxygen tubes.
As they lifted him away, Aria grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. "I'm coming with you!" she cried, but the nurse pulled her back gently.
"We need space, miss."
She fell to her knees, watching them carry him away. Her vision blurred, her heart tearing open.
She snatched her phone and called her father with shaking hands. "Dad… please come. They did something to Ethan… he—he passed out… they poisoned him or something… please, Dad, help him!"
Her voice cracked as she sobbed into the phone. "I can't lose him… not like this…"
Her bag fell from her shoulder as she ran out of the school gate, chasing the sound of the sirens until she couldn't breathe anymore.
And in that moment — everyone in school finally saw it.
Aria, the strongest girl in school, was breaking apart for the boy they all mocked.