Age 13:
"It had been like a year since.. all that with mom. And, I felt like I'd been getting better, at least."
Miles wakes up, feeling Mallory's absence as he gets ready for school, walking downstairs to see his father, Richard with his new wife, saying "Bye dad. I'll be back later.", but turning away from his partner and leaving through the door.
As he makes his way to school, he texts Mallory, asking "Sorry again that you had to leave with mom.", to which she replies "It's okay, once I can move out, I'll come find you.". But, just then, he hears a familiar voice call out to him, he turns, instantly recognizing the voice to be Chelsea, as she hops onto his back for a piggyback ride. "Hey, you.", she playfully says, to which Miles jokingly responds "Aren't you a little old to be getting a piggyback ride?", as they walk to school together.
They enter the school gates, and she instantly gets off of Miles, instead rushing to her class. "Bye Miles! See ya after class!", she shouts as she walks away, and Miles only waves back, thinking "I guess it would be weird for a high schooler to be so close to a seventh grader..", as he walks to his classroom. As he enters the class, he sees most of the class surrounding Sue, clammering for her attention, muttering "Wish I could've gotten that popular..", as he sits down, sketching away in his sketchbook.
"Things really did change after I started 7th grade. Like, Shane starting his popular phase. He got popular for being so good at like, every sport, while being so weirdly pretty. Hell, he got the nickname "The Prince", because both the boys and girls at our school were crazy about him.."
As class begins, a girl with a puffy ponytail, wearing glasses, and holding a bulky rulebook says to Miles "Excuse me, but Mr. Mertins already told you not to doodle during class time. Seriously, you're never focused on the right things!", to which Miles replies "Ugh, Come on, Naya. Sometimes I think you just hate me or something, why not tell someone else off for a change?". She snatches his sketchbook, and snarkly says "Be thankful that I won't send this one to the principal's office, too.", as she walks away. Miles sighs, as class begins, and their teacher begins their lessons.
At break time, Miles walks with Shane, as she "So, then Molly said..", but stops when he notices Chelsea in the high school cafeteria. "Come on, dude. She's like.. in a whole other league now. You can't keep chasing after her like this.", but Miles responds "I'm.. not chasing her, okay? I'm just.. interested..", as he watches her with her friends from afar. "Seriously, you gotta at least try to move on. How about I get you set up with one of my friends, huh?", Shane asks, nudging Miles' shoulder, but he says "No way, I'm not gonna lead someone on like that..", but Shane interrupts, saying "It's not really 'leading on' if neither of you are serious. Come on, it hurts to see you like this.". Miles says "I.. can't.." but stops, looking at Chelsea smile and laugh with her peers, and his heart sinks when he sees her kiss one of them on the cheek. "No.. no way..", he mutters, as he grabs the railings, hard enough that his knuckles turn white as he starts heavily breathing.
"You ever feel your heart shatter? I knew that I should've waited until she told me herself, that she's found someone she.. loves more, but I didn't wanna hear it..".
Shane steps back, says "Look, it was just a suggestion. If you need some time..", as he turns to leave. Miles just stands there, stunned, but eventually walks back to class. Throughout the day, Miles stays silent, completely dissociated from the rest of his peers. After school, Miles walks back home, dragging his feet along the way, thinking go himself "What was I thinking, huh? She'd never even think about a loser like me.. I.. I'm so.. stupid..", as he starts running faster and faster, not paying attention to his surroundings, when suddenly, he bumps into Naya. "Ow! Who was..? Oh, it's you.", she says, dusting herself off. "Was that payback for me taking your book? Well, here. Take it.", she continues, but stops when she sees the look on his face. "S.. sorry, Naya.. I didn't mean to..", Miles says, covering his eyes, but she asks "Are you.. okay..?", catching him off guard.
"I remember asking myself 'Why does she care?'. I thought she couldn't stand me, because how our interactions would normally go, but.."
Later, Miles and Naya walk together to the bus stop, and Naya says "Oh, it's.. drizzling. I'm gonna wait it out at the library, are you.. coming with?", to which Miles nods his head, and follows her. At the library, Naya asks "Okay, I'll bite. What's wrong?", and Miles simply says "Me.. I'm wrong. I mean.. I was wrong to assume she'd feel the same..". Naya's eyes widen as she asks "Huh? Who..?", but Miles says "Chels.. I mean.. some girl, in high school..". Naya's expression changes to one of concern as she asks "Rejection, huh?", as she awkwardly sits beside him.
Miles covers his face, saying "You were right, Naya. I am clueless.. I'm never focused on the right things.. And now..", as his shoulders shake slightly, but she interrupts him, saying "You're not clueless..", but stops herself, and looks away, only saying "Why not tell me about it?". Miles begins telling her all about Chelsea, about how they met when they were kids, about how close they grew to each other, and how he grew to love her. Naya says, nervously tapping her pen on the table "Damn.. seems like you're pretty tight, huh?", to which Miles says "Well, not close enough, I guess..", but Naya continues "I may.. not know a lot about love and stuff, but.. I know how loud the heart shouts when you try to ignore it.". Miles finally looks at Naya, his expression softening slightly.
"Damn, what Naya said right there, really stuck me. She always seemed to have a way with her words.."
As the rain clears, Naya stands up, saying "Well, I gotta go. But, this was.. nice.", but not before writing down her number on his sketchbook. Miles' eyes widen as he watches her leave the library, the sun shining through the windows and lighting up the room. He thinks to himself about what Shane said "Chelsea is moving on, doing her own thing. Maybe it's time I do the same..", as he adds Naya's number to his contacts.