Chapter 12
He Did It… to Make Me Jealous?
I woke up with heavy eyes and a heavier heart.
Last night's tears were still drying in my chest.
I stared at the ceiling and whispered,
"Maybe it's too late."
Again.
Just to make sure it still hurt.
At school, everything looked normal.
Fatima was talking Zaid's ear off.
Yuri was arguing with a vending machine.
Keifer wasn't even in the room yet.
I told myself: today, you say it.
You look him in the eye.
You confess.
You fix what you broke.
I was getting there.
And then—
Ashlee grabbed my wrist during homeroom, dragging me into the hallway like we were escaping a crime scene.
"What—"
"You need to hear this."
"Hear what—?"
She crossed her arms. "About Keifer. And yesterday."
My heart dropped again. "Yeah, thanks. I already know. He went to your house. He called. I was too late."
She blinked.
Then started laughing.
I stood there, dumb.
"Oh my god," she said. "Jay. JAY. He did it to make you jealous."
"...What?"
"It was a plan. His plan."
"WHAT PLAN?"
"To mess with you. Push you. Make you react. He literally said, 'I just want to see if she gets jealous.' I told him it was evil. But girl—he was pacing. Like full-on breakdown pacing."
I just stood there.
Mouth open.
No words.
She grinned. "You cried over him. He panicked over you. You guys are SO STUPID."
I blinked. "So he… still likes me?"
"DUH."
"Even after all the no's?"
"He wants the yes. That's why he's still here."
I didn't know whether to scream or pass out.
Back in class, Keifer was finally in his seat.
He looked over.
Gave me that soft half-smile.
The one that always made my stomach twist.
And for the first time…
I smiled back.
Not halfway.
Not out of politeness.
A real one.
A yes-is-coming kind of smile.
Because now I knew something I didn't before:
He never gave up on me.
Not even when I gave him a million reasons to.
End of Chapter 12.