Chapter 15
I Didn't Expect to Break a Little Tonight.
The end of first year felt like a dream I wasn't ready to wake up from.
Exams were almost done.
School days were numbered.
But the best part?
Prom.
Okay — technically it wasn't prom. Just a school "year-end celebration" in our classroom. But we dressed up, decorated every inch, brought food, and called it prom anyway.
And I was so excited.
The entire section helped — hanging fairy lights, pasting glitter stars on walls, rearranging desks to make room for dancing.
Fatima brought too many balloons.
Yuri broke two.
Keifer showed up with snacks and his usual smirk.
"I think this might actually look decent," I said, standing on a chair, trying to tape streamers to the fan.
"Because I'm here," he said.
I rolled my eyes.
Then paused.
"Wait," I muttered, checking my bag. "Where the hell is my mirror?"
He blinked. "Your what?"
"My tiny hand mirror. The round one? With butterflies? I haven't seen it for days."
Keifer scratched the back of his neck.
And pulled it from his pocket.
"I… might've kept it."
I blinked. "YOU WHAT—"
"I thought it looked cute. And it smelled like your perfume."
"You're insane."
"I'm romantic."
"You're stealing."
He laughed.
I swore at him under my breath.
But I was smiling.
When preping our own party got boring (as they always do), we… may or may not have invaded the elementary school dance on the floor below.
Their music was louder.
Their snacks were better.
Their lights were way cooler.
So we crashed it.
I danced.
He danced.
Everyone danced.
Fatima dragged Zaid into a slow spin. Yuri pretended to DJ with someone's speaker.
It was perfect.
Until it wasn't.
We were sitting on the steps, catching our breath, sharing a juice box. Keifer had just playfully tossed a wrapper at me.
Then one of the girls from our class — let's call her Chaos Girl — walked over, giggling like a devil.
"Keifer," she said, nudging him, "you and that girl from earlier looked sooo good together. Like, couple material. You sure you're taken?"
I froze.
He laughed. "What?"
"You know. That girl you danced with before Jay came down. Tall, straight hair, red dress. You two looked adorable."
I didn't even wait for a reply.
I stood up.
Walked out.
Back to our floor.
Straight to the corner of the classroom where no one could see me.
My chest ached.
I knew he wasn't cheating.
I knew it didn't mean anything.
But the image…
That thought…
Someone saying they looked like a better couple than us?
It cracked something I didn't even know was fragile.
He found me a few minutes later.
"Jay."
I didn't look up.
"I didn't even know her," he said. "She asked to dance. It was two seconds. I didn't say yes. Yuri pushed me."
"Okay."
"She's dumb. She was joking. I swear I didn't even look at the girl."
"Okay."
He stepped closer.
"I didn't mean to make you feel like that."
I finally looked at him.
He looked genuinely sorry.
His voice was low. "It was stupid. I'm sorry. Really."
I nodded. "You should be."
He gave a weak smile. "You still mad?"
"No," I said. "Just… sad."
And that was worse.
Later that night, after everyone left, he gave me back my mirror.
"I didn't break it," he said. "But I might've looked into it and thought about kissing you."
I laughed.
Just a little.
But I still held the mirror close like it might protect me from the next heartbreak.
End of Chapter 15.