The next day felt… strange.
She walked into class like usual.
But nothing felt usual anymore.
Her eyes moved on their own.
Searching.
And then—
She saw him.
He was laughing.
With another girl.
Her steps slowed down.
Just a little.
The girl was standing too close.
Talking, smiling, touching his arm lightly.
Something inside her tightened.
"What is wrong with me…" she muttered.
She quickly looked away.
Went to her seat.
Opened her notebook.
Pretended to focus.
But her ears—
Only heard them.
"You're funny," the girl said.
"I know," he replied casually.
She gripped her pen harder.
Why is he acting like this?
Like nothing happened yesterday?
A sudden voice broke her thoughts.
"Why so serious?"
She looked up.
It was her friend.
"Nothing," she replied quickly.
But her friend followed her gaze.
"Ohhh…" she smirked.
"What?" she said defensively.
"Nothing," her friend teased,
"just… someone looks a little jealous."
"I'm NOT jealous," she said instantly.
Too fast.
Her friend laughed softly.
"Yeah… sure."
She looked away again.
Annoyed.
Confused.
Angry.
At him.
At herself.
After a few minutes—
He walked into the classroom.
Alone this time.
He didn't look at her.
Not even once.
That hurt more than it should.
"Good," she whispered to herself.
"I don't care either."
But she did.
Class started.
Silence filled the room.
She tried to focus.
Really tried.
But then—
A small folded paper landed on her desk.
Her heart skipped.
Slowly, she opened it.
"You've been staring."
Her eyes widened.
She turned slightly.
He was looking straight at her.
Her cheeks flushed instantly.
She quickly wrote back—
"I was not."
She threw the paper back at him.
A few seconds later—
Another one came.
"Then why do you look angry?"
She frowned.
Wrote again—
"Because you're annoying."
He read it.
Smiled.
Again—
Another note.
"Only annoying?"
She paused.
Her fingers stopped moving.
She didn't reply this time.
Because the truth was—
He wasn't just annoying anymore.
She looked up.
Their eyes met again.
This time—
There was something else in her eyes.
Something new.
Something she didn't want to admit.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
And for the first time—
He looked satisfied.
Not because he won.
But because—
Now he knew.
She felt it too.