Destiny? No, Just My Straight A’s Chapter 2

The atmosphere in the honors class was a different world. The intensity was palpable. Here, I wasn't the weird one for studying during breaks. Everyone did. We'd cluster in small groups, debating complex problems, our voices a low, focused hum. I thrived.

My grades stabilized, keeping me near the top of our year. Eventually, I got into the same magnet high school as Liam and Mia.

Based on our entrance exam scores, I just barely scraped into the same homeroom as Liam. He was ranked first; I was third from the bottom. Mia, however, was placed in a different class.

The original plot needed this separation. Liam was the genius, while Mia was the effortlessly smart and charming girl who could ace tests without ever seeming to try. The author split them up so Mia could meet the second male lead in her new class, sparking a whole new arc of sweet and sour drama.

None of that mattered to me. I just kept my head down and studied.

For the first two years of high school, Liam and I were just classmates. We never spoke. The only times we were ever in the same frame were when Mia would occasionally stop by to chat with me. Even when we’d pass each other in the halls after school, we were strangers. No nods, no greetings.

He genuinely didn't notice me.

I, on the other hand, was a master of deception. My heart would thunder in my chest whenever he was near, but my face remained a perfect, placid mask. Not a single crack.

I was getting really good at this.

My obsession with studying meant my already-tenuous friendship with Mia faded into almost nothing. By the time we were nearing graduation, she had all but forgotten I existed.

Then, senior year started, and she suddenly became friendly again. She insisted I was studying too hard, that I needed to relax. One day, she even roped Liam into her plans, inviting me to hang out with them.

Did I want to go? Absolutely not. That time could be better spent tackling a few practice exams. But she was relentless, and I finally caved. I figured I could just bring my review book and study while they had fun.

When I arrived at the meeting spot, my mind went blank.

An amusement park.

According to the novel, this was where they would have their first kiss. This was the moment they’d finally break through that last barrier and officially become a couple.

My heart was in turmoil. I went through the motions of the day in a daze, barely registering the rides or the food.

As dusk fell, the park lit up in a cascade of dreamlike colors. Mia grabbed Liam's hand and pulled him toward the fireworks show. I trailed behind them, a forgotten shadow dozens of feet away, jostled by the swelling crowd.

There, under a sky exploding with shimmering light, they confessed their feelings.

Mia stood on her toes and gave Liam a shy, tender kiss.

It was a picture-perfect moment, and I couldn't bear to watch.

I dropped my head, my vision blurring as hot tears fell, one after another, splattering onto the pages of my review book. I fled, a coward escaping a scene not meant for my eyes.

I sent Mia a text, lying that I had to get home before my curfew.

Of course, she didn't reply. They had already forgotten I was ever there.

As they held hands, their fingers intertwined with a promise of forever, their forgotten third wheel was running home, wiping away tears.

I collapsed in my empty apartment and let out a choked, desperate sob.

I'm sorry.

This time, I just couldn't pretend anymore.

But even as the sobs wracked my body, I forced myself to grab a workbook and start writing, the pen shaking in my hand.

A one-sided crush is a special kind of torture, especially for someone like me, who had nothing else. My only superpower, I guess, was having lived a life before this one.

I knew the grinding importance of studying.

And I knew not to waste myself on a love that was never meant to be.