Chapter 2

Just as I'd sent out the email, Ned suddenly called me up.

I wanted to reject his call at first, but I hesitated for a while. What if he was calling to tell me about the swapped application form?

If he told me the truth now, I bet that I would still be sad and disappointed, but at the very least, I could still see myself forgiving him. After all, it had always been my dream to attend college or university with him.

"Miranda? Why aren't you here yet? Prom's about to begin. We're just missing you."

Our high school had decided to organize a dance night for us to celebrate our graduation in style, and they happened to be holding it in Ned's house tonight.

However, I didn't feel like attending anymore.

I'd just wanted to reject them when I suddenly heard Scarlett's laughter on the other end of the line.

"I came on time, didn't I? Has the party already started?"

A few guys next to her exclaimed excitedly, "No, you're just on time! Why don't you dance with Ned for the first dance of the night? Your dress matches Ned's so well. Ned, you wouldn't mind, would you?"

I couldn't stop myself from gripping my phone a little tighter. When I heard a soft, affirmative hum from Ned, I felt my heart breaking into pieces. It started to hurt.

Ned's dance partner had always been me. All of our friends knew that.

There had been a few other classmates who had a crush on him and asked him for a dance, but he had brutally rejected every single one of them.

Our friends said that he was cold and cruel to do that, but Ned had then proclaimed loudly, "I will only dance with one girl and one girl only, and that is Miranda Montez!"

But now, he had agreed to let someone else be his dance partner for the first dance of the night.

It was loud and noisy on the other end of the phone call. Things were seemingly starting to heat up. So, Ned just told me in a hurry, "Hurry up and come over. Even our teachers have already arrived."

I hung up, wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, and went to get dressed in my favorite gown. I was going to attend after all.

This was probably the last time I would ever see my teachers and classmates anyway.

It was loud and lively when I finally arrived there. Scarlett was dancing sultrily around Ned, her dance moves sexy and suggestive, and everyone else was hyping them up and cheering them on.

Both Ned and Scarlett were so engrossed in dancing with each other that they never even realized that I'd arrived.

I stopped walking toward them. Instead, I found my friend, Hazel Brooks, and stuck around by her side.

At the end of the dance, one of our teachers, Ms. Gabby Petras, went onstage and took the mic, reminding us to complete our forms and send them in by the end of the day.

"Alright, students, there's less than 12 hours left for the submission of your college application forms. Please make sure that you've filled in the correct address. And for those of you who need help filling them in, come and talk to any one of the teachers here in private, and they will help you."

I was concentrating so much on Ms. Petras' announcement that I didn't even notice Ned approaching me until he flicked me on the head.

"How could you be late, Miranda? I waited so long for you!"

The corners of my lips curved upward. He hadn't been waiting for me at all. Hadn't he already abandoned me as his dance partner and already found another?

However, I didn't expose his lie and just looked at him quietly.

"What's the matter with you? Who got you all upset like this?"

Ned seemed to have thought of something and reached up to rub his nose sheepishly.

"Oh, did you notice that your application form got swapped out? Actually, don't you think that it's better in Westward? The scenery there is a lot better. I know that you love the beach, and the campus is located right next to the sea! We can go and take all the photos you want then!"

Ned just continued babbling as if he was trying to convince me and hide his guilt with how quickly he was speaking.

"The student accommodation in Eastland is too old and creaky, and it's just a terrible environment overall. The infrastructure there is also outdated and can't compare to the newer student lodging on the new campus. Aren't you picky about your surroundings anyway? You'd never get used to those creaky old houses."

With how he put it, it was as if his decision to send my application to Jafferton College was all for my own good.

I listened to him in silence for a while. Finally, I couldn't stop myself and asked him, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, apart from this, Ned Nicholson?"

My voice was breaking.

Deep down, I was still hoping that Ned would tell me the truth and then apologize to me.

This was the final chance I was giving him to come clean to me. If he would admit it, then I would still forgive him.

Instead, Ned just froze for a few seconds before mumbling softly, "You already know everything anyway. There's nothing else to tell you. Are you seriously going to kick up a fuss with me over this?"

A short while later, however, Ned softened his tone again, saying, "Alright, alright. It's still a pretty decent college, and the degree is still something we like. It's the same whichever college or university we go to as long as we're together."

After staying silent for a long time, I finally nodded lightly, feeling my disappointment seeping into my heart.

Even now, he still refused to tell me the truth!