True Faces

"Good morning, Julie," Jamie greeted me with a sinister grin, hovering over my desk and brushing his hand over the top of my head as if he were patting me.

"Good morning, Jamie," I replied, slowly pushing his hand away and refocusing on the notes in my notebook.

"I see you're not avoiding me this morning," he chuckled before casually sitting on top of my desk, right over my notebook.

"W-well..." I paused, pushing him off my desk. "You're persistent, and since you're in my class, avoiding you is impossible." I sighed, pulling out my hand sanitizer to clean both my hands and the desk.

Jamie chuckled, amused by my reaction, but before I could respond, a flirtatious voice interrupted us.

"Hi, Jamie," a girl purred.

I kept my head down, pretending not to notice, but an odd feeling twisted in my chest—jealousy?

"Good morning, Kathryn," Jamie replied flatly, pushing her hand away. "As you can see, I'm talking to someone, so excuse me."

I glanced up in disbelief. From the corner of my eye, I could feel Kathryn glaring daggers at me. But before I could fully process it, Jamie gently brushed his fingers along my cheek, pulling my focus back to him. He leaned in close, his lips almost grazing my ear.

"I'm inviting you to a party tonight, and I don’t want you to say no," he whispered.

His breath sent shivers down my spine. My heartbeat quickened, and I found myself breathing heavier than I intended.

"See you later, Pumpkin," he murmured before walking back to his seat behind me.

I sat there, dazed by how close he had been, when I was suddenly startled by Olivia's voice.

"Good morning," she said.

I stiffened. I still felt guilty for avoiding her all week without an explanation. The rumours about her had changed the way I saw things, but deep down, I knew I owed her a chance. She didn’t have many friends, and I didn’t want to be another person who left her out.

"Hey, Olivia," I stammered.

"Hey," she replied curtly.

"I'm sorry about last week... I was just really busy," I offered, hoping to ease the tension.

"It’s cool," she responded, still cold.

The entire lecture passed in silence between us. We didn’t exchange another word until I was about to leave the hall.

"Hey," Olivia suddenly stopped me. "I’m sorry too. I think I know why you stopped talking to me, and I don’t blame you for it."

I hesitated. "Are they true? The rumours... are they true?"

"No, no," she said quickly. "I may have loved someone, but I never stalked them."

"Do you want to tell me who it was? Maybe I can help," I offered.

At that moment, her expression shifted. Her usual cheerful, friendly demeanour vanished, replaced by something cold and unreadable. The change unsettled me.

Before I could say anything else, Jamie suddenly appeared, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I watched Olivia closely as she snapped back to her usual bubbly self in an instant, as if nothing had happened.

"I'll talk to you later," she said, turning away without another word.

Jamie left immediately after, but I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling creeping up my spine. The way Olivia switched so fast—it was almost unnatural.

Was she lying?

As I walked out of the lecture hall, Olivia’s sudden change in demeanour lingered in my mind. The way her face had gone cold and then immediately softened when Jamie appeared—it was unsettling.

I shook my head, trying to brush it off. Maybe I was just overthinking things.

I walked to my bike and was about to leave when Jamie suddenly appeared beside me.

“So... about that party tonight,” he said casually, leaning against the bike rack.

I sighed. “Jamie, I—”

“No excuses, Pumpkin. You’re coming,” he interrupted, smirking as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Here’s the address. Party starts at nine. Be there.”

I hesitated before taking the paper from his hand. “Fine. But if this turns out to be some weird frat party where guys get drunk and start doing dumb things, I’m leaving.”

He chuckled. “Noted. But trust me, you’ll have fun.”

With that, he winked and strolled off like he had just won some sort of challenge. I rolled my eyes and stuffed the paper into my pocket.

By the time I got home, I still wasn’t sure if going was a good idea. I plopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. Olivia’s reaction earlier still bugged me, and now Jamie was dragging me into whatever wild plans he had for tonight.

I let out a frustrated sigh and checked my phone. Abigail had texted.

Abigail: Hey, you up for a girls’ night?

I bit my lip, debating whether to tell her about Jamie’s party.

Me: Actually… I got invited to a party tonight.

She responded almost instantly.

Abigail: Ooooh, with who?

Me: Jamie.

Abigail: Wait… Jamie Carter?! Girl, what?!

I groaned, already predicting what she’d say next.

Abigail: Don’t tell me you like him.

Me: Of course not!

Abigail: Mhmm… if you say so. Well, I’m coming with you. You’re not going alone.

I smiled a little. Typical Abigail. Always looking out for me.

Me: Fine. Meet me at my place at 8:30.

I sighed, setting my phone down. This was about to be one interesting night.