로그인TylerI stood there for what felt like forever, just staring. Like Sydney was still standing in front of me.Like she’d suddenly turn around, and we’d pretend none of that conversation ever happened.I’d let it go, I swear.Because…no. That could not have just happened.The hallway had emptied completely without me noticing.The noise from the main corridor drifted in and out. Somewhere upstairs, someone laughed, the library door up ahead slammed shut, and footsteps echoed past the entrance before fading again.But I barely heard any of it.All I could see was Sydney.Still standing there with her arms wrapped around herself, tears settling beneath her eyes as she looked up at me like I was some problem she was tired of facing.“I’m trying to breathe…please.”My chest tightened.“...how easy it is to get to you.”Fuck.I swear I hadn’t meant it like that. I didn’t mean to call her weak or whatever she thought I meant.I was talking about Brooklyn.About how she’d gotten into Sydney’s
Sydney“What does this mean to you?”That stopped him for a second. Then he blinked.“What?” “What does this mean to you, Tyler?” I repeated, my voice sharper this time. “Why do you keep coming after me? Why are you doing all of this when you already know you’re just going to walk away from me?”His brows pulled closer. “I’m sorry…what?” I should have stopped right there. I should have swallowed every word sitting at the back of my throat, walked out that hallway, and never looked back.I could’ve lied.Anything.Instead, I looked him straight in the eye.“Why did you kiss me, Tyler?” My voice cracked. “Why did you tell me all those things when you don’t actually mean—” “Sydney,” he cut in quietly, his eyes searching mine. “Where is all this coming from?”I had another chance to lie.Maybe told him to forget I’d said anything.Instead—“Brooklyn.” I blurted like an idiot. “Brooklyn told me everything. She told me this is what you do. You make girls feel special. You tell them ever
SydneySo here I was thinking I’d made it through Tuesday, keeping to the words I’d repeated to myself all morning.I mean, I’d managed to spend the entire day without really doing too much.Just got pissed off by Dean for talking too much.Barely survived history with the help of Maeve’s ridiculous distraction notes while Brooklyn and Tracy kept giggling over something after Brooklyn smiled at me in that weird way.And despite everything…I hadn’t spoken a single word to Tyler Sinclair.Sounds strange, right?Yeah, me too.But somehow, it felt necessary.All that was left was that one library book and my duvet back at home where I could either work on that paper like I promised myself I would…Or hiding beneath it until I figured out if it was best to listen to Maeve and conclude that I’d still have to talk to Tyler.How?I had absolutely no idea by the time we stepped into that quiet hallway.In fact, Maeve had been so irritated by what Dean said, I got to hear about how her cousin J
Tyler“You don’t get to screw this one up, Tyler.” Sadie paused. “This is a second chance.”I stilled.My eyes staying on Sadie as she looked back down at the worksheet like she’d only commented on the weather.But there was no point asking what she meant. Or how she could say those words so easily.I already knew.“You think so?” I asked instead.“Come on.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re way past this stage already.”I just let out a low scoff and turned away.But when I looked up again, the lunch bell echoed, and half the class were on their feet, walking towards the door.My eyes found Sydney weaving through the crowd toward the door.The tension had left her shoulders. But something had taken its place.This deep scowl, like the one she’d worn the first day I’d confronted her about Dean.Anger.Mixed with something else.Something I couldn’t quite figure out before she disappeared into the crowd.My hand curled into a fist as I turned toward Dean.“Hey! You’re just going to leave me
Tyler I noticed it before first period that morning, but I told myself to give it time. Mom’s words and Coach’s were still doing a number in my head, and I still couldn’t shake the look Mom had given me before I left the house that morning. Like she was giving me one last chance to come clean about Sydney. Maybe tell her about the stupid text I’d sent. The one I’d regretted almost immediately. “Fuck,” I’d muttered into my empty room, realizing how I might have made it worse by sending something so short. But in that moment, that was all my brain could come up with, still stuck on the way she’d looked at me when she asked that question. “What are you afraid of?” I swear I’d wanted to answer. Tell her the truth. Make her understand. And maybe that’s why I’d sent the first thing that came to my mind. But she never replied. I’d checked my phone like every ten seconds for almost three hours before finally giving up and accepting that I’d managed to screw things up
SydneyThe tightness in my chest eased.Just a little.“Thank you.” I muttered.But Maeve studied me for a second. “You know you’re still going to have to talk to him somehow.” I just shrugged, shifting my eyes to my food. “I don’t know.” “Eventually.” She added. Then glanced over my shoulder and scoffed. “God…he looks so oblivious.” “Right?” I asked before I could stop myself, pushing back that look on his face in the hallway.Right before I shoved his hands off me.“Maybe…” Maeve forked a piece into her mouth. “...you should actually let him explain.” “No,” the word came too fast. “He’ll probably just deny everything and keep leading me on.” “What if he doesn’t?” Maeve asked, waiting for me to catch the small frown on her face. “You’ll never know if you don’t talk to him. And you’ll just keep hurting yourself, Sydney.”My lower lip trembled.“I really hate seeing you like this.” Her voice softened. “And ignoring him isn’t going to help, Sydney.”Her words lodged somewhere in my
“Okay, rule number one,” Maeve said over the noise in the cafeteria. “Don’t challenge Tyler Sinclair in algebra.” I tried my best not to look around. "Why? He was wrong.” Maeve picked up a food tray and stopped in front of me. "I'm not blind, Sydney. And no one else in that class was. We all saw
Sydney Being Sydney Walker had never been easy. Not when I was little. Not now, as you’re reading this. At first, I was just that antisocial, nerdy girl who never put up her hand in class even when she knew an answer, who never looked anyone in the eye in the hallway, the girl who ran home the s
TylerSecond half of classes was war.And I tried. I really tried to keep my head straight—give the classes my undivided attention.But somehow my mind kept drifting, my brows drawn together. And I couldn’t count how many times I stopped myself from wondering how Sydney was doing back there.“No on
SydneyI could have bet on Maeve’s second drink that the party might actually go well the moment Brooklyn grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the banner for pictures.And yeah, I still wasn’t sure where I was when I walked into the party.Mom’s house was packed. People were everywhere. Staring.







