Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

Honestly? I deserve an award for Best Supporting Actress in a High School Drama. Because being Lila’s best friend is a full-time job, and after today’s pep rally, I should be collecting overtime pay.Let’s rewind: Jason Cole kissed Lila. In public. At a pep rally. With the entire school watching.If you’ve ever seen someone casually drop a nuclear bomb in the middle of math class, that’s basically what happened. The gym went feral. People were screaming, phones were out, cheerleaders nearly fell off the pyramid. And me? I was sitting right next to Lila, holding her popcorn, trying not to choke.Because here’s the thing: I saw her face when Jason kissed her.She froze, yeah, but not in the “ew get off me” way. It was more like “system error, rebooting in three, two, one.” Which is hilarious, because Lila has spent months rolling her eyes at Jason, swearing up and down that he’s the most irritating guy alive. But the second his lips touched hers? Boom. Deer in headlights.And I, Ava Gom

I’ve always considered myself a patient guy. Calm. Level-headed. The kind of person who doesn’t make rash decisions, who thinks things through before acting.But every time I see Jason Cole with Lila, I feel like that calm part of me gets shoved in a locker and left to rot.The kiss at the pep rally was bad enough. I’ve been replaying it for days, over and over, each time trying to convince myself it was just Jason being Jason — dramatic, self-absorbed, desperate for attention. He probably didn’t mean anything by it. It was a stunt, a joke, another one of his stupid games.At least, that’s what I told myself.But then I saw Lila’s face.She wasn’t laughing it off. She wasn’t shoving him away, like she should have. She was… frozen. And if I’m being honest, she didn’t look horrified. She looked like she didn’t know what to do with herself.And that’s the part that eats at me.Because I know Lila. I’ve known her since freshman year, back when she was the quiet girl sketching dragons in t

JasonI should’ve left it alone.Normal people don’t text their fake girlfriends at nine o’clock at night just to return a forgotten sketchbook. But then, normal people don’t make sarcastic TikToks that explode into a school-wide soap opera either.And Lila isn’t normal.She’s Lila. The girl who glares at me like I’m the world’s most annoying riddle one second and then laughs in a way that makes my chest feel too tight the next.So yeah. When I saw her sketchbook on the desk after class, I didn’t even think. I just grabbed it. Because the thought of her panicking about losing it made me… I don’t know. Weirdly protective.Now I’m standing on her porch, sketchbook under my arm, trying to look casual when I feel anything but.The door swings open, and there she is—hair slightly messy, oversized hoodie, eyes red like she’s been crying.My heart stutters. Crying?“Hey,” I say, aiming for nonchalant. “You forgot this.” I hold up the sketchbook like it’s the most important delivery of my lif

There’s a part of me that wishes life came with a giant pause button. Like, smack in the middle of chaos, you just press it and everything freezes. Then you could breathe, think, untangle the mess before hitting play again.But no, life doesn’t work like that. Instead, I’m stuck in the middle of a love triangle worthy of a soap opera, and the “pause” button is as imaginary as my sanity at this point.Because here’s the truth: I’m not sure who I am anymore.Jason Cole kissed me at the pep rally in front of the entire school. Jason Cole showed up at my house last night, acting like he belonged there, making me laugh when I swore I wouldn’t, stealing moments I shouldn’t let him have.And Alex—sweet, steady Alex—looked at me like I was slipping away. Like I’d already made my choice.The worst part? I don’t even know what my choice is.When I wake up, my phone is buzzing. Ava’s already spammed me with seventeen texts, most of them some variation of “I told you so,” paired with way too many

The thing about being the “good guy” is that no one notices when you’re breaking.You’re just expected to keep smiling, to stay steady. To be the shoulder to lean on, the voice of reason, the guy who never loses his temper.And I’m good at it. I’ve practiced it for years.But lately, every time I see Jason and Lila together, it feels like someone’s pressing a bruise I can’t cover.Tonight, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned, replaying every second of the day: the way Jason’s arm brushed hers at lunch, the way she laughed—even if it was just an eye-roll laugh—at something stupid he said.It wasn’t the same laugh she gives me.And that scared me.So I got up, pulled on my hoodie, and walked. I didn’t have a destination. I just needed to breathe. Needed the quiet.Except, halfway across the football field, I saw them.Lila and Jason.Sitting on the bleachers like the world belonged to them.From where I stood, they were silhouettes against the night sky, but I didn’t need details. I k