"Great, is there a way today can get any worse?" I cursed under my breath. The strap of my bag ad torn, causing the half-opened thing to crash to the ground and as a result spilling all its contents. I couldn't really blame anyone but myself. I overload it with more load than I should have — as usual. I sighed, squatting to pick up my books.

"I'll help," I heard Tim say, and soon he was squatting right beside me on the floor and picked up printed sheets of paper while I stacked up my books on a pile on the floor. Tim has been the only one hanging around me lately. David just sort of disappeared. I had tried to link his absence to the fact that he had work to do, but that didn't work as a valid excuse anymore since our midterm exams had ended two days ago.

"Here," Tim said as he handed me the stack of printed paper. I thanked him before stuffing them into my bag again before getting up. I was cradling my bag like a baby now, wondering if I had to go through the rest of the day like this, or if it was better for me to drop somethings off at my locker.

"You can put some of your stuff in my bag if you want," Tim said, making me come out of my thoughts. I turned to find him smiling at me, and I just smiled back awkwardly before looking back down at the bag in my hands.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," I said in response before looking into the crowd of students that were passing by. "I have a class now, so I'll see you later," I said to Tim, watching him give me a smile before I walked away.

I had math, and Jay was sitting behind me as usual. I said a silent prayer as the class settled down, begging whatever was up in the heavens to protect me from any of Jay's annoying messages. I opened my eyes when I heard the teacher walk in. I stared at her as she addressed the class, only turning to the side when I heard someone hiss. I was then face-to-face with Alissa who was now sitting on the seat beside me.

God in heaven, do you hate me this much? I asked in my mind as a low grunt escaped my lips. Alissa rolled her eyes at me as she made to take out her notebook and textbook from her bag.

"You've been a bit more grumpy than usual. Are you afraid of your midterm scores or something?" she asked, making me scoff before I looked away from her. I wasn't in the mood for her pestering.

"Did you and David have a falling out?" Alissa's voice surprised me. For the first time in history, it was soft and void of the snark. I blinked in surprise before turning to look at her. She pushed back a handful of her beaded braids before adjusting her purple-rimmed glasses. "I noticed that you two have sort of been distant for the past two weeks or so. Did something happen?"

"No," I said rather quickly. A sigh left my lips right after as a frown formed on my face. I then opened my textbook to the page our teacher had yelled out to us.

"I actually don't know," I admitted, turning to find Alissa tapping the dimple on her cheek with the eraser end of her pencil.

"Well, can't you just call him and ask?" she questioned me before opening her textbook to the exercise page too. Alissa might be missing some screws in her head, but she was smart - really smart. Simply taking a glimpse at her textbooks and notes was enough to know why she was at the top of our grade.

"Why do you even care?" I asked, watching as she smiled a bit at my question.

"You have to be a worthy rival. If you're not challenging me at your best, then you might as well not challenge me at all. So, you know, deal with your personal issues so I know you're focused on schoolwork," she said, making me shake my head as a groan escaped my lips. The groan was loud enough for others to hear, and people sitting around us did turn to give our table odd looks. I wasn't sure if Jay was one of them, and I wasn't interested in turning to see if he was staring at me.

"I'm not your rival Alissa. We've been through this. I don't care about being at the top of the class," I said in a low tone this time as I started to work on the assigned exercise we had been given.

Alissa chuckled a bit as she solved equations in her notebook. "Your attempt at distracting me won't work Ant."

Oh, for fuck's sake. I yelled in my mind, but I was smiling physically if that counted for anything. Alissa was something, I'll give her that.

━━━━━━━━

"Wait up!" I heard Tim's voice say from behind me. I turned to find him jogging in my direction. The school day was over, and most people had already left, leaving only a small crowd of people in the hallway. Most people were staying back for extracurricular activities or were just hanging around. I had seen David in the classes I had with him today, but he'd been acting oddly. He would move seats when I made to approach him. His attitude was beginning to worry me, and I started wondering if I did something wrong.

"Hey!" Tim said when he finally caught up with me.

"Where's David?" I asked, making the smile on his face thin out. I had been looking for him since the last bell rung. Tim was frowning now. He didn't look pleased, and I didn't blame him. I had ignored his greeting and asked him a question in a firm voice laced with agitation.

"Do you know where David is?" I asked with a softer voice this time.

"I don't know," he said before shrugging. He cocked his head to the side, staring past me. "Maybe he's waiting for the bus at the usual spot with your sister. We can walk there together-"

"I've called Juana to ask. She told me he's not there yet," I said, cutting Tim off. I wasn't sure why I was taking my frustration out on Tim, but maybe it was something about how bubbly he was acting when I was obviously distressed. After a while of just staring at me, Tim sighed before running his fingers through his wavy brown hair. His eyes darted from me to the floor, and he stayed like that for a bit before speaking up.

"I mean, does it really matter if he's not here? If he's avoiding you I'm sure he has his reasons," Tim said making me stare at him a bit before biting my bottom lip in thought.

"Yeah," I said, hugging my green strapless backpack to my chest. "I guess you're right."

Tim smiled at that. His brown eyes looked bright as he flashed me a toothy grin that reached his eyes. "Also, do you really have to take the bus home? We could walk home together, even grab something to eat," he said, making a frown reappear on my face.

"Why do you want to walk home? Should I call Juana too?" I asked, watching as Tim shook his head at my suggestion. We both moved more to the side as people walked past us, asking for space. I was now resting my back against the wall, and Tim was standing a few steps away from me — rather close to say the least.

"God, you're so dense," he eventually groaned. He kept his voice low enough so that I was the only one who heard the underlying spite in it. "I just want both of use to walk home together. I want to get to know you better - in private. What don't you understand?" he asked, covering his forehead with his palm as he let out a sigh.

I just stared at him in confusion until it clicked. Oh. I thought, watching as a distressed Tim ran a hand through his hair as he let out a chuckle.

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he closed it before shaking his head. I watched him adjust the strap of his backpack before he looked straight at me. His brown eyes piercing my darker ones. "You know what? Forget it. I give up," he said before walking past me. I watched him leave with wide eyes, not really knowing how to react.

Well then.

"Don't you think this game has been going on for too long?" I asked under my breath. My words weren't directed at anyone. Whoever was in charge o my life sure was having fun moving and knocking out chess pieces. Now Tim was mad at me, but did I even care to be honest? I didn't know much about him in the first place. He had just latched on to be like a leech, and now I knew why.

I'll have to make time to apologize to him. I told myself before hugging my bag to my chest more tightly. I leaned off the wall before making my way out of the school's building. I went over to the usual waiting spot, but this time only Juana was there with her friend. David and Tim were nowhere in sight.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket after a while of standing around and talking with Juana. I tried to balance my bag on one hand while using the other to reach for my phone. I unlocked the screen before tapping on the message notification.

THE ASSHOLE THAT WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE

@3:40 PM.

I've given you some space for the past two weeks. That's enough, right? So, please don't ignore me when I message you again.

I read the message, then read it again.

"Can't I just live?" I groaned out loud, making my sister look up from her phone to give me a confused frown. I shook my head at her to show her that it was nothing, before putting my phone back in my pocket — leaving Jay's message on read.