“She’s just filming and doing videos for the school, man,” Seth retorted, rolling his eyes.
Sometimes, he was so sick of Joshua’s attitude. About Nina. About everything. He had this knack to pick on every little thing, just for the sake of it. To feel bigger, stronger.
“Aw, is widdle Seth gaining some f-w-eelings?” Joshua cooed as they climbed the stairs, and once they reached the top, he threw his arm around Seth in a headlock.
Joshua buried his knuckle against his head in a ruffle. Struggling against his grasp, Seth pushed him away.
If Joshua didn’t stop right now…
“God, do you ever just shut thefuckup,” Seth exclaimed. Seriously, sometimes thatguycould really get under his skin.
“God, calm down bro, I’m just joking,” Joshua retorted, adding a scoff that set Seth’s skin ablaze, “Your defensiveness though, it kind of makes me suspicious.”
He walked into the empty classroom, without bothering to line up outside.
Flames licked at Seth’s cheeks, as alarm bells rang throughout his brain.
He sees right through you he sees right through you he sees right -
“Don’t insult me like that,” Seth bit out, with cold amusement, following Joshua into the room.
As the words formed in his head, every cell in Seth’s body yelled at him not to say it. Not to speak theuntruth.Not to lie.
Stop lying to yourself,he screamed.
But Seth was a 17-year-old boy, who didn’t know any better.
He didn’t realise that there was no sin against finding a girl beautiful, regardless of the fact that she wasn’tpopular.
Regardless of the fact that she didn’t rank high on these childish lists the boys in his cohort created to determine these girls’ worth, like they were prizes.
No- because Seth didn’t give a shit about that.
Nina Mendez had a smile like the sun, and a laugh that gave him fireworks.
He’d known that for a long time, with every second he spent with her in class, with every moment he heard her voice drift from across the room and read him.
With every joke he heard her tell her friends, with every time she’d present in class and she’d resolve his peers to giggles.
With every style she’d weave her hair into, whether it be a braid, or pigtails, or half-up-half-down.
Seth had always been led to believe that guys likehimdon’t look atgirls like her.
But it was all wrong.All wrong.
Girls like her don’t look at guys likehim.
She wanted to confess her feelings to him, all over again. How she’d liked him this long, he wasn’t sure.
But God, he wanted to scream every time she glanced at him, with a blush on her cheeks.
He felt the same.
But he couldn’t. What would his friends say? The ones who snickered the moment they found out that Nina Mendez liked him?
The ones who, whenever they’d rated girls in class, Nina was always a second thought?
They’d exile him. Banish him. Abandon him.
