Chapter 39: You Said Those Same Words to Me

~“I remember years ago, someone told me I should take caution when it comes to love, I did. And you were strong and I was not, my illusion, my mistake. I was careless, I forgot, I did. And now when all is done, there is nothing to say. You have gone and so effortlessly, you have won, you can go ahead tell them. Tell them all I know now. Shout it from the roof tops, write it on the sky line, all we had is gone now. Tell them I was happy and my heart is broken. All my scars are open. Tell them what I hoped would be impossible.”—James Arthur.~

Chapter Theme Song: “Impossible” by James Arthur.

HARMONY

We’re standing in front of the big doors that lead to the cafeteria. I turn to him, pointing behind me.

“Here we are. That’s the—”

Suddenly, he grabs my hand, flings the doors open, and pulls me along with him.

~Oh no, didn’t he hear me?~

“Let go,” I say, my words muffled by my clenched teeth. I try to wriggle my hand free.

“I want you to have lunch with me.” He grins, tightening his grip on my hand, and keeps walking towards the back table where everyone is eating.

Everyone, including Blaze.

My heart skips a beat. I can’t face him.

“Look who I found, guys.” Kite’s smile is wide as we stop in front of the group. “Pretty girl Harmony.”

~I wish I could just vanish. I should’ve skipped the snack bar today.~

“Harmony!” Yuna’s grin is infectious. “Did you get your stuff? I gave it to April to give to you last night.” Her forehead wrinkles with worry, and I force a smile, trying not to look at Blaze.

“Yeah...I did. Thanks...”

“You two came together. That’s odd,” April says softly, her eyes darting between Kite and me, then, for some reason, over to Blaze.

“Yeah, I found this beauty in the hallways. Is it my lucky day or what?” Kite replies, pulling out a chair and sitting down, then dragging another one up for me.

I sit down, hesitating, while his hand stays on mine. In fact, he tightens his grip. I try to subtly pull my hand away, but he just puts our joined hands in his lap.

I sneak a glance at Blaze, and his eyes are fixed on Kite’s hand in mine.

His jaw is clenched, and he looks really angry. But he’s probably just upset because he thinks Kite is going to take my virginity, right?

“You seem to like Harmony.” Tia smiles at her cousin, popping a nugget into her mouth.

James looks over at Blaze, who’s leaning back in his seat, tapping his finger against the table, a carton of cherry juice in his other hand.

“Of course. She’s cute,” Kite says, meeting my eyes with a big smile.

Blaze puts his drink down and sits up. I watch him as he pulls his phone from his pocket.

I keep an eye on him as he starts to tap away on the device. After a bit, he slips it back into his jeans and goes back to his lunch.

“I hope everyone enjoyed my party last night,” Kite starts. “I was hoping Harmony could have stayed longer, though. I enjoyed that dance we did on the dance floor, pretty girl.”

~Why does he have to bring up that awkward and embarrassing moment?~

I swallow and stay quiet. I want to look at Blaze, but I decide it’s best not to.

“Baby!”

I look up to see a curly, dark-haired girl sashaying over to us. She’s definitely attractive—with wide hips and a nice chest.

I’m admiring her until she plops down onto Blaze’s lap, wrapping her long arms around his neck and smiling down at him.

My face falls, and I can feel my already-broken heart shattering into even smaller pieces. I didn’t think it could break any more than it already had.

“Ooooh.” Kite grins, covering his mouth with his fist. “Damn Blaze, you get all the girls at Homewood.”

I want to reach for my drink to stop myself from crying in front of everyone, but my hand is shaking too much, so I leave it in my lap.

Kite looks at my trembling hands, and his eyes soften.

“I miss you,” Blaze murmurs, nuzzling his face into the girl’s neck.

She’s smiling like a love-struck teenager, so she doesn’t see when his blue eyes, the ones I once loved and still do, shift to me.

I’m watching him, and he sees. His lips curl into a slight smirk as he opens them to speak, his eyes still on my devastated green ones. ~“You smell nice, babe.”~

And the room starts to close in on me. Thick, warm tears well up in my eyes as my throat burns.

~He used to say that to me. Why is he—~

I lower my gaze, not wanting to show the tears in my eyes. I’m about to lose control. A gentle squeeze of my hand makes me look at Kite, who’s slightly smiling.

“Relax,” he mouths.

~Does he know? What exactly does he know?~

“I miss you too.” The girl giggles.

“Even though we spent all night together last night, the minute I woke up, I missed seeing your face. Why? Because it’s no fun when you aren’t around,” Blaze tells her.

~Wow. Last night?~

After everything that happened between us, he spent last night with a girl? And not only that, but he said those exact words to me at the party.

~This is too much. How could he—~

A tear escapes and rolls down my face. I quickly wipe it away and grab my lunch. “I...I have to go...”

I get up and rush out of the cafeteria before I start to break down in front of everyone.

“Harmony.” Kite makes a move to follow me, but April rises from her chair to stop him. “I’m a girl. I’ll go see what’s up with her.”

As she hurries out after me, Yuna and Tia share a puzzled look.

Blaze sighs and looks away, while the girl, who seems unaware of the tension around her, runs her fingers through his hair and tries to plant kisses on his face.

He recoils and shoots her an irritated glance. “Enough, just stop.” He removes her hands and stands up so suddenly, she almost topples off his lap.

“Blaze, what did I do?”

He snatches up his bag in a huff and storms out of the cafeteria.

Kite lets out a sigh and turns to James, who is rubbing his bald head in an awkward manner. “Man, this school is intense. Maybe I should transfer here, what do you think?”

^~“Falling out of love is tough; falling for betrayal is even worse. Broken trust and broken hearts. I know, I know. Thinking all you need is there, building faith on love and words. Empty promises will wear, I know, I know. And now when all is done, there is nothing to say. And if you’re done with embarrassing me, on your own you can go ahead tell them.” —James Arthur.^~