Chapter 10

...Chapter: Echoes of the Past...

The night was quiet except for the hum of an engine in the distance. "Bro, isn't that Selene?" Eric's voice broke the calm, catching a fleeting glimpse of her as she and her sister whizzed by on a motorcycle, their hair whipping in the breeze.

"Hmmm?" Joven muttered, following Eric’s gaze. He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly, unsure of the exact moment his attention was drawn back to the road. "Uh," he added, his tone trailing off, less of a question and more of a half-hearted acknowledgment.

Eric didn’t let it go, a smirk forming on his face as he sidled up to Joven. "Are you two over?" he asked, playfully slinging an arm over Joven's shoulders, his voice filled with a teasing lightness.

Joven’s brow furrowed slightly, his eyes lingering on the spot where Selene had just disappeared. He turned back to Eric, his expression now more serious, his voice laced with a quiet frustration. "Huh? Over? There was never an 'us' to begin with," he replied. The words were clipped, almost defensive. His relationship with Selene had always been more of a blurry line than a clear boundary, and he wasn’t ready to name it, let alone talk about it.

"Ah, right, haha," Eric chuckled, backing off, sensing the shift in Joven's mood. Carl, who had been quietly watching the exchange, raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. He said nothing, but his gaze lingered on the two, a silent observer of whatever tension was brewing.

"Hey, hey, what’s with that sneaky little chat of yours?" Rose’s voice sliced through the air, her curiosity clearly ignited by the boys' sudden change in tone.

Joven gave a small shrug, his body language closing off. "Nothing," he muttered, trying to brush it off, but Eric wasn’t so easily deterred.

"You really don’t know? Selene and Joven have a complicated relationship," Eric said loudly, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as if he were unveiling some secret.

The girls all leaned in, each of them listening intently now, a mixture of surprise and excitement playing across their expressions.

"Selene?" Rose raised an eyebrow, her voice almost incredulous. "You mean that top student in Grade 10?" she asked, her tone suggesting she hadn’t heard the rumor mill churn about the two of them.

"Yeah, HAHA, they’re pretty good at keeping their dating stage low-key, right?" Eric continued, his grin growing, the drama in his voice giving the words an extra layer of playfulness.

The five girls, except for Jocielyn, who knew better and remained silent, shared looks of curiosity and amusement. They were all listening now, each one hanging on to the mystery that was Joven and Selene.

"For real?" Daisy asked, leaning in closer, the intrigue obvious in her voice. Her eyes widened a little, as if trying to gather more details in the sudden shift of conversation.

"Who made the first move?" Aliyah, always direct, couldn’t help herself from asking. Her voice held an almost challenge to it, eager to learn what had gone on behind the scenes.

Joven chuckled, a soft sound that didn’t quite reach his eyes. His mind was elsewhere, though the question brought him back to the present. "It was her, I guess." His voice was quiet, uncertain, as if he didn’t fully understand how everything had unfolded.

"You're not sure?" Carl shot back quickly, his skepticism evident. "Sounds like you're not even sure if there was ever a 'move' to begin with," he teased, his eyes narrowing slightly, scrutinizing Joven’s response.

"No, it’s not like that," Joven quickly clarified, shaking his head slightly as if to dismiss the idea. His voice grew firmer, but his words were still layered with complexity. "It started when she responded to my story. We had the same taste in movie genres, and that’s how we got close. We just started talking, and our feelings... they grew from there. I don’t really know who caught feelings first. It just happened because of those simple conversations."

Aliyah, eyes narrowed with suspicion, pondered her words. "I guess she made the first move, from what you said," she said slowly. "But we can’t really know for sure, right? What if she was just pretending to like your favorite movie to get closer to you?" She raised an eyebrow, her voice challenging, as if trying to poke holes in her version of events.

The other girls nodded, murmuring their agreement. They exchanged a few knowing glances, their own conclusions forming.

Carl cut in, his tone a little sharper now. "Yeah, but making assumptions without knowing the truth isn’t fair either." His voice was calm but firm, a reminder that not everything was as it seemed.

Aliyah crossed her arms, pouting slightly as if she had been caught in a childish trap. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Carl," she muttered, dismissing his comment, though a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as if she were enjoying the back-and-forth.

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Time passed quickly, and before long, the holiday season was in full swing. Christmas came and went, with everyone celebrating and enjoying their time together. But for Selene, there was an emptiness. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right, though she didn’t know what. Her heart felt heavy, her mind clouded with questions she couldn’t answer. She tried to go with the flow, pretending everything was fine, but her thoughts were far from the celebrations.

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Then, the New Year came.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!" A voice shouted from the street below, loud enough to shake Selene from her thoughts. She turned in bed, her body still heavy with exhaustion, but sleep didn’t come.

With a frustrated sigh, Selene threw off her blankets and walked over to the window, the noise from the street drifting up to her. The sky was ablaze with fireworks, their brilliant colors lighting up the dark, celebratory shouts rising in the air. People were out in the streets, celebrating, laughing, and yelling as they welcomed the new year.

Selene, however, was still. She watched, her expression cold, almost blank. "Celebrating for what?" she muttered under her breath, her voice a bitter whisper in the night. "A year closer to the grave?" The words slipped out, heavy with her frustration and pessimism.

She turned away from the window, but not before her eyes caught sight of a familiar group walking below—Joven’s friends. She knew where they were headed, and her stomach twisted in a strange, almost painful way. Why does he always seem to appear in my life when I least want him to? she thought bitterly, her heart sinking at the sight of them. She knew they were headed to Aliyah's house to have fun. She could almost hear the laughter from here.

Her mind spun with memories of them, of moments she hadn’t been able to let go of.

Will you really forget the memories we made, dear?

Did you already replace me in your heart?

Don’t we still have a chance to develop our relationship? she thought desperately, the questions swirling in her mind like a storm. If I could turn back time and tell you how badly I wanted to be your girl… But are we already over?

She stepped back from the window, her heart heavy as the sound of rain began to tap against the windowpane. She lay back on her bed, closing her eyes, the soft sound of raindrops washing over her. Well, I guess a proper breakup would be better than suffering in this unknown, cut-off connection between us, huh?

Her thoughts went blank then, as if the weight of the emotions had finally taken their toll. Her mind faded into darkness, and as sleep slowly claimed her, memories of Joven and their time together flooded her mind. She let the images wash over her, each memory sharp and bittersweet, until the exhaustion pulled her under.

To be continued...

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