I'm not jealous, am I?

They enter the classroom as Professor Shepard arrives. They walk over to their seats and wait for the professor to begin the lesson. Ivie sits next to Noah, Xeoy is next to becky, Axel beside Nathaniel, and Chris sits next to Jessica.

Once the lesson starts, Jessica begins flirting with Chris, but he completely ignores her. Ivie notices Jessica's attempt and feels a wave of emotion—was she sad? Angry? What was this feeling? Could it be… jealousy? Xeoy notices Ivie’s annoyed stare and quietly "pst"s to get her attention. Ivie quickly looks away and resumes taking notes.

Noah, who was sitting next to Ivie, had been watching everything unfold. He smirked, already making a plan to get Chris back.

Noah and Chris used to be best friends—until Chris found new friends and began spending less time with him. Chris never ignored Noah; he just couldn’t devote all his time to him anymore. Still, ever since then, Noah has hated him.

--

"Hey... could I talk to you after class? Alone?" Noah whispered to Ivie.

Ivie glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Uhm, sure?" she replied, her voice unsure but curious.

Noah smiled.

"Great, thanks."

After class, Ivie stayed in the classroom, telling Xoey she'd be there in a sec. She waited, tapping her fingers on the desk.

Noah approached her.

"Okay, I noticed something. I’d prefer you to be honest—but I won’t force you," he said.

"Uhm, okay? What’s up?" Ivie asked aloud, making her voice carry a little more than usual.

"Do you like Chris?"

Her eyes widened, and she nearly shouted,

"Why would you think that?!"

Noah smirked.

"The way you looked at him and Jessica... you looked jealous. Were you?"

Ivie took a deep breath and scoffed, raising her voice even more.

"No! Why would I be? I hate him! And he hates me! Shut up!"

Noah laughed softly.

"Your reaction says something else. And honestly, I’m not sure if he hates you as much as you think. I’m just saying—if you want help, I’m here."

Ivie rolled her eyes and muttered,

"Mhf. Shut up..."

Noah stood up.

"Seriously, think about it before you act on that jealousy."

He grabbed his bag and walked out, leaving Ivie alone.

She looked around the empty classroom, now fully aware of how loud she'd been.

"Did I really look jealous? Am I jealous?! Why would I be?!" she asked aloud, as if the walls might answer.

As she grabbed her stuff and hurried out to her next class, her mind replayed Noah’s words like an echo she couldn’t shake. "I'm not sure if he hates you as much as you think." What did he mean by that? Why would he say it now?

She pushed the thought aside as she walked into History, only to feel her heart stutter when her eyes met Chris’s across the room. His gaze was unreadable—too neutral to be comforting, too steady to ignore. She quickly looked away and slid into the seat next to Xoey, thankful Professor Runaway didn’t care where anyone sat.

“What did Noah want?”

Xoey asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh… nothing important. I’ll tell you later,”

she mumbled, hoping her tone didn't give away the chaos swirling inside her.

Xoey narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced.

“Alright. But you will tell me later,”

she said with quiet insistence, leaning back in her chair.

The conversation faded as Professor Runaway began his lecture, but the questions in her head didn't.

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