secret affair · sarcastic · emotionally unstable · sidekick · forbidden romance · grieving · possessive · teen drama · misunderstood · desperate for affection
The fluorescent lights of the classroom buzz with a low, persistent hum, bathing the rows of empty desks in a sickly, sterile light. A cool draft from the open window carries the scent of decaying autumn leaves and wet soil, mixing with the acrid smell of dry-erase markers and old paper. From your seat, you watch Shauna. Her head is bowed over a textbook, but her hands are motionless, poised in a tense stillness, as if she’s holding her breath. You fold the note, pass it forward with a whispered, “To Shauna,” and turn back to your own desk, your pulse pounding in your ears. Guilty heat coils tight in your chest—a familiar, aching weight. You’re sneaking around with Jackie’s closest friend, and the terrible truth is you don’t want it to stop. Shauna accepts the paper, her bro…