Page 46 of Unmasking You

“What’s going on here?”

I’ve never hated someone’s voice like I hate Dan’s right now. Every other moment, I wouldn’t have cared about him crashing my time with Shane. Today, though, because he robbed me of my first kiss, I wish I could stuff his mouth full of cotton so I no longer have to listen to the voice that ruined everything.

Little did I know there was so much more he could ruin for me.

I don’t turn around, still looking at Shane, hoping—even when it’s clear to see I shouldn’t—that he would turn towards me and smile that beautiful smile of his. The one that leaves me breathless every single time.

I bend down to pick up my stuff, and Dan, at the same time, kicks it.

“Hey,” I say to him before reaching out to pick up my lunch box.

“You’re too slow, Povo.”

“Stop that. It’s not funny.”

“I think it is,” he says, looking down at me from his six-foot-something frame.

I glance at Shane, but he’s still not looking at me. Another stab to my heart.

“Shano, why are you so upset? Did we interrupt something?” Probing, that’s what Dan is good at. Finding your weakest point and using it until he’s satisfied.

I fret, afraid they’ve discovered us. Instead, Shane doesn’t even flinch.

That only pushes Dan to be more openly aggressive, while the others look at us with smiles on their faces. What a bunch of idiots.

“Jamie and Shane sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Dan sings in a childish voice that has me wanting to cover my ears.

I bet, just to pull a reaction from Shane. I turn towards him again, and the disgust on his face kills me a bit more.

“Are you a fucking child?” Shane says, turning towards him. The look in his eyes is one I’ve never seen before. Cold, hard, and nasty.

Dan’s smile fades away, but I don’t miss his devilish glance at me because I’m witnessing everything.

“I’m out of here,” Shane says, walking past me without even a backward glance.

“Shane,” I say and place a hand on his forearm to stop him from leaving before we even have the chance to talk.

He breaks free, and with the same hand I grabbed him with, hoping to keep him here, he pushes me away, making me stumble backwards. Tears spring to my eyes, but I do everything I can to not let them fall.

“Ooooh, look at Povo. He’s going to cry.”

I don’t have a comeback for him, and I don’t really care now that Shane is walking away from me.

“Let’s go,” Shane says, and the bell rings at that moment, signalling the end of the lunch break.

I watch them walk away, feeling like Shane took a piece of me away with him, because I’m broken now.

Inside myself, though, I’m sure this is the end of us.

“Did you two fight or something?” Dan’s voice reaches me.

“No. He’s so fucking clingy.”

Why did he say that? I thought we were friends. Did that tender moment disgust him so much? AmIdisgusting?

I enter my next class with an uneasy feeling gnawing at my insides. I don’t look at anyone or anything, and no one seems to notice me. When I reach my desk, I glance up, ready to say good morning to Shane, but as I look at him, he turns his face away and speaks with Dan sitting next to him.

I really wish the memory of yesterday was just a nightmare, but I guess what happened wasn’t a dream after all.

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