Years later, Julius could still feel the moment they decided he was a monster.

  He stared out the café window, his eyes drifting across the courtyard—searching, wandering—until the sun caught the rooftop of the school. A single patch of light shimmered there, like something unseen was guiding his gaze.

  Curiosity pulled at him. Julius closed his laptop, drained the last of his coffee, and stood.

  Music poured through his headphones, a wall of sound that drowned out the old echoes—cries, accusations, the twisted memory of a fall that never should've mattered. But they never forgot. Neither did he.

  He climbed the stairs in a daze, the hallway stretching longer than it should. When his hand met the doorknob, he hesitated—then turned it.

  The rooftop exploded with golden evening light, blinding him for a moment.

  Then he saw them.

  Cathryn.

  Max.

  The others.

  Frozen in conversation, laughter paused, eyes locking on him all at once.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  His breath caught. His heart clenched—tight, suffocating—like chains pulled taut around his chest.

  He didn't speak. He didn't stay.

  Julius turned and fled the way he came, bolting down the stairwell and into the noise of the cafeteria—his safe haven.

  "I have to write," he told himself, hands trembling. "Just write the pain away. You're fine. You should be over it. You're fine. You're fine... right?"

  Just then, he hears an angelic, nostalgia-laced voice. He gently tilts his head to meet the gaze of the mysterious maiden. Julius's face turns pale—almost ghostlike. The maiden's face is unmistakable, undeniable. He is now face to face with Cathryn.

  All around, the café full of students falls silent. Every eye is fixed on them, staring at Julius with a mixture of jealousy and disbelief. Cathryn had never found a man worthy of her radiance, and so had remained single throughout her entire high school debut.

  It was abundantly clear to Julius that every boy in the room would kill to be in his position.

  "Good morning, Julius," Cathryn says.

  "Good morning," Julius replies, confused.

  Then, to the shock of nearly every student, Cathryn clasps his hands without warning and takes a deep breath.

  "Julius, I have something to confess."

  She composes herself for a moment.

  "Ever since we were little, I've been in love with you. Will you please go on a date with me?"

  The crowd is stunned into silence. Students of all shapes and sizes are gripped by a mix of shock, jealousy, and anticipation. Any other boy might have been ecstatic—but Julius feels something else, something he hasn't felt in a long time: betrayal.

  Is this woman serious? he thinks.

  Julius stands up. His voice is calm, orderly, and devoid of emotion.

  "After everything you put me through—after ruining my life and condemning me to so much loneliness—you think you can just say you love me and act like nothing happened?"

  He pauses.

  "No, Cathryn. I don't love you. Not at all. I despise you to my core. Goodbye."

  Julius calmly walks out of the room with an emotion that had almost been lost to him: unadulterated rage.