Chapter 7: The Truth Beneath

The next day was strangely quiet. The usual hum of activity, the chatter, the constant motion of teenagers—everything seemed muted, as if the world had been dialed down to a low volume.

___ sat in his usual spot in the back of the classroom, trying to focus on the math problem in front of him. He was supposed to be preparing for an upcoming test, but the words on the paper were blurring together. His mind kept drifting back to the conversation he’d had with Sunspot yesterday.

He couldn’t help but wonder—did she notice?

Her behavior was different now. A little quieter, a little more distant. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he thought he saw it in the way she glanced at him, the way her smile didn’t reach her eyes quite the same.

“You’re zoning out again,” she whispered across the aisle, her voice low so the teacher wouldn’t hear.

___ glanced up. Her eyes were on him, studying him with an unreadable expression. It was as if she was waiting for him to say something, anything.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m just tired.”

She didn’t respond right away, just turned her attention back to the front of the class. But there was something in her posture now—a shift. A tightness in the way her shoulders set, the subtle tilt of her head.

The class continued in a blur. He didn’t hear a word of the lesson after that.

The bell rang for lunch, and Sunspot was waiting outside the classroom door. She looked… different. It was subtle, but it was there. Her energy was a little lower. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes like it used to. And when she caught sight of him, her gaze flickered with something he couldn’t identify.

“I’m gonna go grab something to eat. You coming?” she asked, but her voice had lost its usual carefree tone.

“I’m not hungry,” he replied, more out of instinct than anything else.

She didn’t push him. Instead, she just nodded and walked away.

___ watched her go, but it wasn’t until she was out of sight that he realized something—he didn’t want her to go.

He stood up, ignoring the ache in his legs, and followed her through the hall. But as he turned the corner toward the cafeteria, he stopped.

There she was. Talking to the blonde guy again.

This time, he was laughing louder. Sunspot was laughing with him. The kind of laugh that made the whole room seem a little brighter. It was like she was a completely different person with him.

___ didn’t know why, but it stung. It stung in a way that he couldn’t explain, couldn’t reason through. His chest tightened, and his hands balled into fists at his sides.

It wasn’t jealousy, he told himself. It was just… confusion.

But it didn’t feel like that. It felt like something was breaking. Something inside him.

He turned away, retreating down the hallway and into the small courtyard outside. He didn’t know how long he sat there, leaning against the cold brick wall, just breathing.

“You’re weird,” a voice suddenly said from behind him.

___ turned, surprised to see Sunspot standing there. She was holding a sandwich in one hand, the other resting on her hip. She looked amused, though there was an edge of concern in her expression.

“What?” he asked, blinking in surprise.

“You looked like you were about to have a meltdown in there,” she said. “So, I came to check on you. What’s going on?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. Instead, his throat tightened, and for the first time, he realized just how much he didn’t understand. Not about her, not about himself.

“I—” he stopped, shaking his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s happening.”

She sat down next to him, not waiting for an invitation. “You know, it’s okay to feel lost. Not everyone has it figured out. Not even me.”

He glanced at her. Her face was softer now, the playful glint replaced with something else—something real.

“I don’t understand why I’m… why I care,” he admitted, his voice quiet. “I can’t stop thinking about it. You with him. Laughing. Like you’re… like you’re not… with me.”

Sunspot didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, she looked at him, her expression serious. “You’re a genius, but you’re still figuring out what it means to be a person. And that means you don’t always know what you’re feeling. But that’s okay.”

“But I’m supposed to know,” he said, his voice strained. “I should be able to figure this out. I’m not supposed to feel… like this.”

“You’re allowed to feel however you feel,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “No one told you that, but it’s the truth.”

And for the first time, ___ felt like something had shifted inside him. He still didn’t understand everything. He still didn’t know why he felt the way he did, why his heart seemed to race when she smiled, or why he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was slipping through his fingers.

But Sunspot was still there. She hadn’t run away. She hadn’t given up on him. And in that moment, that was all that mattered.