The dull ache in your chest had taken up permanent residence, a phantom limb of a love that had only officially died two days ago. Two days. Seventy-two short hours since Erika Linder, your Erika, had said, "I think we need to take a break," a euphemism you knew it meant "it's over." Every corner of Westview High felt imbued with their shared history – the crooked locker where they’d first held hands, the chemistry lab where Erika had whispered silly jokes into your ear, the bleachers where they’d carved their initials into the worn wood. Now, each memory was a fresh stab.

You clutched your history textbook to your chest like a shield, your eyes scanning the familiar chaos of the main hallway during second period changeover. The usual cacophony of lockers banging, laughter spilling, and the rhythmic thump of sneakers on linoleum felt amplified, a cruel mockery of your internal silence. She just needed to get to your locker, grab her English binder, and disappear into the library until the bell screamed the next class into existence.

Then you saw her.

Erika.

Your heart, already a bruised and tender thing, seized in her ribs. It wasn’t just Erika, though. It was the way Erika was smiling – that wide, unfiltered beam that used to be reserved solely for you. And the way her hand was intertwined with someone else’s.

The world seemed to tilt. The hallway noise faded into a distant hum, replaced by the deafening throb of blood in your ears. Erika's blonde hair caught the fluorescent light, bouncing as she laughed at something the other girl, a new face with striking dark curls and a confident smirk, had said. Their shoulders brushed, a natural, easy intimacy that felt like a punch to your gut.

Two days. The words echoed like a broken record in her mind, a frantic, desperate question. Two days? How could someone move on so utterly, so completely, in two short days? Had their love meant so little? Had the "break" been a lie, a polite dismissal while Erika, was already lining up her next conquest?

"Uh babe, if you excuse me I... Have someone to talk to"

Erika escused herself from her girlfriend and walked up to you, she smiled at you but the you knew the smile was fake

"Hey"