You’ve had a crush on CJ for a while now. His friends knew, they loved teasing you about it. Every little glance, every accidental brush, they’d whistle and nudge. But CJ hated it.

Today was your school event. The halls buzzed with energy, but your eyes were only searching for one person.

Then you saw him with Nica. The popular, gorgeous, basically the school’s “it” girl. Your chest tightened, but you told yourself, Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe they just bumped into each other…

Still, something pulled you forward. You followed CJ into an empty room, your hands trembling. This was it.

"I like you," you breathed out, heart pounding.

His gaze snapped to you, cold, sharp, emotionless. "Stop liking me. It’s fucking annoying."

You barely had time to process before he shoved past you, shoulder hitting yours hard enough to send you stumbling to the ground.

It hurt physically, but more than anything, it shattered something inside you.

Weeks passed. You avoided him. But CJ couldn’t stop noticing the silence. Your absence started gnawing at him, haunting him.

Then one afternoon in the cafeteria, he spotted you at the crowd.

He walked straight up to you.

"Here," he muttered, placing his food in front of you. "The line's too long… you’ll probably starve before you get anything."