I originally thought we’d part ways peacefully, going our separate directions and never crossing paths again. Who knew James would refuse to accept the breakup?

"Are you out of your mind? I’ve said it a hundred times. Break up, break up, break up! Why do you keep showing up outside my lecture hall every day?!"

“And you know what’s worse?” I pointed at Mia, utterly baffled. “Why the heck are you bringing your so-called best friend with you? What? You can’t think for yourself anymore? You need her to make all your decisions?”

The words came out in one angry breath without a pause, which said a lot about how furious I was.

James scratched his head, putting on his usual innocent guy act.

“I… I thought that since you’re both girls, she’d understand your emotions better and could…”

From behind him, Mia chimed in, “Yeah, Ames, don’t misunderstand James—”

“Ames, my foot!”

At the time, I was in the middle of PE class. In a fit of rage, I hurled the basketball in my hands directly at James.

Fate is a funny thing. Sometimes, it’s beautiful; other times, it’s downright cursed.

When my parents dragged me along to apologize to James, it turned out our families knew each other.

“Oh, look who it is! Little Amy! You’ve grown so much! I remember holding you when you were just a tiny bundle of joy. Do you remember me? Joe?”

My dad and James’s dad, Joe Jonas, were best friends back in college. If Joe’s family hadn’t moved overseas to start their business, we might’ve had some kind of childhood betrothal.

However, there was something odd about the way my mom looked at Joe. She stayed behind my dad, unusually quiet.

My clueless dad didn’t notice a thing, of course.

After some small talk, our families soon knew all about my relationship with James.

“Amy, our boy here is terrible at expressing himself. If he’s done anything to upset you, feel free to teach him a lesson.”

He gave James a flick of his bandaged head. “Let him learn his lesson. But—”

Then his tone shifted.

“Don’t let someone who doesn’t matter ruin something that could be special, okay?”

Standing there in the hospital room that reeked of disinfectant, I glared at James, who was giving me that same stupid grin he always had.

Was I blind? What on earth did I ever see in him?

Also, he looked so much like his dad!

I glanced over at Joe again. Dashing, polite, the picture of sophistication. Except for his eyes—

They were watching my mom like a snake sizing up its prey.

That night, I went to check on my mom.

She was sitting in the massive master bedroom, staring silently out at the moon, tears streaming down her face.

“Mom, what’s wrong? You barely said a word at dinner. It’s not like you.”

With my dad out attending yet another business event, it was just the two of us in the house.

“I’m fine,” she said, quickly wiping her tears away and forcing a smile. “I was just remembering some sad things from the past. Don’t worry about me. You should get to bed. You have an early class tomorrow, right?”

I took her hand gently. “Mom, I saw everything today. Joe—”

The moment I said his name, she flinched.

“Don’t… don’t say anything more!”

Later that night, after she finally fell asleep, I quietly left her room.

Thanks to his dad's overly enthusiastic meddling, James and I got back together.

I don’t know what Joe said to James, but Mia started showing up less and less around us.

When Valentine’s Day rolled around, James surprised me with a big bouquet of roses.

“Thank you!”

I smiled shyly, leaning into his arms before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mia standing at a distance, staring at us.

Tears rolled down her face.

So, she cried when she thought no one was watching?

I glanced back at the bouquet of roses in my hands.

It was funny. I'd told James before that I didn’t like roses. So who suggested roses in the first place?

“Ames, I got us two tickets to the newest sci-fi blockbuster. Want to go see it?”

I lowered my gaze and answered softly, “Sure, whatever you want.”

James spun me around in excitement, smiling like a fool. “Ames, you’re the best!”

When I glanced back to where Mia had been standing, her eyes were red as she walked away.

At the dimly lit theater, James went to buy popcorn while I left the bouquet at the counter for safekeeping.

Turning a corner, I ran into Mia.

Well, what a coincidence, or maybe not.

She was with a group of guys who often hung out with James.

“So this is the girl James calls his girlfriend? Wow, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. A total goddess!”

The group burst into laughter, and Mia coolly brushed her bangs out of her face.

“Yeah, this is James’ girl. What movie are you two here to see?” she asked, her tone casual but her eyes sharp.

Before I could answer, James came back.

As luck would have it, we were seeing the same movie, with seats right next to each other.

Mia snatched the popcorn out of James’s hands and started dividing it among the other boys.

“Come on, James, share with us! We didn’t have time to grab snacks before the movie started.”

The group joked and nudged each other as they made their way into the theater, leaving James holding the one remaining box of popcorn.

He looked at me nervously.

“Why are you staring at me, James? Let’s go. The movie’s about to start.”

I took his hand and led him toward the theater, the dim glow of the hallway lights blurring the vision.

It was hard to tell if it was a coincidence or deliberate, but Mia's seat ended up right next to James.

With a cheeky grin and her popcorn in hand, she chirped, "Perfect! After the movie, we can grab dinner together."

I kept my eyes fixed vaguely ahead. I had no interest in joining their conversation.

This movie must’ve been the kind they all liked. By the second half, James and the others were huddled together, whispering enthusiastically.

Me? I was so bored I couldn’t stop yawning.

Seeing them chatting away happily, I decided to take a quick nap. Who would’ve thought that by the time I woke up, even the credits had finished rolling?

As we left the theater, Mia was eagerly discussing the movie’s plot with James.

The two of them grew more engrossed in their conversation, gradually drifting farther ahead of the group.

That left me trailing behind with James’ buddies.

Maybe my silence made everyone think I was upset because they started trying to cheer me up.

One guy cracked jokes, while another went off to buy me a smoothie and snacks.

"Don’t mind Mia. She’s known James forever. They’ve got all these shared interests and always get carried away talking. We’ve learned to just stay out of it."

I smiled warmly, trying to be understanding. "I get it. They’re best friends. It’s normal for them to have a lot to talk about."

It took James thirty minutes to realize he’d left me behind with his entourage. By the time he came jogging back, he looked genuinely apologetic.

“Ames, I’m so sorry, I—”

I raised my hand dramatically, cutting him off mid-sentence.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You and Mia haven’t caught up in a while, right? A little extra chatting is no big deal. I’m not that petty.”

Handing off the smoothie and snacks to his friends, I looped my arm through James’ with a sudden burst of affection.

“James, I’m starving! Let’s go eat!”

I swear, I had never used such a sugary tone since I was a kid. However, it worked like a charm!

James’ face went beet red, and his friends were instantly fired up, hooting and hollering in delight.

The only one who wasn’t amused was Mia. She stood frozen, fists clenched at her sides, her eyes suspiciously shiny.

Gone was her bubbly, talkative demeanor from earlier.