Chapter 5 : kissing my girlfriend In front of my boyfriend

Charlotte's POV

I honestly didn't know I could breathe that fast. I wanted to say something cool and casual, but words refused to come out of my mouth.

"You're Max's girlfriend right? I see your Instagram posts everytime. Hi, I'm Sophie"

Ahh, shit, I knew I should not have posted those soft launch pictures on Instagram, now she knows me as just, Max's girlfriend, that's such a bad label.

"Hiii Sophie" I said still holding on to max

Max pulled me closer to him and whispered in my ear "Let's go get launch babe"

I immediately followed him without thinking and we went straight to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria felt louder than usual like everybody was talking at the same time just to drown out my thoughts, and across the table was Sophie talking with everybody like she has always known them.

I couldn't stop staring at the way she moved her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ears or the way she covered her lips while giggling.

"I'm going to eat outside" Maya grabbed her plate hurriedly and left, she didn't even wait for my reply before she left.

"Everybody, gather round let's play truth and dare, we have a new one among us "Nai stood on top of the table .

The Truth or Dare tradition started back in fourth grade, no one knows who started it but it's basically law, now. Every time a new student joins Bridgehall, we play it in the cafeteria.

It's kind of our thing, a loud, chaotic, slightly unhinged way of saying welcome to Bridgehall.

Tables scraped loudly, chairs screeched back and suddenly the cafeteria wasn't a cafeteria anymore, a circle was formed and Sophie was in the middle of it all.

I scanned around to see if Maya had returned and then I spotted Max and Sophie talking .

What could they possibly be talking about? I tapped my feet continuously on the floor, while biting my finger nails debating if I should walk up to them.

"Charlotte and Sophie you'll start" Nai literally saved me by pulling Sophie away from Max, while Max just walked out of the cafeteria.

"Charlotte truth or dare" Nai smirked , probably expecting me to pick dare.

"Truth."

I narrowed my eyes, guilt tightening around my throat. I shouldn't even be here. I should be hunting down Maya and dragging her back, apologizing for reasons I didn't know about.

"If you were into girls," Nai said slowly, smiling like she already knew the damage she was about to cause, "who would you kiss?"

The whole cafeteria gasped, whispers bursting out all at once. Names flew around the circle, loud and reckless, and I swear I heard someone say Maya's name.

Why would she ask that? Why here? Why in front of Sophie and everyone else?

My throat went dry and I swallowed hard.

"Ma... Maya," I said, biting my lower lip, the name slipping out before I could stop it.

The second her name left my mouth, I wanted to take it back. The whispers died and someone laughed awkwardly.

"That makes sense, because you know she's lesbian already," Nai added almost immediately.

Sophie eyebrows raised and she wouldn't let her eyes leave mine.

Why was Sophie still looking at me like that?

" How cute" Sophie smiled abruptly

My face burned instantly, Cute didn't feel like a compliment. It felt like something else. Like she was putting me in a box and closing the lid.

I laughed, even though nothing was funny, and glanced around for Max. He still hadn't come back,Of course.

Everyone was watching me now, waiting for a reaction I didn't know how to give. I suddenly felt like a twelve year old again, too exposed , wishing I could rewind the last five minutes of my life.

I wondered if Maya was still outside, if she'd heard and if she'd care I said her name

Nai clapped her hands once, loud enough to snap everyone back to reality. "Okayyyy! New girl's turn."

She spun the bottle with dramatic force. The bottle clattered against the tiles, loud and wobbling, like it wanted attention. Someone kicked it by accident and got yelled at. Someone else shushed the crowd, even though no one listened.

I held my breath without realizing it. My knee bounced uncontrollably. The bottle slowed down. Click, Click, Click.

Every eye followed it and then it landed on Sophie.

The cafeteria erupted again, people chanting her name like this was a concert and not a public emotional execution.

"Sophie! Sophie! Sophie!"

She laughed softly, pushing her hair back like none of this fazed her. Then she looked straight at Nai.

"Dare," she said.

Of course she picked dare, who in their normal mind picks dare.

My stomach dropped.

Nai's smile widened, the dangerous one, the one that means she already has ten ideas and all of them are unhinged.

"I dare you," Nai said slowly, dragging it out, "to pick someone here you found attractive the moment you walked into this school".

The noise dimmed, just slightly and the whole room leaned forward.

Sophie didn't answer immediately.

She scanned the circle, unbothered, her eyes sliding over faces like she was flipping through a magazine. People straightened, smiled, whispered and someone actually waved.

I told myself not to care or at least pretend I don't but I failed at pretending. My chest felt tight, like I was bracing for impact. I didn't know why her opinion mattered, only that it suddenly did.

I thought of Max again and how easy it was for him to walk away and how hard it was for me to breathe.

Sophie tilted her head slightly, like she'd already made up her mind.

Then her gaze landed on me and stayed.

My heart did that stupid painful flip again like I was going to have a heart attack and then die of high blood pressure.

"I don't even have to think about that," Sophie said.

She stood up.

The movement alone caused a reaction. Chairs shifting, people sucking in breaths, someone whispering "oh my God."

She walked toward me.

Each step felt too loud, like the floor was announcing her arrival. I became painfully aware of everything, my hands, my posture, the fact that Max wasn't beside me anymore, the empty space Maya should've been filling.

Sophie stopped right in front of me.

Up close and she smelled clean like soap and strawberry juice. Her eyes flicked over my face, slow and deliberate, like she was memorizing it.

My heart raced and I prayed the floor would open up and swallow me because why was she picking me.

"I pick" she said slowly " Charlotte boyfriend".

CHAPTER 6: A dare that dared me

Sophie's Pov :

Sometimes, you have to wake up and decide you don't like the peace on the planet.

The silence that followed my statement told me everything.

I felt the damage ripple through the room before anyone even spoke. The sharp inhale, the way people froze like they'd been caught watching something they weren't supposed to see.

As the new girl, everyone assumes you'll play nice and smile. Say the expected thing. Let them decide who you are before you open your mouth.

I don't do that.

If they wanted something to talk about, I figured I might as well give it to them.

It reminded me of fourth grade, when I first changed schools.

My dad was already in prison by then, and everyone else knew it before they knew my name.

All I wanted was to disappear. Not dramatically. Just enough that no one would ask questions.

That morning, my mum braided my hair so tightly that it pulled my scalp, as if she was trying to hold me together with her hands. I didn't complain, I didn't cry, I just sat still and let it hurt.

A popular girl like Charlotte approached me. She sounded nice, introduced herself, and took me to my first class. Everyone watched us like I'd already won something.

At lunch, we played games. I laughed too hard and trusted too fast.

And when it happened, I understood something very clearly: people with over three thousand followers on Instagram don't collect friends, they collect stories.

I didn't want Max, not at all. All I wanted was to show them who actually held the power.

"Relax" I said while glancing around the circle "it's just a dare"

"Y... yeah," Charlotte said awkwardly.

Her hands were clenched into fists, knuckles pale, like she might snap any second and come at me or run.

Someone laughed behind me, and someone else whispered her name as if it were a secret.

I didn't react, I stayed calm.

That was the point.

"You okay, Charlotte?" I asked softly knowing very well she wasn't.

"I'm fine" she grabbed her bag from the seat beside her and sprinted out.

Her legs shook like she might collapse any second.

I stared as Charlotte walked out , I didn't mean to cause so much damage. At first, I told myself I didn't care, that this was harmless.

But the way Charlotte ran like the room had burned her, sat wrong in my chest.

Power wasn't supposed to feel like this.

I just thought that...

"Sophie, right?" A very tall, dark skinned boy approached me. He smiled as he got closer to me, like he was going to congratulate me for breaking the popular girl's heart.

"I'm Ethan, by the way", his voice echoed in the hallway, "Do you mind if I show you around? You seem quite familiar".

" Oh no I don't think I do, I haven't been to this part of the city before" I swallowed a large gulp of spit.

"Yes, Ethan. Go ahead and show me around, is what most girls would say at this point"

" Yes, Mr Ethan go ahead and show me around''

As I walked down the hall, I planned everything I was going to tell Lottie when I got home, I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my body.

"So Sophie, how are you enjoying Bridgehall?" He said desperately trying to break the awkward silence.

"Not so great, I guess" I chuckled " can't wait for this day to end"

"Everybody's first day of school is always horrible, mine was so much worse", he continued walking till we got to an empty classroom, " you'll have biology class here, by the way".

I nodded my head, pretending to care, while deep down Charlotte's face kept replaying in my head. Lottie would probably understand that I didn't mean to cause so much damage and would cheer me up.

I sat close to the window and before I could blink all the seats were filled

I couldn't stop staring at Charlotte, staring at the wall.

Does she really think Max is irreplaceable? And why does she love him this much? Max is so stupid, and I regret the first day I ever met Max.

"New girl, would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" A very tall, skinny woman wearing an oversized coat and small heels walked up to my table.

"Sure, I'm."

Mid sentence a boy from the back shouted "She's the new girl who's trying to steal Charlotte's boyfriend"

His voice was so dorky and annoying.

Her heels clicked once more, and she moved closer to his table. " Enough, this is no way you welcome a new student," she snapped.d " Go on, de."".

"I'm Sophie" I exhaled and sat back quickly.

Calm down Sophie, calm down. I said it repeatedly trying to hypnotize myself into calming down.

I glanced around, hoping nobody saw me fidgeting, and to my surprise, everybody's eyes were glued to the sperm cell diagram in the biology textbook.

I quietly picked my chair and moved it backwards hoping to make a quiet exit, until the screeching sound of the chair caused everybody's heads to rise up.

"Sophie, don't you understand what I'm teaching or do you want me to say it again Her voice calmly echoed in the classroom

" Yes, I definitely do understand, I just need to visit the restroom", I lied hoping she doesn't question me further.

I quickly ran out of the class with my bag hitting my shoulder as I sprinted down the hallway.

I didn't stop until I reached the bathroom. I pushed into one of the stalls, locked the door, and my knees almost gave out from the pressure of the day slamming back into me.

The tears came before I even told them to. Warm, stupid, embarrassing tears that slid down my face like they were minding their business.

I grabbed some tissue and dabbed carefully, no way was I letting my eyeliner betray me too.

Why was I crying?

Why did school feel like a battlefield I didn't sign up for?

I hated this building, I hated today, I hated the way everyone stared at me like they were waiting for me to explode.

I pulled out my phone, opened the dating app, and scrolled to find Lottie, Still no reply.

Her life was probably perfect right now. Meanwhile I was in a bathroom stall crying over a boy I didn't even want.

"Yes, everybody heard the new girl likes Max," a girl wearing yellow said as she walked in, the door swinging loudly behind her. She had a pink purse, and two light skinned girls followed behind her like backup dancers.

"Who does she think she is?" the lip gloss girl said, smacking her lips dramatically in the mirror.

"Haha, just some privileged bitches," another one added.

I froze and then slowly, I leaned forward and spied through the tiny crack of the stall door, hoping to see the girls talking about me.

I couldn't see them clearly so I leaned closer, pressing my weight against the door.

It didn't open, thank God but their voices suddenly got louder, slicing straight through the stall.

"Charlotte is stupid," one of them said.

"Everybody knows Max talks to like ten girls at once."

"Yeah, anyways I think we have art now and I hate that man, we should probably get going" the other one whispered.

Their footsteps echoed as they moved around the bathroom, the sound of zippers, perfume sprays, and fake whispers filling the air. I hugged my knees tighter and pressed my forehead against them, wishing I could shrink small enough to slip through the cracks in the tiles.

Max talks to like ten girls at once. The words looped in my mind, sharp and familiar, like someone dragging a nail across my skin.

I didn't want to think about him. I didn't even want to remember that part of my life existed.

But trauma doesn't care what you want, it just shows up whenever it feels like.

"Let's go," the girl in yellow said, heels tapping as she walked toward the door.

The moment they left, silence rolled in like a heavy blanket, and I finally breathed. One shaky inhale, one trembling exhale.

The kind that feels like it's trying to hold you together and pull you apart at the same time.

I wiped my face again, even though the tears had dried. They still stung under my eyes.

My phone buzzed and for a wild second I thought it was Lottie, finally replying. But it wasn't.

My mind dragged me back, back to my old school and back to the first time I downloaded the app.

Back to being thirteen, lonely, and stupidly grateful that someone noticed me.

It had been a rainy Tuesday, I remembered because the classroom windows were fogged, and everyone else had someone to talk to. I didn't. My Dad was already gone and my mum was drowning in double shifts and hard drugs while I was a ghost walking around hallways pretending to exist.

A knock on the bathroom door snapped me back to reality so fast I almost dropped my phone.

"Someone's in here!" a girl outside shouted, like she desperately needed to shit

I sighed and flushed the toilet just to prove a point even though I didn't use it and I stepped out to wash my hands.