The first day back at school felt wrong. The hallways were too quiet. Most students were enjoying their unexpected break while participants in the upcoming inter-school basketball tournament were required to attend practice sessions throughout the week. The usually crowded campus felt hollow, with only scattered footsteps echoing through the corridors. Alice preferred it that way. Less people meant fewer questions. Less people meant fewer whispers. Less chances of accidentally running into memories she wasn't ready to face.
For an entire week, she forced herself out of bed every morning and showed up for practice. No matter how much she hated it. No matter how exhausted she felt. No matter how often Melvin's name drifted through her thoughts. Basketball was simple. You dribbled. You ran. You shot. The ball either went in or it didn't.
Life would be much easier if everything followed those rules. Unfortunately, people didn't. Especially Damian.
By Wednesday, Alice was convinced the universe was playing some sort of prank on her. Because somehow Damian kept appearing everywhere. Near the bleachers. Outside the cafeteria. Walking through the courtyard. Even waiting near the drinking water machine. And every single time— Sophia was with him.
"Morning, Alice."
"There she is."
"Late again."
Alice stopped in her tracks.
"I'm literally five minutes early."
Damian grinned.
"Early by your standards."
Sophia laughed. Alice rolled her eyes. For some reason, the three of them kept ending up together. At first, it was accidental. Then it became routine. Then it became suspicious. Especially Damian. The guy talked. A lot. Way more than she expected.
During lunch breaks, he would casually pull up a chair beside them as if he'd been invited. Nobody invited him. He just appeared. Like a stray cat. A very tall, athletic, annoying stray cat.
"So then Coach told him to run laps," Damian said dramatically.
Sophia was already laughing.
"No way."
"I swear."
"You're lying."
"I would never."
"You absolutely would."
Alice watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. Something wasn't adding up. She finally interrupted.
"Why are you even talking to us?"
Damian blinked. Sophia stopped chewing. The table fell silent. Alice crossed her arms.
"No seriously."
"What?"
"You've been following us all week."
"I'm not following you."
"You keep showing up."
"Maybe you keep showing up."
Alice stared at him. Damian stared back. Sophia groaned.
"Oh my God."
"What?" Alice asked.
Sophia pointed at her.
"This."
"This what?"
"This thing you do."
"What thing?"
"The thing where someone is being nice and you immediately start investigating them like a criminal."
Alice frowned.
"That's not true."
"It absolutely is."
Damian looked amused. Sophia continued.
"Can you just be a little sensible for once?"
Alice's eye twitched.
"Excuse me?"
"You're making everything weird."
"I'm asking a normal question."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"No."
"Yes."
Sophia sighed dramatically.
"See? This is exactly what I mean."
Alice wanted to argue. Really wanted to. But both of them were looking at her like she was the unreasonable one. Which was ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. She wasn't the one randomly attaching herself to people. Still.
After several seconds of stubborn silence—
"Fine."
Sophia smiled triumphantly. Damian looked relieved. Alice hated both of them. At least for the next thirty seconds. The conversation slowly resumed. Damian immediately started another story. Apparently some guy from the boys' basketball team had accidentally thrown a ball into the principal's car. The story was probably exaggerated. Maybe entirely fake. Yet somehow Sophia was laughing again. Alice found herself smiling despite her best efforts. The idiot was funny. Occasionally. Very occasionally. That didn't mean she trusted him. As the week continued, Alice developed several theories.
Theory one. Damian lost a dare. Maybe he was playing Truth or Dare with his friends. Maybe somebody dared him to befriend random girls like her group. It sounded stupid. But so was he.
Theory two. He liked Sophia. That one made perfect sense. Sophia was athletic. Confident. Pretty. Easy to talk to. Unlike Alice. If Damian was interested in someone, Sophia was the obvious choice. Everything else was complete nonsense.
By Friday, however, the three of them had somehow become... comfortable. Not friends. Definitely not. But close enough to joke around. Close enough to tease each other. Close enough that lunch felt strange when one of them arrived late. Which was exactly why Monday felt different. Sophia wasn't there. Alice noticed immediately.
"So."
Damian sat down across from her.
"Where's your partner in crime?"
Alice shrugged.
"High fever."
"Ouch."
"She texted me this morning."
Damian nodded.
For the first time in days, the table felt unusually quiet. Without Sophia constantly filling the gaps, conversations didn't flow as naturally. Alice focused on her lunch. Damian tapped his fingers against the table.
Then—
"How's Melvin?"
Alice froze. There it was. That name. Again. She slowly looked up. Damian looked genuinely uncomfortable. Which was unexpected. Usually he looked annoyingly confident. Today he looked nervous, probably just all out of icebreakers.
"Alice."
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry."
She blinked.
"What?"
"The stuff I said before."
His voice was quieter.
"I shouldn't have kept bringing him up."
Alice studied him carefully. The apology seemed sincere. Which made it difficult to stay annoyed. After a moment, she sighed.
"I don't know how he's doing."
Damian nodded.
"Right."
"If you're sorry, apologize to him."
The words came out before she could stop them. Immediately, something flashed across Damian's face. Irritation. His jaw tightened. Just slightly. His ego had clearly taken a hit. For a second, Alice thought he might snap. Then the expression disappeared. Like it had never existed.
"Yeah."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I probably should."
Alice raised an eyebrow.
The maturity surprised her. Damian leaned back.
"Can I ask something?"
"You usually do."
"Why do you still care?"
Alice paused. The question wasn't hostile. Just curious.
"About Melvin?"
"Yeah."
"You guys broke up."
"So?"
Damian frowned. Alice looked down at her tray. For a moment, memories resurfaced. A debate hall. Rows of chairs. Stacks of notes. Nervous students preparing speeches.
"The first time we noticed each other was during a debate competition."
Damian listened quietly.
"We got assigned to the same team."
"You did debate?"
"Shocking, I know."
He laughed. Alice continued.
"We spent weeks preparing together."
The memories felt distant now. Almost like they belonged to someone else.
"He was good at everything."
"Everything?"
"Almost."
A small smile appeared.
"He was organized."
"Responsible."
"Confident."
"He knew how to lead people."
She paused.
"And he was honest."
Damian watched her carefully. Alice continued.
"I liked working with him."
"Then I liked talking to him."
"Then I liked him."
The progression sounded embarrassingly simple when spoken aloud. But it was true.
"We went to a lot of places."
"Like?"
Alice thought for a moment.
"The bookstore near downtown."
"The riverside café."
"The old park behind the library."
"The arcade once."
Damian laughed.
"The arcade?"
"He destroyed me in every game."
"Sounds traumatic."
"It was."
They both smiled. The conversation felt unexpectedly easy. Then Damian spoke.
"My ex was the complete opposite."
Alice blinked.
"You had an ex?"
"Wow."
"That's not what I meant."
"It sounded like what you meant."
Alice groaned.
"What's her name?"
"Natalie."
Damian leaned back dramatically.
"She was a bitch."
"That's rude."
"No, listen."
He pointed a finger at the table.
"Overbearing."
"Clingy."
"Huge attitude."
Alice laughed.
"You're making her sound like a supervillain."
"I'm not done."
"Oh God."
"Wild side too, cheating was like her second nature."
"Second nature?"
"You don't want details."
"I definitely don't."
Damian nodded seriously.
"Trust me."
Alice laughed awkwardly. Then shook her head.
"This is weird."
"What is?"
"We're talking about our exes."
He considered it.
"Yeah."
"That's actually pretty weird."
The awkwardness settled between them. Not uncomfortable. Just strange. Damian eventually broke the silence.
"You regret it?"
"The breakup?"
Alice looked at him. He looked genuinely curious. Then he shrugged.
"I don't."
Alice waited. Damian smirked.
"My ex was just a fucking bitch."
Alice stared. The word landed like a brick. For several seconds she didn't know what to respond. What exactly was someone supposed to say to that? Congratulations? Condolences? A formal statement? Nothing came to mind. The silence stretched. Damian finally sighed.
"See?"
"What?"
"That's exactly why I shouldn't say things like that."
Alice laughed despite herself.
"A little."
"A little?"
"Maybe a lot."
He groaned.
Alice smiled. Then slowly shook her head.
"I don't regret it either."
Damian looked surprised.
"You don't?"
"No."
She looked down. Thinking carefully.
"The last conversation we had, helped out."
"How?"
Alice remembered that final talk. The honesty. The acceptance. The lack of anger.
"He told me he was happy being friends."
Damian listened.
"And honestly?"
Alice shrugged.
"I think he's right."
The words felt lighter than expected.
"We're better that way."
"Friends?"
"Yeah."
Damian looked skeptical.
"Isn't that awkward?"
Alice immediately laughed.
"No."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
She leaned back.
"I learned a lot from him."
"Like?"
"A lot of things."
"How to stay calm."
"How to organize stuff."
"How to think before speaking."
Damian snorted.
"Clearly that lesson failed."
Alice kicked his shin under the table. He yelped. She smiled sweetly.
"Anyway."
She continued.
"I still look up to him."
"Being friends doesn't hurt either of us."
Damian watched her for a moment.
Then suddenly grinned.
"Melvin is definitely gay."
Alice nearly choked.
"What?"
"Nobody is that mature."
"You idiot."
"I'm serious."
She laughed.
"Melvin is whatever he wants to be."
Damian snickered.
"And?"
Alice smiled softly.
"As long as he's happy, I'm happy."
The words came naturally. Simple. Honest. Without bitterness. Without resentment. Without regret. Damian laughed. But something tightened inside his chest. A strange ache. Unexpected. Unwanted. He couldn't explain it. Maybe it was jealousy. Not romantic jealousy. Something else. He had never seen anyone talk about an ex like that. No hatred. No anger. No attempts to win. No desire to prove anything. Just genuine affection. A different kind of love. One that survived after the relationship ended. And somehow— That made him jealous.
He wished someone would talk about him that way someday. Friend. Girlfriend. Didn't matter. Someone who saw him the way Alice saw Melvin. The thought lingered. Then Damian stood. Alice looked up.
"What?"
He shoved his hands into his pockets. Trying to appear casual. Trying very hard.
"Want to be friends?"
Alice blinked. The question caught her completely off guard.
"Friends?"
"Yeah."
She narrowed her eyes. Immediately suspicious.
"Why?"
Damian groaned.
"See?"
"What?"
"This."
"What?"
"You immediately make everything difficult."
Alice ignored him. Instead, she studied him carefully. Damian wasn't simple. Not at all. He liked gossip. He pried into people's business. He asked dangerous questions. He enjoyed stirring things up. Sometimes he schemed. Sometimes he manipulated conversations just because he was bored. The guy was trouble. Maybe not bad trouble. But definitely trouble.
Yet—
Over the past week—
He'd also been funny. Supportive. Surprisingly thoughtful. And despite all his flaws... He'd shown up. Again and again. Alice sighed. Maybe she was being unfair. Maybe friendship didn't require complete certainty. Maybe it required a leap. A little trust. Even when it felt risky.
"Fine."
Damian blinked.
"What?"
"We can be friends."
For a split second, genuine excitement appeared on his face. Bright. Unfiltered. Then it vanished. Replaced by his usual relaxed expression.
"Cool."
Alice rolled her eyes.
"You're trying way too hard to act chill."
"I am chill."
"You're not."
"I totally am."
"You're smiling."
"I'm always smiling."
"Liar."
Damian laughed. Then pulled out his phone.
"Give me your number."
Alice hesitated. For exactly two seconds. Then handed over her phone. The contact exchange took less than a minute. When they finished, Damian slipped his phone back into his pocket. The smile remained. Small. Satisfied. Alice shook her head.
"You look pleased."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sure."
They started walking back toward the field. The afternoon sun spilled through the hallway windows. For once, the silence between them wasn't awkward. Just comfortable. Easy. Alice wasn't sure where this friendship would lead. Maybe nowhere. Maybe somewhere important. But for the first time in a long while— She didn't feel quite so alone. And neither did Damian.