The bell rang, signaling the end of another monotonous day at Westwood High. Students flooded the hallways, eager to escape the confines of classrooms and the relentless ticking of the clock. But Ellie didn't move. She stayed seated in the back of the classroom, her eyes glued to the paper in front of her, though she wasn't actually reading.
Her thoughts were elsewhere—frozen in a moment from two years ago.
Astrid.
The memory of her face, her laugh, and the way she used to hold Astrid's hand like it was the most natural thing in the world, flooded her mind. It felt like it had happened just yesterday, even though it had been months since their breakup.
Ellie's fingers stroked the edge of the notebook, almost as if she could still feel the touch of Astrid's skin. They had been inseparable, best friends that were something more—until everything changed in the blink of an eye.
The breakup had been sudden, brutal, and without any real closure. Astrid had simply pulled away, no explanation, no warning. One moment they were laughing together in the school courtyard, and the next, Elie was left alone, trying to piece together the fragments of a love that seemed to evaporate without a trace.
"Ellie, you okay?" A voice pulled her from her thoughts.
It was Tisha, her best friend since first year highschool, standing beside her desk with a concerned look on her face. Tisha was a force of nature, always full of energy and optimism, the perfect counterbalance to Ellie's quiet, introspective demeanor.
Ellie forced a smile. "Yeah, just tired."
"You've been 'just tired' for the last two years," Tisha said, her tone playful but with an edge of seriousness. "You've got to stop torturing yourself over her, Ellie It's high school, for crying out loud. You can't keep living in the past."
Ellie's smile wavered as she gazed out the window, watching the crowd of students pour out of the school gates. And there she was—. Standing by the entrance with her usual group of friends, laughing and joking with them as if she hadn't shattered Ellie's heart only months before.
"She seems fine," Ellie murmured, her voice barely audible.
Tisha followed the gaze and exhaled. "She's fine. Always been fine. You, though. You need to get over that. Move on."
"I don't know," Ellie said to herself softly instead of to Tisha. "Not when it feels like I still have her here." Her hand rested across her chest because it still hurts from the loss of Astrid there. "I still love her."
Tisha's face softened, but she didn't push it. "You know you deserve better than someone who leaves without a word. You need to let go."
But Ellie couldn't. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
---
After school, Ellie walked slowly down the hallway toward her locker. Her footsteps echoed in the otherwise empty corridor. She passed by the art room, and there was Astrid sitting with a group of friends, sketching in her notebook with that focused expression Ellie knew so well.
It had been tough to evade Astrid. They had so many classes together, and no matter how many times Ellie made efforts to get away from her, Astrid remained somewhere close to her, just out of reach. It was as if the universe was cruelly reminding her of what she had lost.
Ellie stopped in front of her locker, the shaking of her fingers making it harder to set the combination lock dial. She could not resist peeking around to see who it was; there stood Astrid looking right at her. The moment their gazes met for an instant, everything froze for Ellie.
It wasn't the same, not like before; there was no warmth in Astrid's look. But something was there, a flicker of recognition perhaps. Of regret? Or was it just memories they shared?
Ellie felt her breath hitch. She wanted to go to Astrid, to ask her why—why she'd left in such a rush, why she hadn't fought for them at all.
But she didn't. Instead, she turned her back and shut the door to her locker, stomping out the side entrance as her heart raced inside her.
---
Ellie walked home with the bitter cold of the wind slicing against her face, the image of Astrid imprinted on her brain, not from a pain she was carrying about something in the past but rather for realizing nothing ever again could be the same between them.
No matter how hard Ellie tried to move on, a part of her would always be tethered to the girl she had once loved. And as much as she hated herself for it, she couldn't help but wonder: what would it take to fix everything?
Later that night Ellie couldn't sleep. She was looking at the corner of the room wondering of why does she felt that it seems like everything was not going well. Every time she saw Astrid, she walked passed Astrid she felt unwell it was not as before.
"Ellie stop thinking about her. She was out of your life". Talking to herself looking at their old photos on her phone. When she saw Astrid's post on her IG with Claude. It brings more pain but it didn't affect it that much cause Claude was her friend and she knows that Claude didn't like Nicole at all.
But there was some thoughts on her mind that she couldn't hide.
What if Claude really likes Astrid?
What if they were already dating?
What if?...
What if?.....
It was all gone into just a what if.