“You know, I kinda don’t see it, Trist.”

Lance had been eyeballing Zoey and Benjamin for the entirety of the lunch break. The two of them were eating together and sharing laughs with one another in a display so flagrantly joyful that I wanted nothing more than to gouge my own eyes out so I wouldn’t have to see it for one more second.

“What are you talking about? They look like a happy couple to me.”

“Okay look man, I get it. You got your girl stolen from you. You’re hurting. You can’t even bear to look in their general direction. You’re probably gonna cry while listening to some Taylor Swift when you get home.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m telling you, okay? This shit doesn’t look normal. It’s like when the teacher makes you partner up with an annoying kid for the group project, so you grit your teeth for the sake of your grade, but deep down you absolutely hate every second of it.”

“Yeah? So what, you’re the Zoey whisperer now?”

“Nah man, I’m just really good at reading people.”

“Okay, then prove it.”

“How? I’ve already read you and Zoey. Who else can I try?”

“Well, how about Naomi then? How come you guys are still such close friends even though you apparently dumped her?”

“Fuck if I know.”

“So, you’re not actually good at reading people, then.”

Lance turned his attention away from the newly formed couple and faced me.

“Okay listen… remember when I said that someone being hot isn’t worth their bullshit personality?”

“Sure.”

“Well, I didn’t think she had a bullshit personality when we started dating. I couldn’t put my finger on her at all, and the mystery excited me.”

“Okay, she excited you. But then you misread her, and she was self-absorbed and rude.”

“She’s neither of those things.”

“She’s not? But you just called her a bitch earlier.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, I shouldn’t have said it. It sort of just came out. The thing is, I feel like I can see through pretty much all the other students, the teachers, faculty, whatever. But Naomi is the one person I don’t get. So yeah, if you wanna use that as a win then go for it. But if that’s the case, then don’t just take my word for it. Look over at Zoey yourself and take a guess. You’re just sitting around staring at your shitty school lunch pretending that everything’s fine when it’s not.”

“Hey, I love the school lunches.”

“You love these awful turkey bacon wraps?”

“No one told you to get them if you don’t like them.”

“I can only eat so many ham sandwiches. I just needed something else for once.”

Lance sighed and went back to slowly picking away at his lunch.

His words annoyed me to no end. Just what did he know about Zoey anyway? I’d always hated that mightier-than-thou attitude of his, like he’s smarter than everyone but he’s just too lazy to do anything with that wisdom. I refused to buy into what he was saying. He didn’t know Zoey. He didn’t know the first thing about her.

No.

Only I know her. And I know that she’s a perfect being. One beyond his rudimentary understanding.

Though, I couldn’t help but feel surprised that she got together with Benjamin after that dream I had last night. The coincidence was unnerving. The idea that I had acquired some kind of foresight had popped into my head. But if that really were the case, then it would mean that Lance was right, and she really didn’t want to be in that relationship. Well, this was all assuming that prophetic dreams are real in the first place. After all, the Zoey in my dream was completely fatigued by Ben’s advances.

I looked over at them. I didn’t even bother to disguise my obvious gaze. My only goal was to inspect their body language with the hopes of figuring out what it was that Lance was talking about. But I couldn’t see what he saw. In fact, the only thing unusual was that she happened to be wearing her glasses today over the contacts she usually wears. It was disappointing to admit it to myself, but…To me, it just looked like a happy couple enjoying a meal together. Why was I being forced to watch Zoey smile and chat away with that guy exactly? I had no business torturing myself with such a sight.

It made my blood boil.

I felt nothing but hatred.

I hated Lance for forcing me to look at something this painful.

I hated Benjamin for taking away the one girl I’ve loved as much as her.

And I hated...

Did I hate her?

Did I hate Zoey?

I don’t know if I did, but the truth of it was, I didn’t have the time to come to terms with my feelings at that moment.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Because it was then that I realized it.

In truth, I should have realized it sooner.

But it’s only after she looked away.

It’s only after her face finally turned towards my general area.

And for just a brief moment, our eyes locked.

And behind that gaze, that’s where I saw it.

The tinge of discomfort that had been pouring out of her expression. Lance had seen it instantly, but I could only notice it after painfully forcing myself to watch the scene play out in its entirety. Maybe he was onto something. Maybe she really didn’t want to be in that relationship. But supposing that was the case, then why was she going out with him in the first place?

“Hey Lance…”

“What?”

“Do you think we could get closer to them? I’d like to listen in on them.”

“You… are kind of acting like a stalker right now, Trist. Are you good, bro?”

Was I good? Well, my heart was certainly beating much faster than normal. But after seeing that look on her face, I couldn’t help but wonder. Was Lance right about their relationship? I needed to know if what I saw was just my mind playing tricks on me, or if it was a genuine cry for help.

“Well, we can head over if you want, but... what’re you gonna do if you find out that she’s not into him? Are you gonna ride in on a white horse and save her like a knight in shining armor or something?”

“No, I... I just want to know for sure.”

“Hmmm.” At my words, Lance picked his tray up and began walking over towards a closer table. “You coming?”

“Oh, yeah.”

I picked mine up and followed him. He sat down at a table that was slightly adjacent to theirs, next to a friend of his called James. James is the lead singer in a band he formed about two years ago, and Lance happens to be a big fan of their music. The two of them usually hang out to talk about rock music stuff that I’m not particularly interested in, so I haven’t really become close to him.

But James sitting in close proximity to Zoey did give me a chance to listen in on the conversation between her and her new boyfriend, so I was thankful that he existed at that particular moment.

“Dude, Lance!! Blink-182’s new song was fucking badass! Holy shit, punk rock is back!”

“Soooo glad they’re making music again, bro. I dunno if anything is ever gonna top their old shit, but this song really brought me back. That’s some good music.”

“Can you two just keep it down for a sec?”

James paused for a moment at my interruption, then turned back to Lance.

“Hey Lance, what’s up with your friend, bro? Doesn’t he know how to appreciate art?”

“Just ignore him. He’s got some lady problems right now so he’s a little down in the dumps.”

“Sorry to hear that, little man. You should listen to Blink-182’s new single. It’ll get your mood back up.”

“Yeah sure, whatever. Just keep it down, will you?”

“Right, right. So Lance, you gonna grab tickets for the concert or what?”

I decide to try tuning them out and focusing on the newly formed couple sitting adjacent from us.

“So what kind of hobbies do you have, Zoey? I feel like all I know about you is your reputation.”

“Well, I like listening to music and watching stuff on Netflix…”

“Hey, I meant actual hobbies.”

“What? Come on, those are hobbies.” She smiled.

“Are not.”

“Wow, are you the hobby police now? Watch out, everyone.”

“Hah, you know I’m right. That’s stuff everyone does. I’m talking about something unique to you.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Like, cooking or crocheting.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Uhm, for me that’d be photography? But I treat it as more of a trade than a hobby.”

“Photography? Like, taking pictures?”

"Uhm, yea. That's generally what photography means."

“Sorry, it’s just… I don’t even know if I’d count that as a hobby. Aren’t all girls these days good at that? I mean, look at Instagram.”

“No, you don’t understand. I’m really good. I’m not the head of the photography club for nothing.”

“Really?”

“Really, really. Cinematography too. I’m a bit of a genius when it comes to cameras.”

“Huh. Can I see some of your stuff then?”

“What? You’ve seen it, haven’t you? I’ve taken pictures at your basketball games. Plus, you have my Instagram, don’t you?”

“Well yeah. But… like I said. That all seems pretty standard for a popular girl. Girls like Krista and Gwen have pretty neat pictures up on theirs too.”

“Krista and... uh, Ben… Who do you think took all of their pictures? The photography club pretty much made most of this school’s Instagram pages, you know.”

“Right… Well, still. I doubt it’d look much different if she did them herself. Seems like kind of a useless hobby to me.”

“Hobbies aren’t supposed to be useful though. You do it because it’s fun for you.”

“I think if I were to put a lot of time into something, I’d want it to be useful.”

“Says the basketball player.”

“Uh, what was that?”

“Nothing.”

You could cut the tension with a knife. They were both smiling and joking around on the surface, but actually listening to them, it’s as if they were clearly picking a fight with one another. It was clear enough that she wasn’t having any fun with him at all. Not just clear, it was painfully obvious. And it made me hate myself for not realizing it sooner.

Was I just pretending not to notice? Or was I wallowing in so much self-pity that I simply refused to see it? I should’ve realized it from the get-go.

I turned back to face my friend.

“Hey Lance, I…”

“Oh my god dude, James. You’re seriously getting me pumped for this.”

“Fuuuuck yeah man, I’ll convince the band to come with us. It’ll be tight as shit.”

“… Lance?”

“Huh? Oh, what’s up Trist?”

“I… You were right.”

“As I always am.”

“Yeah. I guess… I don’t know. I felt responsible somehow.”

“Responsible? Why?”

Well, it was because I sent that text message in that dream last night. No matter how much I ruminated over it, it felt like too much of a coincidence. And yet, something like that must have been just outright impossible. I mean, it really was a dream, wasn’t it? But that’s not something I could just tell Lance outright, so I decided to hold my tongue.

“… Never mind.”

“Okay, sure. So what’s your theory? Did she lose a bet or is he blackmailing her or what?”

“Huh?”

“Well, if we’re both right then she hates every second of this. So there has to be a reason they’re dating, right?”

A reason.

I’d been thinking so much about the dream that I hadn’t considered any other reason. If it was a lost bet or blackmail, then she would be in tough shit.

“Maybe she just agreed to it in the moment and regrets it now.”

“In the moment?” Lance looked around shiftily then leaned into whisper. “Man, this is Zoey. Zoey! She hasn’t dated anyone until now despite being ‘that’ popular. You know why that is? It’s because she wouldn’t do something like ‘agree to it in the moment’. Let’s not be naïve here. Something happened.”

“Something…”

“And honestly, I’d normally ignore a situation like that, but you’ve been fucking up my Dota games thinking about this chick so now I have a horse in this race.”

“Just play solo then.”

“Hell no. I don’t need any more degenerate losers on my team.”

“Right…”

“So here’s the plan. I’m gonna get Naomi to distract Ben, and you’re gonna use that opportunity to go talk to Zoey.”

“What? No, don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I mean, like, what am I gonna say? It’s Zoey.”

“So you’re just gonna sit here and wallow in self-hatred? You kept picking Techies in my Dota games, man”

“Techies is awesome...”

“Whatever, just... I’m texting Naomi.”

“Please don’t.”

And then he texted Naomi.