It would have been easier to say a big fight happened.

That Olivia stood her ground.
That she told Serina everything to her face.
That she pulled her hair, raised her voice, burned the bridge, even if it led nowhere.
Better yet, it might have made Miller hate her.

Wouldn’t that be simpler?
A story with a clean ending.

And would that not be so much easier? A nice wrapped story with an end point.

But instead, she heard the click of a camera.

“Cheese.”

“Olivia, smile a little. You’re beautiful. Will you, dear?”
Serina’s voice was melodic, kind as always.
She looked exactly like a book heroine should.
Her age. Eighteen years old.
Grown.

Olivia never meant to compare. Girls were not meant to compete. Life was already hard enough.
But her sparkly pink dress felt painfully loud beside the elegance of Serina’s emerald green.

An abysmal difference.

Miles had his arm around Serina’s waist.
Olivia was certain they were more than just senior ball partners.

Turner smiled beside his new boyfriend.
Violeta and Sarah stood with Olivia. Different years, different schedules, but they were there for her.

And still, Olivia existed between spaces.

Violeta kept bringing her too many cups of Pepsi and looking at her as if a puppy had been kicked.
Sarah, in her usual big-sister energy, kept repeating that everything would pass.

And it did.

She even had fun.

Until Miles said,

"See? You never needed to be my partner. It was silly of us. We'll always be friends. Nothing changes."

But everything had changed.

The dance floor lights were kind to Serina.
Millers’ face was full of happiness.
And nothing changed for them.

The temporary beauty of the night had simply made Olivia another girl.

The next few months, were quiet and obsessive.

Unhealthy, and unhinged.

She studied until exhaustion.

No messages from Miller. No messages from Serina.

While Violeta and Sarah worried away at this new resolve.

Olivia knew. They would both get into any college they wanted.
Serina and Miller had that easeness about them.

She had once told Miller how things were difficult for her.

How she was anxious alone, scared of the world outside,

How school once made her sick to her stomach.

How she had to work twice as hard just to stand beside him.

Olivia confided in him.

He had listened.

But listening was not understanding.

When school ended, the daily bus rides ended too.
She said aloud, “Good riddance.”

She would never confide in him again.
She would never fall in such a toughtless way.

She got into her dream college.

And Miller became a distant dream.