*CHAPTER 2: SCHOOL GOSSIP + THE WRONG HANDS TO HOLD*
6:30 a.m. I was already sitting primly in front of the elevator, ever since 6:28. Trauma from being late yesterday + World War III.
Ding. The elevator doors opened.
Empty. Thank God. The world is safe.
But just three seconds later...
Ding. Floor 15. Damian stepped in. Basketball shirt on + headset hanging around his neck. His scent... damn. Expensive cologne again.
We looked at each other. Then we both turned to face opposite directions. One-day ceasefire.
The elevator moved. Silence. The only sound was the little “ding ding” every time we passed a floor. I counted the tiles. One, two, three... Anything so I wouldn’t think about him.
“Yesterday...” Damian suddenly spoke. “SHUT UP!” I cut him off on reflex. My face instantly went hot. “Don’t bring up what happened on the balcony.”
He gave a faint smirk. “Okay. We won’t bring it up.”
Liar. He clearly wanted to discuss it with his eyes.
Ding. Lobby. We walked together to Uncle Bram’s car. Still silent. We were silent in the car too. All the way to the school gates.
And that was our biggest mistake.
The moment I entered Social Studies Track 2, Sinta pounced. Her phone appeared right in front of my face.
“Hazel!! EXPLAIN THIS!!”
On the screen: a photo. Dark. But painfully clear. My hand. Damian’s hand. Clasped together on the penthouse balcony during yesterday’s blackout. Caption: `SOULMATES ALWAYS FIND EACH OTHER, OH GOD 😭😭 #Damzel #ApartmentOwnersKids`
“WHAT IS THIS?!” I screamed. “It’s viral, Hazel. Since six this morning. The school WhatsApp group, the parents’ group, Mom’s family social gathering group,” Sinta whispered horrifically.
I scrolled. Two hundred chats. Fifty mentions. `Hazel + Damian dating?` `They were made for each other from birth` `When are they getting married?`
My heart was about to leap out of my chest.
Knock knock. The classroom door opened. Damian. His face was expressionless to the extreme. But the moment he saw Sinta’s phone in my hand, his jaw tightened.
“Principal’s office. Now,” he said quietly, just loud enough for me to hear.
Out on the field, the flag ceremony was already underway. The Principal held the microphone. “Before we begin, I’d like to commend the family cooperation between the two families who own Skyline Apartments. A wonderful example.”
Five hundred eyes immediately zeroed in on Damian and me, who had just arrived late.
Damian stepped forward and pulled my hand without asking. “Ow,” I said, startled.
“Excuse us, sir,” Damian said calmly, though his grip was firm. “That photo was a misunderstanding. We were startled because the power went out. Nothing happened.”
I nodded along. “Yes, sir. We... hate each other. We hate each other.”
When the words “hate each other” came out, my voice went shrill. Fake. The entire field just laughed. Nobody believed us.
After school = hell, volume two. Family WhatsApp group: Aunt Vania: `The kids are so adorable 😍 The photo turned out great` Mom: `I know, right? Do it more often, sweetheart`
I'M DEAD.
I locked myself in my room. An hour later... Knock knock knock. “Come out. We’re making a new agreement,” Damian’s voice called from outside the door.
I opened it. He held out a sheet of printer paper.
*PEACE AGREEMENT 2.0* 1. No holding hands. For any reason. 2. No having dinner together without three witnesses. 3. No saving each other.
I read it. Then crossed out number three with a red pen. “This is crossed out. You’re the one who saved me when I almost fell in the gym yesterday.”
Damian went quiet. His ears turned red. “...Fine. Whatever.”
We shook hands to seal the agreement. But when we let go, he held on for two seconds longer.
“The ceasefire is canceled tomorrow,” he whispered. “Huh? Why?” “Because starting tomorrow... my job is to make you angry every day. So you won’t forget me.”
He left, leaving me staring blankly at the door with my heart pounding like crazy.
Damn. The ceasefire had failed. A new war had begun. And this time... the enemy was my own feelings.