There was a half-written journal on the table, an uncapped gel pen, and torn-out page of scribbles. The teacher was reading out some kind of passage from an article, but all Delano could see was the continuous opening and closing of his mouth. 

Finally, the bell rang. It was as if he had just awoke from a dream and was dragged back to reality unwillingly. 

There was a knock on the door just before the teacher left the classroom. Delano didn't need to look up to recognize the familiar scent of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle perfume that has been killing his sense of smell. 

'Miss Vickerman, I'm aware that you're not in my class,' the teacher pushed his bulky round glasses up. 

'Yeah, ugh...' Brooklyn waved him off like he was a fly, which the teacher responded with an eye-roll, and said, 'I'm looking for my boyfriend.'

Her eyes lit up when she saw Delano looking through the window beside him, his steady and calm physique was definitely pleasing to look at all day. In his blue eyes, there seemed to be nothing that could tear that fearless glance radiating from the inside. The only problem there was that he wasn't looking at her. 

'Are you avoiding me?' She asked when she sat down on the empty chair in front of him. He replied with silence and tried to ignore her question by writing some mathematics equation that suddenly popped into his head. 

'Hey, I'm talking to you,' She puffed her cheeks and pulled his journal away from him not-too-gently, slightly ripping his book apart. He watched her in cold sweat, quietly praying that the pages won't fall off. 

'I know.' He answered a minute later while keeping his stationary and books into his bag. She frowned. 

'Let's go for lunch,' She wrapped her arms onto his like a koala trying to hang onto an eucalyptus tree branch. He sighed and let her lead him to the cafeteria. 

Delano was good at a lot of things, but rejecting girls wasn't one of them, even though he knew that Brooklyn just wanted someone hot to be her boyfriend, someone that could be at the same level as herself. He understood that, and he doesn't like her that way either. 

But as much as he disliked the way he was picked up like an object for sale, he could feel his heart filling up with sympathy. There was another reason he wanted to stay away from the spotlight. Most of the people who got a chance to enjoy the spotlight, would soon get addicted to it, and they would eventually get drowned by an overwhelming wave of insecurity. 

Just like the girl who's desperately clutching onto his hand, as if he would float away if she let go. 

***

'... and that's how I ended up being the boyfriend to someone I don't even have feelings for,' Delano finished off his story. He expected a sarcastic or mischievous reply, but all Belle gave him was silence. 

He turned to look at the side of her face, but the darkness of the night hid her features and expression well. He couldn't even figure out if she was smiling or unhappy. 

'Hey,' He nudged her with as little force as he could. 'Are you alright?'

'Yeah,' Her reply was so soft, he didn't even know if she was answering his question or the one in her heart. 

'Are you sure?' He lifted her face so that their eyes met. Her green eyes told him that she wasn't, but she nodded her head anyway. 

'I just... don't like it when she calls you her boyfriend.' 

You can only be my boyfriend, Delano. She doesn't love you the way I do. 

Belle pursed her lips and looked down at her nervous fingers.

'I don't actually enjoy it either,' He tried to say it as a joke, but it came out a little too serious than he intended. Belle's fingers entwined with his. 

Then why didn't you tell her 'no'? 

***

There was a huge commotion in the hallway. Delano could still remember the last time this scene had happened, it was about some uncomfortable words scribbled onto his locker. But this time, the crowd was buzzing so much louder like there was some kind of natural disaster going on in the middle of it, and there was definitely a weird smell diffusing in the air. 

He ignored it and made his way to class. That, he figured out later, wasn't exactly the best decision he had made. 

By the time school was over, Delano was almost bumped into by Zeke, who was showing him something on his phone. A video had gone viral. He played it. 

There was a high-pitched shriek only Brooklyn could make. The camera was shaky, but the words 'STAY AWAY FROM MY BOY' were painted so clearly on her locker that no one could miss it. 

'Who did this?!' She looked around and questioned. There was no answer. 

'Shoo off, there's nothing to watch here!' She waved her hand and turned around so that her back was facing the camera. She opened her locker, took out her perfume and sprayed it onto her face. 

It took a second or two for her to realize that the liquid in her perfume bottle wasn't anything other than skunk spray. Then, all she could do was try to run to the washroom, but she kept bumping into people and the rest of it was basically chaos. 

 'Star girl gone stinky' Someone had shouted to the person holding the camera, and there was a never-ending laughter before the video finally stopped. 

Delano stared at it in disbelief. 

'Who.. what?' He muttered in confusion. 

'Nobody knows, but the school's trying to track anyone who had broken into the school last night.' Zeke shrugged. 

'But those words...' Delano paused. 

Zeke was right. He should let the school do their job, but he couldn't think of anyone who would be calling him 'MY BOY'... other than Belle. 

It couldn't be her. She wouldn't, right?