Oop. Oop. Opp. Enjoy the end of this one.

Thanks already to jueka1 and brightyeolie for commenting last chapter.

Didn't proofread. Maybe later.

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At once, Callie pushed her chair away from the table. Flicking the pressure switch on her leg, she got to her feet and darted out of the room before any of us could realise what she was doing.

I stood there in shock for a few moments, staring at her empty seat where she had previously sat, wondering how and why she just left like that.

The class had fallen into an eerie silence, all eyes now on me. Miss Fischer had even taken a few steps closer. Her mouth opened as she softly said, "Flynn... do you need me to sign your diary so that you can get a drink—"

But before she could finish her sentence, I darted out of the room, leaving my books and diary behind.

Screw the diary and permission to leave.

Screw my teacher's calls after me.

And screw those classmates calling after me to let her go.

I wouldn't let Callie go until she looked me in the eyes and told me she didn't like me anymore and never would.

And while she had been hard to read since I had come back, a part of me thought that deep within her, her feelings for me were still there. But were they enough, was the question?

She hadn't gotten far when I had caught up.

On the ground, knees tucked to her chest, she was hiding behind the toilet block as if she was hoping she wouldn't be found.

But her grey watery eyes immediately lifted as I came to a stop right in front of her.

"Please leave me alone," she croaked out.

"Why'd you run?" I asked.

"Because that was embarrassing as hell?" she retorted as though it were matter-of-fact.

And she had a point, to be fair. "I get that... but... why take off like that?"

Her head dropped back to her knees, and she mumbled, barely audible for me to hear, "Everyone was looking at me, expecting me to say yes."

And at that moment, my heart started to shatter. I fought at the stinging sensation brewing in my eyes. At the lump forming in my throat. And after a deep, shaky breath, I said, "Oh."

"That wasn't nice of you, Flynn," she then said.

"Sorry," I muttered, part of me wanting to run away from her evident rejection, the other part not wanting to leave her here to cry over something I caused.

I should have stuck with being friends... I shouldn't have tried getting her back.

"It's done now," she mumbled. Lifting her watery stare to mine, she then held her hands up in the air.

Hesitantly, I grabbed her hands—the touch of her skin on mine now feeling like knives in my heart—and pulled her to her feet.

Tugging at the collar of her shirt, she wiped away her tears and said, "I don't know how to go back in there and face them."

I didn't know what to say back to that. Because if she was worried about what they'd say... Imagine how I would feel admitting I was rejected.

"Why aren't you talking to me now?" she the demanded, eyes burning into my face.

I turned to look at her, but rather than meeting her gaze, I fixated on her forehead, knowing looking into those eyes would only rub more salt into my wound. "I don't know what you want me to say?"

"You could start with a proper apology?"

"Apology?" I repeated, finally looking down in disbelief. She was the one who hurt me. Why do I have to apologise?

"Yes. Friends shouldn't play with each others' feelings like that."

"Play with..." I shook my head as I tried to process her words. "If anyone is playing with someone's feelings right now, you are playing with mine. But I guess I'm sorry for assuming that you had any ounce of feelings left for me and trying to lean into it."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "You mean you were playing with mine."

"What?" I demanded. "Playing with... Callie—"

"I know you asking me to formal is all part of Lexi's grand plan."

I paused, the anger quickly leaving my body, instead placed with ice-cold shock. "You knew about the plan?"

"Of course I did. I just can't believe you agreed to it. I thought we were friends."

"We are. And I agreed to it before you and I got close again. Just after we started tutoring."

She turned her head, shaking it in disbelief. "You should have backed out of the plan then as our friendship reformed."

"I couldn't help it, Callie... The more time passed, the more I wanted—"

"You can always help it, Flynn," she spat. "You easily could have chose to drop the formal thing and just left my heart alone."

"Why is it so bad that I wanted to take you to formal? Friends take each other."

"Because you have been flirting with me the whole time to get me to say yes and it's unfair. I'm trying to move on."

"And I was trying to stop you from moving on!" I exclaimed, hands going up in the air in anger before I turned away from her so that she couldn't see the tears starting to make their way out.

"Is it a fun game for you then? Seeing that I'm struggling to let you go?"

"Game?" I grumbled. "I don't want you to let me go. Just as I don't want to let you go."

She heaved a sigh behind me. "Stop it. Stop saying things you don't mean."

Spinning on my heel, I spat, "You don't get to tell me what I mean and what I can and cannot say to you. The truth is Callie, when your sister, Ashton, and Luke approached me with this plan to—"

"Ash was in on it too?" she gasped. "Why?"

I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. "I don't know what's in it for him. But he did say something about wanting to see you be happy."

When I opened my eyes to gauge her response, she was shaking her head again, jaw working overtime. "Unbelievable," she muttered. "I told him that the touch thing with boys would be temporary, but he thought joining Lexi in throwing you at me under some elaborate plot to get me to go to formal—"

"No one had to throw me at you. And he wasn't helping to get you used to a guy touching you again..." I trailed off as my eyes searched her face, wondering what was going on in that head of hers.

But it seemed we were at a crossroad.

She was set on being mad at me.

And I was trying to hold the last pieces of my heart together.

Taking another deep breath, I confessed, "When your sister suggested I take you to formal... I was reluctant. I don't want to wear a dumb tux or have her pay my ticket and clothes. But the idea warmed on me. Because it meant many things. I could see you dressed all pretty. I could see you having fun and dancing. And... I'd be able to call you my date. Even if you'd never let me have another after, I thought maybe just one more..." I trailed off.

But then she said, "Have another what?"

"Date," I said, like it was obvious.

"Why would you go on another with me? If you got me to the formal, as Lexi planned, why would you—"

"Wait... just exactly what do you think was your sister's plan."

"She said, back at the beginning of term, that she'd make me go to formal no matter what. Everyone was pairing off and I didn't want to be a third wheel. So she threatened she'd find a way to force me to go. Then you came back and were being all sweet. And parts of me wondered if it was because of what we used to share... because surely if it was that you still wanted me, you would have said something. No flirting was off limits to you, so I knew you'd have the confidence if that were the case."

Oh how wrong you are.

But she went on before I could interrupt, her words stopping my open mouth, ready to retort. "But after your vehement flirting in class that ended with that question... that confirmed this whole time, everything was just part of my sister's plan to get me to go to—"

"That's not what the plan was for me. Or, at least, how they pitched it to me," I cut her off.

She paused. "What do you mean?"

"If Lexi roped me in because of what she had said earlier to you, it wasn't made clear to me. All I know is... Ash approached me wanting to know how I felt about you. Next I knew, your sister and Luke joined in, already having a plan in place that involved me getting you to a place where you'd accompany me to formal as my date. And from there... I'd see if we could go even further. Because if you were willing to go to formal with me, then surely you'd be open to—"

"Why would you even want me to go to formal with you though? If not part of Lexi's bet?"

Shaking my head, I said, "Because you'd be agreeing to a date with me. And maybe it would just be as friends at first... but it has the implications of something more. And I thought a nice night together, dressed up, trying so desperately to win your heart again, maybe you'd be open to a proper date next time. And maybe a few after that."

"Why do you want to go on dates with me?"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Because I want you back, Callie. I never stopped wanting you. When I told you that our relationship was silly... when I broke up with you... I was just desperate to push you away from me. I didn't want you seeing me like that and I didn't want to pull you under into that hole of despair with me. But now, being back, with you by my side... the ache is still there, but it's bearable. When you heard my worries, when I had you to turn to when I needed to cry... Everything feels easier shared. And I wish I knew that before I fucked it up."

The tears were coming unashamedly out of her eyes now, and she didn't even care to wipe them.

But I had to ask, "Why are you crying, Callie?"

"Why... What are you saying, Flynn? What do you mean by 'wanting me back'?"

"I mean... If it's not too late, I want to pick up where we left off. If you'll have me, I want us to be together again, in a relationship... boyfriend and girlfriend."

She shook her head and my heart started to shatter again. But then she said, "But why, Flynn?"

"Why what?"

"Why can't you just let us go into the past where we were? Why can't we just be friends?"

"I can try... if that's really want you want. If all you can take from me is a friendship, Callie, then I'll do my best to be that. But I will try until you tell me an outright no. I will fight to have you back until you look me in the eyes and tell me you will never give me another chance. Because, damn it, Callie," I said.

No... don't.

"I..."

Don't... it's too soon.

"You see, I..."

It will crush you more if you say it and she still rejects you.

"I..."

Ah... to hell with it.

"I love you."

Can you feel that? That's the end of this book coming closer...

Anyway, whatever will Callie say back to Flynn?

Find out next chapter...

Meme: