THE next day, Felix was standing in front of his locker, surrounded by his two friends.

"Do you think she's still upset about yesterday?" Hyunjin asked his friends.

"I certainly hope not." Han replied, a concerned expression plastered over his face as they both turned to Felix.

"I don't know... I feel like she's doing great things for us and saving us from difficult situations but we never do anything to pay her back. I never do anything to pay her back, and it's driving me crazy."

Just then, two girls passed by their locker. They turned to Felix, and sneered with disgust. They whispered something to each other, then giggled.

"He's so ugly."

He heard them whisper, which made him turn around and looked at them immediately with a frowning, baffled expression, crossing his arms in unease.

"What's going on?" he asked, making sure to make his tone loud enough for them, and his friends, to hear.

"Nothing, idiot."
The two girls giggled to each other, then walked away, leaving the three boys staring into their direction, lines forming between their eyebrows. Felix rubbed his chin, then turned to the two.

"What's just happened?"

Hyunjin continued to stare at them for a second, only to realize that most of the students on the corridor were now staring at Felix and whispering things none of them could hear.

"I have no idea."

Han turned to his friends.
"Come on, we're late for class."

Felix watched them leave his side, then proceeded to let out his book from his locker. As soon as he slammed it shut, he heard a noise behind him.

Turning around slowly, he saw Griffin's smug, smirking face, along with Diego beside him, both crossing their arms.
"Look who it is. The asshole who's using his girlfriend for clout. And I thought I was the bad guy." he spoke in a smug, sarcastic tone.

Felix frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Guess whose picture is all over The Washington Post?"
Griffin let out his phone from his pocket, then pressed on a few buttons, raising the screen to Felix's eye level.

And to his shock, Felix saw a picture of him and Mal, holding each other's hands and walking into a familiar place, the grocery store they went to the day before, wearing masks to cover their mouths and their identities.

He glanced at the top of the screen, where he spotted the headline of an article.

Worldwide known actress and singer Mal spotted with a new love interest.

Felix unconsciously took the phone from Griffin's hand, then began to read what was on the screen, scrolling through the entire article and heading straight to the comment section.

User1: Wow, he's ugly.
User2: What does she see in him? She deserves better.
User3: Who even is that? What a nobody.
User4: These men need to grow up and get a life, one that doesn't involve her.
User5: What a loser. He's probably using her for clout too.
User6: There's nothing different between this guy and Griffin.
User7: Stop using her for clout.
User8: Well, we can only hope he makes her happy. Right?
User9: He better stay away from her.
User10: She doesn't need another heartbreak.
User11: Griffin Gluck number 2!
User12: Wow. Another asshole who wants to be seen in public with her.
User13: What a cute couple.
User14 : He seems nice. I hope we get to know who he is.

Felix gave the phone back to the guy across from him with tearful eyes, noticing Griffin and Diego's expression, the one that was eyeing him in pure disgust.

"I n-need a m-minute."

His chest went tight, and it took him a few moments to realize that he couldn't breathe. His vision blurred for a few seconds, refusing to meet Griffin's burning gaze.

"E-Excuse me..." he whimpered out. His legs found their way away from the two boys, away from the corridor. Towards the nearest bathroom.

He needed to get out.

He needed to breathe.

He unlocked the door to the bathroom, and strolled inside. He gasped for air for a few moments, his heart pounding loudly inside his chest.

His body then hit the floor with a soft thud, which forced him to crawl to the nearest wall to rest his body. He gasped for air for a few more moments, his vision blurred, and his heart raced and pounded in his chest.
"T-This is all my fault." he gasped out, crossing his arms closer to his chest while hugging himself. He threw his head back against the wall, and continued to gasp for air.

"I-I can't b-breathe..."

Just then, he heard a noise through the bathroom walls, which echoed and repeated itself inside his head. He then heard a familiar voice, and a more familiar hand caressing his cheek as a form of reassurance.

"H-Help..." he whimpered as he let out a few, gentle gasps for air, tears finding their way through his face.

"Sunshine, you're okay! You're going to get through this. You're strong," the voice reassured, then a pair of soft lips planted an even softer kiss through his forehead, "You got this. I love you so much, you got this. This is only temporary."

He reached for the collar of his shirt and gave it a gentle tug, trying to ease the pressure over his lungs. "You're okay. Felix, you're okay."

She whispered a few more reassuring phrases as she wrapped her arms around his torso.
"I'm right here, sunshine. I'm here for you, okay?"
He hugged her back, pulling her desperately close to his body.
"T-This is all my fault, isn't it?" he whispered, another tear streaming down his face.

"No, baby. It was never your fault, okay? You've done nothing wrong to deserve this. I'm going to do everything I can to fix it. I promise."

He let her go and stared into her chestnut brown eyes, his racing heart stumbling to a halt. His chest continued to heave up and down whatsoever, despite him trying to push some air into his lungs.

"Please stay with me. Please." he pleaded, another tear finding its way down his handsome face.

"I'm always here for you. Do you hear me? Always, Felix. Always."

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