y's

t chuckle or a half-hearted grin. No, this was the kind of laugh that m

he hallway. And then, even a few students nearby joined in. I could feel my face burn, my pulse poun

of scrutiny that made me want to crawl into a hole and hide forever. "You think you can just... tell me you like me? You think

urled into a twisted grin. "You like me?" he repeated, almost as if he couldn't believe it. "Seriously. Have you even seen yourself?" He gestured tow

heir mockery making my skin crawl. I wanted to shrink away, disappear

o give you my umbrella. That's the best you got, huh? A damn umbrella?" He threw his hands up as if my feelings were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "Get a grip, Emily. We're not even on the same track. You're nowh

lap to my face. My vision blurred, and I blinked furio

at you a couple of times, that means anything? You think I care? I don't even remember your name ha

, you're gonna break her heart!" one of them said, slapping

ht like her," another one added, his voice full of mock sympathy

on. How could I have been so stupid? So naive to think he would ever see me as anything oth

wly, like he was explaining something to a child. "You're never going to be anything more than the girl who hides in the back of the class, the one no one notices until it's too late. You think you can change that with some lame confession? You're

ar anything else. The sound of it crushed me, shattering everything inside me

ll snickering behind him like a pack of hyenas. I stood there, unable to move, feeling like the world had come cra

ldn't let them see me break, couldn't let them see how much I was hurting. But the

For the first time, I understood exactly how small I was in the grand scheme of things. Cole Grayso

words like a mantra. I had to get out of there.

following me like a dark shadow. The tears finally started to fall, but I did

ow badly I had wanted him to notice me, I was nothing to him. Just a girl with glasses,