Annie sat in the back of the classroom, her eyes glued to her phone as she continued to build her castle in Minecraft. She was a shy girl growing up, and social interactions always made her nervous since she was ridiculed nearly every single day in middle school by most of her peers, especially girls. This issue would, unfortunately, follow her to high school. She didn’t think she was attractive, having curly brown hair that touched her shoulders and black round glasses. That, combined with her history of bullying and social awkwardness, had made developing friendships difficult for her. So instead of going out on weekends or after school, she is tucked away in her bedroom playing video games or watching Let’s Play videos from her favorite YouTubers. Annie would always sigh to herself, longing for true friendship.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom, Jack is chatting away with his friends and his girlfriend Hannah about their plans for the weekend. Jack couldn’t help but take a glance at Annie. Ever since the two were paired up to do a class assignment together last week, Jack had longed for friends who liked him for who he was and not for his social status. While working on the assignment, he took note of how polite and friendly Annie was, despite her awkwardness. Hannah, on the other hand, is arrogant and often brags about her popularity. Jack manages to slip away without his friends noticing, and he walks over to Annie.
"Hi there, Annie!”
Annie jumped, nearly dropping her phone. She looked up at the person who was speaking to her, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Jack, one of the more popular boys at school, was talking to her.
“I know this is kind of sudden, but would you like to hang out with me after school?” Jack asked her.
Annie, at first, didn’t know what to say; whether it was shyness or the shock of a popular kid talking to her, she wasn’t sure. When she did find her voice, all she said was, “Me? You? Hang out? Today?”
Jack smiled. "Sure," he said.
With how friendly Jack was to her, there was no way Annie would refuse the invitation.
“Oh, of course, Jack,” Annie said with a somewhat awkward smile.
After school, Jack invited Annie to his house, where he introduced her to his parents, who turned out to be nice people, much to Annie’s relief. Then, the two went to the living room and chatted for a while about their favorite video games while playing Mario Kart on Jack’s Nintendo Switch. For the next few days, Jack and Annie would go somewhere every day after school to hang out: the movie theater, the mall, and even Annie’s house. Jack would run into a few of his friends to come and hang out with him and Annie, and they accepted the invitation. Annie’s parents were happy to see their daughter had made friends. Annie couldn’t be happier; friendship was what she wanted, and her wish came true.
Meanwhile, Hannah was fuming to herself in her bedroom. She had always hated Annie for reasons that didn’t make sense to Jack, but seeing him and his friends get together with her made Hannah despise her even more. When news about a prom spread across the school, Hannah grinned devilishly. She picked up her phone and texted her friends about her plan to ruin Annie and Jack’s friendship.
When prom night came, Annie was very nervous as she fiddled with the hem of her bright blue dress. Not only was it her first time going to a prom, but over time she had developed feelings for Jack and worried that he wouldn't like her back. Her parents agreed to drive her to school, where the prom is held. When Annie exits the car, she is shocked to see Jack and one of his best friends, Tom, arguing.
“Dude, I thought you were going to ask Annie to prom!” Tom yelled.
“Why would I do that?” Jack screamed. “Hannah texted me the other night, saying that Annie came to her house and beat her up! Look at this picture she sent me!”
Jack pulled out his phone and showed Tom the picture. Hannah appears to be crying and putting her hand on her head while her face is littered with scratch marks, bruises, and tears. Tom shook his head, clearly not buying this for a second.
“Dude, there’s no way Annie did this,” Tom said. “That picture must have been photo-shopped or something.”
“But she’s crying!” Jack yelled. “You know what, Tom? If you see Annie, tell her that she and I aren’t right for each other! I don’t like girls who get violent at people!”
Tom was about to say something, but then he noticed Annie standing a little way away from the boys. She had tears running down her face.
“So you believe Hannah over me?” Annie whimpered. “I should’ve known I wasn’t good enough for you, Jack, or anyone for that matter.”
Tom called Annie, but she had already disappeared from behind the building. Jack noticed Hannah walking up to him wearing a sparkly pink dress. He is surprised to see that she only has a black eye.
“I’m glad you dumped her, Jack,” Hannah said. “Now how about we head inside and pretend this never happened?”
Tom stared silently at Hannah. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a bottle of water, and poured the clear liquid all over Hannah, who let out a surprised cry.
“Tom, what did you do that for?!” Jack yelled.
Tom says nothing and wordlessly walks past the pair and into the school. Jack made a mental note to give Tom a piece of his mind for the little stunt he pulled. As he was about to help Hannah, Jack got a look at her face and gave her a cold stare.
“Hannah, you lied to me, didn’t you?” He asked. “You lied to me about Annie beating you up, didn’t you?”
“But it’s true!” Hannah attempts to cry crocodile tears. “Annie hurt me out of jealousy! She can’t take that I’m prettier than her!”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know why I believe you. Hannah, you may be beautiful, but your personality says otherwise. You’re not the girl I want to be with.”
With that, Jack starts his walk to the back of the school. He finds Annie sitting by herself on the bottom row of the bleachers, staring up at the full moon and stars. Jack hesitated for a moment, but he knew he couldn’t just leave Annie alone, especially when she was upset. Taking a deep breath, he walks over to sit next to him.
“Hi, Annie.” he said.
“Hi, Jack,” Annie said with sorrow.
No words were exchanged between the two for a moment as they stared up at the night sky. After a while, Jack decides to break the silence.
“Annie…I just want to say that I’m sorry," Jack said. “I should’ve known Hannah was lying to me.”
“But…she’s prettier than me,” Annie said.
“You’re pretty too, Annie,” Jack admitted. This took Annie by surprise. “Hannah’s beautiful and all, but to her, looks are everything. She never once said ‘I love you’ to me when we were dating back then.” Jack gently takes Annie’s hands, her green eyes meeting his ocean-blue ones. “Annie, there’s a girl that I want to be with, and that girl…is right in front of me.”
Annie’s eyes widened in surprise, as she knew who Jack was referring to. “I’m that girl?”
Jack gives a nod and a smile.
“Jack, I’m not sure what to say,” Annie said with a smile. “I’ve never gotten that kind of attention from guys before, and you’re the first guy to do that. I’ve never considered myself pretty until tonight. There’s a guy who has caught my attention since the first day of school. He has a great smile and a fun personality.” Annie’s smile grew wider. “And that guy is sitting right next to me.”
Jack smiled. “I’m that guy?”
Annie nodded, her smile still wide on her lips. The two leaned in, and their lips met. They were unaware of their friends watching from behind a tree that was out of their line of sight, silently cheering.