Monday morning brought a weird energy to the school hallways. Maybe it was the rain still hanging in the air, or maybe it was the way Molly and Jessica hasn't looked at each other since the storm.
Jessica threw herself into her routine - bookstore, school, homework, repeat. She figured if she stayed busy enough, she could forget that she almost confessed to Molly Hastings. Almost.
But avoiding her didn't work. Not when Molly showed up early to their next tutoring session, looking like shed been through a war.
"Hey," Jessica said, setting her backpack down. "You okay?"
Molly didn't answer. Instead, she handed Jessica her phone. A screenshot was open - Adam's DMs. Messages. To someone else.
Jessica read it silently.
"Damn," she finally said. "He's got the emotional depth of a waffle."
"I dumped him," Molly said, voice light, "in front of everyone. At lunch."
Jessica's browed rose. "Bold."
"I felt sick," Molly said, eyes glossy. "Like…everything I was holding together just cracked."
Jessica leaned against the table. "You don't have to hold everything together around me, you know."
Molly looked up, and for a second, the mask dropped. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Because I see through your act," Jessica replied softly. "And I think the girl underneath might be worth knowing."
The air between them snapped like static. Molly stepped forward, just a little too close.
"You keep saying things like that," she said, "and I'm going to start thinking you actually like me."
Jessica's eyes didn't flinch. "Maybe I do."
Molly's breath hitched.
But before anything else could happen, Ben barged in without knocking. "Yo, Molly, you're-oh." He blinked between them. "Am I interrupting something… interesting?"
Molly stepped back fast. "No."
Jessica grabbed her books. "Session's over."
She left without looking back.