Chapter 3

Jacqueline

I barely slept.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw one thing.

He was my next-door neighbor. By midnight, I’d convinced myself I’d imagined it.

By one o’clock, I peeked through my curtains. His bedroom light was on. By two o’clock, it was off.

Not that I was checking. Okay… maybe I was, just a little.

“…This is unhealthy,” I whispered to myself.

I rolled onto my back and buried my face in my pillow.

“What if we leave for school at the same time?”

I groaned. “What if he says good morning?”

Another groan. “What if he asks my name?”

I sat bolt upright. “No…”

I grabbed the nearest pillow and hugged it tightly. “I’ll faint.”

—-

The next morning…

I was downstairs nearly twenty minutes earlier than usual.

Mom looked up from her coffee. “You feeling okay?”

“I’ve never felt better.”

She frowned. “That’s exactly why I’m asking.”

“I just… wanted to leave early today.”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You hate mornings.”

“I’ve changed.”

“Overnight?”

“People grow.”

Mom laughed. “I’ll believe that when pigs start flying.”

I forced a smile while trying not to glance toward the kitchen window every five seconds.

Don’t look outside. Don’t look outside. Don’t—

I looked.

The curtains across the neighboring house were still closed.

“…Maybe he’s still asleep.”

Mom followed my gaze. “I wonder if we’ll get to meet the new neighbors today.”

“I don’t know.”

“I should probably bake them something.”

“Oh?”

“It’s the neighborly thing to do.”

My heart nearly stopped. “No!”

Mom blinked. “…No?”

“I mean…” I laughed awkwardly. “They’re probably busy unpacking.”

“They’ll still need to eat.”

“I can take it over tomorrow.”

Mom smiled. “That’s sweet of you.”

My smile froze. “…Tomorrow? Unless you’d rather go today.”

“No!”

Mom stared.

I cleared my throat. “I mean… tomorrow sounds better.”

She slowly nodded. “You’re acting strange today.”

“I didn’t sleep well.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Thankfully, she let it go.

___

Ten minutes later, I stepped outside. The cool morning air brushed against my face.

I adjusted my backpack and glanced toward the neighboring driveway. Empty.

I secretly released a breath.

Maybe he’d already left. Good. That was…good. Right?

I had barely taken three steps when I heard the front door next door open.

Every muscle in my body froze.

Please don’t be him. Please don’t—

The sound of footsteps echoed behind me.

I didn’t turn around, I couldn’t.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

The footsteps grew closer, closer.

Then… “Morning.”

Not to me, to someone jogging past.

I almost laughed from relief. Almost, because the footsteps kept coming closer.

Until they were walking beside me.

“Oh…” I stared stubbornly at the sidewalk.

Please keep walking. Please keep walking. Please keep walking

Instead…he slowed down.

My heart stopped.

No. No, no, no.

His footsteps matched mine. One. Two. Three.

I stared so hard at the sidewalk that I could probably describe every crack in it later.

“Hey.”

My brain short-circuited.

He… wasn’t talking to me, right? There was no way.

I slowly turned my head.

He was looking directly at me.

For a terrifying second, I forgot how to speak. “H-hi.”

The greeting came out so quietly I wasn’t even sure I’d said it out loud.

He smiled politely. “We’re neighbors now.”

I blinked, once, twiice, three times.

Then pushed my glassed up “I… um…”

Wonderful, an excellent start.

“I noticed,” I managed to squeak.

Why did I say that? Of course I noticed. The entire neighborhood probably noticed.

He chuckled softly. “My parents finally found a place after months of searching.”

“Oh.”

Brilliant. Such an intelligent response, Jacqueline.

“yeah.” He adjusted the strap of his backpack. “I’m Ethan, by the way.”

As if I didn’t already know his full name, his birthday, his favorite pizza, the fact that he preferred blue Gatorade over orange and kinda….many more

I forced myself to act like a normal human being. “I’m Jacqueline.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jacqueline.”

Nice…to meet…Me?

I was ninety-nine percent sure my heart had just exploded.

“You too.”

Please stop talking. Please stop talking before you embarrass yourself.

“So,” he said, glancing toward the school building in the distance, “looks like we’ll be walking the same way every morning.”

My soul left my body.

Every morning? Every…Morning?

“Y-yeah.”

“I guess I’ll see you around.”

He flashed another easy smile before jogging ahead to catch up with two boys waiting farther down the street.

I remained frozen on the sidewalk. Completely, utterly frozen.

It was until he disappeared around the corner that I finally remembered how to breathe.

I touched my cheek, it felt hot.

“Oh…” I whispered. “He knows my name.”

A grin spread across my face before I could stop it. “He knows my name.”

I practically floated the rest of the way to school.

If someone had told me yesterday that the most popular boy at Westbridge Academy would introduce himself to me, I would’ve laughed in their face.

Now he’d spoken to me. Smiled at me. And somehow…the day already felt brighter.

I had no idea that this simple conversation would become the beginning of a story that would eventually shatter my heart.

A stupid grin refused to leave my face.

I quickly pulled out my phone and opened my Notes app.

/Emergency Entry #417

/Date: September 14

/8:07 a.m.

/Status: Still alive.

/Major life update: Ethan Walker voluntarily spoke to me.

I stared at the screen. “…Voluntarily.”

Then I added another line.

/He smiled.

Another line.

/He said we’ll probably walk to school together.

I bit my lip.

No. That sounded too confident.

I quickly erased probably walk to school together and replaced it with:

/He said we’d probably see each other around.

“Much better,” I murmured.

I hugged my phone against my chest before slipping it back into my backpack.

“Okay, Jacqueline,” I whispered to myself. “Let’s be normal today.”

—-

By the time I reached the entrance of Westbridge Academy, students were streaming through the front doors, chatting loudly as they hurried to their lockers before first period.

I couldn’t stop smiling.

Ethan Walker had actually spoken to me. Me!

I touched my cheeks.

Please stop smiling, Jacqueline. People are going to think you’ve lost your mind.

They ignored me completely.

My smile only grew wider.

Shaking my head at myself, I stepped inside the building and made my way toward my locker.

“Morning, Claire.”

Claire looked up from the locker beside mine. “Morning.”

She paused “…Why are you smiling like you won the lottery?”

“I’m smiling?”

“Definitely!”

“Oh”

“Yes, so why?”

“I always smile.”

“No.” She shook her head. “This one is different.”

I adjusted my glasses. “It is not.”

“It is.”

“It isn’t.”

Claire narrowed her eyes. “What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Jacqueline.”

“Nothing happened.”

She folded her arms. “You accidentally looked at him again?”

“No.”

“You dreamed about him?”

“No.”

“You found another picture for your collection?”

“…No.”

Her eyes narrowed even further. “Then why do you look like someone handed you a million dollars?”

I tried to keep a straight face, but failed spectacularly.

Claire gasped. “Oh my goodness.”

“What?”

“He talked to you.”

My eyes widened. “…How did you know?”

She pointed dramatically at my face. “Because you look like you’re about to explode.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“It wasn’t?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“What did he say?”

“He…” I couldn’t stop smiling. “He introduced himself.”

Claire stared at me for three full seconds.

Then she grabbed both my shoulders. “He… introduced himself?”

I nodded. “We’re neighbors now.”

Claire screamed.

Several students turned to look at us.

She clapped a hand over her mouth before lowering her voice.

“Jacqueline Carter…”

“What?”

“This is how every romance movie starts.”

I laughed. “It was just a conversation.”

Claire pointed a finger at me. “Famous last words.”

I rolled my eyes.