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nonsense chapter three _________________________________
— third person.
Sleeping has always been a hard thing for Stella to do. It's like her eyes are asleep, but her body isn't. The whole situation that happened at Madeline's party wasn't a helping factor.
The entire night Stella tossed and turned. She never thought that Chris would find out about Mason. "It wasn't even that big of a deal," she thought. But the way Chris reacted was replaying over and over again in her mind that it was practically engraved there. It was like a tattoo that was inked onto her brain.
For Chris, it was hard to accept that Stella may have moved on. He loves the girl but he fears that she might not feel the same way anymore. He always thought she did, because of how she acted around him. But now, he's not so sure.
The following week after the party, it was normal but it wasn't at the same time. They still hung out in the same group, but it was as if something in the air shifted. It didn't feel right to Chris. It didn't feel right to Stella. It didn't feel right to anyone. He was just going to have to get over it somehow.
During chemistry, Stella sat next to Matt and Kara in silence. The same thing was replaying in her head. The way Chris reacted. The way that his eyes looked when Madeline said it. The way he walked out of the room. The way he brushed it off like it was nothing. She figured talking to Chris about it would maybe help, but it could also make things worse. She was genuinely scared because of how he reacted when he first found out.
The scary part of talking to him about it was the thought of losing him completely. That's something she did not want to happen.
"Stel," Kara said, tapping her shoulder.
"Yeah?" Stella said, snapping out of her daze.
"You okay?" Kara said. Stella just nodded and looked back at the board. The teacher was doing an equation that Stella didn't even understand. Kara looked at Matt, who gave her a sympathetic face.
The bell finally rang for lunch. Normally, Chris would be excited to go to lunch. He loved seeing Stella's face after not seeing it all day. He loved hearing her voice, her laugh. But now, he kind of dreaded it. Not because he doesn't love her any less, but because now he can't look at her without imagining Mason's lips on hers. Where his are supposed to be. Not Mason's, Chris's.
Chris threw his backpack over his shoulder and slowly walked towards the table. Everyone was already there. He took his usual seat next to Nick. The only problem with that is now he's sitting directly across from Stella. They kept making awkward eye contact.
Almost immediately after sitting down, Chris could sense the tension. He also noticed how distracted Stella looked. Of course, he did. He noticed everything.
"What are you eating today, Stella?" Chris said. He had to say something to her. He couldn't stand not saying anything. She looked up at him. Her eyes looked different. They're more of a dark blue. Like the ocean at night, when normally they're clear as day.
"Oh, just strawberries. Mom hasn't gone shopping yet." She gave him a small smile as he nodded his head.
"Can I have one?" He asked. Stella nodded and slid the container of strawberries towards him. Chris took a few, "thanks."
"I need to vent guys," Kara said, sighing.
"What's wrong now?" Matt said.
"Everything is wrong, Matthew," she rolled her eyes at Matt's obvious sarcasm, "I just don't get math. Like I'm a senior. We shouldn't have to learn this shit."
"Right, like shouldn't we be done learning now?" Nick said.
Matt rolled his eyes, "you guys are stupid."
"And that's why you're already failing chemistry," Kara said, shrugging.
"Fuck you."
"You wish."
"Okay!" Nick said, changing the topic immediately, "Homecoming is coming up."
"Oh my god, I totally forgot about homecoming," Stella said, "I need to get a dress."
"I do too. We should all go shopping after school."
"All of us? Meaning you're going to make me drive everywhere?" Matt said.
"Yes, Matty bear. And you're going to because I said so." Kara smiled at the boy, who just sighed and tried to hide his smile. It was obvious to everyone that Matt had a crush on Kara. He has since freshman year.
Stella shook her head and smiled, looking down at her strawberries. Or what used to be her strawberries. She looked at the empty container, confused. She then looked at Chris who was already looking at her.
"You ate my strawberries," Stella said.
"Did I?" Chris responded, resting his chin on his hand.
"You did. I know you did. You look guilty," Stella said while putting the lid on the container, "you owe me strawberries."
Chris put his hands up in defense, "To be fair, you never said how many I could have."
"So you ate them all?"
Chris nodded, "yeah." He smiled. This is the most normal it has felt between the two of them. It felt good, it felt right. It was like the Mason kiss never happened. It was like Madeline's party never happened. It was just the usual Chris and Stella banter.
