INVISIBLE STRINGS ~ Scoups [C]

🎀12

The days passed, and Y/N continued keeping her distance from Scoups. If she saw him in the hallway, she turned in the opposite direction. If they were assigned the same group task, she kept their conversations strictly academic. It was a complete reversal from how things used to be and Scoups felt every bit of it.

At first, he thought she was just upset, that maybe with time, things would go back to normal. But as the days stretched into weeks, it became clear-Y/N wasn't just mad. She was done.

One afternoon, Y/N sat in the library, flipping through her textbook. Yeri sat across from her, scrolling through her phone lazily.

"You know, ignoring someone so hard takes more effort than just talking to them" Yeri mused, not looking up from her screen.

"I'm not ignoring him" Y/N muttered.

Yeri snorted. "Oh really? Because I just saw you take the long way around the cafeteria to avoid him."

Y/N rolled her eyes. "I'm just... keeping things simple."

"Simple? Or are you running away?"

Before Y/N could answer, a familiar voice interrupted.

"Hey."

Y/N's grip on her pen tightened. She didn't need to look up to know who it was.

Scoups stood beside the table, looking between her and Yeri. "Can we talk?" he asked, his voice uncertain but firm.

Y/N glanced at Yeri, who arched an eyebrow as if saying Well, what now?

She sighed and shut her book. "Fine. Five minutes."

Scoups nodded, leading her to a quieter corner of the library. He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking uncharacteristically hesitant.

"Look, I get it" he started. "You're upset...A-And you have every right to be. But can you stop pretending like I don't exist?"

Y/N folded her arms. "I'm not pretending. I'm just choosing where to put my energy.... And chasing after someone who never wanted me? Yeah, I'm done with that."

Scoups flinched at her words. He knew he deserved them, but it still stung.

"I'm not asking you to chase me" he admitted. "I just... I miss talking to you."

Y/N scoffed. "Funny. Because when I wanted to talk, you had no problem shutting me down."

Scoups exhaled sharply, frustration creeping into his tone. "I know I was an ass. I regret it, okay? But I'm trying here."

Y/N eyes flickered with something unreadable. "Trying doesn't erase what happened."

She turned to leave but his next words stopped her.

"Do you really not care anymore?"

She hesitated, her fingers curling slightly but when she turned back, her expression was composed. "I care about myself more."

And with that, she walked away, leaving Scoups standing there, watching her disappear down the aisle.

The School Festival Announcement

The next morning, the class was abuzz with excitement as the teacher made an announcement.

"As part of the senior year activities, we will be hosting a School Festival. Each class will be responsible for running a booth and participation is mandatory."

A murmur spread through the room. The festival was one of the biggest events of the year-an opportunity for students to showcase their creativity, bond with classmates and for some, create lasting memories before graduation.