.. 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 ..

Chapter three - A Shift in the Air.

The following day, Lena couldn't shake the feeling of wrongness. It clung to her, sticking like the humid air of late spring. Violet Blackwood had been her lab partner, and though the project was over, the ripple from that brief interaction hadn't faded. The quiet indifference in Violet's eyes haunted her, making it impossible to focus on anything else, even Tyler's soft, soothing words of reassurance.

The moment Lena entered the cafeteria, she immediately scanned the room. There was no reason for her to look, but she did it anyway. She wasn't even sure what she was looking for.

And then she saw her.

Violet, sitting alone at a corner table, her back to the wall, she was eating something, but it was hard to tell what—it didn't matter. What mattered was the way she held herself. The way she owned her solitude, as if she were completely unbothered by the throngs of students around her.

Lena's stomach twisted. She could feel her eyes lingering longer than they should. The way Violet seemed so entirely at ease, even in this crowded, buzzing cafeteria, was something Lena couldn't comprehend. How was that even possible?

The flicker of jealousy from yesterday returned, sharper this time. It was like a tangle of emotions twisting in her chest. What did she want from Violet? She didn't even know.

"You coming?" Tyler's voice snapped her out of her daze.

Lena blinked and turned to find him standing beside her, looking slightly confused. His blue eyes—perfectly aligned with his quarterback persona—held the look of a guy who'd spent his whole life having everyone's attention.

"I was waiting for you," he added with a grin.

"Oh, sorry," Lena muttered, shaking her head to clear it. "I was just... thinking."

"About me?" Tyler teased, leaning in closer.

Lena smiled, but it felt like she was forcing it. "Of course."

As they walked toward the lunch line, Lena couldn't help but glance back at Violet. This time, Violet's gaze met hers. For a split second, their eyes locked. It wasn't a long look, but it was enough to make Lena's heart beat a little faster.

There was no warmth in Violet's expression. No curiosity, no invitation. Just an unreadable distance that made Lena want to look away, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop herself.

Tyler's arm slipped around her waist as they reached the counter, and for a moment, everything felt normal again. The comfort of his touch, the familiarity of their routine. He leaned in, whispering something in her ear as they picked out their lunch. Lena smiled and nodded, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Violet.

"Ready for the game on Friday?" Tyler asked, his voice full of excitement.

Lena nodded. "Yeah, of course."

But even as the words left her mouth, they didn't feel real. They didn't feel like her words. Something was off, something Lena couldn't quite place. The life she had, the one everyone thought she wanted—sometimes, it felt so... empty.

She shook the thought away. It wasn't like her to question things, especially not her perfect, flawless life.

As they sat down at the usual table with her friends, Lena tried to push Violet out of her mind. She could have a normal, carefree lunch, surrounded by familiar faces. She could focus on Tyler, on the conversation, on everything that made her life look perfect.

But Violet stayed with her, lingering like a shadow.

Lena's thoughts kept returning to that moment in biology—how quiet Violet had been, how detached. Like she wasn't even part of the school. It was as if she existed in her own bubble, disconnected from everything that mattered. From everything Lena had worked so hard to achieve.

"Hey, Lena," Sarah said, breaking through the fog of her thoughts. "Are you okay? You've been kind of quiet."

Lena blinked, looking up at her friend. Sarah's face was creased with concern, and Lena smiled, trying to brush off the unsettling feeling that had been gnawing at her since yesterday.

"Yeah, just tired," Lena said, forcing a light tone. "Just a lot going on."

"Tell me about it," Sarah replied, rolling her eyes. "Between the game and the prom coming up, I feel like I'm gonna lose it."

Lena nodded absentmindedly, but her mind was elsewhere again. Somewhere across the cafeteria, Violet sat alone, her eyes hidden behind a curtain of hair as she picked at her food. Her indifference was almost too much for Lena to process.

Why did it bother her so much? She barely knew the girl. She had no reason to feel this tug inside her when she thought of Violet.

But it didn't make sense to her. None of it did.

"Okay, okay," Sarah said, rolling her eyes again. "Now that I've got your attention, we really need to start planning for prom. We should all go together—like last year. You know, the usual."

Lena forced a smile, her thoughts still drifting. "Yeah, of course. Prom sounds fun."

But inside, it didn't feel fun. It felt like a checklist she was supposed to check off. It felt like she was going through the motions, like everyone else. Like the life she was living was somehow empty and she didn't know how to fill it.

"You've been awfully quiet," Tyler added, picking up on her distracted mood. "Something on your mind?"

Lena shook her head, snapping herself back to the present. "No, it's nothing. I'm just... distracted."

Tyler smiled and reached for her hand. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out together."

But the truth was, Lena wasn't so sure. Every time she tried to tell herself she had it all—Tyler, the popularity, the perfect life—it felt more and more like a lie.

Violet Blackwood had somehow cracked the perfect shell Lena had built around herself, and now Lena couldn't stop wondering: What would it be like to be someone who didn't care about any of it?

A question that was beginning to make her feel more alive than any of the things she was supposed to care about.