Invisible String

Chapter 25

Iyaara

After that painfully awkward lunch, we went back to class.
And I knew.
I knew he noticed I was acting weird.

Why was I like that?

The moment I saw him, my mouth decided it no longer knew how to function. I wasn’t like this before. I didn’t stumble over air. I didn’t freeze. I didn’t turn into a silent statue.
But whatever this is… I needed to act normal. At least pretend I was a functioning human being.

“Thinking about Ryker, huh?” Ava nudged me, her voice dripping with playful teasing.

I stared at her. No response. Because if I opened my mouth, the truth might fall out again like earlier and I was NOT taking that risk twice in one day.

Zero period meant no assignments, no teacher, nothing productive — just… time. So I lowered my head onto my desk, hoping my brain would shut up for once.

It didn’t.

It went straight back to him.
Ryker.
Of course.

It was always like this.
Whenever I liked someone, they’d take up space in my mind like they owned the place — rent-free, utilities included, full luxury membership.
Like… hello? I did NOT approve the lease.

I sighed and turned my head slightly, eyes drifting to the window beside me — watching sunlight stretch across the glass, warm and quiet.

But my mind wasn’t quiet.

It was loud.
And everything in it sounded like his name.

School finally ended, and I took longer than usual packing my bag.
Not because I was slow — oh no — but because my brain was currently malfunctioning, overheating, and threatening to explode.

Ava was rushing me, reminding me we had to go to her house to work on the science project.

Which would’ve been fine.

If Ryker wasn't coming.

Which he was.

Meaning: I was walking straight into danger.

What if I accidentally blurt it out again like earlier?

What if I fall?

What if I breathe wrong?

What if my existence becomes embarrassing in front of him?

Oh god.

If overthinking were an Olympic sport, my walls would be covered with gold medals and trophies, and probably a framed photo of me crying on the podium.

Ava finally finished packing and dragged me outside.
Kairo and Ryker were already waiting at the gate.

"So early," Kairo said sarcastically, pretending they’d been abandoned for hours.

I stayed quiet and fidgeted with the strap of my bag, then started peeling the skin off my lip — a terrible habit, painful, but my brain said: yes, let's do self-destruction today.

We walked toward the bus stop, and as usual, Ava and Kairo started bickering like assigned cartoon characters being paid for it.

The bus arrived.

Everyone climbed in, and I was JUST about to sit next to Ava when Kairo slid in front of me.

“Sorry,” he said, not sorry at all, “we have unfinished business.”

And he dragged Ava to another seat.

Great.

Perfect.

Fantastic.

Now I had to sit next to Ryker.

Ava shot me a look — that evil teasing smile only best friends and villains in movies have — and Ryker looked at me too, waiting.

So I walked toward the seat.

My heartbeat was doing cardio.

My hands were fidgeting like they had their own nervous system.

My brain?
Already writing my obituary.

I sat down beside him, trying to look normal.

(Which clearly wasn’t working.)

A few silent seconds passed before he finally turned to me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, voice soft, eyebrows slightly drawn.
“You’ve been acting… weird today.”

My heart stopped.

My brain screamed.

My mouth panicked.

“Yeah—I’m fine. Just—just a headache. I’ll be fine,” I blurted, louder than any human needed to speak inside a bus.

GREAT.
PERFECT.
AMAZING.

Silence.

He stared at me for a second — like he was trying to understand something I wasn’t saying.

Then… he smiled.

Not a normal smile.
A small, knowing one.

Almost like he already knew the truth.

Our bus rumbled forward and the silence between us wasn’t exactly awkward…
Just… charged.

Ryker rested his arm on the window, staring outside like he wasn’t thinking about anything. Meanwhile, I was thinking about everything.

The bus took a sharp turn and before I could adjust, our knees touched.

Just lightly.
Barely.
But it felt like someone plugged me into electricity.

I froze.

A cold shiver ran down my spine from that tiny touch.
Normally, I would’ve moved away—given space, acted normal—but my body didn’t move.

And neither did his.

I glanced up for a second. He didn’t turn fully, but the corner of his mouth lifted—like he was trying not to smile.

Why?
Why did he do that?

But I already knew he noticed.

My heart did that stupid flip again.

I looked away, pretending nothing happened, while every nerve in my body screamed:

Don’t move.

And he didn’t, either.

When we arrived at the station, we got off and walked to Ava’s place. The house was quiet and calm, the silence almost comforting after the chaos in my head.

We sat on the couch, talked about the project, and started working—like nothing had happened.

Like my heart hadn’t almost exploded.

Like that tiny touch hadn’t changed everything.