Watching the one he craves clasp her hands tight with her boyfriend brought upon a painful longing. Alex forced his gaze towards his locker, and heaved one of many sighs that day. His feelings were a whirlwind of longing and pain. The two never exchanged a single word. Alex pined for Terra since the first moment she passingly smiled at him. Unbeknownst to Alex, Terra was pitifully suppressing her fear and sadness. The striking blonde woman had been with her boyfriend for six months, and came to the realization that her relationship with Armin had crashed and burned. Armin caused her nothing but sorrow and guilt. He was unable to apologize, show affection, manipulated her to carry all the guilt of their fights, and suffocated her.
Terra forced a smile at her boyfriend, whom at the time was complaining about his work load. When it came to exchange a passionate goodbye kiss, she felt hollow inside but brightened up at the thought of seeing her best friend Candice during first period. Candice instantly grinned at the sight of her friend walking into class, yet dimmed when she noticed the pain behind her eyes.
Hey love, did something happen?
Terra was not the least bit surprised that she noticed her sullen mood. Taking a seat beside her, she began to explain the reasons behind her gloomy demeanor.
Armin exploded at me again. All I did was ask why he was talking to his ex-girlfriend... Maybe it is not in my place to be jealous, but I am so tired of my feelings being invalid just because he doesn't agree with me.
A familiar rage accompanied Candice. She was angry and frustrated at the state of her best friend. For months Armin had brought anguish to her beloved friend. She immediately soothed Terra, and reaffirmed her belief that she was better off without Armin suffocating her.
I know. You are 100 percent right Candice. I truly think that I need to end it. This rollercoaster has gone on for far too long and I am sick and tired of feeling paranoid, guilty, and depressed. Claiming he loves me and does what is best for me, yet all he ever brings me is momentary happiness and a whirlwind of pain.
Candice could not help but feel that familiar hope; maybe this time when she ended things with Armin she would not be manipulated back into such a toxic relationship. It was painful for her to watch Terra constantly break up and make up with a boy whom had constantly degraded her.
On the other side of the classroom, Alex's gaze fell upon Terra, entranced by her beauty. Through months of observing her he had only managed to fall harder for her. She was shy around the loud and knuckle headed boys in their senior grade, laughably so. Yet somehow, she radiated a confidence unmatched by any other woman he had seen. He constantly overhears about the new anime she watched, or the new music she had discovered, which only made him feel worse because he could see himself talking to her at length with the things they had in common. Yet fear held him back from making any moves towards her.
Every now and then he would see her beautiful frame walking alongside her friends, smoking the same cigarettes that he did. Many times he had almost built up the courage to speak to her, yet each phrase was swallowed back by the thudding of his heart. Alex would be considered a stalker by how often his green eyes traced her figure whenever she was in his sight. Interrupting his wandering thoughts, the grim faced English teacher began lecturing his students on the importance of arriving to class on time. Obviously directed at the foolish boys who swagger into class late every single day. Soon began a lesson, something about Hamlet, and just as Terra's mind wandered so did Alex's.
The lesson was boring as usual, and the classwork was tedious. Alex made a couple casual friends in his classes, mostly to save himself from sitting dejectedly alone. In his case, paranoia would soon follow if he had stayed silent all of class. These were the burdens of anxiety that Candice, Terra, and Alex similarly faced.
Upon the ringing of the bell, the students shuffled out chattering to their friends. Terra had worked up the courage to put her toxic relationship to rest as she walked out of class, confidence in stride,
