Bitter jealousy

001-Love's Revelation

Tori's weight pressed against me, her head on my neck. Her breathing was shallow, uneven, and I could feel her delicate tears on my skin.

"Tori," I whispered, my voice rough. "Stop crying over a man that never deserved you."

I held her tighter, pulling her closer as if I could shield her from the pain. "Shut up," I said softly.

Tori let out a shaky breath. "It's Saturday, and I'm spending it crying over that stupid ass."

"I told you he was a stupid ass," I replied.

She smiled and laughed slightly.

"Am I forcing you to hug me?" Her eyes crossed.

"Yeah."

To be honest, I always made her think that I HATED physical touch. But if it was coming from HER, I did not mind it at all.

"Gosh, Zaid! Stop being so annoying," one of her friends who lived with her in the dorm said (Yaneem).

"I thought it's just me, stop talking, lovebirds," the other girl said (Anna).

Sneaking up to each other's dorms was a normal habit for us. We were like besties, so it's not like we were doing something we weren't supposed to do. We would just hang out with each other and watch movies till 3 am.

With Tori, I'm super open, I tell her all of my darkest secrets, except one.

★

On Sunday, Tori and I decided to meet up at the school library to get some work done together.

Tori walked a few steps ahead, her backpack slung over her shoulder, her pace determined. I followed behind, I could tell she was still upset from the tragic break-up.

Inside the library, we found a table near the back that was perfect.

As we worked, the silence between us was filled with pencils scratching papers. I stole a glance at Tori.

"Zaid, what's the concept of gravity? Who discovered it?" Tori said suddenly, breaking the silence. Her voice was soft, almost hesitant.

I caught myself staring at her soft lips accidentally, but before I could stop myself--

Tori's head tilted. "My eyes are here, Zaid," she snapped at my dull eyes.

"Oh, uh, Sir Isaac Newton."

But as we packed up our things and headed back to our respective dorms, she asked me a question that I oddly hated.

"Zaid? Can you pretend to be my boyfriend for this photo?"

I knew she wanted to make that jerk jealous.

"No."

"Too bad! People think we are dating. This is perfect!" She grabbed her phone from her pocket. blurring my face with an anonymous question, "Take a guess who this is!"

"Instogrim is stupid. Social media is stupid," I whined.

"Instagram? You mean Instagram, haha," she chuckled.

I took a glance at my reflection then quickly said goodbye and RAN.

I hurried back to my dorm,  As I entered, Sam, my close friend, looked up from his desk, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Hey, Zaid, what's up? You look like you've seen a ghost," Sam said, his eyes narrowing with concern.

I flopped down onto my bed, burying my face in my hands. "It's nothing, just... Tori," I mumbled.

Sam leaned back in his chair, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. "Ah, Tori. What did she do this time?"

"She wanted to take a photo for Instagram, and I ended up looking like an idiot," I groaned, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

Sam chuckled. "You blushed, didn't you?"

I shot him a glare. "Shut up."

But Sam just laughed harder, shaking his head in amusement. "Dude, it's no big deal. Everyone knows you two are close. No harm in a little social media fun."

I sighed

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't want to date her?"

I froze, caught off guard by the question. "What? No, of course not. We're just friends."

Sam smirked knowingly. "Sure, Zaid. Whatever you say."

I rolled my eyes, grateful for the change of topic. "Anyway, how's your day been?"

PS. Im soo sorry for the short chapter its because its the first chapter . i will be posting longer chapters in the future!