It's not what I think.
It can't be.
That was the thought repeating in Niki's head as she curled under her blanket with her eyes glued to her phone screen.
She was on episode 12 of "Falling for the Wrong Guy."
The male lead had spent ten whole episodes in love with someone else, and now—finally—he was starting to look at the girl who had always been right there.
The one who never gave up.
Niki sat up straighter, hope flickering like a candle in her chest.
> "If it can happen in a drama… maybe this is that kind of story too."
Maybe James wasn't looking at Luke like that.
Maybe she just misunderstood.
And maybe... just maybe... her story wasn't over yet.
So this time, she didn't pull away.
She didn't avoid him.
She texted the group chat about meeting for their project—at James's house, like they'd originally planned.
James replied:
> [JAMES]:Sure. My place is quiet anyway. I'll tell my mom we're coming.
Luke reacted with a 👍.
Sammy spammed with gifs and a "I'm only coming if there's snacks."
Niki? She just typed:
> [NIKI]:I'll bring chips. Let's slay this project 😤📚
Scene: James's House
The door opened and James stood there, in his casual tee and joggers, hair slightly damp like he just washed it.
"Hey," he said calmly. "Come in."
Niki walked in first, followed by Sammy and Luke, who was already chewing gum like he owned the place.
"Wow," Sammy said. "It smells like detergent and disappointment."
"Thanks," James replied dryly. "That's the scent of my GPA."
They settled in the living room. Books, laptops, snacks—chaos everywhere.
Luke flopped onto the couch. "I call typing duty."
"You can't spell 'parallel' without using Google," Sammy said.
"That's why I'm typing and not spelling," he grinned.
James sat down next to Luke, but Niki quickly took the seat on Luke's other side, trapping James diagonally across.
Sammy took the floor with her laptop, dramatically declaring, "I'm the brain. You're all the decoration."
James leaned toward the table to grab a pencil, and Niki, trying to act so casual, offered him a juice box.
James blinked. "This the same one I refused last week?"
Niki smirked. "Redemption arc. Take it before I throw it at you."
He actually smiled this time—and took it.
Luke grabbed a chip and added, "Y'all flirting or fighting? Because I need to know whether to leave or bring popcorn."
"Shut up and type," James muttered.
They all laughed. Even Niki.
And for a moment, everything felt… normal.
Almost.
Until—
James's mom peeked in. "Oh! You brought friends, Jamie."
Luke snorted. "Jamie?"
"Mom," James groaned.
"She used to call him babycakes in middle school," Luke whispered across the couch.
Niki almost choked on her soda.
James glared at Luke, cheeks pink. "Say that again and I'll switch your PowerPoint slides to Comic Sans."
---
They worked for hours. Notes, edits, laughter, chips everywhere.
But somewhere between pages and glances, Niki let herself believe…
> Maybe she still had a chance.
As they packed up to leave, Niki stood near the door, tying her shoelace.
Behind her, James and Luke were alone for a second.
James said quietly, "You really don't get it, do you?"
Luke looked confused. "Get what?"
James didn't answer.
He just looked at him.
And smiled like he already knew how this story would end.
> Niki, standing just outside the room, froze—because she heard everything.
[Chapter 8 ENDS]