The light turned green. She stepped off the curb, brushing past him just enough to keep him guessing.
Meanwhile, Emily flounced through the school corridors with all the confidence of someone who should have it all figured out. Armed with a new plan every hour, she was determined to get Aiden's attention, no matter how many times she'd failed before.
Her first attempt? Dropping her books right in front of him during lunch. She'd hoped for a classic "knight in shining armour" moment, but instead, Aiden barely glanced her way, distracted by his phone.
Undeterred, Emily tried again at gym class, where she made a not-so-subtle comment about needing a spotter for the weights.
Gym class was never Emily's favourite, but today she walked into the hall with a mission. Aiden was already there near the weight racks, a water bottle in hand, chatting casually with a few guys from track. He looked unfairly good in the sleeveless PE shirt and Emily mentally psyched herself up like she was going into battle.
Right. This is the day.
When the teacher told them to rotate stations, Emily made sure to drift toward the weights. She waited until Aiden picked up a pair of dumbbells before stepping in with just the right amount of fake struggle.
"Ugh, these are heavier than I remember," she said loudly, hefting a twelve-pound weight and faking a grimace. She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I, uh… might need a spotter."
Aiden glanced over for a brief two seconds. "You're good," he said mildly, then proceeded to curl his weights like she hadn't said anything at all.
Emily blinked. Then tried again.
She let the dumbbell drop with a dramatic exhale and wiped her forehead even though she wasn't sweating yet. "Wow, guess I should've eaten breakfast. I'm so dizzy," she said, waiting for him to react.
He gave a small nod and said, "Drink water then," before turning to talk to his friend about their upcoming track meet.
Emily stood frozen, dumbbell in hand, cheeks turning pink. She looked around, realising a few people had seen the exchange. Someone whispered. Someone else giggled. She felt her ears go hot.
She set the weight down carefully and backed away like she hadn't just embarrassed herself in broad daylight. She went straight to the water cooler and pretended to scroll her phone while trying to get her pride back.
Thirty seconds later, she typed furiously.
Emily's Text to Bella:
EMILY: I just humiliated myself in gym
EMILY: LIKE fully body-slammed by reality kind of humiliation
EMILY: I tried to flirt with Aiden and he basically treated me like a plant
EMILY: told me to "drink water and I'll be fine"
EMILY: I AM NEVER SHOWING MY FACE AGAIN
She waited, bouncing on her heels. Bella didn't reply right away (probably because she had chemistry). Emily groaned and typed more.
EMILY: also WHY does he look cuter when he doesn't care?? worst thing ever
EMILY: does indifference count as emotional damage because I'm traumatised
Bella replied with a calm, teasing tone.
"Maybe you're just too much, Em. Or maybe he's just not worth it."
Emily sighed but knew there was a grain of truth in that. Still, she wasn't giving up, not yet.
At the end of the day, as she watched Aiden laugh with his friends, Emily made a mental note to try a new tactic tomorrow. Maybe this time, luck would be on her side.
Aiden's POV:
Aiden glanced up from his phone as Emily's laugh echoed from across the gym. She was loud, animated, the kind of girl who made every room feel smaller just by the force of her presence. He liked that about her, if he was being honest. She was energetic, magnetic, bold in all the ways he never bothered to be. And yet, it came with… complications.
Emily had drifted toward him twice during class already. The first time she had dropped a dumbbell next to him, waving him down like she was about to faint. The second, she loudly complained about almost pulling a muscle, hinting that maybe someone, meaning him, should come check her form.
He had given her a polite nod, told her to drink water and kept lifting.
Now, she was across the hall again, reenacting something for her friends with big gestures and dramatic reenactments. Probably retelling how he "ignored the damsel in distress." He didn't mean to be cold. But he had one thing on his mind and it wasn't flirting. The national trials were less than six weeks away. He could practically feel the pressure in his bones.
His shoulders ached from morning training. His legs still felt heavy from sprints. He had eaten two bland protein bars and half a banana between classes. He still had conditioning after school. If someone had asked him what he wanted most right now, it wasn't romance. It was rest.
But every now and then, Emily's laugh cut through the noise and somehow reminded him that there were other parts of life happening outside the track lanes. She was vibrant, though albeit a bit exhausting. That was the truth. She craved attention like oxygen and there were days it was easier to step back than to get pulled into her world.
He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about the way she had thrown that towel over her shoulder after gym, acting like she'd just run a marathon. Dramatic. Playful. Someone else might have thought it was cute.
He stared down at his phone again. A few unread messages from Emily lit up the screen.
EMILY: I almost died today btw
EMILY: thanks for the "drink water" advice lol
EMILY: remind me never to flirt with athletes ever again
Aiden exhaled slowly, thumb hovering over the reply button. He didn't want to hurt her. She didn't deserve that. But he also didn't want to give her the wrong idea. They were in different lanes, literally and figuratively. She had a whole circus of friends and energy and drama around her. And he… had stopwatches and lap times.
He cared about her, in some quiet way. He liked seeing her laugh, liked knowing she was around. But she deserved someone who could give her that same kind of spark back. Someone who wasn't half-asleep from 5 a.m. training.
He typed something, then deleted it. Typed again. Deleted again.
Eventually he pocketed his phone and leaned back against the lockers, closing his eyes for a second. For now, the only thing that made sense was running. Running fast enough to make the national roster. Running until the world got quiet.
Emily would find someone who chased her as loudly as she demanded. Someone who could keep up with her kind of pace. Aiden just wasn't that guy and he didn't want to pretend.
For now, he had to choose the lane he already knew. And for better or worse, that meant one thing: He had to win.