That night felt longer than usual.
Ariana lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Her mind kept replaying the same moment.
"I think I like you."
And his answer.
"I don't feel that way."
She turned to her side and hugged her pillow tightly.
What did I do wrong?
Was it too early?
Was it weird?
Was she not good enough?
She didn't understand.
She wasn't even sure what "like" meant.
To her, it didn't mean love.
It didn't mean forever.
It simply meant—
She felt comfortable with him.
She liked talking to him.
She wanted to be closer friends.
That was all.
But maybe… she had said it the wrong way.
Maybe boys understood it differently.
She had never thought this would happen.
She was new.
She didn't know the rules of this world.
She had made one friend in this new school.
Lily.
Lily was cheerful, confident, and understood everything about school drama.
Ariana told Lily almost everything.
Almost.
But this time, she didn't tell her.
Because it had happened so fast.
Because her feelings had confused her.
Because she didn't even understand them herself.
And now it was too late.
The next morning, Ariana walked into school pretending everything was normal.
She avoided looking at Ethan.
She avoided looking at anyone.
But something felt different.
Whispers.
Soft laughter.
Eyes turning towards her.
She frowned slightly.
What was happening?
As she walked past a group of boys, one of them smirked.
"Ooooh, Arianaaa…"
Another one added, "Where's your 'I like you' today?"
They laughed.
Her steps froze.
Her heart dropped.
How did they know?
Her face turned warm.
She didn't remember telling anyone.
She didn't understand.
Was this supposed to be funny?
Was this normal?
She looked around, confused.
Some girls were looking at her and whispering.
Someone giggled.
Her chest felt tight.
She quickly walked to her seat and kept her eyes down.
Ethan wasn't looking at her.
He was laughing with his friends.
As if nothing had happened.
As if she didn't exist.
That hurt more than the rejection.
During lunch break, she finally found Lily.
"Why are they teasing me?" Ariana asked softly.
Lily looked at her carefully.
"What did you do?"
Ariana hesitated.
Then she whispered, "I told Ethan… I like him."
Lily's eyes widened.
"You WHAT?"
"I didn't mean love," Ariana said quickly. "I just meant… I like talking to him. I wanted to be friends."
Lily sighed gently.
"Ariana… when you tell a boy 'I like you,' it usually means something else."
Ariana blinked.
"Oh."
That single word felt heavy.
She hadn't known.
She truly hadn't known.
She wasn't trying to confess love.
She wasn't trying to start drama.
She was just… honest.
But honesty felt dangerous now.
All day, the teasing continued.
Soft comments.
Fake coughs saying "I like you."
Whispers when she walked by.
She didn't fully understand what was happening.
But she knew one thing.
Something inside her felt small.
Very small.
That night, she looked at herself in the mirror again.
Was she stupid?
Was she childish?
Maybe she really didn't belong in this world.
But somewhere in the hallway that day—
Someone had noticed her red eyes.
Someone had seen her trying not to cry.
And that someone…
Was not Ethan.