At first, it was supposed to last only one day.
Just one day of silence.
One day to let things cool down.
One day to think about what to say next.
At least… that's what Dean told herself.
And maybe Ezekiel thought the same thing.
So they didn't talk the next day.
No teasing.
No kicking under the desk.
No stupid jokes.
Just quiet.
Everyone noticed it.
CJ tried to start a conversation between them once.
Cy tried to make a joke about "marriage counseling."
Neither of them responded.
So the next day came.
Still nothing.
Then another.
Still nothing.
The silence slowly became normal.
And before anyone realized it—
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks slowly turned into a month.
And the two best friends that everyone thought would never separate…
Became strangers.
Strangers who used to know everything about each other.
Strangers who still sat in the same classroom.
Strangers who avoided eye contact.
Strangers who carried the same memories but pretended they didn't exist.
The classroom felt different now.
Quieter.
Dean still laughed sometimes when Cy said something funny.
Ezekiel still joked around with CJ.
But never with each other.
Not anymore.
Sometimes Dean would accidentally glance at him across the room.
Sometimes Ezekiel would look up and immediately look away when he noticed her watching.
It was awkward.
Uncomfortable.
And somehow… painful.
Because everyone remembered how they used to be.
The teasing.
The laughing.
The constant arguments that always ended in smiles.
But that version of them was gone now.
One afternoon during recess, Cy sighed while watching the classroom.
"This is depressing," she muttered.
CJ leaned against the wall beside her.
"Yeah."
Cy looked toward Dean, who was quietly reading near the window.
Then she looked toward Ezekiel across the room talking to a group of classmates.
"…You think they'll ever fix it?" she asked.
CJ shrugged.
"I don't know."
Cy frowned slightly.
Something else had changed recently too.
Something she didn't like.
Because over the past few weeks…
Someone new had started appearing near Ezekiel.
Someone familiar.
Someone Dean knew very well.
Jasmine.
Dean's long-time rival.
At first it was small things.
Talking after class.
Working on assignments together.
Walking out of school at the same time.
Then people started whispering.
Then the whispers turned into jokes.
And before long—
A new "ship" started spreading through the class.
"Ezekiel and Jasmine."
Cy grimaced when she heard it for the first time.
CJ didn't look very happy either.
But the rumors kept growing anyway.
Because while Dean and Ezekiel had become strangers…
Ezekiel and Jasmine were suddenly talking more.
Laughing more.
Standing closer.
One afternoon after class, Dean packed her bag slowly.
Around her, students were chatting like usual.
And then she heard it.
"Oh my god," someone whispered excitedly.
"They actually look good together."
Dean didn't want to look.
But she did.
Across the room, Ezekiel stood near the door.
Jasmine was standing beside him.
They were talking.
And for a moment—
Ezekiel laughed at something she said.
Dean's chest tightened.
She quickly looked away and slung her bag over her shoulder.
Without another glance, she walked out of the classroom.
Because the truth was becoming painfully clear.
The best friendship everyone thought was unbreakable…
Was gone.
And the boy she loved—
Was slowly becoming someone else's story.
The ship everyone once cheered for…
Had sunk.
And now a new one was sailing.
Ezekiel.
And Jasmine. The rumors about Ezekiel and Jasmine spread quickly.
At first, it was just whispers between a few classmates.
Then it became jokes.
Then it became something people started believing.
"They look good together."
"They're always talking now."
"I think they'd actually make a great couple."
Every time someone said it, Dean pretended she didn't hear.
She kept her eyes on her notebook.
Kept her face calm.
Kept her voice normal.
But inside, something twisted painfully in her chest.
Still…
Not everyone had moved on.
Half of the class still looked at Dean and Ezekiel like they were waiting for something.
Waiting for the old teasing to come back.
Waiting for the two of them to start arguing again.
Waiting for the ship everyone loved to somehow return.
Cy was one of those people.
CJ too.
During recess one afternoon, Cy leaned against a desk while watching the classroom carefully.
Her eyes moved between Dean sitting by the window…
And Ezekiel talking with Jasmine near the door.
She sighed dramatically.
"I refuse to believe this timeline," she said.
CJ sat on the desk beside her, scrolling through his phone.
"You say that every day."
Cy crossed her arms.
"Our ship was superior."
CJ chuckled.
"Your ship sank."
"It did not sink," Cy argued. "It's just… temporarily delayed."
CJ looked up.
"You're still hoping?"
Cy didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes drifted toward Dean again.
Dean was staring at her notebook but hadn't written anything for several minutes.
Cy's voice softened slightly.
"…Someone else is hoping too."
CJ followed her gaze.
He saw Dean quickly turn a page, pretending to read.
CJ sighed quietly.
Meanwhile, across the room, Ezekiel laughed at something Jasmine said.
It was strange.
Because even though people were starting to ship Ezekiel and Jasmine…
The atmosphere around Dean and Ezekiel still felt unfinished.
Like a story that ended too early.
Like something important had been left unsaid.
But while everything between Dean and Ezekiel remained complicated…
Something else in the classroom had become its own entertainment.
Cy and CJ.
The two self-declared captains of the original "Dean and Ezekiel" ship.
Except those two couldn't go five minutes without teasing each other.
"You know," Cy said suddenly, glancing at CJ, "people might start thinking you're secretly gay."
CJ slowly looked up from his phone.
"…What?"
Cy shrugged casually.
"You spend more time talking about Ezekiel than any girl."
CJ stared at her for a moment.
Then he smirked.
"Or," he said calmly, "you could just try dating me instead, sweetheart."
Cy blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
CJ leaned back against the desk, clearly enjoying himself.
"You heard me."
Cy narrowed her eyes.
"That was a terrible comeback."
CJ shrugged.
"Still better than your joke."
Cy pointed a finger at him.
"You're unbelievable."
CJ pointed right back.
"You started it."
Their arguing caught the attention of a few nearby classmates.
Someone whispered,
"Those two should just date already."
Cy heard it and immediately turned bright red.
"WE ARE NOT DATING."
CJ raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't say we were."
Cy kicked his leg.
"You're annoying."
"Yet you keep talking to me," CJ replied.
Across the room, Dean briefly glanced at them.
For a moment, she smiled faintly at their usual chaos.
It reminded her of something.
Of how things used to be.
Of how she and Ezekiel used to argue like that.
Used to laugh like that.
Used to sit together without thinking about it.
Her smile faded slightly.
Because now—
They were just two people sitting in the same classroom.
With a month of silence between them.
And a new ship slowly taking its place.
Even if some people…
Still believed the old one wasn't completely gone. Cy watched Dean for a moment longer.
Dean still sat near the window, pretending to read while occasionally glancing at the page like the words actually mattered.
Cy sighed.
"Alright," she muttered. "I'm going to talk to her."
She pushed herself away from the desk.
But before she could even take a step—
Someone grabbed her wrist.
Cy froze.
She slowly turned her head.
CJ was holding her hand.
Not tightly.
Just enough to stop her from walking away.
"What are you doing?" Cy asked suspiciously.
CJ leaned back against the desk, looking completely relaxed.
Then he shamelessly raised his voice just enough for nearby classmates to hear.
"Where are you going, sweetheart?"
The classroom went silent for exactly two seconds.
Then—
"OHHHHHH!"
Cy's eyes widened.
"CJ!"
Someone from the back of the room shouted,
"BRO GOT GAME!"
Another classmate laughed.
"Since when are you two flirting?!"
Cy quickly tried to pull her hand away, her face turning red.
"Let go!"
CJ didn't move.
Instead, he smirked.
"You were about to abandon me."
"You were literally just sitting there!"
"Exactly," he said calmly. "Rude."
Cy finally managed to pull her hand free and kicked his leg.
"You're unbelievable!"
CJ shrugged.
"You like me anyway."
"I absolutely do not."
The class continued teasing them loudly.
Someone started clapping.
Someone else shouted,
"Just date already!"
Cy covered her face in embarrassment while CJ looked like he was enjoying every second of it.
And then—
Dean laughed.
Not the small polite laugh she had been using lately.
Not the forced one.
This one was real.
Bright.
Genuine.
The kind of laugh that made her shoulders shake slightly.
Cy turned immediately.
Even CJ blinked.
Because they hadn't heard that laugh from Dean in a long time.
But someone else noticed too.
Across the classroom—
Ezekiel looked up.
He hadn't been paying attention to the teasing earlier.
But the moment he heard that laugh—
His eyes immediately found her.
Dean was still laughing at Cy's embarrassment while the class continued joking around them.
For a moment…
Ezekiel just watched.
His expression softened without him realizing it.
A small smile appeared on his face.
Because that laugh—
He knew it so well.
He used to hear it almost every day.
Back when he was the one making her laugh like that.
Back when he could sit right next to her and see that smile up close.
Now he could only watch it from across the room.
And somehow…
It still made him smile.
A few students nearby noticed.
One of them leaned toward another and whispered,
"Look."
The other student followed their gaze.
They both went quiet.
Because the way Ezekiel was looking at Dean…
Wasn't the way someone looked at just a classmate.
It wasn't even the way someone looked at a normal friend.
There was something else in that expression.
Something softer.
Something complicated.
Something he didn't even realize he was showing.
The kind of look you give someone when you miss them.
Across the room, Dean was still laughing with Cy and CJ.
She didn't notice him watching.
But a few people in the classroom did.
And one thought quietly crossed their minds.
Maybe the old ship…
Wasn't completely sunk after all.