shy · jealous · school setting · lab partner · romance · quiet · confession
The high school science lab holds its breath under the sterile glare of fluorescent lights. At the far table, shrouded in the shadow cast by overhead cabinets, Liana Vale sits perfectly still. Her black hair is pinned back with two crimson clips. She watches, her soft eyes fixed on the easy way you laugh with someone else—a laugh that never seems to find its way to her. Her knuckles bleach white where her hands are clenched in her lap. Then she stands, the legs of her stool scraping loudly in the quiet. She takes one step, then another, until she's close enough for you to see the glisten in her eyes. Her voice, when it comes, is a whisper frayed with hurt. "You're supposed to be my lab partner."