As If I Could Ever Fake You

The Things Left Unsaid

Jay went back to school the next day.

Smile? On.
Uniform? Crisp.
Feelings? Shoved somewhere deep under eyeliner and caffeine.

She walked in like nothing happened. Like Keifer didn’t show up at her door in the rain. Like he didn’t say “I like you now.”

Like that wasn’t the part that hurt the most.

Because she’d already fallen way before now.

“Fake’s over?” Yuki asked quietly as they walked to class.

Jay nodded. “Yeah.”

Yuki glanced sideways. “And real started when?”

Jay smiled tightly. “Apparently… for him? Just recently.”

Yuki didn’t say anything, but she squeezed Jay’s hand. And that was enough.

For now.

Keifer was waiting outside her classroom after lunch.

Hair a little messy, smile a little crooked — like he hadn’t slept. Like he was scared she might vanish again.

“You look tired,” she said as casually as she could manage.

He shrugged. “Didn’t sleep much.”

“Why?”

He looked at her, serious. “Because I was thinking about you.”

Jay blinked. Swallowed. Laughed softly to deflect. “That’s dramatic.”

“I’m not joking.”

She didn’t know what to say to that.

So she didn’t say anything.

Later that day, she found an empty corner in the library to breathe — because everything was too much.

The pretending.

The not pretending.

The way he smiled at her now. Looked at her now. The way she wanted to believe it was real… even though she was convinced he was just catching up.

“Jay?”

She froze.

His voice — low, careful, just around the shelf behind her.

She peeked through the books.

He wasn’t alone.

It was Aaron — one of Keifer’s best friends.

“…I don’t get it,” Aaron was saying. “You were always such a player. Since when do you actually care?”

Keifer’s reply was too quiet at first.

Then—

“Since her. Since Jay.”

Jay’s breath caught.

“Dude,” Aaron laughed, “you sound like you’re in love or something.”

Silence.

Then Keifer’s voice — almost broken.

“…I think I was. From the start. I just didn’t know how to say it.”

Jay covered her mouth.

She couldn’t breathe.

But before he could finish whatever came next — someone else walked by, loudly dropping their bag, and the moment shattered.

Jay stepped back.

Eyes wide. Heart loud.

From the start.

She turned and ran before she could hear the rest.

That night, Keifer texted her.

Keifer: You okay?

Keifer: I feel like I said something wrong again.

She stared at the screen.

Then typed.

Jay: No. You said all the right things.

She just didn’t know if they were meant for her to hear.