Three weeks had passed since the day Asher had run out of my house after making waffles. He never gave me an explanation, just that there was an emergency. Things were tense for the next few days, especially at lunch. Asher skipped school the next day, but when he came back the table was weird again. I mostly talked to Mia, Shawn, and Jacob, while Asher remained silent and brooding. Even Shawn and Jacob had seemed confused, giving him questioning glances that he ignored. I began to think that he had reverted back into the jerk from the first day of school, but after the next weekend, he was fine. I wanted to ask him about his stormy mood and mysterious disappearance, but I was also scared that he would get angry again. Even though we had gotten over it, our fight about the party lingered in the back of my mind. I didn't want him to explode like that again.

Mia had asked me about it, and I explained the whole thing to her. I could tell that she was concerned about Asher's behavior too; they had become friends at the lunch table and she could tell that something has shifted in his mood.

After those few day of Asher's unexplained silence, he was back to normal. We laughed and joked like before, and our whole group even hung out at Jacob's giant mansion two weekends in a row. Most of the time Asher acted carefree and happy like normal, but I could see peeks of some unown emotion hidden deep in his eye. I still wanted to know what caused it.

I pushed the confused thoughts out of my mind and tried to focus on my job. I was currently working a shift at the ice cream shop, and things were pretty busy. Saturday afternoons were always crowded, and today's unusually hot weather brought even more customers inside.

I finished serving a group of kids their milkshakes and looked down at my phone quickly, trying to check the time. The second I looked down, I was harshly interrupted by a nasally voice that broke me out of my thoughts.

"Hello? Can you hurry up and serve me?" The whiney voice complained. I sighed and turned around, putting on my best fake smile. Rude customers were always the worst, but I tried to deal with them politely.

The smile dropped right off my face when I saw the girl standing in front of the counter. Her artificially blond hair and sharp facial features were easily recognizable.

"Oh, hi Olivia!" She instantly said when she recognized me. "Long time no see!"

She sounded friendly, but I knew it was fake. Last time I had talked to Layla, she had been a major bitch. I doubted her personality had changed since then.

"What can I get you?" I asked, my voice flat. I didn't have the energy to fein friendliness like she did.

"Just a water, please. I'd eat ice cream, but I'm watching my figure." She giggled, and I rolled my eyes. She was extremely skinny, and she knew it, too.

I walked to back, grabbing a water bottle from a giant fridge. When I walked back, Layla was talking on the phone with her back turned to me. I couldn't make out the conversation until I got close to her.

"Well, just please come. Okay, bye. Love you babe." I cringed at the high-pitched, lovey-dovey voice she used. I pitied whatever poor guy she had sunken her claws into.

I handed her the bottle once she had hung up the phone. "Two dollars." I told her.

She handed me a couple of bills, her long fake nails scratching against my skin. I narrowed my eyes, clenching my teeth together. She smiled at me again, but this time her fake-friendliness was gone. I could see a menacing look hiding just below the surface as she looked me up and down. I felt slightly self-conscious under her judgemental glare, but I tried to push it off.

"Do you need anything else?" I muttered, quieter than I wanted to be. She smirked, pleased with the emotion in my voice. She was trying to get a rise out of me, but I wouldn't let her.

"Nope." She said, giving me one last glare before she strutted over to an empty booth a few feet away. I wished she would just leave, but she made sure to sit directly in my line of sight.

I tried to focus on the other customers, but I could feel her gaze following my every move. After about ten minutes, she traipsed back up to the counter.

"Can you get me a vanilla milkshake?" She drawled, tapping her fingernails against the counter annoyingly.

"Cheating on your diet already?" I couldn't help but respond with a snarky comment. She deserved it.

Her eyes narrowed. "You know all about cheating, don't you Olivia?"

I felt my mouth drop open and I quickly turned around, not wanting her to see my shocked expression. I wished I had a good comeback. Her words hurt more than I cared to admit.

I quickly made her the milkshake and handed it to her with my eyes down. I wished I could pour it on her, but I would probably be fired. Maybe it was worth it though.

Before I had the chance, though, a little bell signaled the door opening. Layla smiled winningly at whoever had walked in, tossing her long hair over her shoulder before walking off towards the door. She smirked over her shoulder at me before greeting the person who had just walked in.

My stomach dropped when I saw him. I didn't even need to see his face to know who it was; I could recognize that curly black hair anywhere. Thomas hugged her around the waist, lifting her feet off the ground. I stood shell-shocked as I watched them hold each other. Thomas had spun Layla around so that she was facing me, and his bac was turned. Thankfully, he couldn't see my face. She had buried her head in his muscular shoulder, but her eyes stayed lifted to meet mine. Her expression filled with victory and possessiveness; I'm sure mine looked devastated.

I stood frozen in my spot, my eyes pricking with tears, until Thomas started to turn around. When he moved, I quickly spun and almost ran to the back on the restaurant, slamming open the door of the breakroom. I collapsed on the couch there, burying my face in my hands.

I was a fool. How could I not see this coming? Sure, he had promised that things were over with Layla, but he had lied to me before. Of course he lied again.

My boss, Lu, wasn't here today. She had the kind of motherly love that radiated to all the workers here, and I knew she would let me have a break until they left. Unfortunately, the supervisor today was more strict and forced me to go back to work.

I could see Thomas sitting in the booth, with his back to me, through the tiny window in the door. He still hadn't seen that I was here. Layla could see me, though, and she sent me haughty glances every once in a while. Thomas was drinking the vanilla milkshake I had just made, which made my heart droop with nostalgia. Vanilla milkshakes were always his favorite, I should have realized it was for him when Layla ordered it.

After getting reprimanded for slacking on the job, I forced myself up from the worn-out couch and trudged back towards the main area of the restaurant. I hesitated slightly, trying in vain to force the moisture out of my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I finally pushed open the thin wooden door and was immediately met with a blast of sour air. It may have been my imagination, but Layla's fake hair extensions must be polluting the whole restaurant.

They were still sitting in the booth, the milkshake in front of Thomas already half drank. My stomach twisted as Thomas tilted his head back in laughter, a small black curl of his hair bouncing in front of his forehead. Layla's eyes shifted back to me as if to rub it in.

I wanted to yell, or scream, or cry, but I was frozen once again. The sight of the boy who betrayed me moving on shot me to my core. It was pathetic.

"Back to work, Olivia!" I heard someone call. My head was swimming so much that the voice sounded almost distorted, as if I was hearing it underwater.

Thomas's head snapped around, swiveling to face me. All at once, a flurry of emotion passed across his face. I could tell this was his first time seeing me here, and the surprise on his face was evident. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, something he did often when he didn't know what to say. I saw his hand twitch slightly, indicating that he was going to reach out to me, but Layla's manicured hand immediately covered his.

Her touch grabbed his attention again, and he quickly gave her an irritated look. It made me feel slightly happy, even though the sight of them laughing and hugging was playing in my mind on repeat.

No. Stop.

I had to force myself to pry those thoughts from my mind. He cheated on me. I broke up with him. Our relationship was completely, one hundred percent over.

I didn't get it. When I was with other friends, I felt fine. Thomas's face rarely passed through my mind, and when it did, I only felt a pang of nostalgia. It was a bit worse when I was alone, and I did spend some nights laying in bed, consumed by the tainted memories, but it was nothing like this. Every time I saw Thomas's face, the misery hit me like it did when I first saw him at that party. I could pretend I was over him, and even flirt with other guys, but seeing Thomas ruined me.

No matter how hard I pushed it away, I was pretty sure that I was still in love with Thomas. Despite everything he did to me, despite how pathetic and embarrassed I felt, I still wanted him.

But that couldn't happen. I had too much pride and too much self-respect to crawl back to him. Besides, it seemed like he was doing just fine. Layla had pulled his attention back to her, and was talking animatedly in their booth. Thomas seemed to be listening intently while he sipped his milkshake, but every few minutes his head turned back to glance at me.

I pretended that I didn't notice, that I was hard at work. Tears threatened my eyes the whole time, but I held them back as best I could. A few customers gave me sympathetic looks, but thankfully no one asked me about it. If I had to talk, the waterworks would probably start immediately.

After the world's longest twenty minutes, Thomas stood up to leave. Layla glided after him, shooting me a sadistic smile. She didn't try to hide her hostility to me anymore, even though she had already won.

Thomas held the door open like the classic gentleman he always was, but he didn't leave.

"Go wait in the car." He muttered quietly to Layla, whose face immediately turned red with anger. She glared at Thomas questioningly for a moment before trudging outside. Thomas let the door fall closed behind him, staring at the ground for a few minutes before he walked back toward me. The afternoon rush of customers had died down, so it was only us and a few other patrons spread throughout the back, none of them in earshot.

"Hey." Thomas finally said, looking down at his feet again. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, never meeting my eyes for more than a second.

"Rebounding a little quick, huh?" I couldn't help the scathing edge to my voice. Thomas heard it too, flinching ever so slightly.

"Layla and I... we're friends."

"Sure." I muttered, my tone devoid of emotion.

"Why would I date Layla right after you broke up with me?"

I snorted. "You dated her at the same time that you were dating me, so I don't see why you would have a problem with it."

Thomas cringed at my words and slowly nodded. "You're right. But that doesn't change how I feel about you. I would ditch Layla in a heartbeat for you."

My stomach turned at his words. What a dick. Looks like he was unloyal to everyone.

I was about to respond when the doorbell jingled. Saved by the bell.

When I turned to greet the new customer, I was pleasantly surprised.

"Jacob!" I exclaimed.

"Just the person I was hoping to see." Jacob smiled back, walking up next to Thomas. Thomas gave him a confused glance, and I thought I saw a hint of jealousy flash in his eyes while his features hardened.

"Are you serious? Give me shit for Layla when you already have a rebound too?" Thomas burst, his eyes furious. His response shocked me. Thomas was the sweetest, most understanding guy I had ever met. I had no idea when he had become so angry and violent.

"We're friends." I rolled my eyes. I was being honest, too; Jacob and I were definitely just friends. I'm pretty sure he was head-over-heels for Mia, and her crush on him had only amplified when we all became friends.

"Friends with benefits?" Thomas demanded, looking back and forth between the two of us. Jacob snorted quietly and I couldn't help but laugh under my breath a bit, too.

"I don't know... what kind of friends are you and Layla?" I asked him in a sickly sweet tone. His eyes darkened as his face tensed again. Jacob looked between us confusedly, but I didn't pay attention to him. I could explain later.

Thomas evidently didn't have a response, because he glared at me for a moment before slamming his hand against the table and turning around. He shoved his shoulder against Jacob's as he walked to the door, but failed to move him even an inch. Thomas was way too lean to hurt someone as built as Jacob.

Thomas strode to the door and paused for a second before leaving. Hurt flashed in his eyes for a brief moment before he addressed Jacob.

"Just wait." He smirked, anger hiding behind his dark eyes. "She'll be mine again soon."

_______________________________

thank you so much to @sunnyshie for the amazing cover! I really like it, and I want to make it the new cover for this story. What do you guys think? Also, if anyone else wants to make a cover, my email is [email protected]

also, a massive thank you to everyone who nominated me for a Fiction Award. I definitely won't win, but it still means a lot. If anyone wants to nominate me, I am eligible for Best Teen Fiction or Best of Beginners. No pressure though :) @thefictionawards

finally, thank you all for 4K reads! you guys are the best :)