Stephanie had texted Virgil almost the entire evening. She didn't want to call him because she was sobbing quietly. Of course, it wasn't like she caught Derek cheating with Jocelyn Lee, but the fact that they broke up still hurt. He was acting so differently nowadays, it made her heart yearn for the past when everything was perfect. But now, she didn't even know if she loved him.

Her cellphone kept ringing from calls and texts and social media messages, mainly from Derek.

I want to talk.

Steph, please.

Don't give me the silent treatment.

Steph, it wasn't what it seemed.

Let me just explain.

Paired with the sympathetic texts from her friends, it seemed like her phone was never going to stop ringing. It was irritating to keep ending calls and ignoring texts to talk to Virgil. So she quickly told him about Derek's texts and how she decided to turn her phone off so she could have time to think.

[Virgil] ok, take care & rest. & remember not to lose sight of what u really want & what's good for u.

[Virgil] If its too hard to tell what u should do, just imagine what ur parents would say

[Stephanie] Ur right, thank you

[Stephanie] See u tomorrow, Virg and thank u. XO

The pretty blonde sighed and tossed her phone to the side after turning it off. She put some music on and just sat on her bed, hugging her biggest stuffed bear for comfort.

She was probably making a big deal about the situation, but everything was slowly rotting with Derek and it saddened her. They've been going out for almost three years. Three years of romance, future planning, holding hands, kissing, hugging, cuddling, sharing and support. And now it's like all of that never existed.

She thought back to the beginning of their blossoming romance and the absolute joy that came along with it. She yearned for it so much, her chest ached and she squeezed her bear tighter.

"It hurts, Wiggles," she told the bear and buried her face in the back of it's head. "It hurts so much."

Stephanie stayed like that for a long time and when her mother knocked on her door, she was surprised when she saw the time. It's been two and a half hours.

"Come in!" Steph sniffed and scrambled to wipe her tears away.

"Steph, sweetie, it's Derek," her mother peeked in and waved the house phone, covering the speaker end, but her eyes widened when she saw her. "Hon, what's wrong?"

"Um, can you tell him I'll take a message?" Steph tried to keep her tone under control, but she failed.

Her mother came in and closed the door behind her. "Derek, she's taking a shower. I'll tell her to call you tomorrow, okay?...You have a good night, too. Okay, bu-bye."

Mrs. Jameson tossed the phone on Steph's bed and climbed on to sit next to her. She hugged her and stroked her hair.

"What happened?" she asked in a soothing tone.

"Nothing important, mom," Steph sniffed. "Really."

"Sweetie, I know a broken heart when I see one. If there's one thing in this world we can't hide, it's affairs of the heart."

"It's just...Derek was being a jerk today."

"Ahh so in a way, he disappointed you."

Stephanie nodded. "He's been acting weird ever since he talked to Virgil about two days ago."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been...more aggressive."

"Stephanie," her mother firmly grabbed her arm and forced her to look at her. "Has he ever been aggressive towards you? Because if he has, your father and I will rain upon him and his parents endless misery and lawsuits-"

"N-No, Mom!" Steph felt bad lying to her mom, but if she knew what happened during lunch earlier in the day, she'd most certainly lose it and stomp over to Derek's house right then. "He was being a jerk to Virgil and his friend!"

Mrs. Jameson's firm gaze softened. "Sweetie, there's got to be more to the story than just Derek and Virgil."

"I..." Stephanie immediately thought to Jocelyn Lee, a topic she had confronted Derek about various times. But if she told her mom about it, it would appear false and hysterical. "I guess today I saw something that I've been denying for a long time. He's changed from the beginning, mom...and it's hard for me to accept."

Mrs. Jameson took Stephanie's hands. "The best thing you can do is accept it and move on, dear. You can't be stuck on the past because if you are, you won't ever make it to the future. There are millions of boys out there that are dying to be by your side."

She wiped away one of Steph's newly formed tears. "It's natural to mourn at the end of a relationship because it's the end of something beautiful that became a part of you. But if Derek's changed and you don't feel comfortable with it, don't mourn for too long. One day, you'll find the prince of your dreams and you'll see that he's worth a million times more than Derek ever was."

Steph smiled softly and sniffed. "Thanks, mom."

"You got it, sweet pea." Mrs. Jameson kissed her daughter's forehead and jumped up from the bed, grabbing the phone on her way to the door. "I'll go make some hot chocolate for both of us. And honey..."

She looked back at Steph with a raised eyebrow, "...If that boy really did do something aggressive towards you, you better tell your father. Neither of us will ever stand for a boy who even ONCE physically harmed you."

Stephanie giggled through her new tears, wondering how she didn't inherit her mother's sass.

...

Virgil worried about Steph. A little part of him kept wondering if something happened during the last 12 hours and some curse was cast to a parallel universe where Stephanie and Derek got back together. He hoped not because she deserved to move on from that donkey. He went to his locker and found a folded note inside, which read:

I'm not giving up that easily. She's mine.

No need to wonder who THAT was from. With a disgusted scowl, Virgil crumbled it and shoved it in his pocket. During free time in Public Speaking, Virgil showed the note to Zeke.

"What the hell does he think this is, some high school, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, musical drama?" the tall teen scoffed. "As far as I'm concerned, SHE decided she wasn't his anymore."

Virgil tapped his desk. "I'm worried, dude."

"What for?" Zeke snorted.

"What if he succeeds and Stephanie actually gets back together with him?"

"Well...One, her loss," Zeke began to count off his fingers. "Two, she'd be the most gullible female in existence. Three, good for you. You get rid of her cuz there are tons of fish in the sea. And four, it's not going to happen. Why? Because one, Derek's an asshole-"

"Whoa!"

Zeke raised his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Virgil thought about it for two seconds and he shrugged a shoulder. "Eh, I'll let you have this one."

"Point is dude, if she ran back to him after what happened I'd say it's a good thing because she wasn't meant for you anyway and it would save you from wasting any time with her."

"I guess."

The teacher was walking to his desk and he froze in his tracks in front of Jocelyn Lee. "Jocelyn, do you REALLY have to use Nail Polish Remover in here?"

"How else am I going to put this new color on?" Jocelyn asked.

The teacher shook his head and sighed; he wasn't even going to try to argue with her. Zeke glanced at the note in his hand and gave it back to Virgil. "I told you twice before now and I'm saying it again, watch your back. You should consider going to some sort of self defense classes so you won't get your ass kicked if I'm not around to help."

Virgil barely heard him as he was deep in thought. "...You know, if Steph considers giving Derek a second chance, I could expose him with Jocelyn Lee."

Zeke looked at the oblivious girl up in front. "That isn't a bad idea, but would it matter? Derek's basically got the right to do whatever he wants since your future girlfriend broke up with him. AND...that'd also be a dick move."

Virgil jolted. "Come on, dude!"

Zeke gave him an unamused look. "Virgil, if you did that now she'd probably be emotionally inconsolable until she graduates from college. So just wait for a while."

Virgil sighed. "Fine."

-XY-

Hey everyone! It's been a while frankly because I have a short attention span when it comes to doing stuff. :/ However comma, I'm glad to report that I'm once again motivated to keep writing! If some of the chapters are too short-like this one, I felt like-sorry about that! It's just me and my attention span of a goldfish trying to write here.