Chapter 2 IF ONLY WISHES CAME THROUGH...

CASEY.

His question made me freeze.

My smile tightened around my lips, but I wasn't ready to back down.

Maybe he truly didn't recognise me.

I smiled again, thrusting the box closer.

"I just wanted to wish you a happy..."

The bell rang, sharp and loud, cutting through my words.

Footsteps echoed from the hall, loud and chaotic, and before I could even turn around to leave, the door burst open.

A group flooded in, laughing and shoving each other, with Ivy Morgan leading the group.

The hottest girl on campus, with her perfect hair and that smirk that could slice through anyone. 

Ethan's girlfriend. 

Everyone said they were the ideal couple. Prom king and queen material. Always together at parties and games.

But I knew better.

They weren’t really in love.

Not like I understood love.

Love was patient and deep—like what I had carried for Ethan since middle school.

Ivy just… made everything look worse than it was. She pulled him into her mean little games. That wasn’t the real him.

I exhaled, my hand balling into a fist under the box. Today, I summoned courage. 

I wasn't going to scramble off like I always did whenever they were anywhere around. Or, let this ruin my surprise. 

I turned back to Ethan and shifted the box forward again, ready to shove it into his hands before the crowd swallowed the moment.

"What's this stuck-up nerd doing here?" Ivy's voice rang out, mocking.

I watched out of the corner of my eyes as she flipped her hair over one shoulder, eyes narrowing right at me. She walked over to stand right next to Ethan, facing me.

Ethan scoffed, stepping close to Ivy and wrapping his arm around her neck, pulling her against him. "Hi, baby." He kissed her.

She kissed him back, dragging it. Then they broke apart.

"What's this?" She pointed at the box in my hand, batting her eyelashes.

My sweaty trembling hands became so uncontrollable that even the box shook.

"She said it's my birthday gift," Ethan laughed.

Laughter exploded around the room, bouncing off the metal lockers. My cheeks burned hot, embarrassment flooding through me. But I toughed it out, forcing a small smile. 

I wasn't going to run. 

Not after saving for a year and baking those muffins. 

“It’s just something for you,” I said quietly

Ivy pushed forward, jabbing one finger into my shoulder hard enough to make me stumble back a step. "Who do you think you are, coming up to speak to Ethan? Let alone thinking you could give him a gift? Seems like you need another lesson, four-eyes."

Words hadn't left my mouth when she slapped the box right out of my hands. It hit the floor with a dull thud, the cute bow twisting awkwardly. The muffins inside probably got squished.

 I immediately bent down to pick it up, my fingers brushing the green wrapping.

Her foot came down fast, crushing my hand against the cold tile. Pain shot up my arm. Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I blinked them back, looking up at Ethan through the blur. 

He was laughing with his friends. Disgust twisted his features for a second as he glanced down at me. 

Ethan leaned down, pinching one of the hockey boots between two fingers. As he lifted it, the birthday card slipped from beneath the tissue paper.

My heart lurched.

"Wait..." I whispered, trying to rush for it.

He snatched it, flipping it open.

I took a step forward instinctively. "Ethan... please don't."

A slow grin spread across his face. "Let's see what our little stalker wrote."

"'To Ethan, the best captain this team could ask for, hope this makes your day even better. From someone who believes in you. Happy Birthday.'"

He paused dramatically before reading the signature

"'...From Casey.'"

The room went silent for a split second.

Then laughter exploded around the locker room once again.

"Please..." I whispered, my cheeks burning. "Give it back."

Instead of giving it back... Ethan looked at me. Then slowly folded the card in half.

A smirk grazed his lips as he ripped it over and over again.

With each tear, I felt my heart break a bit more. 

He let go, letting the little pieces drift to the floor like confetti.

"Now that's where it belongs." He said coldly, stepping closer to me. 

He glanced at the boots. "Those are cute though."

Hope bloomed in my chest.

I immediately smiled, looking up at him. "I got them..."

"But even my dog wouldn't wear these." Throwing his hand in the air, "the janitor's daughter wants to be generous."

I swallowed, my voice coming out shaky and thick with tears as I stayed crouched there, Ivy's shoe still pressing down. "I... I saved up for a whole year, I just wanted to wish you..." 

Ethan laughed louder, cutting me off. He reached down, hooking one finger under my chin to tilt my face up. His touch was cold, identical to his gaze. "You're not just fat and ugly, but also dumb. How could you ever imagine something from your filthy status was ever worthy of me?"

My heart broke and tears that I had tried to hold back began to stream down my cheeks.

The illusion of him in my head shattered. 

Ivy giggled, finally lifting her foot off my hand. I flexed my fingers, wincing at the ache, the box lay half-open beside me. One muffin had tumbled out, squashed and crumbly.

"You really thought this would impress him?" Ivy sneered, kicking the box lightly with her toe. "Pathetic."

Her gaze roamed the room, her eyes landing on the big trash bin by the door. A nasty smile spread across her face. "You know what? Since you're so desperate to give him something, let's make sure you get something back. A real gift from us to you."

She strutted over to the bin, heels clicking, and grabbed it with both hands. The crowd parted slightly, murmurs turning excited. 

"Ivy, what—" someone started, but she ignored them, lifting the whole thing.

"Here, nerd. Something worthy of your filthy status." She dumped the entire contents right over my head. Trash fell down—sticky liquids soaking into my hair, old sweaty gear smelling like mold and defeat piled at my feet. A used water bottle bounced off my glasses, leaving a smudge. 

The smell was unbearable. I felt humiliated.

Phones flashed as laughter faded into uneasy murmurs.

No one stepped forward

I couldn't move, dripping, pieces of trash sliding down my arms. My homemade muffins were ruined under the mess, the boots scuffed and buried. Tears burned hotter, mixing with the grime on my face.

Ethan watched the whole thing, arms still around Ivy, not moving to help. 

"Now that's a present," Ivy crowed, brushing her hands off dramatically. "Matches her perfectly. Go crawl back to whatever hole you came from and stop wasting our time."

One of the guys snorted. "Blake, your girl's savage. Happy birthday, man."

"Yeah," Ethan finally said with that scoff again. "Real touching gesture from the help."

The pain in my hand was nothing compared to the ache twisting inside my chest. Years of quiet longing, of convincing myself every rude glance or snapped word was just his way, of believing he was perfect underneath it all. It shattered, piece by piece, with every laugh, every sticky wrapper clinging to me. 

I looked up at him one last time, tears streaming freely through the mess on my face, my voice raw with all the bitterness that had built up and cracked open in my chest.

"I hope you have your heart broken one day and get everything taken away from you."

Someone gasped and silence fell over the locker room.