Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Skyler had always been the quiet type. At Oakwood University, she was known for being the studious, straight-A student who hid behind her cello. She wasn’t lonely, though. She had Amber, her childhood friend, whose loud, talkative personality kept life exciting. But lately, there was one thing that Skyler could never escape.
It wasn’t the piles of assignments or the heavy cello case that never left her side. It was Leo.
Leo was everything Skyler wasn’t. He was popular, confident, and cocky. His laugh was always too loud, his smile too wide, and his reputation as a bad student had only added to his allure among the rest of Oakwood's student body. To Skyler, Leo was a nightmare wrapped in the most charming exterior. He'd been teasing her since the beginning of the semester, pulling pranks, making fun of her serious attitude, and mocking her cello practice. Yet, the teasing always felt like something more than just a harmless joke. It stung.
"Hey, Skyler, is that your cello or a broomstick?" Leo’s voice rang out across the quad one afternoon, just as Skyler was sitting by herself, tuning the strings of her instrument. A group of his friends snickered nearby, and Amber gave Skyler an apologetic look before rushing to Leo's side to defend her.
"Leo, stop it. Can't you see she's trying to study?" Amber's voice was loud, as always, but there was a certain softness when she turned to Skyler.
Skyler simply sighed, trying to ignore the sting of Leo’s words, her fingers gripping the strings of the cello. “It's fine, Amber. You know how he is.”
Amber shot Leo a glare, but before she could say anything else, Braxton, Leo's best friend, stepped forward. Braxton was different—calm, sweet, and understanding. He had always been polite to Skyler, even when Leo was making her life difficult. Braxton never understood why Leo acted the way he did around Skyler, but his quiet support had become a small comfort.
“Hey, man, let it go. Skyler doesn’t need to hear your jokes today,” Braxton said, his voice cool and firm.
Leo rolled his eyes but said nothing further. The teasing stopped, but it didn’t make Skyler feel any better. The tension between her and Leo had been building for months. She couldn’t figure out why he kept bothering her. She wasn’t the kind of girl who craved attention, and she certainly didn’t enjoy his jokes at her expense.
That evening, Skyler found herself in the university’s practice room, the cello propped up in front of her, its smooth wood cool against her fingertips. She closed her eyes as the soft melodies she played filled the room. Music had always been her escape, a safe space where no one could disturb her, not even Leo.
But just as she was lost in her music, the door creaked open.
"Don't tell me you're still playing that thing," came Leo's voice from the doorway.
Skyler froze. She had hoped for peace, but there was Leo again, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, wearing that cocky smirk that made her blood boil.
“Why are you even here, Leo?” she asked, her voice soft but filled with frustration.
Leo didn't answer right away. Instead, he stepped further into the room, his eyes scanning the cello with an unreadable expression. “I don’t know. I guess I like to watch you play sometimes,” he muttered, more to himself than to her.
Skyler blinked, unsure of what to say.
“You like to watch me play?” she repeated, her tone laced with disbelief.
“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck, his confidence faltering for just a second. “It’s... calming, I guess.”
Skyler was silent. She didn’t know how to respond. The Leo she saw in class was nothing like the one standing in front of her now. He was no longer the cocky jock; he seemed almost... vulnerable.
"You don’t have to keep bothering me, Leo," Skyler said, her voice softening. "I don't know why you do it. It just makes me feel like I’m not good enough."
Leo's eyes narrowed, as though he were trying to piece something together. “That’s not it,” he said quietly, then his voice dropped, almost to a whisper. “I just... like you, Skyler.”
Her breath caught in her throat. The words hung in the air, impossibly loud in the silence of the room.
"What?" she asked, a mix of disbelief and confusion coloring her words.
Leo ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in his eyes. “Yeah, I like you. But I don’t know how to tell you that without acting like an idiot. I thought if I kept messing with you, maybe you’d notice me. But I guess I just made you hate me instead.”
Skyler stood still, her cello still cradled in her arms. The realization struck her like a wave. All this time, she’d believed Leo was just a bully, a popular guy with nothing better to do than torment her. But now, it seemed there was something more behind his actions.
“Why didn’t you just say something sooner?” she asked, her voice soft with a mixture of anger and hurt.
“I... I didn’t know how,” Leo admitted, his voice barely audible. “I never learned how to be vulnerable. I guess... I guess I thought it was easier to make fun of you than to tell you how I really feel.”
Skyler felt a twinge of something—sympathy? Maybe. But it didn’t erase the frustration she felt for all the times he had made her feel small.
“Well, it’s not easy to be the target of your jokes,” Skyler replied, her tone a little gentler now, though the sting still remained. “But I get it now. And I think... I think you need to learn how to be honest with people, even if it’s hard.”
Leo stood there, silent for a long moment, before he spoke again, this time quieter, more sincere. “I’m sorry, Skyler. I never meant to hurt you.”
Skyler nodded slowly. She didn’t know if she could forgive him just yet, but she also knew she couldn’t keep carrying around the weight of resentment.
"Just... don't do it again," she said, finally letting the words out. "And if you're serious about liking me, then maybe... maybe we can start over."
Leo’s face softened, his earlier arrogance replaced with a shy, uncertain smile. “Yeah. Maybe we can.”
As Skyler picked up her cello and began to play again, the music flowing freely from her fingers, Leo stood by the door, watching her with a look of quiet admiration. While Leo admires Skyler play a voice comes from down the hallway.
“Babeeeee” a fimiliar voice echoing off the empty hallways walls. Suddenly skyler comes to a sudden stop when she looks up to see a girl kiss Leo on the cheek. The mystery girl turns her head and skylers eyes widen as tears of anger and sadness fill her eyes. “Amber….?”
