Chapter 1

The night before the SAT, I record a video call between my present self and my future self ten years from now.

Except the line actually connects to my future self.

"Did I make it into Crythoria University's joint bachelor's-master's program? Is Brielle still my best friend?

"If everything went according to plan, I should be done with grad school by now and married to David, right? High school sweethearts tying the knot!

"Maybe we even have a cute kid together? I've already picked out a nickname."

I blush, letting my imagination run wild.

But the moment David Barrett's name leaves my mouth, the future me flies into a rage.

"David gave you disappearing ink pens so Brielle could become the top scorer in the city! You didn't get into Crythoria. You had to repeat your senior year.

"David acted heartbroken and promised to make long-distance work. Then he turned right around, went public with Brielle at college, and became the couple everyone envies.

"Felicity Fisher, you absolute idiot! You got cheated on and still thanked Brielle for taking care of your boyfriend!"

Chapter 1

The video call cut off right then.

I stared at my reflection on the screen, completely stunned. For a second, I wasn't even sure if I'd just hallucinated the whole thing.

After all, my boyfriend, David Barrett, and I grew up together. Since we were kids, we'd promised each other that we'd get into Crythoria University together.

While I was lost in thought, David suddenly appeared behind me and tapped my shoulder. "Feli, the SAT is tomorrow. Why are you hiding out here slacking off instead of studying? If you don't make it into Crythoria, don't come crying to me."

"As if!" I laughed and nudged him.

I couldn't connect the young man standing in front of me with the scumbag my future self from ten years later described.

I ended up laughing at myself inside.

I hadn't even set foot in the exam room yet, and stress was already making me lose my mind.

But the moment I sat down back in the classroom, David dropped a stationery pouch onto my desk.

"Figured you wouldn't get your stuff ready, so I put everything together for you. Just pop your exam permit inside, and you're good to go tomorrow. I got a set for Brielle this time too, so don't you dare give yours away to her again!"

He slid an identical pouch onto the desk next to mine.

The smile on my face suddenly froze, and David gave me a puzzled look. "Feli, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, forcing myself to stay cool.

As soon as he walked away, I pulled out a pen from the pouch and scribbled a few words.

Two hours later, the ink faded into nothing. I tried the other pen, but the result was the same.

I couldn't believe it. David really did give me disappearing ink pens.

This meant everything my future self said was true.

I glanced over at their empty seats, then quickly swapped my disappearing ink pens with the pens in their pouches.

Sure enough, the pens David prepped for himself and my best friend, Brielle Rowe, were completely fine.

I was shaking with rage. I wanted nothing more than to grab him by the collar right then and demand to know why.

It took everything I had to choke down the anger burning inside me.

The next morning, right before heading into the exam hall, David made a point to check the pouch in my hand.

"Using matching pens means we're definitely landing in Crythoria together!"

My smile didn't reach my eyes as I asked him on purpose, "What about Brielle? You gave her a matching set too. Are you trying to go to the same college with her as well?"

David paused, then playfully tapped my nose. "Blame yourself. You always share whatever I give you with her anyway."

Brielle always thought David wasn't good enough for me, while David found Brielle totally fake.

The two of them never got along. Whenever they were in the same room, they'd be at each other's throats, leaving me to smooth things over. So, I never once doubted their loyalty.

Yet these two people—the ones I trusted with all my heart—ended up stabbing me in the back together.

Chapter 2

When Brielle heard that, she raised an eyebrow at David in pure provocation. "Feli just adores me. What are you gonna do about it?"

The two of them were like a powder keg waiting to blow, on the verge of starting another argument.

Instead of stepping in to make peace like I used to, I just glanced down at my watch. "It's time. I'm heading in first."

David and Brielle traded a look and stopped bickering right away.

It turned out that they could get along just fine without me doing anything.

When the SAT was over, I finally let out a long breath. My frayed nerves could relax at last.

Right on cue, the class rep, Kian Walker, suggested in the group chat that we all go out for dinner to celebrate.

After all, everyone would be going their separate ways after graduation, making it tough to gather like this again.

Halfway through the meal, the biggest party animal in our class suddenly ordered a case of beer.

"We're all adults now. Having a little drink to celebrate isn't asking for much, right?"

Brielle's eyes lit up beside me. "Feli, let's try a little too!"

David scoffed and used his spoon to pin down her hand as she reached for the beer.

Then, he called her out without holding back, "I wonder who it was that got so drunk and made a scene at the restaurant last time. I had to carry her home on my back. She was heavy as a pig. Nearly crushed me."

Brielle's face flushed bright red. "That's just because you're weak. How is that my fault?"

I froze for a moment before setting my glass down on the table with a firm click. "When did you two go out drinking together? Why didn't you invite me?"

"It was that night the school had a sudden blackout—" Brielle's voice cut off mid-sentence.

It came back to me then.

That night, I had run a high fever of 103.6 degrees and almost lost my voice.

Thankfully, Kian noticed something was wrong with me. He threw me over his back and sprinted all the way to the infirmary.

When I woke up, I called David over 20 times, but I couldn't reach him at all.

In the end, it was Kian who supported me all the way home.

So that night, David had snuck out of school with Brielle to go drinking instead.

Yet when I asked him about it afterward, he flat-out lied, saying his dad was out of town and his mom had twisted her ankle, so he had to take leave to go home early and care for her.

It turned out that he had been lying to me since way back then.

Realizing she'd slipped up, Brielle looked at me nervously. "Feli, don't be mad at David. He only agreed to come out with me because of you. I mean, if anything happened to me out there, you'd be heartbroken. He just didn't want you to be sad."

David nodded hastily in agreement. "If I wasn't worried about making you upset, I would've left her on the curb!"

I gave a cold scoff. "So you're saying I should thank you two?"

David instantly realized I was pissed off and turned to glare at Brielle. "This is all your fault! Feli, please don't be mad. I swear, I will never give a damn about what happens to her ever again."

Brielle's face flushed red with anxiety, and her voice was tinged with tears. "Feli, I just wanted to test David out for you. If he didn't care about you, why would he extend that kindness to me?"

Before I could say anything, the neck of the bottle on the table spun around and pointed straight at David.

While we were talking, Kian and the others had already started playing games.

"Truth or dare. David, pick one." It was that same party animal who spoke up.

Everyone knew he was a master at messing with people during dares, so David chose truth without a second thought.

"Who was the last woman you kissed?"

Kian clicked his tongue and called him out, "Everyone knows he and Felicity are a pair. Isn't the answer obvious? Do you even know how to ask questions? If you don't, swap out and let me take the next round!"

Yet as I turned to look at David, I noticed him glancing at Brielle instinctively.

Chapter 3

The air suddenly fell silent.

Kian stared at David with wide, disbelieving eyes. "No way, David! You've kissed someone other than Felicity?"

"I haven't!" David's face flushed red as he instantly shot it down.

"The last woman I kissed was Feli, of course. I just didn't want to talk about something so private out in the open. Besides, Feli is shy. She can't handle hearing stuff like this."

My heart sank.

David lied again. We had never kissed at all.

After that little incident, my mind kept drifting.

Moments from the past played on a loop in my head.

All the little details I'd deliberately overlooked suddenly snapped into sharp focus.

Like how I never suffered from period cramps, yet David always kept ibuprofen stashed in his desk.

Like how Brielle and I had matching thermoses on our desks. Mine held warm water, while Brielle's was filled with hot chocolate.

Or how David brought two sets of breakfast every day. Mine was plain and bland, while Brielle's had variety every single day without repeating once a week.

Back then, I'd never paid attention to any of it. I even bragged about how David was so good to me that he'd look out for my friend he couldn't stand.

Yet without me realizing it, David's affections had already shifted.

"Feli, you look pale. Are you feeling sick?" David reached out to touch my forehead.

I immediately stood up, dodging his hand. "I'm going to the restroom."

The moment I stepped out of the restroom, I bumped right into that guy who had asked the question.

"David lied back there. I saw him and Brielle sneaking a kiss on the field yesterday," he said.

That was why he'd deliberately asked a question with what seemed like an obvious answer to everyone else.

He'd held back from exposing David on the spot just to save my dignity and then waited out here specifically to warn me so I wouldn't be fooled.

My steps faltered, and I murmured a quiet thank-you.

After coming out of the restroom, I didn't go back to the private room.

I sent Kian a text saying I was leaving early, then caught a cab home.

During the ride, David sent me several messages in a row, but I didn't reply to a single one.

At 11:00 pm, there was a quiet tap at my bedroom window.

I pulled it open and saw a tiny basket holding a bag being lowered down from the floor above.

David and I were upstairs-downstairs neighbors.

Since we were kids, we'd used this method to pass things back and forth behind our parents' backs.

When the elementary school teacher assigned lines as punishment, I'd sneak them up to David.

The next morning, neat handwriting would appear right in the basket.

When I was losing my baby teeth and my parents banned sweets, I'd use this secret trick to pass the candy up out of sight, having David hold onto it for me.

It was a little secret that belonged only to the two of us.

I picked up the note inside the basket.

"I noticed you barely ate tonight. You can be mad at me, but don't go to sleep on an empty stomach."

At the end, he even drew a smiley face, mimicking my usual habit.

I opened the paper bag to find a whole roasted chicken inside. It was still piping hot.

It came from the exact place I'd tagged him in on TikTok a few days ago.

We'd agreed to go eat there together after the SAT.

After a long silence, my empty stomach got the best of me, and I opened the bag to eat.

For the sake of the bond we shared growing up together, I decided to find a chance to have an open, honest talk with him.

Little did I expect that a few days later, David would beat me to it, showing up at my front door rolling a suitcase.

Chapter 4

David and I had planned this graduation trip ages ago.

He flashed the travel itinerary in his hand at me. "I promise you won't have to worry about a single thing."

I originally intended to talk things out with him after we got back from the trip, giving our past a proper closure.

Yet when we arrived at the station, I saw Brielle standing there with her own suitcase.

"I'm just tagging along on your trip. Feli, you don't mind, right?"

I stayed silent.

David glanced at my face, then reprimanded her playfully, "Of course you'd leech off us. Feli and I are on a trip for two, and there's no room for a third wheel like you. Besides, I didn't buy a ticket for you."

Those were his words, yet at the train station, I was the only one turned away because I didn't have a ticket.

Brielle glared hard at David. "What's wrong with you? How could you forget to buy Feli's ticket?"

David was dumbfounded too. "I thought Feli already bought hers herself."

"You thought? What good is what you thought when the train gets here in 15 minutes?"

It sounded like a scolding, but it felt much more like a couple flirting.

"I'll buy another one right now, Feli. Don't panic." David pulled out his phone right away.

Every single ticket for the next seven days showed as completely sold out.

Looking at the gate before me that I couldn't pass, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me.

I just felt like an extra, standing here all alone in awkward isolation.

"David, we're done."

David snapped his head up. "Feli, you want to break up with me just because I forgot to buy your ticket?"

"Yes." I pulled my suitcase around and walked away from the station all by myself.

I didn't bring up the disappearing ink pens with them just yet. I wanted to see the look on their faces on the day the SAT scores dropped.

David seemed infuriated by my calm reaction. He turned right around on the spot and dragged Brielle toward ticket control.

I wasn't bothered in the slightest. I bought a ticket and took a train straight to visit Crythoria University instead, which only made me more determined to apply there.

From that day on, David didn't send me a single message.

Instead, his Instagram feed was packed with photos of him out traveling with Brielle. He posted every single day without fail.

Mom noticed it too and made a point to ask me what was going on.

My expression remained calm as I blocked David's account.

"We broke up," I replied.

Mom didn't push for a reason. Instead, she offered me comfort. "I'm glad you can look past it. You're right not to tie yourself down to just one person. Once you get into a great college, you'll find a better man."

On the day the SAT scores came out, David and Brielle happened to be returning home from their trip.

When I went downstairs to throw out the trash that evening, I ran straight into David carrying his suitcase upstairs.

He suddenly spoke up. "I know everything you said at the train station that day was just in the heat of the moment."

Then he reached out to pat my shoulder to comfort me. "It doesn't matter if you messed up on the SAT. At worst, you can just repeat a year, and we'll do long-distance for a year. You're so smart, you'll definitely make it into Crythoria after repeating a year."

I slapped his hand away in disgust. "David, are you out of your mind? Who told you I messed up on the SAT? I'm the top scorer in the city this year. Reporters were just interviewing me at home!"