Eddie told himself he didn't care.
Maya could ignore him all she wanted. She could walk past him like he was nothing, act like she didn't know him, and carry on like he wasn't even alive—it didn't bother him at all.
Except it did.
At first, he thought she was just messing with him. But after an entire week of being completely, utterly disregarded, he realized she wasn't playing.
She was serious.
No teasing. No smirks. No stolen glances.
Just… nothing.
And worst of all? Everyone loved this new Maya.
"She's so unbothered," Sally gushed. "This is top-tier revenge."
"Honestly, iconic behavior," Luna added. "She really said 'next.'"
Eddie? He hated it.
At lunch, he sat with Zeke, barely touching his food.
Zeke nudged him. "You good, man?"
Eddie gritted his teeth. "I'm fine."
Zeke snorted. "Sure. And I secretly own a yacht."
Eddie clenched his jaw.
Zeke leaned in. "So, how long are we gonna pretend you're not losing your mind because Maya is ignoring you?"
"I'm not losing my mind."
"Right. That's why you've been staring at her for the past five minutes."
Eddie immediately looked away. "I wasn't staring."
Zeke smirked. "Dude. What did you do?"
Eddie exhaled sharply. "I… may have told her to stop wasting her time on me."
Zeke winced. "Oof. Yeah, that'll do it."
Eddie stabbed his fork into his tray.
"Let me get this straight," Zeke continued. "She spent months chasing you. You told her to leave you alone. And now that she has, you're mad about it?"
"I never said I was mad."
Zeke raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So why do you look like you're about to fight your mashed potatoes?"
Eddie groaned.
Zeke grinned. "You need to fix this. Get her attention."
Which was how Eddie ended up acting completely out of character.
The next day, he made an effort to look… cooler.
Rolled-up sleeves. Relaxed posture. Casual but not too casual.
Zeke took one look at him and burst out laughing. "Dude. You look like you watched a 'How to Be a Heartthrob' tutorial."
Eddie ignored him.
When Maya passed by, he leaned against his locker, giving her his best smolder.
She didn't even blink.
Strike one.
He tried lowering his voice in class, speaking in that deep, effortless way that always worked in movies.
No reaction.
Strike two.
He even accidentally brushed her hand when passing papers.
Nothing.
Strike three.
By the time their after-class session rolled around, Eddie was desperate.
Maya sat across from him, completely focused on her laptop.
The silence stretched between them.
Eddie clenched his jaw. "Maya."
She finally looked at him. "What?"
"Are you seriously going to ignore me forever?"
Maya blinked. "I'm not ignoring you. I just don't have anything to say."
Eddie frowned. "Since when do you not have something to say?"
Maya shrugged. "Guess I've grown."
Eddie exhaled sharply. "Look—I shouldn't have said what I did that day."
Maya tilted her head. "What exactly did you say?"
Eddie hesitated. "You know what I said."
Maya smiled. "Oh. So you don't even remember?"
Eddie groaned. "Maya—"
"It's fine," she cut him off. "I accept your apology."
Eddie blinked. "Wait. That's it?"
"Yep."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." She slung her bag over her shoulder. "Have a nice life, nerd."
Then she walked away.
Eddie sat there, stunned.
That was it? She forgave him, but she still acted like he was nothing?
What the hell?
And then, as if fate wanted to mock him, Damon appeared.
Maya was walking to her car with Sally and Luna when Damon pulled up beside her.
Eddie, still fuming, was about to get in his own car when he overheard them.
Damon leaned against his sleek black car, smirking. "You look good today, princess."
Maya tossed her hair. "I always look good."
Damon grinned. "True. But today? Extra good."
Maya stepped closer, tilting her head. "Are you flirting with me?"
Damon chuckled. "I would never."
Maya placed a finger under his chin, lifting it slightly. "Liar."
Eddie's stomach burned.
Damon smirked. "How about dinner? Saturday night?"
Maya tapped a manicured finger against her lips, pretending to think. Then, she glanced at Eddie—just for a second.
"Sure," she said. "Why not?"
Eddie's jaw tightened.
Damon grinned. "Perfect. I'll pick you up at seven."
Maya winked at Eddie. "Don't look so grumpy, nerd. I thought you didn't care?"
Eddie yanked open his car door and slammed it shut.
But the final blow came on Saturday night.
Because Eddie followed them.
Not on purpose.
(Okay, fine. Completely on purpose.)
Zeke sat beside him in the parked car, watching through the restaurant window. "This is a new low, man."
Eddie ignored him.
Inside, Maya was laughing. She leaned forward, running her fingers lightly over Damon's wrist.
Damon grinned. "Careful, princess. You keep touching me like that, and I'll start thinking you like me."
Maya smirked. "Maybe I do."
Eddie clenched his fists.
Then—disaster.
Damon leaned in.
Maya didn't pull away.
And then—
Their lips met.
Eddie froze.
Zeke let out a low whistle. "Welp. That's gotta sting."
Eddie's grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles turned white.
Maya pulled away, slow and teasing, her lips curving into a smug little smile.
Then—
She reached for her phone.
And took a picture.
Of the kiss.
And then, with a smirk, she sent it to Eddie.
Eddie's phone buzzed. He looked down.
A message from Maya.
"Still don't care, nerd? ;)"
Eddie saw red.
Before Zeke could stop him, Eddie threw his car door open.
Eddie stormed into the restaurant like a man on a mission.
Zeke, scrambling to keep up, hissed, "Bro, think before you do something stupid!"
Eddie ignored him. His eyes were locked on Maya and Damon, who were still sitting there, looking all cozy like they were on the cover of a romance novel.
Maya noticed him first. She leaned back, taking a slow sip of her drink, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oh? What a coincidence."
Eddie slammed his hands on the table. "Are you kidding me, Maya?"
Damon blinked. "Uh… hey, little bro."
Eddie turned to him, seething. "Don't 'little bro' me! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Damon smirked. "Having dinner with a beautiful girl. Who, by the way, agreed to be here."
Maya tilted her head. "I did, didn't I?"
Eddie gritted his teeth. "You—" He pointed at Maya, then at Damon, then back at Maya. "You planned this, didn't you?"
Maya gasped dramatically. "Me? Plotting? Eddie, how could you accuse me of such a thing?"
Zeke, now fully entertained, grabbed a chair from another table and sat down. "Ooooh, this is juicy. Don't mind me."
Eddie exhaled sharply. "Okay, fine. I don't care who you date. Go ahead. Enjoy your romantic evening."
Maya smiled sweetly. "Aw. That's so mature of you, nerd."
Damon grinned. "Yeah, I gotta say, Eddie, I didn't expect you to be so… chill about it."
Eddie crossed his arms. "Of course, I'm chill. Why wouldn't I be?"
Maya rested her chin on her hand. "Then why are you here?"
Eddie opened his mouth—then shut it.
Zeke snorted. "Yeah, man. Why are we here?"
Eddie whirled around. "Shut up, Zeke."
Damon chuckled, clearly thriving on Eddie's jealousy. "Relax, little bro. Maya and I are just enjoying each other's company."
Maya sighed dreamily. "He's such a gentleman. It's honestly refreshing."
Eddie clenched his jaw. "Oh yeah? What's so great about him?"
Maya smirked. "For starters, he doesn't push me away."
Eddie's eye twitched.
Damon grinned. "And I actually appreciate her presence."
Eddie's entire soul twitched.
Maya leaned forward, her voice soft and teasing. "You know, Eddie, if you want, I could give you some tips on how to treat a girl properly."
Zeke let out a wheeze.
Eddie snapped. "Oh, that's it!"
Before anyone could stop him, Eddie grabbed Maya's drink—her fancy, expensive, extra-feminine cocktail with the little umbrella in it—and downed it in one go.
The entire table went silent.
Maya blinked. "Did you just—"
Eddie slammed the empty glass down. "Yeah. I did."
Zeke coughed, trying to hold back laughter. "Wow. So rebellious."
Damon chuckled. "Damn, Eddie. You really showed that drink who's boss."
Maya smirked. "That was adorable, honestly. But, uh… you do know there was alcohol in that, right?"
Eddie froze. "Wait, what?"
Maya batted her lashes. "That was a very strong cocktail."
Zeke's eyes lit up. "Oh my God. Is Eddie about to be drunk?"
Maya grinned. "I think he is."
Eddie, blinking rapidly, felt the warmth spreading in his chest. "I—wait, no, I don't—this is—"
Damon clapped him on the shoulder. "Oh, this is gonna be good."
And just like that, Eddie's entire world tilted.
Zeke grinned. "Sooo… what now?"
Maya giggled. "Oh, I say we definitely have some fun with this."
And that was the moment Eddie knew—
He was completely doomed.