Bubble Boy

Troy sat at the cool table, surrounded by Jackson, Emily, Carter, and Kasey, but his mind was somewhere else. His conversation with Jace kept replaying in his head, mixing with the image of Annie storming off, hurt and confused.

He barely touched his food, his gaze locked on the unpopular table at the back of the cafeteria. Annie sat there, laughing awkwardly at something one of the nerd club members said. She wasn't even looking at him.

At first.

But the longer Troy stared, the harder it became for her to ignore. Her laughter died, her hands fidgeted, and a pink hue spread across her cheeks. She finally glanced up, meeting his gaze for a fraction of a second before quickly looking away.

That only made Troy stare harder.

Jackson and the others started to notice.

"You good, man?" Jackson asked, waving a fry in front of Troy's face. No response.

Carter leaned over, draping an arm around Troy's neck. "You move on quick," he teased. "Got a crush on the nerd girl now?"

Troy tensed, snapping out of his daze. Before he could say anything, Kasey let out an irritated scoff. "Seriously?"

Troy glanced at her, confused, but she just turned back to her food, stabbing her salad with unnecessary force.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Troy barely spoke. Barely reacted. His mind was a swirling storm of thoughts, each one circling back to the same thing, what the hell was he going to say to Annie?

Before he knew it, the final bell rang.

He walked down the hallway, his heart pounding as he made his way to the usual meeting spot outside. This was it. He was going to apologize. He was going to fix this.

But then...

A force slammed him against the lockers.

Troy blinked, disoriented, before realizing who had pinned him.

Kasey.

Her blue eyes were sharp, her lips curled into a smirk. "You've been ignoring me all day," she murmured.

Troy swallowed hard. "I..."

Before he could finish, she leaned in and kissed him.

His mind short-circuited.

Her lips were soft, warm, everything he had ever dreamed about. But something felt… wrong.

Then his eyes flickered past her.

Annie.

She stood at the end of the hall, her face frozen in shock, her brown eyes glistening as tears began to form.

Troy's stomach dropped.

The moment their eyes met, Annie turned and ran.

"Wait...!"

He shoved Kasey away, breathless.

She stared at him, stunned. Then her expression darkened. "What the hell, Troy?"

But he didn't answer.

He just walked away.

Away from her.

Away from everything.

And for the first time in his life, he had no idea what he was supposed to do next.

Troy's feet dragged against the pavement as he made his way to Jace's mansion, his mind an endless loop of Annie's tear-streaked face. He barely noticed the world around him, the fading sunlight, the chill in the evening air, none of it mattered.

His hands clenched into fists. Why did Kasey have to do that? And why had he let it happen? The look in Annie's eyes when she saw them, it gutted him.

By the time he arrived at Jace's hideout, his shoulders were slumped, and his usual energy was nowhere to be found.

Jace, clad in his Shadow gear minus the mask, raised an eyebrow. "You look like hell."

Troy scoffed. "Feel like it too."

Jace tossed him a pair of gloves. "Come on, we're training. Whatever's eating you, let it out in the ring."

Troy didn't argue. He needed the distraction.

Annie lay curled up on her bed, her pillow damp from tears. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the image of Kasey kissing Troy wouldn't leave her mind.

Why did I think I had a chance?

She reached for her glasses on the nightstand, but her hand trembled too much to put them on.

A soft knock came from outside her door.

"Annie, sweetheart?" Her mom's voice was gentle, filled with concern.

Annie wiped her eyes. "I'm fine."

Her dad chimed in, his voice firmer. "This is the second day you've come home crying. What's wrong?"

"I said I'm fine," she repeated, but her voice cracked.

There was a pause. Then, a new voice, small and full of energy.

"I am Bubble Boy, protector of the innocent!"

Annie cracked an eye open as Sam burst into the room, wearing a makeshift superhero costume made of a laundry basket, a cape from an old bedsheet, and a pair of swimming goggles.

Sam struck a dramatic pose. "Fear not, citizen! I am here to vanquish your sadness!"

Annie let out a shaky laugh despite herself. "Sam…"

Sam climbed onto the bed and gave her a big hug. "Whoever made you cry, I'll beat them up! With bubbles!"

Annie sniffled and hugged her little sister tight. "Thanks, Sam."

Outside the room, their parents exchanged a glance, relieved she was at least smiling again, but still deeply worried.

Troy panted, sweat dripping from his forehead. Jace had just put him through an intense session, and while his body was exhausted, his mind was still restless.

Jace handed him a towel. "Alright, talk."

Troy wiped his face. "It's… Annie."

Jace smirked. "Figured. You've been spacing out the whole time."

Troy hesitated before sighing. "I can't stop thinking about her. We've had so much fun together, and I..." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I think I like her. Like, really like her."

Jace leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "So what's the problem?"

Troy groaned. "Kasey kissed me. And Annie saw. Now she probably thinks I don't care about her at all."

Jace let out a low whistle. "Damn. That's rough."

Troy slumped onto the bench. "I don't know how to fix this."

Jace was silent for a moment, then smirked. "You want to win her back?"

"Of course," Troy said instantly.

Jace grinned. "Then you need to go big. None of this 'texting an apology' nonsense. You need to make a statement."

Troy sat up. "Like what?"

Jace leaned in. "Flowers. Chocolates. A suit. And a radio."

Troy blinked. "A radio?"

Jace nodded. "You're going to stand outside her house and blast a love song while confessing your love."

Troy stared at him. "That's… ridiculous."

Jace smirked. "Exactly. It's bold, it's dramatic, and it shows you actually care."

Troy hesitated. "And you think it'll work?"

Jace shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Troy then lays flat on the floor looking at the ceiling. And Jace sits on the floor next to him drinking water.

Troy begins thinking of how he met Annie and what caught his attention first when he saw her it was her beautiful green curly hair. Then he thinks about what he find cute about Annie the way she pushes up her glasses. Then thinks about all the fun times they had together and how amazing is her personality. How easy it is to talk to her and how comfortable he is around her.

I really hope that I can make things right with Annie.