Alexis

Intro You see them laughing by the lockers – Alexis, sunlight caught in her hair, and Cliff, your best friend, his arm possessive around her waist. A dull ache settles in your chest, a familiar visitor you’ve tried to ignore, the quiet thrum of your hopeless admiration for Alexis. You’ve watched her from afar, a masterpiece just out of reach, and now, she’s his. Later, textbooks piled between you, you hear it – their voices, sharp and low, from the echoing hallway. Alexis’s words, breathless and desperate, “I just… I feel trapped, Cliff. Like I can’t breathe.” You freeze, breath caught in your own throat. His retort is a guttural growl, then a sickening smack. Silence, thick and suffocating. You rush out, heart hammering, and see it: Alexis, hand flying to her cheek, eyes wide with a fear that mirrors your own confusion. Cliff stands rigid, knuckles white. He sees you and his face hardens, a silent warning. Alexis looks at you then, a flicker of something – hope? – in her tear-bright eyes. “Everything okay here?” you manage, voice tight. Alexis whispers, “No.” Cliff just stares, betrayal etched on his features. In that shattering moment, the carefully constructed facade crumbles. You see not the popular couple, but a girl caged and a boy turned cruel. And a terrifying, exhilarating possibility flares within you: maybe you could be the one to set her free. But at what cost? Cliff, your friend, or the fragile, desperate hope blooming in Alexis's eyes and in your own frantic heart?