Chapter 98: Better Broken Together
We walked into campus like it was any other day, except it wasn’t. Not for me. My head had been running laps since morning.
Val said she’d try. She said it last night, and I knew she meant it, but knowing and watching are two different things. I didn’t want her hurt. I didn’t want to lose Marina either. She’s been my friend since I was a kid. Both of them mattered, but... not in the same way.
The hallway buzzed the way it always did. Loud. Busy. Everyone shoving books into lockers, laughing too hard, walking too fast.
That’s when I saw her.
Marina.
She was leaned against the wall, arms crossed, talking to another girl I didn’t know. Probably something normal. Marina stuff. She looked the same as always—smart, sharp, calm in a way Val never bothered to be. A little smile here, a small gesture there. The kind of person who could make sarcasm sound like a love language if she wanted.
Val stopped walking. Just froze.
Her eyes cut to me. Then she let out this dramatic sigh. "Ugh, fine."
She sounded bold, like usual. But her fingers were fumbling at her side, picking at nothing.
I lowered my voice. "You don’t have to if you don’t wanna—"
"It’ll make you happy," she cut me off. No hesitation. "And if you’re happy, I’m happy."
That one hit me straight in the chest. Hard.
She turned before I could say anything else, shoulders squared, and walked over like she owned the ground under her feet.
"Hey," Val said.
Marina paused mid-sentence, glanced at the girl she was with. "Give me a sec." Then she turned, eyes landing on Val. "Hi."
Flat. Cool. Not warm. Not how they used to sound together.
The air between them was sharp. I could feel it even from where I was standing.
Val’s chin lifted, her voice steady. "Can we talk?"
Marina flicked her eyes toward me for half a second before looking back at Val.
"Yeah. Sure."
And just like that, the hallway noise didn’t matter anymore. The tension between them was louder than everything else.
---
I didn’t follow them.
I thought about it for half a second, my feet almost moving after Val, but I stopped myself. This wasn’t my fight to hover over. If I followed, I’d just make it worse. They didn’t need me standing there like some referee waiting to blow a whistle.
Besides, if I was being honest... I was the reason they weren’t on good terms. Not on purpose. Not because I did anything wrong. But because Marina let slip what she’d been carrying, and Val—Val being Val—couldn’t let it go.
So I stayed where I was, leaning against the wall, pretending to scroll through my phone like it was the most interesting thing in the world. My ears, though—they were tuned to every step they took.
They stopped at a bench near the big windows, out of the way but not completely private. Anyone passing could see them. Neither of them seemed to care.
They sat.
Not close. Not far. Just enough space for the tension to stretch between them like a rope waiting to snap.
The silence hit first. Heavy. Awkward. Not the good kind that said you were comfortable with someone. The bad kind. The kind where every second that ticked by screamed louder than words.
Marina was the one who broke it.
"You said you wanna talk." Her voice was steady, but not sharp. Just... testing.
Val’s reply came fast. Flat. "Nope. Not really."
I almost choked on air.
Marina blinked at her. "Wow." The sarcasm dripped, automatic.
"Mh-mm," Val answered, as if she was confirming it like a fact.
Then both of them looked away, staring in opposite directions like the walls suddenly had something worth studying. A beat passed. Then another.
Finally, Marina exhaled, the sound quiet but tired. "I know you’re mad at me."
Val snorted, jaw tight, fingers worrying the strap of her bag. "Mad? Try furious. You knew exactly what you were saying that day."
Marina shifted on the bench, her fingers knotting together in her lap before she finally looked up. Her voice was low, almost cracking. "You don’t get to play victim when you hurt me just as much."
Val’s head tilted, her eyes cutting to her like a blade. "Like you didn’t hurt me first."
Marina’s lips pressed tight before she let them part again. "I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even want to say anything. You forced me to."
Val leaned back against the bench, her arms crossed tight. "How am I supposed to know you were gonna admit you’re in love with my boyfriend?"
That one landed like a knife. Even I flinched where I was standing.
Marina let out a long, tired breath, shoulders sinking. "It wasn’t supposed to come out like that. I’ve been holding it in for years, Val. It’s exhausting."
> "You still said it."
Her voice was sharp, cutting.
Marina didn’t blink. She just shrugged slightly. "In my defense, I’ve known him longer."
And there it was. The line that stung. The one Val didn’t let anyone see hit her, except me—and even then, barely.
Her face cracked for half a second. Hurt flashed in her eyes. But just as quick, it was gone. Covered. Hidden under that bratty armor she wore so well.
Val leaned forward this time, voice low but burning. "You think knowing him longer gives you rights? That’s pathetic."
Marina’s jaw tightened. "Don’t twist it. I’m not saying I have rights. I’m saying you act like I never mattered. Like my feelings don’t count."
Val’s laugh came sharp and humorless. "They don’t. Not when it comes to him."
Marina’s brows pulled together. "That’s exactly the problem. You don’t see anything past yourself."
Val’s smirk was instant, defensive, ugly. "Oh, please. You think I don’t know that? I don’t share. I don’t pretend to. At least I’m honest about it."
Marina’s eyes flickered, her fingers digging into her jeans. "You don’t even realize how selfish that sounds, do you?"
Val tilted her chin, leaning back like she was daring her to keep going. "Better selfish than fake."
Marina’s lips parted, ready to fire back, but she caught herself, biting the inside of her cheek. Her voice softened, but it shook. "You make it sound like I wanted this. Like I woke up and thought, ’Hey, let me ruin my friendship with Celestia today.’ You think I asked to feel this way about him? I didn’t."
Val blinked, and for a second, her smirk faltered. Then she shoved it right back on, almost too fast. "Still not my problem."
Marina flinched at that one. "Wow."
Val stood. Quick. Too quick. "I can’t do this."
I thought she was leaving, and maybe she would have if Marina hadn’t spoken again.
} "I’m sorry."
Val froze mid-step, her back still to Marina.
Marina’s voice dropped, smaller now. "I know you love him. I really do. And I’m not going to compete with you for him. I know I’ve already lost. I’ve known since... a long time ago."
Something in her tone cracked. It wasn’t Marina’s usual sarcasm, wasn’t her casual confidence. It was soft. Defeated, even.
Val’s shoulders stiffened. I could tell it got to her.
"I don’t wanna lose you as a friend," Marina added, her voice barely carrying in the hallway.
That was the one that made Val turn. Slowly. She blinked once, then again, her lashes heavy like she was chasing away something glassy. But when she faced Marina, her eyes were dry, sharp, stubborn as always.
She sat back down, dropping onto the bench like she’d decided to give her another chance. "I still hate you."
Marina’s lips twitched into something close to a smile. "I know."
"And I’m only forgiving you because Kai will apparently sulk if I don’t." Val’s voice tilted upward like a joke, lightening the mood in the exact way only she could.
I bit my cheek to keep from smiling. Because I knew the truth—Val was the one who’d sulk.
Marina knew it too. Her laugh came soft, sad, but still real. "He would, wouldn’t he?"
Their eyes met. The kind of look where both of them understood without needing to say it out loud.
Val blinked again, fast, before it showed too much. Then she shoved her hands forward, bratty like always. "Well? Come on."
Marina stared at it for a second, her lips pressing together like she was holding something in. Then she smiled—soft, tired—and whispered, "Thank you."
She leaned in and took the hug.
Val’s arms wrapped around her tighter than she probably realized. And in the middle of it, Val’s voice slipped, low but clear. "I’m sorry too. For hurting you."
From where I stood, I felt the knot in my chest loosen.
Because this—this was the ache that had been pressing down on me since it all started. Val. Marina. My sister Naomi? They’re the three most important girls in my life. And now, at least two of them... were okay again.
I let out a slow breath, the corner of my mouth lifting without me meaning to.
And as they sat there, now talking and laughing about something that probably didn’t even matter, I realized something—
Sometimes healing doesn’t come with big speeches. Sometimes it’s just sitting on a bench, admitting you’re hurt, and hugging anyway.
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To be continued...