A Story Of Three People - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

One day, quite by accident, he overheard me talking to Derek on the phone and asked for her number.

I gave it to him without thinking twice. I assumed he simply wanted to get to know her.

Then I completely forgot about it.

The last time I saw Derek, she was unusually quiet.

It wasn't like her at all.

Normally, she was talkative—sometimes almost endlessly so. But that day, she barely said a word.

I asked her what was wrong.

She hesitated for a moment before finally telling me:

“Amity said he likes me.”

I was a little surprised.

But then I suddenly understood.

Derek—my close friend, a girl with such a strong personality and such depth of feeling—had captured Amity's heart.

And perhaps it wasn't difficult to understand why.

The two of them were, in many ways, alike.

I simply asked,

“So… what do you think?”

Derek fell silent.

And I fell silent too.

For a while, neither of us said another word.

I had never fallen for anyone before.

There is a common belief that everyone who has gone through adolescence must have experienced a crush at least once.

That simply wasn't true for me.

Throughout both middle school and high school, I seemed completely indifferent to the girls around me. Pretty girls, ordinary girls, gentle girls, sweet girls—I felt nothing.

I knew quite a few of them had noticed me. I also knew I had a way with words, and I used that ability with everyone.

But it was never anything more than simple kindness.

Then I met Derek.

And everything changed.

For the first time in my life, I felt my heart tremble.

At first, it was only through text messages, but somehow, even from those conversations, I felt as though this girl had been meant for me. There was something strangely familiar between us, as if our hearts understood each other without needing to explain.

Derek had an unmistakable personality. She was energetic, enthusiastic, involved in all kinds of school clubs and activities, and she was also our class monitor.

But she wasn't the typical tomboy.

There was another side to her—a thoughtful, profound side that I found impossible to ignore.

And for the first time in my life, I discovered that I could actually lose a battle of words.

Against Derek.

She had a way of saying things—quiet, profound, and meaningful—that left me completely defenseless.

“I don't really like Amity. He's a little too smooth for my taste. I don't like that kind of person.”

Perhaps that was one of the reasons I fell for Derek even more.

I had tried to show her how I felt.

But somehow, through those thoughtful words of hers, Derek seemed to be telling me something without saying it outright.

She wasn't ready.

Not yet.