The day of the campaign finally arrived, and Tate was more nervous than she'd ever been. Her palms were clammy, her heart thudding wildly in her chest.
Can I really do this?
She and Landon were scheduled to present their manifesto to the entire student body, explaining why they were the perfect choice for the class governor roles. The pressure sat heavy on her shoulders. She had to do great. She had to. She couldn't disappoint her parents—not now, not when they had finally started believing in her. Not when they were proud.
She glanced at the posters lining the hallway, the ones with her and Landon's faces side by side. It still felt a little unreal.
From the other end of the hall, Martha and Damien walked toward her. Her stomach twisted—not because of Martha, but because of Damien.
Ever since that day in the janitor's closet, Damien had been acting completely normal. No mentions. No awkwardness. No tension. It was almost like she'd imagined the whole thing.
And maybe that was a good thing.
After all, she had wanted space—hadn't she? He was giving it to her. Respecting her boundaries. Keeping things light. Casual. Safe.
But she still caught him staring sometimes.
Their eyes met for the briefest moment before he looked away.
"Tate," Martha said, "Landon is waiting for you. Are you nervous?"
Tate gave a tight nod. "Yeah. Very."
Martha smiled gently, then reached out and rubbed Tate's head in a comforting way. "It's okay to be nervous, but I know you'll do great out there. I'm rooting for you—we are."
Damien chimed in, "You'll do great. We've worked on this for weeks. It's just a speech. Just tell them why you and Landon would be great for the role."
Then he added with a smirk, "Even if they don't accept you guys, they really don't have a choice."
Tate let out a small laugh.
"But seriously," Damien said, "I know you can do it."
She looked at both of them, her heart swelling with gratitude, and took a deep breath. "Thanks. Really."
The campaign was a success.
Landon delivered his manifesto with confidence, and when it was her turn, Tate stepped up—and spoke like someone who belonged up there. The students clapped and cheered when she finished. She hadn't expected that much love, that much support.
She was almost moved to tears.
And it didn't take long for the principal to step up and make it official: Tate and Landon had won.
Even though she knew they had no real competition, she couldn't help it—she jumped and threw her arms around Landon. "We did it!"
All her hard work… had come to something.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Martha and Damien hugging excitedly. She smiled at first, happy they were happy too. They were probably just thrilled for her, right?
But then a strange feeling crept in. She didn't recognize it at first.
Is this jealousy? she wondered.
Am I actually… jealous?
She couldn't believe it. This is crazy.
Tate tried to shake it off, but the thought lingered. I need to figure out what I feel about Damien, she told herself, heart fluttering as the crowd buzzed around her and Landon, because there's no way I'm getting jealous of my own friend
When Tate got home that evening, she was surprised to find that dinner was already made. Her brother had cooked.
He'd come home the week before and had been taking his role as the "big brother" seriously ever since—especially now that their parents had traveled. They weren't exactly super close, but they had a decent relationship, and that was good enough for her.
After dinner, Tate lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, thoughts swirling in her head.
Do I… have a crush on Damien?
Is that what this was? A crush?
She didn't get it. She was confused. How could she have a crush on someone she barely knew? When she liked Allen back then, it made sense—she knew Allen. She liked who he was as a person, which was why she'd had a crush on him. But with Damien? It didn't feel the same.
Not that she disliked who Damien was—he seemed okay—but did she know him well enough to feel this way? Probably not.
Still, she couldn't shake the weird fluttery feeling that crept in every time she caught him looking at her, or the way she suddenly noticed the things he said, the way he laughed. It was confusing. She needed to talk to someone.
But her parents were halfway across the world, and her brother? Absolutely not. She remembered the last time she'd asked him what it felt like to like someone—he'd gone full overprotective mode, saying things like, "Any boy that tries anything with you, I'll deal with him." She shuddered at the memory. Definitely not asking him.
So, she turned to her last resort: the internet.
She opened her search engine and typed, How to know if you have a crush.
Tons of results popped up. She clicked on the first one.
Apparently, there were four types of crushes: platonic, admiration, passing, and romantic.
Maybe it's a platonic crush, she thought at first. But the way she felt didn't exactly feel... platonic.
She went through the list again.
Admiration? No, it's not just that.
Passing? Hmm... maybe.
Romantic? God, I hope not...
Out of all of them, passing crush seemed like the most realistic option. Yeah. That had to be it.
But curiosity got the better of her. She clicked on another article titled: How to Know If a Guy Has a Crush on You.
She scanned the list.
1. He stares at you.
Tate blinked. Damien did stare at her sometimes.
2. He texts you meaninglessly just to start a conversation.
She thought about all the times he messaged her about campaign stuff they could've easily talked about in school the next day. That had been a little strange.
3. He teases you.
He definitely teased her sometimes. Joking comments, light sarcasm... playful smirks.
And then the post ended with: If he does all these things, he definitely likes you.
Tate slammed her phone down on the bed out of frustration
"This is crazy," she whispered. "There's no way Damien likes me."
Even though he did tick all those boxes, it didn't mean anything. It couldn't.
Still…
She decided right then that tomorrow, she was going to observe. Watch closely. Check if he actually did those things the website mentioned.
Tomorrow, she would know.