My Best Friend Stole My First Love

Natalie’s POV

I hate how easy it is.

How easy it is for Eva to fall apart… and still have people care.

Eva Harper has this way of looking broken that makes people want to fix her. Like she’s fragile. Like she needs saving.

Like she’s… special.

I lean against the hallway wall, arms folded, watching from a distance as she disappears around the corner earlier, her head down, shoulders shaking slightly.

Right on cue.

A small smile tugs at my lips.

“That should be enough for today,” I mutter under my breath.

Just enough to make sure she remembers.

My phone vibrates in my hand.

I glance down and unlock it.

“That was crazy. You didn’t say it would go that far.”

I let out a small sigh. Boys always act tough until consequences show up.

I type back slowly. “You got paid. That’s literally the only part you needed to worry about.”

A second later, his reply comes through. “Yeah… but she looked really messed up.”

I roll my eyes.

“Soft,” I muttered, out loud this time. They never understood the point of these things. It wasn’t about fun. It was about impact.

I pushed myself off the wall and started walking toward the back staircase, a quiet, empty place, perfect for people who didn’t want witnesses.

He was already there. Jason Blake, basketball captain, golden boy of the school, the type everyone listened to before thinking, still in his jersey like he’d just come off a stage instead of destroying someone’s dignity. Funny how that worked.

“Relax,” I said as I approached. “No one followed you.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “You said it was just a prank.”

“It was,” I replied, holding out the remaining cash.

He took it slowly. “But it didn’t feel like one,” he muttered.

I tilted my head. “Oh?” I raised a brow. “So now you’ve developed a moral compass after the fact?”

He didn’t respond immediately, and that already told me enough.

“Look,” I said, my voice calm but sharp, “you don’t get to feel guilty now. You stood there. You laughed with them. You pointed too, if I remember correctly.”

His jaw tightened slightly. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Sure,” I cut in lightly. “Just take your money and move on. That’s what people like you do best.”

He looked at me for a second, like he was trying to figure out if I was joking. I wasn’t.

“Why her though?” he asked again.

That question again. Why her? A memory flickered in my mind, quick and sharp and unwanted: Eva smiling, everyone watching her, choosing her. My jaw tightened, and I took a slow step closer.

“Because she reacts,” I said simply.

He frowned. “That’s it?”

“That’s everything,” I corrected him.

I glanced away for a moment. Eva’s face flashed in my mind again, too soft, too open, too visible, and it irritated me more than it should have.

“She walks around like people won’t notice her,” I continued. “But they always do. And when they do, she falls apart like it’s news to her every time.” I looked back at him. “And honestly? That’s exhausting to watch.”

He didn’t say anything, which was good.

“Just forget it,” I added, turning away. “It’s done.” As I walked past him, he muttered something behind me.

“She didn’t deserve that.”

I stopped, then turned just enough to look at him over my shoulder. “Deserve?” I repeated, amused. “You think life hands things based on deserve?”

He didn’t answer. Exactly. I continued walking.

By the time I reached the main hallway, my expression had already changed, calm and soft, perfect. I spotted her almost immediately. Eva, still walking slowly, still trying to disappear into herself like she could become invisible if she tried hard enough. Pathetic, and predictable.

I adjusted my tone instantly, slipping into place beside her just as she turned the corner. “Eva?”

She stopped and looked up at me, her eyes red, her thoughts clearly still scattered, still recovering. Perfect timing.

“I’ve been looking for you,” I said gently, tilting my head.

She blinked. “Oh… Nat.”

I smiled softly, the kind of smile that said I care.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay after earlier,” I said.

Her shoulders dropped slightly. “I… I’m fine,” she lied.

I nodded slowly. “Good,” I replied. “Because I was thinking, maybe you should just go home early today. You know, avoid the rest of the noise.”

Her eyes flickered, that same hesitation, that same weakness that always showed there first.

“I don’t know…” she whispered.

I sighed softly, like I was concerned. “Eva,” I said gently, placing a hand on her arm, “trust me. Staying here is just going to make it worse. You already gave them enough entertainment for the day.”

She looked down, and I could see it working. Good.

“I’ll text you later,” I added, softer now. “Just… don’t overthink it, okay?”

She nodded slowly. “…Okay.”

Perfect. She turned to leave, but I didn’t. I waited until she disappeared down the hallway, until she was out of sight, until she couldn’t accidentally turn back and see me still standing there. Only then did I exhale.

“Good girl,” I whispered under my breath. Because today I hadn’t just embarrassed her. I’d controlled the entire day she had, and she didn’t even notice.

I took a slow breath and continued walking down the empty corridor. Everything felt normal again, too normal, like nothing was about to change, like she wasn’t about to lose something she didn’t even know she still had.

I headed back to class like nothing happened, because apparently that’s what everyone else was doing too. The bell rang, chairs scraped against the floor, people burst into laughter, conversations picked right back up, as if Eva hadn’t just been humiliated in front of half the school. Typical.

I rolled my eyes, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Oh, Eva. Right, that reminded me. I pulled out my phone, already unlocking it, already knowing exactly what I was about to say to her, when it vibrated in my hand.

I paused. This time I didn’t smile. I didn’t move. I just stared at the screen through the fabric of my pocket as it lit up faintly.

A new notification appeared. Bloomers.

My fingers curled slowly around the phone. I hadn’t opened anything. I hadn’t sent anything. And I was sure Eva had already deleted the app, so why was it still active?

My thumb hovered for a second before I unlocked the screen, and what I saw made me stop completely.

Golden Boy is typing…

I stared at it, unmoving, because none of it made sense. It shouldn’t even have been possible. Eva was supposed to have deleted the app. I thought she had. The idea had stuck in my head ever since she left school early, her face, the way she’d looked like she was done with everything.

That was enough for me to assume he’d forgotten all about it, so I couldn’t understand why his name was suddenly active again. The three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, then vanished, then reappeared, like someone on the other end kept hesitating, thinking too hard before saying something they probably shouldn’t. My grip tightened around the phone, and a slow breath left me almost without my noticing.

“…No way,” I whispered.

Then a message came through, just one line, no greeting, no hesitation, as if whoever was on the other end had finally decided it was now or never.

“Who are you?”