Intermission - Mistaken.

Isabelle walked to school with heavy stomps and blurred eyes. Her chest felt so tight it hurt, her lips were pursed and her teeth bit on the inside. The further she went, what had started as a faint dizziness grew into a strong headache.

She went through the school gates and found no one around, for which she was thankful. She went up the stairs all the way to the fourth floor, but once in front of her classroom, she turned away from it. She didn't want anyone to see her like this and ask what happened, so she escaped all the way to the rooftop, or rather the locked door to it, and sat down on the cold stairs.

What would she answer if someone saw her and asked? That she had a fight with her brother? That wouldn't be correct. That wasn't a fight in the slightest. It was… It was… Isabelle knew well what it was, and it wouldn't leave her mind.

He wasn't supposed to hear that, but he did. She wanted to be friends with these people, but they didn't like her brother. Isabelle made her choice then, because after all… After all… Oliver wasn't going anywhere. Her brother would always be there, so what if she stopped playing with him for a while?

She trembled in her seat and gripped hard on her knees. The thought wouldn't leave her. Her brother… Oliver…

Before she knew it, the bell for first period rang. Then, just as suddenly, the first period ended. A few people approached, asking her if she was feeling well, saying that she looked pale.

"Just feeling under the weather today, I'm fine," she dismissed with an easy laugh.

"Hey, Isabelle," a male voice spoke from the door to her classroom. Ignacio, her boyfriend. "Let's go," he said, pointing back with his thumb. Of course, he wanted to go somewhere else, somewhere more private, but Isabelle was seriously not in the mood for that.

"Sorry, I need to do something right now. Mind if we talk later?" She asked, smiling apologetically. Ignacio looked taken aback, even offended. He made a 'humph' sound and walked away. He did that a lot, now that she thought about it. It irked her.

Whatever. She didn't have the energy to deal with that. What she wanted to do, what she needed to know was…

She needed to be quick. Her brother tended to disappear in the first couple of minutes after the recess bell rang. Yet she found him immediately, not near his classroom, but near Thomas'. Oliver was standing in front of the basketball star and two other guys, both taller than him. Kevin and Benjamin, she knew, even if she wasn't well acquainted with either of them. Isabelle kept her distance and listened.

"So yeah, I'm really sorry about leaving yesterday," Oliver said meekly.

"Dude, it's fine," Kevin said. "It was important, right? Just tell us, did it go well?"

Isabelle could swear she saw her brother blush. "Better than I hoped."

"Ugh, you bastard!" Thomas cursed and laughed, grabbing Oliver into a headlock and playfully swung him around. Oliver laughed, too.

"Alright, but which one was it?" Benjamin asked.

"Well…"

"Don't sidetrack him," Thomas said. "What was the other thing you wanted to say?"

"Oh! That, er… If you guys don't mind, maybe we could… do something today? To make up for yesterday?"

Was… Isabelle hearing this right? Oliver was asking other people to hang out after school? And having a proper talk, no less?

"Sorry, Kevin and I have practice today," Thomas said.

"And I have to go to the gym, too," Benjamin said.

"Ah. I see. Well, it's no problem." Oliver tried to hide it, but he sure sounded disappointed. Her brother still wore his emotions on his sleeve.

"But you know what? Remember how we told you we were invited to a party this Friday?" Thomas continued. "I don't really feel like going. Why don't we do something at my place? The four of us. Just drinking a bit, talking, chilling. You guys in?"

"I am," Kevin said.

"Don't you have a date on Saturday?" Benjamin asked.

"Yes, which is why I rather chill with you guys than party until 3:00 am."

"Fair. Okay, I'm down as well. Oliver?"

"... I'll have to ask, but I think I can."

"Cool. Text me when you know for sure."

…

Did Oliver just make plans for a Friday night? What on earth was going on? And what was that they were talking about? What happened yesterday?

She followed him again during the second recess. Isabelle exited her classroom and headed directly towards Oliver's, and this time, what she saw sent an unexpected chill through her chest.

Oliver was walking out with Milana, Grace and Sarah. She saw them all going down the stairs and followed, telling herself she wasn't stalking and simply going in the same direction.

"Hanging out with the boys on Friday, huh? Look at you," Sarah said in a teasing tone, poking Oliver's side.

"W-Well, he invited me. I'm not much of a drinker, but I do want to hang out with them."

"It's better that way," Grace said. "Nothing worse than a drunkard."

Isabelle flinched. She found herself agreeing, surprisingly.

At one point, Isabelle's excuse of going in the same direction held no weight. The four people she was… following from a distance made a strange turn on the second floor. That hallway led nowhere. W-What were they doing?

None of them said another word, which made them harder to follow. Isabelle had to keep a greater distance, but still kept a close eye on them. There was no one else around, and this side of the school was mostly unused these days. She walked the empty hall behind them until she saw them go into a classroom. If she remembered correctly, that was once the music room. They closed the door behind them and Isabelle thought she heard the latch being set.

W-W-What!? What was that? Why did they lock themselves in an empty classroom? And then she remembered their conversation that morning.

"You wouldn't understand, Oliver?" she said.

"No. I think I do. Now, at least," he answered.

W-What did he mean? Did he get what she was implying? Did he know what it was to want… it? Then…

"How did it go?" Kevin asked him last recess.

"Better than I hoped," Oliver answered.

"Alright, but which one was it?" Benjamin asked.

That, Oliver didn't answer.

He'd gone out on Sunday with Sarah, hadn't he? And went out on Saturday, too. Then there were the rumors. Some said those three were bullying Oliver, but most said they were… fighting over him. To Isabelle, the former seemed much more likely than the latter. It was her brother they were talking about. Soft-spoken, introverted, shy, a pushover, even.

…

But her brother wasn't stupid. He wouldn't be excited to be with them if they were being mean to him. And by God was it obvious he was excited.

…

Turns out Isabelle couldn't have been more wrong. Her brother wouldn't always be there. He was moving on, wasn't he?

…

Isabelle left with a sharp headache and an even sharper pain in her chest.