Chapter 6 — When Distance Hurts Quietly

🎬 Scene 1 — Clint's Room, Night

POV: Clint

Clint lay on his bed, eyes fixed on the slow, useless spin of the ceiling fan above.

His fingers twitched.

Not from restlessness.

Something deeper.

He lifted his right hand and stared at it. Stiff. Slow. Not following his thoughts.

> Clint (muttering):

"Not now. Please… not tonight."

He sat up, rubbing his palm, trying to ease the pins and needles crawling beneath the skin.

He reached for the glass of water on his desk. Missed.

Tried again—gripped too tight.

Water spilled over his fingers.

> Clint (dry laugh):

"Smooth."

He wiped his hand on his hoodie and picked up his phone.

No new messages.

Except one.

Mia:

> "I liked seeing you today. You looked happier. Maybe... because I was there?"

Clint stared at it, unreadable, then swiped it away.

He opened Janet's name.

Typed:

> "Hey. Sorry if I was weird today—"

Backspace.

Re-typed:

> "Your laugh made my day."

Deleted.

His fingers cramped.

The phone slipped. He winced.

> Clint (quietly):

"Come on... Not tonight..."

He flexed his hand again, trying to shake out the numbness creeping up his arm.

His legs were heavy. Uncooperative.

He knew what this was.

And worse—he knew what came next.

> Clint (under his breath):

"How do you tell someone you might not be around... to finish what you started?"

He lay back, arms over his chest, eyes wide in the dark.

The fan spun above him like a countdown.

And the silence pressed in like gravity.

---

🎬 Scene 2 — Janet's Balcony, Same Night

POV: Janet

Janet sat cross-legged on her balcony, hoodie zipped halfway, sketchbook open.

She wasn't drawing anything in particular. Just… noise. Lines. Scribbles.

Clint's grin.

His voice.

The soda he offered her.

Then Mia's words echoed, uninvited.

> Mia (earlier):

"You should be careful. Clint opens up to people… then forgets them."

> Janet (inner whisper):

"She acts like she knows him... but she doesn't."

She hugged her knees tighter, resting her chin on them.

> Janet (softly):

"But do I?"

---

🎬 Scene 3 — Haneul Academy Rooftop, Morning

POV: Mia

Mia stood near the rooftop edge, her skirt catching the breeze.

Below her, the campus moved. Loud. Ordinary.

A girl stepped up beside her, hesitant.

> Girl:

"You okay? You've been up here every day lately..."

> Mia (smiling faintly):

"Clint said hi today. That means something, right?"

> Girl (cautious):

"I think he was just being polite..."

> Mia (flat):

"No. He looked at me. Not through me."

The girl didn't respond.

Mia's hand tightened around the metal railing.

> Mia (coldly):

"She doesn't deserve his attention."

> Girl:

"They... seem close."

> Mia (sharper):

"That can change."

---

🎬 Scene 4 — Courtyard Break, Late Morning

POV: Clint & Janet

Clint held out a bottle of lemon soda.

> Clint (grinning):

"No strings attached. But if you forgive me, I'll pretend it worked."

> Janet (raising a brow):

"Forgive you for what?"

> Clint (playful):

"I'll figure it out and apologize early—just in case."

She smirked. Took the drink.

A flicker of peace between them.

Then—

> Mia (appearing suddenly):

"Hi, Clint. Want me to walk you to class?"

They both froze.

> Clint (polite, distant):

"No thanks. I'm good here."

> Mia (insisting):

"Oh, I don't mind. I just need to tell you something—"

> Janet (flatly):

"He said he's good, Mia."

Mia's smile faltered.

> Mia (sharply):

"I wasn't talking to you."

> Clint (firm):

"Not now, Mia."

Mia stood stiff for a beat—then turned, walking away.

Her smile didn't return. But something darker sat behind her eyes.

---

🎬 Scene 5 — Music Room, Empty Period

POV: Mia

Mia sat at the piano, trailing her fingers across the keys without playing.

> Mia (to herself):

"I'm not invisible. I'm not."

She pulled a photo from her notebook—

Not of her and Clint. Edited. Cropped. Fake.

She stared at it like it was real.

> Mia (softly):

"He'll see me. He will."

She slammed her hand down—

A burst of broken chords exploded from the piano.

A janitor peeked in, startled.

> Janitor:

"Miss? Everything okay?"

Mia turned to him, eyes wide, smile too sweet.

> Mia (cheerful):

"Never better."

But the mirror next to her piano didn't smile back.

It showed a different face.

Paler.

Colder.

Wrong.

---

🎬 Scene 6 — Hallway, After Last Bell

POV: Janet

Janet walked past the lockers, phone in hand.

Something slipped from her notebook—

A folded note.

She picked it up.

One sentence.

> "You're not enough for him. He deserves someone who's always been there."

No name. No handwriting she recognized.

She looked around.

No one.

> Janet (quietly):

"Is this supposed to scare me?"

But her fingers trembled anyway.

She didn't tell Clint.

---

🎬 Bonus Scene — Mia's Room, Night

POV: 3rd Person

Mia's room was silent.

Photos—cropped, zoomed, taped—covered the wall behind a curtain.

All of Clint.

At the center, a crumpled class seating chart.

His name circled. Over and over.

> Mia (whispers):

"Just wait. They'll see we're meant to be."

A candle flickered beside her.

The flame shook—

As if afraid.

---

🩸 TO BE CONTINUED...

---

💬 Team Janet? Or just worried Clint won't get the time he thinks he has?

❤️ If this chapter hit you — tap LIKE, COMMENT, and ADD TO LIBRARY.

Because Mia's no longer waiting.

And Clint's strength... might not last the whole year.