After the tension had hung between them for days, Dalton and Vanessa finally made up. It happened after class one afternoon when Vanessa pulled him aside, her voice soft and hesitant. The weight of their last interaction still loomed over them, but neither of them wanted things to end like that.
"I'm sorry.." Dalton said first, the guilt in his chest tightening. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I've been dealing with a lot, but that's not an excuse."
Vanessa smiled faintly, her hand brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I get it, Dalton. I really do. I know you've been going through stuff... I just didn't want to make things harder."
They stood there, a little awkward but relieved, both realizing how much they had missed the easiness between them. And just like that, the tension lifted. It wasn't completely gone, but for the moment, it felt like they could move forward.
But something had changed for Dalton. Even after they had made up, something about the way Vanessa smiled at him, the way her eyes softened whenever she talked, made him realize just how different she was from anyone he'd ever known. She was innocent—untouched, almost like a piece of glass. Fragile. Pure.
And Dalton couldn't help but think that if he got too close, if he tried to hold onto her, he'd break her. The thought haunted him, gnawing at the back of his mind every time they laughed together or shared a moment. He couldn't stop wondering if being with someone like him would only make things worse for her.
The guilt started to consume him.
Dalton's feelings for Vanessa had grown deeper than he ever anticipated, but with those feelings came the crushing fear that he was going to hurt her. She had already been through a breakup, and though Dalton had convinced himself that their friendship was genuine, he couldn't shake the voice in his head that whispered otherwise. What if she was just leaning on him because she was vulnerable? What if he was only a rebound—a temporary distraction until she figured things out?
It didn't help that Vanessa was kind, thoughtful, and open in a way that made Dalton feel like he was taking something too precious for his own good. The idea that he could break her, that he could be the one to leave cracks in her innocence, weighed heavily on him. She was too pure—too untouched by the harsh realities he had dealt with at home. And every time he thought about getting closer to her, the fear of ruining that purity made him pull back.
That fear led to a decision Dalton would later regret.
In a moment of weakness, Dalton reached out to one of his exes. It wasn't because he still had feelings for her—in fact, he felt emotionally detached. But in his mind, it was easier to distance himself from Vanessa if he was already in a relationship, even if that relationship didn't mean anything to him.
Before he knew it, they were back together. It didn't feel real. Dalton knew that from the start. The connection wasn't there, and deep down, he didn't want it to be. But being with someone else, even for a short time, gave him the excuse he needed to keep Vanessa at a distance.
***
Things later came to a head in class.
It started out like any other day. Dalton and Vanessa were sitting together, like they always did. For a moment, it almost felt like things were normal between them—like the guilt and the distance Dalton had been building didn't exist. Vanessa smiled at him, her Sharpie in hand, ready to doodle on his notebook again.
She leaned over, playfully reaching for his notes. "Let's see what I can add to your masterpiece!" she teased, her voice light and teasing.
But Dalton, feeling the weight of his decision pressing down on him, pulled away.
"No can do, Vanessa." he said, his voice too sharp. "I have a girlfriend."
Vanessa froze mid-reach, her hand hovering just above his notebook. For a split second, her smile disappeared. She blinked, as if processing what he had just said, before slowly pulling her hand back.
"Oh.." she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Right. I didn't know."
Dalton watched as her entire demeanor changed. The light in her eyes dimmed, the playfulness drained from her posture. She sat back, her face unreadable, and the space between them suddenly felt like a chasm.
He had shattered something.
***
The distance only grew further after that.
Vanessa pulled back, not just physically, but emotionally too. She didn't say much about Dalton's new relationship, but the hurt was clear in her eyes whenever they talked. She stopped teasing him, stopped grabbing his notebook, stopped sharing the little moments that had once brought them closer together.
They still sat next to each other in class, still exchanged polite words, but the connection was gone. The laughter, the inside jokes—it all faded into the background as Vanessa distanced herself more and more.
Eventually, Vanessa learned the truth.
She found out through a mutual friend that Dalton and his girlfriend had broken up. It hadn't been serious—it never was. But by the time she found out, it was too late.
Dalton had already stopped showing up to school.
His guilt, his confusion, his inability to face the fallout of his bad decision—all of it piled on top of him until he couldn't handle it anymore. He withdrew from everything, retreating into the isolation of his home life, cutting off contact with the people who mattered most.
Vanessa, left in the aftermath, couldn't find him. The connection they once had had vanished, replaced by a lingering sense of betrayal and resentment. She had tried to hold on, to keep their friendship alive despite everything, but when Dalton disappeared from school, she finally gave up.