Faerie stopped, her back still turned to Felix as she took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions swirling inside her. But the moment she turned to face him again, frustration bubbled to the surface, and her patience snapped.
"Enough, Felix!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the school courtyard. "Just stop it! I don't want you! I've said it before, and it's clear!"
Felix flinched at her raised voice, the words hitting him like a punch to the gut. The raw anger in her tone sent a shockwave through him, igniting a mix of confusion and hurt. "Faerie, please," he tried again, his heart racing. "Just hear me out—"
"No!" she interrupted, stepping closer, her eyes blazing with defiance. "You don't get to come in here and act like you understand me when you don't know the first thing about my life. You think this is some kind of romantic movie where we can just confess our feelings and everything magically falls into place? It's not like that!"
"Then what do you want from me?" he pleaded, desperation creeping into his voice. "I'm trying to be honest with you. I care about you! You're pushing me away, and I don't understand why."
"Maybe because you don't get to choose how I feel or what I want!" she snapped back, her frustration boiling over. "I'm not looking for someone to swoop in and save me. I'm not some damsel in distress, Felix. I've had to fight for everything I have, and I'm not about to let you or anyone else complicate my life with your pity!"
Her words stung, each syllable laced with a mix of anger and hurt. Felix felt his heart sink further, grappling with the realization that he had misread everything about their connection. "This isn't pity, Faerie! It's real!"
"Real?" she laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "What's real is the fact that you can't even see how ridiculous this is! You think you can come in here and fix everything with a confession? You have no idea what I'm dealing with. You're just a rich boy playing at being a hero, and I don't need that."
Felix's chest tightened at her words. "I'm not playing, Faerie! I'm trying to be serious here!"
She stepped back, the distance between them widening as she crossed her arms over her chest, the barrier between them growing thicker. "I don't want this! I don't want you! I can't be what you want me to be. I won't be your charity case or your little project. I'm done pretending!"
His heart shattered at her declaration. "But you're not a charity case to me! You're so much more than that. Why can't you see that?"
Faerie's gaze softened for a brief moment, but her resolve quickly returned. "Because you're not looking at the real me, Felix. You're looking at a version of me that you've built in your head. I'm not some fairy-tale character. I'm a person with a complicated past and a dangerous future. I can't afford to let anyone close to me."
The weight of her words crashed down on him, and Felix felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. "You're pushing me away, but I'm still here! I won't stop caring just because it's inconvenient for you!"
"Stop caring then!" she shot back, her voice breaking slightly. "I don't want you to care! Just let me handle my life the way I know how."
Silence fell between them, thick with unspoken words and unresolved feelings. Felix could see the pain behind her fierce demeanor, the conflict tearing her apart.
"Faerie…" he began, but she held up a hand to stop him.
"No more, Felix. Just… leave me alone. I need to figure this out on my own."
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, each step echoing the finality of her words in his ears. Felix stood rooted to the spot, the ache of rejection heavy in his chest as he watched her disappear from view, a mix of anger, confusion, and heartbreak swirling within him. He had fought to reach her, but now it felt like he was losing her all over again, and the sting of her denial cut deeper than he ever thought possible.