Part 3Off Script: The Side Character's Guide to Love

Elena and Julian were officially a couple.

They were about to start their decade-long romantic marathon.

Sure, they would fight, they would break up.

But the text said: Elena never stopped loving Julian, and Julian’s heart always belonged to Elena.

Such a beautiful sentence. Such a cruel sentence for me.

I wasn't the only one suffering. There was Chloe.

Chloe (the female antagonist/villainess) was a rich girl who loved Julian. In the book, she’d do crazy things out of jealousy.

Originally, I was supposed to be her henchman, fanning the flames. But honestly, I was more worried about my AP Calculus midterm.

When the teacher beamed and told me I ranked second in the class, I finally felt a little better.

I entered as the bottom of the class. By midterms, I was flying.

I didn't let my efforts down.

In this class, seats were assigned by GPA.

Elena was the immovable #1. I was assigned the desk right next to her.

Desk mates!

According to romance tropes, this is where the sparks fly, right?

Nope.

We sat inches apart, but we didn't speak for days.

She was naturally cold. I was guilty of loving her. I didn't dare speak.

The only thing she said to me was a reminder.

"Caleb, your water bottle is leaking."

I wiped up the spill and couldn't help but correct her. "My name is Liam..."

Haha.

She didn't even know my name.

We existed in this indifferent bubble for a while. Then, suddenly, Julian stormed in and started an argument with Elena right in front of me.

He demanded to know why she hadn't told him she was sitting next to me.

Elena frowned, genuinely confused.

"Does it matter?"

Since the semester started, we’d been through diagnostic tests, monthly exams, and midterms.

She had cycled through several desk mates.

But Julian only seemed to care about me.

He looked at me, then at her, and finally stormed off without saying another word.

I figured it was because I was technically someone Julian "knew." Put yourself in his shoes: his girlfriend is sitting next to his (former) friend and didn't mention it. He probably felt ignored.

After lunch, I wanted to apologize to Julian.

"Julian..."

I called his name, but he acted like I was invisible, laughing and joking with his crew.

"Bro, that movie you mentioned yesterday? I watched it, almost died laughing..."

I stood there awkwardly for two seconds and decided not to press my luck.

I barely talked to Julian anymore anyway. Bringing up a seating chart change would just make it weird.

As for Elena, we really weren't close. She’d explain it to him eventually.

Thinking about this burned too many brain cells, so I dropped it.

But two days later, someone ambushed me on my walk home.

"Liam, right?"

It was Chloe. The villainess.

I had my AirPods in, listening to a Spanish listening practice, so I didn't hear her call me.

I just walked past her.

Furious, she hopped in front of me and yanked an AirPod out of my ear.

"..."

I frowned. "Can I help you?"

I’m sure I looked annoyed.

Chloe looked guilty for a split second before recovering her "mean girl" face.

"Listen to me!"

She said viciously, "I may not like Elena, that ice block, but I will not allow you to hurt Julian or ruin their relationship."

What a niche accusation.

I processed this for a moment. "How am I ruining their relationship?"

"Stop pretending. You're shameless," Chloe crossed her arms. "You're the one seducing Elena, aren't you? Hmph. You have some nerve. I thought you’d be some hot guy, but you don't even compare to a single hair on Julian's head."

Me? Seducing Elena?

How did I miss such a major life event?

"Do you have evidence?" I asked.

"Of course!" She said self-righteous. "The evidence is that you're sitting next to her!"

"...You do realize seats are assigned by GPA?" I thought about it. "Oh, you mean I should have tanked my exam on purpose to avoid sitting there?"

"That would have been best."

Chloe smiled, satisfied. She didn't hear the sarcasm.

Usually, I ignore people like this.

But she was rude, speaking nonsense, and stepping on my last nerve.

"Unfortunately."

I sneered, "I’m not like you. I didn't get in here on a donor's check. I can't afford to treat my grades like a joke."

Chloe was a rich kid, forced into this school by her parents.

Her parents were self-made; they preferred the elite public magnet school environment over a soft private school.

But the concept that "money rules everything" was deeply ingrained in her.

She had the capital to treat life like a game. I didn't.

Sitting next to Elena was great.

But even if she wasn't there, I deserved that seat.

I deserved her seat.

Chloe was enraged and threatened to make me pay.

In the book, this was her character. Impulsive, but not inherently evil.

Otherwise, she wouldn't be threatening me to protect the male lead while simultaneously crying about him dating the heroine.

I didn't take her words to heart.

Until the next monthly exam.

I was caught cheating.