She never fell out of love-

For the next week, Helena tried to avoid Oliver and Anna. She took the train with them in the morning but managed to get the only remaining seat among some of her school friends so Oliver and Anna had to sit in the next row of seats. Not that they really minded or anything. Helena felt the resounding urge to cry every time she saw them hold hands or laugh when they tried to get up at the same time, so she tried not to look at them -but sometimes she just couldn’t help it. Once or twice she would discreetly look at them, only to catch Oliver looking at her, but she brushed it off as coincidence. There was no way he was looking at her, judging by the smug way he and Anna sat together, fingers knotted together and smiling at each other every once in a while. Helena watched them until her friends caught her out and she hastily dug out some of her school books to study while she peeped at them through her lashes.

After a couple of days, Helena was sick of talk about clubbing and spray tans so she went back to sitting with Anna and Oliver, who for once seemed like they had run out of things to say, so Helena filled the silence with talk of menial subjects like school and yearlies until the pounding heartbeat she felt whenever Oliver was around calmed down and she could smile at Anna and Oliver whose hands were still joined between them. She glanced up to see Oliver looking intently at her so she shut up and settled for staring down at her knees, ignoring the tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. While she wallowed, she happened to miss the disappointed look on Oliver’s face and the understanding that dawned on Anna’s as she looked between them. The same sort of strained, polite conversation went on for days until all three of them were at breaking point, the air filled with tension and things they were afraid to say for fear of hurting the others’ feelings. That day, Anna stopped reaching for Oliver’s hand and she knew she was doing the right thing when she saw he was too busy trying not to get caught gazing at Helena to even notice. The clincher was that Anna didn’t feel upset in the least and she smiled to herself, knowing that things would be better soon.

The next morning, things between them were back to something resembling normal, no hand holding or awkward conversations in sight, and Anna tripped on her way down the train stairs, straight into Oliver’s arms. Helena looked on while their female friends swooned and the boys catcalled for more when Anna reached up and kissed Oliver on the cheek. Helena made a remark about girls falling from heaven and Oliver turned to her, a smile on his face. We broke up, he told her and Helena looked at him in surprise.

Why’d you do that? she asked, looking over to see Anna was not even slightly distressed and was busy flirting with the boy who had been on the double date with them.

She broke up with me, he explained nonchalantly.

Why? Helena asked again, attempting to sound casual as they took their seats facing each other, knees accidentally bumping and fingers brushing as they sat down.

Oliver looked directly at her and the corners of his mouth curved up with his suppressed smile. Because she told me I’d obviously fallen for someone else, he said.

They walked out of the train that day, smiles on their faces and fingers intertwined.