Isabelle walked down the hallway when she caught a sight of Dave approaching her steadily. The look in her eyes signaled something unusual and when they were close to each other, they both came to a halt. 
“Hey.” Isabelle smiled at him.
“Hey.” He said grimly.
She observed his face. “You look tired.” She said as he gave her a curt nod.
“A bit.” He mumbled.
Dave tried to mask the feeling of abandonment in some way, Isabelle noticed.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
“I'm just tired and trying to set things straight.” He wore a fake smile.
“Straight?” 
“In order.” He said as she pressed her lips into a thin line.
She a closer step to him and looked into his eyes. 
“If there's anything you want to tell me, I hope you know you can.” She muttered as he nodded.
“I'm aware of that.” He said as she smiled sweetly, she loved her boyfriend.
Dave nodded slightly at her and made to move past her.
“Dave?” She called softly as he stopped on his tracks and turned to look at her. 
Despite Isabelle's love interest and Dave's reluctance, they looked happy together in the eyes of everyone but for the two of them, they didn't feel like couples one bit. 
“I want you to know that I'll be right here.” She said slowly. “Just in case you need me.” 
He smiled mildly at her and nodded. “Right.” 
She smiled widely and felt a sharp pain in her head which she ignored as always and then walked away. 
He stared after her until she was no longer in sight, he walked away too.
***
The sky seemed to frown at Natanie who looked like she was gathering her shattered pieces together. 
Why does she feel awful? Why does she feel that her heart was failing every minute that goes by? She felt so doomed.
“So kissing me meant nothing to you?” Dave's voice sent an adrenaline rush down her spine as she spun around to look at him.
She was facing him with faded courage in her eyes, she didn't know how long she would keep up the pretenses.
Then he studied her with the ultimate search for the hidden. 
She parted her lips to say something. What would she say? ‘Great, it meant so much to me’ because it actually did, or ‘you’re right, it meant nothing’ because it's important for her to lie to protect her family.
“Was it ordinary?” His voice came again like a double edged sword, piercing through her heart without hesitation.
When he moved towards her and was close enough to peer directly into those mesmerizing eyes of hers, she became weak on her resolve. She became confused, not sure of what to say or do.
“Actually, I'm not sure what it meant.” She blurted as she face palmed herself in her head.
“Really? Because it meant a lot to me.” He mumbled.
She blinked uncomfortably. “It did?” She heard herself ask as he blinked in response.
“Well, I'm sorry.” She breathed out and avoided his eyes.
“Why are you apologizing?” He asked her.
She sighed and swallowed the lump in her throat. No matter how uncomfortable her situation is, she resolved deep within her that she had to put a stop to whatever it is they shared. 
Then she pushed her feelings aside. “Because… whatever you feel for me, I don't feel the same way and the kiss…”
“Was never meant to happen.” He finished her statement.
She nodded slightly in affirmation. He ran his hand through his hair. Great, what did he expect? He thought. 
Natanie felt diced and defenseless and prone and stupid and a bunch of other things she couldn't explain. 
Something akin to anger rested at the corner of his eyes. 
“Isn't it obvious? That I am in love with you?” He almost raised his voice at her as she froze on her spot. 
Nothing else made sense except for the fact that he's confessed his feelings for her. That alone, made her heart come alive. 
“You're are?” She heard herself say.
He felt a tad bit amused with the way she asked, it must have given him a little hope for her to consider his feelings, if not admit hers to herself.
When he took her hands in his, she felt intoxicated by something she can't really seem to decipher. 
“Aren't you?” He asked softly as his gaze settled in on her lips. 
He was so close to her and for a moment, she felt like denying her feelings wasn't right and she felt pathetic for it.
But soon, something akin to ecstasy vanished from her head. Then reality struck in. 
She looked defenselessly pale and sharpened with bewilderment.
“No.” She said and pulled her hands away from his and shot him and accusing glare.
“I'm not.” She blurted as his eyes became dark.
She immediately swallowed the lump in her throat and her heart was aching furiously from her denial. 
Then she brought back her gaze on him. “And I don't think I ever will.” She mumbled the last part under her breath. 
He couldn't look away from her. She slightly trembled at her resolve.
“I'm sorry, but I'm not interested.” She added. 
She walked away. 
His heart faltered, he couldn't even bring himself to stare after her. He just stood frozen on his spot. 
Harnik had advised him to face and deal with reality but he was stubborn and didn't listen to him. If only he did.
He actually thought he could give love a chance and try to win her over but his plans failed as well as his desires. 
He stared at his hands and instantly thought of the way she'd slipped hers away from his grip. His heart broke. She'd never be his. He'd lost her.
As Natanie walked away, tears threaded down her cheeks as she wondered why it was so hard to deny her feelings. 
Every step made her weak, made her vulnerable and hurt her so much. Maybe telling him about her feelings would have been easier but what about the aftermath? What about her parents? 
She faltered for a moment and held on to the double doors of the building for support. 
She looked back at him from her stance and discovered that he hadn't moved an inch, and watching him just stand there made it seem like she had an opportunity to go back to him and scream at his face and tell him that it was all a lie, that it was all a silly prank to get to him, but it wasn't. 
“I'm sorry.” She mumbled under her breath as her voice didn't travel far. 
Then her apology seemed like a cold wind that enveloped him with the sense of loss, pain and rejection. 
Then he spun around and looked at the direction she'd gone, and then realized that he was left alone in the world of fantasy that he'd created.