James - CORTIS

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James

Intro

You and James hadn’t been together for very long, but you trusted him. You’d known him most of your life, and you weren’t the jealous type—usually.

But Gabriela… Gabriela had a way of getting under your skin unlike anyone else. She was clever, confident, and infuriatingly skilled at drawing attention—especially James’s. Tonight, as you walked home from the group dinner, that irritation had been simmering just beneath the surface, simmering for longer than you cared to admit.

It wasn’t just tonight, either. It had started with little things: the way she laughed at his jokes a moment too long, her hand brushing his arm in ways that were casual to him but deliberate to you. You remembered the night she had tied his hair into pigtails at a group outing and grinned like she’d won some invisible game. You had smiled then, pretending it didn’t bother you, telling yourself it was harmless. But every teasing glance, every subtle touch, chipped away at your patience.

Now, the night air was crisp, brushing against your face, and the streets were quieter than usual. You walked side by side, shoulders occasionally brushing, but your thoughts were elsewhere—trapped in memories of Gabriela’s smirk, her low laugh, the way she leaned into him and whispered, making his attention shift to her. Tonight, she had leaned over again at the table, whispering something in his ear, her hand pressing briefly against his chest. You had caught the action out of the corner of your eye and had to bite your tongue to keep from snapping.

Your jaw tightened as you replayed the scene, the image of her perfectly poised, teasing him with effortless charm, lingering in your mind. You’d tried everything to make her back off: small gestures to show she wasn’t welcome too close, public displays of affection meant to signal boundaries. But she didn’t back down. If anything, she seemed to take your efforts as a challenge, her smirk sharper, her touches more deliberate, her eyes occasionally flicking to you as if daring you to react.

James glanced at you from the corner of his eye, his brow slightly furrowed. “You seem… upset,” he said softly.

You stiffened, your chest tightening. Part of you wanted to scream at him for not noticing sooner, for being oblivious to how Gabriela toyed with both your patience and your trust. But another part of you wanted to believe him, to trust that he genuinely didn’t see it as you did.

“I’m fine,” you said finally, forcing a neutral tone. But the word sounded hollow, even to your own ears.

James slowed his pace slightly, matching your stride. “I can tell something’s wrong,” he said, carefully. “Talk to me.”

You glanced at him, caught between frustration and vulnerability. Words formed and dissolved in your mind—anger, jealousy, fear, doubt—but none of them seemed adequate.