Until We Fall

Unwanted Expectations

Cyrus sat at the back of Mr. Haynes’ literature class, arms crossed, doing his best to zone out. But it was tough to ignore Mr. Haynes today—he was practically buzzing with excitement as he paced the front of the room.

“So,” Mr. Haynes began, grinning in that teacher way that always meant he was about to introduce something he thought was “creative” or “transformative.” If he was paying any attention, Cyrus would have been resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

“We have a new project coming up,” Mr. Haynes continued, getting some students’ attention. Cyrus guessed it was probably going to be same assignment Mr. Haynes had told him about earlier—an analysis of Romeo and Juliet. He slouched further in his seat.

Aren’t you too energetic for a Wednesday morning?

Mr. Haynes’ voice rose, clearly trying to hype everyone up. “This time, you’ll be in teams of two!” He looked around, probably hoping for enthusiastic reactions. “And yes, I’ll be the one assigning the partners to keep things fair.”

Cyrus felt his stomach sink. Teams of two. So Mr. Haynes was actually serious about that. That meant he’d be forced into working with someone, pretending he wanted to be there. He sighed, half-wishing he could disappear right out of the classroom.

“The project will explore classic themes,” Mr. Haynes went on, his eyes gleaming with teacherly excitement. “Unspoken emotions, forbidden love, misunderstandings between characters. Think about Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet—how these themes are still so relevant today!”

Cyrus already felt a sense of doom sinking in. Mr. Haynes probably had a plan to pair him with someone unbearable, the kind of person who’d push him into conversations he didn’t want to have.

Isn’t that the reason he told me about this project earlier?

Cyrus glanced around the room, his eyes falling on Luna. She was sitting near the front with her friends, laughing quietly at something. She looked completely relaxed, like she belonged there, totally comfortable in her own skin. People were sneaking glances at her, too, as if her presence had some magnetic pull that everyone felt but him.

He wondered what it would be like to have that kind of presence. To be the kind of person who drew in others easily. To have friends, to actually want friends. He looked away quickly, feeling envious and irritated at the same time. Someone like Luna would probably be his exact opposite: loud, social, comfortable with attention. And with Mr. Haynes’ tendency to pull a “let’s put opposites together” nonsense, Cyrus had a sinking feeling he knew exactly who Haynes would assign him.

After class, Cyrus hung back, waiting for the room to clear out before heading into the hall. And, of course, right behind him was Evan, who had that familiar, annoying grin plastered on his face. He always seemed to catch him at the worst times.

“I saw you checking out Luna again,” Evan said, nudging him with a smirk. “When are you going to admit it? You totally have a thing for her.”

Cyrus clenched his jaw. “I don’t—it’s not like that.” What was he supposed to say? Yeah, I’m envious of her ability to be herself, to talk to people without even thinking about it. No way. He simply ignored Evan and kept walking, hoping the guy would get bored and find someone else to annoy.

“Sure, ‘not like that,’” Evan said with a smirk, clearly not buying it. “Anyway, did you know she—” Cyrus sped up, ducking into a crowd to finally lose him.

By the time he reached the cafeteria, Cyrus found his usual seat in the back and settled in, hoping for some peace and quiet. He nearly choked on a chip when he saw Evan making his way over again, lunch in hand.

Doesn’t this guy have other friends? Other people to talk to?

“So, what do you think, Tacitus?” Evan asked, sliding into the seat next to him. “Think we’ll get paired up?”

Cyrus sighed, barely glancing his way. “I hope not.”

“Ouch,” Evan said, clutching his heart in fake hurt. “I’d make a great partner. You’d barely have to lift a finger. I’m a team player after all.”

Cyrus just kept munching, silently praying that Mr. Haynes wouldn’t subject him to that kind of torture. But it wasn’t like he had a say in it.

Either way, it looked like Evan had stopped speaking for a while so maybe he had run out of things to say.

Man, was he wrong.

“Have you decided how you’re going to approach Juliet?” Evan asked, looking a little too pleased with himself.

Cyrus gave him a blank stare.

Evan smiled wider. “Well, obviously you’re Romeo. Luna’s Juliet. I mean, you’re obviously a romantic. I’ve seen the books you read and your journal—you have the soul of a poet.”

Cyrus felt a headache coming on. Without saying a word, he got up, dumped his lunch, and left Evan mid-sentence. He just couldn’t take it—Evan’s assumptions, his constant talking. But as he walked away, he realized Evan had struck a nerve. He hated being compared to Romeo or linked to Luna, the one person who made him feel... small? And he especially hated being shoved into roles he hadn’t asked for.

That night, Cyrus sat on his bed with his journal open in front of him. He clicked his pen, staring down at the blank page, the words coming easily as he began to write:

People don’t see you when you’re alone. They assume things, assign meaning to your silence, tell you what you’re feeling without ever asking.

The image of Evan’s smirk, his assumptions about Luna, crept into his mind. It frustrated him, not just because Evan was wrong, but because he’d forced Cyrus to confront something he didn’t want to acknowledge. Evan’s words made him wonder if maybe he did want something different.

He clicked his pen again, letting his thoughts pour out:

I don’t need friends. I don’t need people like Evan assuming I’m someone I’m not.

But then, almost without thinking, he wrote:

Or maybe I’m the one…

The thought startled him, and he quickly scratched it out until the paper threatened to tear. He was angry with himself for letting something like that slip. He closed the journal and shut off the light, sinking into the silence he understood better than anything else.