Forgotten Colors

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖

"Cleo?" Her name left a bitter taste to Theo upon recognizing the girl.

Of course he would recognize her. Why wouldn't he? It was because of her that he could not prove his innocence.

Cleo was there the day of the accident but then she just disappeared. Some said she ran away, some said she got into an accident. There were so many rumours that weren't confirmed.

But no matter what happened to her, Theo could not remove it in his head that everything went completely downhill because she was gone.

He hated her because of it and there's not a day that went by in the centre that he didn't think of it. Although he eventually decided to forget at some point, he still hated what happened.

"Y-you know me?" Cleo was stupefied on her seat.

Not only because someone apart from their home knows her. But what's more concerning is the displeased look he had on his face.

It made Cleo suddenly conscious if she had an enemy back then. She wouldn't know because she couldn't remember anything. And it's not like Jessi nor Clay will bother mentioning it since it's definitely not gonna be a good memory to talk about.

Theo turned away with a heavy expression. His mind suddenly became a mess. All he could think of was what happened after the accident.
It's like all the anger he had buried before was resurrected and it shows all over his face.

"A-are you okay?" Cleo asked quietly when she noticed him balling his fist.

"You seem to know me. Have we met before?" She asked which seemed to have only triggered Theo who turned to her with an obvious glare.

"That's rich coming from you. Why would you even show up again?" He asked with gritted teeth and any living soul can tell he is angry.

"I don't understand what you mean. Do we really know each other?" Cleo asked again with a very questionable look.

It only irritated Theo even more. It's as if she's putting more salt on his wound.
But Cleo on the other hand felt so lost. She couldn't understand why he's suddenly acting as if they knew each other and that she owes him something.

"Just pretend that we don't. You're obviously pretty good at that!" Theo growled before turning away and focusing his gaze ahead.

Cleo felt a little offended. Theo didn't know what happened to her so how could he say something like that?
She wanted to switch seats with Clay but she seems to be getting closer to her seatmate now. So she didn't have much choice but to stay seated with an angry stranger.

The class felt so uncomfortable for both of them. The two of them have always been an attentive listener but today became an exception.

Their presence in the same room felt so heavy that breathing is already hard as if they're gonna call each other out.

The class eventually finished after what feels like forever and it's finally lunch. Theo stood up in a rush and walked out of the room without even turning to his friends. While Cleo just stayed seated and took a deep breath of relief.

"What's wrong with him?" Seth exclaimed before he and Harry followed him.

"Cleo? Are you okay?" Clay asks her sister when she notices that the girl looks dull.

"That guy..." Cleo trailed as she stared at the door. "I think he knows me." She added.

Cleo blinks her eyes confused. She knows who Theo is but she doesn't know he is their classmate. He had his head hung low earlier during their introduction and Clay was busy making new friends so she didn't have time to check her sister's seatmate.