I Went to My School Reunion to Take Revenge on My Childhood Crush, Until I Learned What Really Happened Back Then

Flipping through my old school album, I felt that familiar wave of nostalgia. Twenty years had passed since graduation, but in the photos, I was still Joana Cooper—smiling hopefully, with the quote under my yearbook photo: “Love is a two-person job.”

I laughed at my teenage self until my eyes fell on one face: Chad Barns. My high school crush. The boy I adored for years—love notes in his locker, clumsy flirting, secret valentines in his bag. I’d imagined us together forever. Then, right before graduation, he shut me out completely. No explanation. My heart had never forgotten the sting.

When my best friend Lora showed up, excited for the school reunion, I hesitated. “I’m not sure I want to go,” I admitted. “It’s about Chad. I still don’t understand why he cut me off.”

Lora rolled her eyes. “Joan, it’s been twenty years. If he’s there, just show him what he missed.”

Her words stuck with me as we drove to the reunion. My stomach knotted tighter the closer we got. The venue buzzed with laughter and familiar faces. And then I saw him.

Chad still had that same warm smile, now paired with a neatly trimmed beard. Our eyes met across the room, and my heart skipped. Before I could react, Lora tugged me away. “Don’t talk to him,” she whispered.

Hours later, when Lora left to clean a spill on her dress, I slipped outside to the bench where I’d spent countless afternoons in high school. It was quiet—until footsteps approached.

“Hey, Joana,” Chad said softly.

“Chad,” I breathed. “It’s been a long time.”

He smiled faintly. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to talk to me. You’ve been avoiding me all night.”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk. You stopped speaking to me out of nowhere.”

Confusion crossed his face. “I thought you weren’t interested after that letter.”

“What letter?”

“I left one in your locker, asking you to meet me for a date. You never came, so I assumed you weren’t interested.”

“I never got it,” I said, stunned.

Just then, Lora appeared. I turned to her slowly. “Do you know anything about that letter?”

Her face went pale. Chad spoke before she could answer. “You’re the one who gave me her reply, Lora. You told me she wasn’t interested.”

The truth spilled out—Lora had been jealous. She liked Chad herself and made sure I never saw his letter. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I thought you’d move on.”

“Go, Lora,” I said, my voice shaking.

When she left, Chad stepped closer and wrapped me in a gentle hug. “All this time, I thought you didn’t care,” he murmured.

“And I thought the same about you,” I said, tears in my eyes.

We stood in silence, letting years of misunderstanding fall away. “We can’t change the past,” he said, “but we can decide what happens now.”

That night, we stayed on that bench, talking and laughing. We had lost years—but I knew we didn’t have to lose any more.