Burnt Out | J. Kirstein

|03|

"You know each other?" Connie looks over to you and then towards y/n.

She nods, her hair falling into her face. "We went to school together."

So she remembers me?

"You look..." I start to speak and realize what I'm saying but it's too late for me to stop the jumble of words. "...different."

Why did I say that? I hope she doesn't take it personally or as an insult. I don't mean to say it's bad that she not the same. It's just an observation that I was unable to keep to myself.

"Thanks..." she looks unamused.

It goes quiet. I'm not sure what else to say and she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else than down here. I guess we have something in common.

"No better way to catch up than playing never-have-I-ever. Y/n, I'm gonna go grab you another drink. More soda this time."

Reiner is talking casually with her. Maybe they're friends. She's a freshman, isn't she? And Reiners a sophomore, so how'd they become so close in such a short amount of time? I mean, she had no trouble becoming friends with everyone back in high school. But that was then and this is now. And she isn't the same person she was before. It's easy to see.

Not wanting to go into depth on their relationship, I decide to just avoid it all together. I walk past them and head over to the closest empty seat which is beside that Marco kid.

I start to sit, but he puts his hand out and I pause, looking back with confusion.

"This spots reserved," he smiles with guilt. "Y/n?"

So he wants her to sit beside him? I mean, I can't blame him, she's quite beautiful. Yet, if he had known her back in high school he might think she had lost some of her appeal.

She had a lot of guys wanting her, but none ever actually tried. She was untouchable. Not in the sense that she was too good for people, but more like no one wanted to hurt her. She was so kind. Caring. Honest.

If anyone were the reason she lost her spark, they'd be shunned by the school. Whoever hurt her must've regretted it, because she is no where near recognizable to the girl I knew back in school.

She's gone.

I go over and sit beside Connie and that tall girl with freckles on her cheeks. Annie was it? No. That's not right. Whatever.

"So you two are a year apart in grades?" It's the blonde girl who speaks.

"We're in the same graduating class, I just graduated early," Y/n states casually.

I didn't realize she had skipped a grade. I had just thought she transferred to some other school and hadn't let anyone know. It seems she went straight into college.

From what I remember, she didn't really have any close friends. She was nice to everyone and it seemed she had the whole school on her side, but when you really payed attention, you'd notice she never got personal with anyone. Never went to parties or hung out with anyone outside of school. She was just in class or in the hall and when the final bell rang she was walking home as soon as possible.