Burnt Out | J. Kirstein

|06|

She's avoided me the last two weeks. I'm not sure why, though. After the beach, she dropped me off and thanked me for going with her. But that was it.

I hung out with Reiner and I was able to get a little information out of him about what she's been up too. Apparently she's been put into a masters level class that's been taking up most of her time.

I can't help but feel like that was a lie though. Not from Reiner, but from y/n to Reiner.

What didn't feel like a lie was how he talked about her, though. The same rosy pigment in his cheeks and the speckle of light that caused his hazel eyes to brighten a shade at the mention of her name.

He likes her.

But who wouldn't...

"Do you have a red pen?" I ask, wanting to hear her angelic voice cut through the tense air. I have one. I just wanted to see if she'd spare me even half a word.

She looks into her bag. "Sure. Here."

That's all it took to satisfy my craving. Two simple words. Even one would have been enough for me. But she blessed me with two.

~

It's getting late and you've made absolutely no progress, but your eyes are threatening to shut with each letter you read across your text book.

Your eyes lift and find Jean in the same condition. He's about ready to start drooling over his notebook in front of him.

"I need a break," you speak quietly as to not disturb the few remaining students in the library. At least on your floor.

Jean takes in a breath like he's waking up and drops his arm that was propping his head up. "Me too."

"I'm going to smoke, but you're welcome to join," you go to stand, grabbing the pack from the front pocket of your backpack.

He stands up as well, only grabbing his phone.

You two make your way out front and away from the library entrance and under a tree. As you lean against it and place the cigarette between your lips, you lock eyes with Jean who is watching silently.

"What?" You bring the flame of your lighter up to the end of your cigarette, igniting it as you take in a breath.

"Those are bad for you," he frowns lightly.

You let out a long breath, the smoke flowing out of you with such thickness that you lose sight of Jean for a millisecond.

"So is ingesting too much caffeine," you remove the cigarette from your mouth and hold it at your side between your middle and index finger. "But that doesn't stop college students. This is my caffeine."

"Does the school even allow nicotine on campus?" He furrows his eyebrows.

You glance over at the No Smoking sign plastered on a street light beside you and a smile reaches your lips at the irony of the placement.

"No," your throat aches as the smug laugh leaves your lips. "It doesn't."

Jean follows yours eyes and observes the sign. He returns his gaze and shakes his head with a smile. "You were never a rule breaker."