The Way We Were

2.13

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, not really wanting to get in a screaming match with a girl outside of her apartment. I step into the apartment and Zoey doesn't object. "It didn't matter if you stayed together the whole summer. You were going to different colleges and you were going to have to end sometime or another. And you chose the wrong way to do it, too." she scoffs and I sit down next to her.

"I never wanted to hurt her." I say.

"Sure."

"Zoey you have to believe me. I loved...I love her." I say and she looks over at me again. "Then why did you tell her you didn't? Are you purposely fucking with her? Because that's sick." she says. "No, not really. I'm trying to win her back." I tell her, angry that I'm even revealing my plan to anyone. "You don't deserve her. She'll never take you back." she says, not buying a word I'm saying.

"I know that. I know." I say, despair taking over my voice. "But I have to try." I say. And for once she doesn't yell back. "Why are you so dedicated to this? If you know it's not likely she'll take you back, why aren't you backing off? Why aren't you giving her up?" she asks, and her voice is soft.

I look up at her, feeling my eyes brim with tears.

"I can't give her up. You don't give up your everything."

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Ariel's POV

Ian pulls out of the lot and starts driving down the street. "You wanna tell me what that was about?" he asks, turning a corner. "Not really. It's a long story and I don't want to bore you." I say, smiling. I hope he drops it. I can't get into this with him. I don't want to think about Luke while I'm with Ian.

"Okay. I have a great night planned." he says, and I release the breath I'd been holding in since I opened the door. We start driving down a street that I've never been down before, which is surprising since we're still close to the apartment. We stop at a stop light and then take a left down a winding road. It's beautiful. The trees canopy overhead, and the setting sun shines through the leaves, casting a warm glow on the car and the road.

We take rights and lefts and more rights until we're completely submerged in nature. It's quiet and peaceful and...perfect. I roll down my window a little and let the warm air brush against my face. I close my eyes and smile, not able to help myself. I feel so relaxed, so much more relaxed than I felt twenty minutes ago. Being with Ian makes me smile. I glance over at him and see that he's been looking at me.

He looks away when we make eye contact. "Were you staring at me?" I ask, smiling. My jaw is starting to hurt but I don't even mind. "Maybe." he laughs. "You should keep your eyes on the road so you don't kill us." I say jokingly. "I would never." he mocks a polite accent.

We keep driving for a little while before Ian stops the car. "Why are we stopped?" I ask, looking from the window over at him. "Uh, no reason. We're all good." he says. His face says otherwise. "Ian..."I start and look at the dashboard. "We may or may not have just run out of gas. Or something like that." he says and pulls us over to the side of the road as the last bit of gas runs out. "Are you kidding me?" I ask, but I'm not angry. Kind of in disbelief, but not angry.