Five Years After

thirty-three ~ after i agreed to his request

~ braylee valarao ~

You're wasting time

It's a funeral for your future

You're just hoping for the best

To come out of nothing

Even my own music has turned against me.

I never paid any mind to the lyrics of these songs. I don't even know what Slow & Steady by Axel Flóvent was even about. I just knew that Ethan was on my mind right now and those words just happened to play.

Great.

I turned off the song as I sighed, sitting up in my bed. It was a Friday morning and I was up before my alarm for some reason. I decided to play some music to cheer me up before I actually had to start getting ready for school, and that had a way of making me feel worse.

Some time in the middle of doing my makeup, Angie's motorcycle roared to life and loudly passed by my house. I sighed, knowing the only reason why Angie leaves this early in the morning is the days she picks up Emily. That was only proven to be correct once I was dropped off at school and was greeted with the sight of them making out.

I knew Callum had real feelings for her. I knew by the way she talked about him that she did too. And I knew by the way she was still making out with Emily every chance that she gets, she's throwing away a real opportunity to be happy.

Emily can't make her happy. They've been doing this thing over and over again for over a year now, and every time they try, it doesn't work out. Having a friends-with-benefits relationship with the girl who broke her heart isn't going to help. She needs to move on with someone who will actually treat her well. I trust Callum enough to believe he could be that for her.

That's why-- even though I knew it was none of my business-- I grabbed Angie's wrist and dragged her away despite Emily's screaming protests.

"Braylee, what the hell?"

"What are you doing?" I asked her, spinning around to face her. "What about Callum?"

Her confused state turned defensive. "What about him?"

"How you have feelings for him and you're still running around with Emily!"

"I don't have feelings for him," she clarified, jerking her hand away from me. "And I'm not 'running around' with Em. For your information, she's my girlfriend now."

I opened my mouth to say something back, but I was rendered speechless with the word "girlfriend".

"You guys are dating?" I questioned after taking a moment of silence to process that.

"Yeah, we are, Braylee," she said, crossing her arms angrily. "This doesn't concern you anyway. Just because you don't like her doesn't mean that you have a right to interfere with my relationship."

"But--"

"There are no 'buts' in this, okay? Just leave us alone."

She walked away before I could say anything else. She walked past me, holding hands with Emily as Emily threw me a glare.

I clenched my jaw when she did that, my mind going on to wonder what happened. She was avoiding Emily because she wanted to be exclusive with Callum instead. Now, she broke it off with Callum and is now dating Emily. I couldn't put together what drove her to that decision.

~~~

"You what?" I practically screamed into my phone, allowing my voice to raise now that I was in the comfort of my room.