Colors

Thirteen

A/N: Sorry for any confusion regarding this chapter being posted early! The 'save' button has moved on the mobile app and has since been replaced by the 'publish' button and I pressed it without even realising. It's ready now, enjoy! And thank you for 6k reads I love you all somaj! 

I cleaned up the house then went back to bed after Mitch left, trying my best to hide the fact that I was grinning like a hyena. My parents came home and luckily didn't suspect a thing, not that they would. It wasn't as if Mitch had left little red footprints all over the floor and on my bed. Although that would be pretty cute.

I did what Mitch said to. I went to school and focused on studying as much as I could, though that didn't mean I stopped myself from going to the park every afternoon anyway. It was a routine and I wasn't about to break that. Of course, the knowledge that I didn't have to expect Mitch did make me a little less fidgety and allowed me to actually do my homework while I was out, but I guess I still missed him.

The freckles that I'd noticed just days before had spread to my lower chest and I knew that it was probably something I should've been worrying about but there was no way I was asking my parents about that. Besides, they were too busy.

"Hey Al, what are you doing this weekend?" I asked quietly as I sat next to my best friend in chemistry on Tuesday, both of us copying the teacher's notes diligently.

"No plans, how about you?" He was also writing, though for some reason he was always slightly faster than me, so he put his pen down just as he finished the sentence.

"Nothing as yet. Did you maybe..." I trailed off, partially because I was scared to ask the question, but also because I needed to finish copying down the notes before I fell behind.

"Maybe what? I can't say yes if you don't tell me what's going on inside that giant head of yours."

"Wow, harsh." I laughed as I copied his motion in putting my pen down. "Do you maybe want to go out and do something fun? You, me, Kirstie, Mitch?" I asked, dropping my voice even more as I mentioned Mitch's name.

Alex smiled at the mention of the other two and poked my cheek with his pen before he started to copy down the next slide. "I'd love to. Have you talked to Mitchy yet?"

I don't know why but something irked me about the way that Alex said Mitchy. I knew it was just a platonic and friendly thing, and Mitch wasn't even mine or anything, but I guess I was still a bit protective. "Not yet, I'll talk to him in a few days." I said and continued writing.

I went straight to Alex's house after school and we invited Kirstie to come on the weekend, which she happily agreed to. I think she was worried about making the wrong impression on Mitch and wanted to make it up to him. Of course, the added benefit of enjoying our company might have been a part of all that. I tried to remember if Mitch had said anything about her response, but I couldn't find any memory of anything and realised that we were too wrapped up in our own little world.

Needless to say I was practically bouncing off the walls by Wednesday and even though it had only been three days, I was restless and feeling extremely clingy. I tried my best to calm down as I walked along the pavement, aligning my breathing patterns with the repetitive steps that I was taking.

Mitch and I weren't dating.

Mitch and I weren't in love.

Mitch and I weren't getting married.

It meant nothing to Mitch.

I froze in the middle of the sidewalk as the realisation dawned on me and I closed my eyes. Mitch probably didn't think of me any different. He probably didn't get butterflies at the sound of my name, he probably didn't grin just thinking about the fact that we'd be seeing each other again. Did he have someone else?