Sonder ~ #JustWriteIt #AltEnding ~

Prologue: Day Zero

A large but gentle breeze sweeps right through me, dragging some of the dead leaves across the concrete pavement in its direction. The raspy noise it makes sounds very... natural. Far off into the distance the sound of the city's bustling activities can be heard, blending into the background and turning into white noise. 

Getting a little restless, I let out a sigh then readjusted my seat on the wooden bench. As if changing my sitting position was going to make her arrive any earlier. She sure is taking her sweet time.

I take a quick glance at my wristwatch; 2:57 p.m. She's an hour late. A woman makes me wait for an hour all by myself and I'm supposed to be the heartless one? "One Week Boyfriend," huh? Well, she can have all the time in the world to get here if you ask me. After all, what's the point in being polite and punctual to the person who's about to dump you?

But on the other hand, it's not like I asked her to become my girlfriend for my own personal amusement and then dump her when I get bored of her. I'm not that heartless. It's actually the other way around. She's the one who confessed to me saying that she likes me and that she wants to date me. 

Hearing all that, I wanted to see where she was going with it so I decided to humor her for a while. But it seems like she only wants a boyfriend for the sake of having one. She just wants someone she can show off to her friends, and give her gifts on her birthday and chocolates on Valentine's Day. And from the rumors that she's probably heard about me, she knew that I wasn't going to turn her down. But if she had heard all of those rumors about me, then she probably also knew that a relationship with me wasn't going to last very long. If she gets hurt because she wasn't expecting this to happen, then it's her own fault. 

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

My train of thought is suddenly interrupted by a soft rustling in the grass behind me. It's getting closer and closer by the second. I have a feeling I know who this is. A very timely entrance, albeit a little late.

"Aiden?" Her soft voice finally breaking the peaceful atmosphere. 

"Took you long enough." I get up from my seat and turn to face her. 

"Sorry, I got caught up in something and wasn't able to read your text until it was too late," she announces apologetically, looking at me with large, almost forced, puppy-dog eyes, "I really didn't mean to keep you waiting. I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's fine," I say, looking off to the side, "I'm also sorry."

"Huh?" I can't see her face but I can make out exactly what her reaction must be right now just from the tone of her voice, "What do you mean? Aiden?" 

I let out a sigh. "Stop playing dumb. You know what's about happen." I look back at her and stare right into her eyes.

"I-I don't..."

"Alright then, let me spell it out for you. I'm done with this. We're done. Starting tomorrow, we'll both be officially single again and can do whatever we want with our lives. Sound good?"

"..."

She doesn't respond. "So is that a yes?"

"...no," she mumbles, her voice getting a little shaky now.

"What?"

"No! I-I don't want that! It's not good! It doesn't sound good at all! I- ...I love you! Why?!" 

A tear was now streaming down her face. Oh boy, here we go again. "Just cause... Alright look, I know this one other guy who'll be happy to go out with you. He's thoughtful, good-looking, and pretty well-off too. He's the full package! I can introduce you to him first thing tomorrow if you want. So even if I break up with you right now, you have nothing to worry abo-"

Slap!

Just like that, I find myself looking the other way. My cheek feels like it's burning. I hear the hard rustling of leaves in the grass in front of me slowly moving farther and farther away. I stand there in shock for what feels like an indeterminable amount of time. I turn around and walk myself back home. Before I knew it, I was already lying on my bed still wearing my casual clothes. My cheek is still sore from her slap.

... 

What the hell was up with her?! Damn woman almost knocked my head off! Tch. Whatever. At least by tomorrow I won't have to deal with her anymore. This was the last thought in my mind as I let the scenery of my room fade to black and fall asleep.