Met a Boy at Seventeen (Kellic)

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 - Vic - Shouldn’t Have Let You Go

Never before have I felt such conflicting emotions.

There’s happiness, because it’s Kellin.

But then there’s also the dread. Because it’s Kellin.

He moves quickly to the empty seat next to me as Mr. Bitters starts to explain the project. It doesn’t seem too complicated, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive it if I’m paired up with my ex-boyfriend.

We get a bit of time in class to start working on it, so as soon as Mr. Bitters lets us go, Kellin says, “Vic.”

He doesn’t say anything else, but that in itself is enough. It’s enough for me to hear the pain, the desperate wanting, in his voice.

"No," I reply firmly. That’s enough, too—enough to erase any lingering hope that I’m going to give in and take him back. I want to—so much that it hurts—but I won’t. I can’t.

"Okay," Kellin says softly.

"Let’s just…do this project," I say. Even I can hear the strain in my voice. "But that’s it. Just the project."

Kellin nods. “Okay,” he repeats. And that’s that.

I try not to notice the state he’s in. I try not to notice the dark circles around his bloodshot eyes or the way his hair falls in disheveled clumps all around his face, as if he hasn’t bothered to do so much as look at it in over a week. I try not to notice the overall tiredness in his features or the way he keeps glancing at me, probably without even realizing it. I try not to notice that he looks like a complete mess.

I want to say, I’m sorry. But it won’t fix anything, so I stay silent.

—

"Tony and I are going out again tonight," Mike says, standing in my doorway. "You’re coming with us."

I sigh from my familiar position on the bed with my guitar. “Why?”

"Because you’ve been moping around all the time for the past week. You need to get out."

"Who are you, my therapist?"

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

I sigh again. “Fine. Whatever. When are we leaving?”

"Now."

I raise my eyebrows. “Dude, no. Fifteen minutes, at the least. When did you even figure out you two were going out tonight?”

"Like, five minutes ago."

"You know, there’s this thing called planning ahead.”

Mike rolls his eyes. “Fine, fine. Fifteen minutes, and then we’re meeting up with Tony. Hey, are you writing a song?”

I glance at the piece of paper lying next to me. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ve heard you playing it. It…sounds nice.”

As he turns around to leave, I call after him, “Hey. Speaking of Tony…what did he think? You know, of the drawing? I never got to ask you.”

At this, a goofy grin forms on his lips. “He has it hanging on his bedroom wall. He loves it.”

"I told you.”

He sticks his tongue out at me. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fifteen minutes.” Then he turns and walks out of my room, closing the door behind him.