/ READ AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END PLEASE \
Jason
My elbows rested on the railing as a cigarette hung from my mouth, looking down at the yard below me.
It was covered in green grass, a swimming pool taking up a good part of it, and a garage a ways back.
It was a pretty yard, and I always wanted one like it when I was a kid. All the other students had trampolines, swimming pools, and really cool swing sets in their backyards.
All I had was a beaten down shed and an old car.
But whenever I was little, I never imagined having those things, I always imagined building a time machine.
I watched a film with one once, and it was an image of mine to build one since.
But the idea was always shot down and the dream to build one was slowly pushed down and forgotten.
Until now.
I wish I could build one and go back to the night I met Justin.
I still smile at that night, and I used to say I wouldn't change anything I did that night.
It's different now.
I would go back and ignore him, I wouldn't ask him if he was okay, I wouldn't take him to my place. I wouldn't have done any of it.
Because everything is so screwed up now.
And everything is piling down, and I just want him erased from my life.
At least I think I do.
I sighed as I blew out my last puff of smoke, letting my cigarette fall to the ground as I stepped on it, watching as I squished it.
"You alright?" I just shrugged as the presence came next to me, her hands in the pocket of her hoodie.
Elena. Her name was Elena. And my hoodie, she was wearing my hoodie.
I stayed quiet as she turned the opposite way of me, leaning her back against the railing.
"Hey, talk to me." She turned her head a little as her long, black hair fell to her shoulder.
I smiled a little and shook my head, stuffing my hands in my jean pockets as I looked at her closely, letting myself relax a little.
"Sometimes I wonder why I made certain choices in my life," I rasped out, my voice hoarse from the cigarette smoke. I let my eyes travel to Elena, my hoodie over her shorts as she tried cuddling into it more.
"I just don't get why I would make those choices, yanno?" I could tell she was listening as she took her bottom lip between her teeth, a silent nod coming from her.
"I think everyone feels that way, but then you have to remember that at the time you made the choice, you always had a reason." She gave me a soft smile, running a hand over my arm.
"I know what you're thinking, and you had a reason to help Justin, and a pretty good one at that Jason." Her words were just, wisdom.
Maybe that's why I kept her around.
It was quiet for a little bit and I let her fall into my side, my arm automatically wrapping around her small frame.
Elena came into my life shortly after I left Justin's, and she became a great friend to me really fast.
She was smart, she was nice, she was honest, she had an opinionated mind.
The last one being a curse and a blessing at times.
