FRICTION

Ch. 9: Expectations

Oh, right.

"Maybe I should just e-mail her that I'm not interested anymore," I wondered aloud while reaching for my phone, clicking onto my mailbox while fishing into my pocket for her business card. Though, that turned out to not be necessary after all, as there were already a few e-mails from her waiting for me.

One was from Jacqueline, confirming she'd managed to sort everything out before heading out of the office; and the other was from the hiring department—some lady called Ira was asking me to fill out some paperwork and submit some files. Aside from those. the third e-mail was... oh, a consent form for a background check.

Huh, they sure worked quick.

"I—I just need to tell her I changed my mind. Easy," I whispered under my breath, trying to coax myself into doing it. And I even got as far as clicking the reply button, trying a few possible greetings before cancelling out altogether.

"Mason, do you—?" I started asking before remembering Mason was not, in fact, in the room with me. I rolled my eyes at that, throwing my head back and glaring up at the white ceiling. My chair creaked in protest, but it held me up regardless. I stretched out my tense body in an attempt to dissuade some of the weariness I felt, shivering at the momentary rush of endorphins that surged through my body. I frowned while settling back up on the seat.

That felt good.

I frowned while switching over to my texts, asking Ricky if he wanted to swing by and hang out. I didn't mention the possibility of getting high, but it was almost certainly implied. Realistically, I'd studied enough to pass. Doing the bare minimum wasn't necessarily like me, but it'd have to do just this once.

You have an exam coming up, Ricky replied.

I have a 97 in the class, I messaged back.

Good. Keep it that way, he replied, followed by a bunch of, quite frankly, rude emotes.

I fumed, not even bothering to reply to that. He'd clearly made up his mind to be responsible today, and I couldn't even blame him. And he couldn't even blame the time, since I still remembered the few times when he had a rough day at work and came over to get plastered at three am, unbothered about Mason's half-hearted complaints about not sneaking shit into the dorms.

I scrolled through my notifications in search of someone else to bother, frowning when I realized I'd received a few missed calls just a few hours ago. I'd been so busy studying that I must not have noticed my phone buzzing.

My jaw clenched as I glanced at the caller ID.

Right. There was also that.

I sighed under my breath before deleting the notifications, setting my phone back into my pocket without another glance.

Instead, I peered up at the slide of notes displaying on my computer screen, minimizing the tab before opening my e-mail up on the browser. Instead of replying to Jacqueline, I opened the attached files, hesitantly glancing over the application forms. Nothing too crazy. Just had to clear the internship with my department and submit my personal info.

Really, this wasn't that bad of an offer. I'd make almost a third more than I had at my last job, and she reiterated that the hours would be flexible. So, no real downsides... aside from Shawn.

I rubbed at my temple. Alright, fine.

---

That went by faster than I expected.

I hummed softly while heading down the hallway, unsure of how I'd found myself here. The moment I was done filling everything out, the urge to leave the room had just... urgently developed.

And so, I had not really questioned it. At the very least, I'd grabbed my wallet and keys on the way out, closing the door before picking a random direction and walking.

I wasn't satisfied until I was properly outside the building, under the gentle, cool drizzle of a fresh night. I breathed out a sigh of relief as the crisp, coldness of the night enveloped me, my feet settling into a comfortable rhythm as I let myself wander in earnest.

Perhaps I was still just procrastinating. That might explain why I was outside at four am, still not having slept a wink outside of that small lapse of time between 1:35 and 1:51 where I'd dozed off in front of my computer and woke up to the beat of me reclining so far back on my chair that it tilted back and I slammed against the floor.

Not that I was complaining, though, considering how pleasantly calm it was. There were a few people walking around with umbrellas, but nobody I recognized. Nobody that mattered. Everything was quiet.

I kept walking through the dimly lit campus, taking in the air in large, greedy gulps. Breathing in the night sky. I felt surprisingly light on my feet, the weight on my shoulders almost non-existent in that moment, as if it'd never even existed in the first place.

I didn't stop walking until I was on the other side of the campus, far away enough that I'd have to consider when I wanted to head back. And I chuckled softly, like it was just for this moment.

Nothing more than that.

I settled for one of the metal tables lined up on the side of the psychology department, stepping up and settling on the table itself, glancing up at the night sky. It was raining a bit harder now, and the sky was still pitch black. Not a single star could be seen here, so deep in the city. Though, I'd never really bothered looking up in search of those.

Sometimes it was nice to just stare into an empty void and know to expect nothing.

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A/N: Thank you for reading.