Him & I

4

"Who?"

"Oh um, a friend. Yeah, a friend... She... We decided to, you know? Right from resumption... ran into each other after a long time of being away and she goes, 'Oh Melissa, it's been a while, how about we.. Exactly! That's just... that's just how it happened. Rest is history."

Goodness, why did I say all that.

I shift in my seat, moving closer to the wall. Maybe a little too close. My gaze remains on the book I'd spread open on the table, fingers grazing over words I don't bother to comprehend.

"A friend?" The word friend leaves her lips like a joke and I already know she knows. But I still try.

"Amy I'd love to partner with you but I have one already and it'll be rude to cut it off with her because-"

"Oh no, what?!" Her voice drips with that sort of sinisterity and sarcasm that I call the Amy-passive-aggressive. She still has on a fake smile. "You don't have to cut off anything with anyone. We will all work together. A pretty little trio we'll be, hm?"

Mr Steve walks in, though I wish he'd did fourteen minutes ago.

The next thirty minutes pass in a blur of louzy students at the back asking stupid questions to piss our teacher off and said teacher, in turn, trying in pure vain, to not be pissed.

Once the bell goes off, i'm one of those speedily packing up my things because it's been one hell of a class and it's recess. Finally. Heading out, i'm along side Amy. Or rather, behind her. She nearly even closes the door on my face.

"Oops." Her lips fold in a tight line as she stares me down.

"It's alright," I answer, now absent-mindedly because looking past her, I see Nathan going up the alternate staircase near the exit door. "And I'll... I'll catch up with you later."

I rush past her, as well as the many people in my way. It sucks being my height, I'll tell you that.

Getting to the stairs that lead to second floor where i'm certain Nathan is, I start getting negative thoughts. What if he hates me now?

Okay, brain, but you seriously couldn't think of that before making me climb all the way to first floor?

The thing is, a year to my sister's graduation, she and Nathan started dating. No-one at school was surprised since we'd always known they had a little something. But that 'little something' for sure had disappeared when she came home one night with eyes puffy and red. This summer, she really went from talking about him all the time to threatening
to evacuate my brother and I if we ever mentioned his name in the house.

I didn't bother to argue over Nathan being my friend first.

To be frank, no one ever cared about how I felt during the whole... relationship thing. My sister was dating my best friend. That was alot to get used to and till they broke up, I don't think I ever got used to it. Nevertheless, I took her side against Nathan's. It was automatically. Like it just had to be that way, she's my sister after all.

But now, i'm not too sure how to face Nathan after managing to ignore him all summer.

I push myself on the rail to give way for other students - who actually have a destination with no hesitation because the next two minutes pass with me running down the stairs, cursing why I came here in the first place, and then running back up because our friendship doesn't and shouldn't have to end due to something so minor. Minor, depending on whatever they broke up for.

Come to think of it, my sister never told me why they did break up.

After solid minutes of wasting my time at the stairs, I decide to go with my latter thought, walking down what most of us call the 'senior's hallway' and toward the library where i'm seventy percent sure he'll be at. When I push open the doors, the first face I see is his. And his blue eyes  are staring right back.