zentropy | mileven.

²⁴⁾ need

"hey! what'd you think?"

the voice came out of seemingly nowhere as an arm rested around my shoulders, my head spinning around like a dreidel to catch sight of the voice's owner.
"it was...great! you did so well!" I exclaimed when my eyes met ben's, my body sinking into his as I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him a quick yet sincere embrace.
"hey, who's this?" he asked nonchalantly, jutting his chin upwards in mike's direction, his arm still fallen over my shoulder.

mike wheeler's face seemed to hold nothing.
it was like he was in a state of catatonia, his eyes glazed over like all light had fled the confines of his deep brown irises, his features statued and immobile except for the slight quiver of his bottom lip, barely noticeable yet prominent to only those who knew him as well as I did.

"this is mike," I began, gesturing towards the boy with a dainty hand, "he's an old...friend."

"what's going on mike," ben extended his hand out to him, the familiar friendly smile painted across his face, "I'm ben. you enjoying the show?"
I watched as mike took ben's hand in his slowly, shaking it harshly with intent, his focus still strong-held onto my face rather than ben's as his husky voice departed from his lips, "yeah, I am. you, uh, you mind if I borrow jane for a second?"

my heart almost twisted at the awkward air looming in the atmosphere, coiling itself around each inch of the three of us glaring at each other in almost a dissociated state of reality.
"yeah," ben said, his eyebrows perking upwards at mike's question as his arm hesitatingly departed for my shoulder, "yeah sure."
"cool, thanks," mike awkwardly nodded at him, clearing his throat softly at ben's arm leaving my body. something about the dorky way he spoke sent a rush of memories down my hippocampus, a nostalgic sense of the old, awkward, grangily yet perfectly nerdy mike wheeler filling my system. god, how I missed that guy. that was the mike I had fallen for in the first place, anyways.

I walked in the opposite direction, following mike as he lead me towards the exit of the concert venue, giving ben a small parting smile in reassurance. I was fully aware just how much I shouldn't have even spoken to mike in the first place, after swearing off any interaction with the boy who had destroyed me and any hope I had left over and over again, but something about the way he looked at me...the way our eyes locked across the room as the concert lights danced about our faces, the otherworldly bodies bouncing to the rhythm of the music that pounded and pulsed at every surface and eardrum in sight. it was like a force unbeknownst to man—a need.

⋆⋆⋆

[MIKE POV.]

A COOL gust of air rushed towards the pair of us as the door to the concert venue clicked behind jane.

somehow, the scene seemed as if it were strangely familiar; the two of us standing across one another, the damp air bustling about us as the trees blew softly in the distance, stars speckling the sky and bringing just enough light so that I could see the curves and edges of her face. it reminded me of that night at the park all those years ago where we had snuggled up under a tree, draped in my father's corduroys as she lay her head on my shoulder and asked if I thought she was pretty.

so much had changed since then.
so many regrets and mistakes I had made.

"so?" she questioned, her head tilting in confusion as the wind swirled delicately at our skin, the autumn air blossoming around us.
"I just..." I started, not even sure where I was going, "I just wanted to talk."
"about?" she asked again, the panic settling in as I realized I had asked to get her alone for no reason at all, other than the fact that I didn't want to be interrupted any longer by that boy.