What Binds the Heart

Chapter Four

Alex

I stared across the dining hall, watching him move gracefully past the tables and chairs filled with starving college students. As much as I hated to admit it, he was gorgeous. Way more than he was the last time I saw him.

Simon Pencheti.

An elbow in my side made me tear my gaze away from my ex. Jason sat next to me, about to jab me again, but I stopped him.

"Who are you staring at like that?" he asked, a smile creeping onto his face. 

I shook my head. "It's not what you think. Simon's here. Why the hell is he here? He doesn't even go here."

"He doesn't even go here," Jason mocked. "Who's Simon?"

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair with a sigh. How did he not remember? "My ex. From high school."

"Oh! Yeah, I remember now." Jason stood up and, before I could stop him, starting calling Simon over. "Simon! Simon, over here!"

I immediately put my head down on the table, blindly trying to grab Jason and pull him back to his seat. Even though I was able to find his arm, he didn't move.

Eventually, he sat down. "I don't know what he even looks like. No one's actively walking towards us, so consider yourself lucky. Although I was only trying to get you a date. You need it."

"With him?" I asked, raising my head up. "He broke my heart. I don't want to go out with him again, even if for some reason, he realized he liked me again."

"Well, why else would he be here?" Jason smiled. "He's here to sweep you off your feet and the two of you will live happily ever after together!"

"You're delusional." I pushed my half-eaten lunch away. "I think I'm gonna go. Not hungry anymore. I'll be at the library if you need me."

"Okay, but don't study too hard. I want you home for dinner, young man."

I held back at laugh, still trying to be mad at him for almost making me have to talk to Simon. At least he was gone now. Maybe it wasn't even him I saw. Just someone who happened to look like him.

As I was about to toss my food in the trash, I accidentally bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry," I said, steadying my plate before it fell on him.

"Alex?"

My breath caught in my throat at the sound of his voice. Looking up, I locked eyes with Simon. It was really was him I saw.

"S-Simon," I stuttered out. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "That's not really important. How are you doing? It's been so long."

I dumped my plate with the rest of the dirty dishes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Why do you care? You're the one who broke up with me, remember? Three years ago."

He took a deep breath, dropping his gaze to the floor. "Okay, to be honest, I was hoping I'd run into you today. I made a mistake back then. I miss you."

I shook my head. "I can't believe you. I got over you a long time ago. You could have just sent me a text for me to ignore. It would have been easier."

He looked at me again. There was more sadness in his eyes than I've ever seen before. He was serious. "I'm sorry, Alex. You're not the reason I'm here, but seeing you again..." He shook his head with a small sigh. "But you're probably dating someone right now anyway, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am," I said without thinking. Really, I needed my heart to stop beating a thousand times a minute. Part of me still loved him, but I had to keep reminding myself just how badly he had hurt me. I couldn't go back to him. "His name's Sebastian." Again, I spoke before thinking. Why was his name the first to pop into my head?

"Oh, okay. I hope you're happy with him then. I won't bother you again."

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around mine. I looked over to see Jason holding onto me. "Hey, baby," he said in the most ridicious voice I've ever heard him attempt. It was like he was going overboard trying to sound like a convincing gay. "Who're you talking to?" He even batted his eyelashes. 

Dear God, save me.

Simon sighed, but stuck out his hand for Jason to shake. "You must be Sebastion. Alex was just telling me about you. I'm Simon."

Jason shook Simon's hand. "Sebastion. Yep, that's me."

I was never going to hear the end of this one later.

Although, I was appreciating how awkward Simon looked. He only stayed long enough to wish us both happiness in our relationship and to say he'll see me around sometime before leaving.

As soon as he was gone, Jason let go of me. "So, who's Sebastian?"

I shook my head, walking towards the exit. "Nobody. He wanted me back and I made up a name to get him to back off. That's it."

Jason quickly caught up to me. "He wanted you back? Is that why he came all the way here?"

"No, and I didn't ask. But I don't care about him anymore. I don't."

"Sure. I'm so convinced."

I nudged his shoulder, unable to hold back a smile. "Shut up." As annoying as he could be sometimes, he really was my best friend. He always knew how to get me to smile.

Then a thought occured to me. "Why were you pretending to be my boyfriend if you wanted me and Simon back together?"

Jason shrugged. "You both looked pretty upset. I had a feeling I needed to come rescue you."

I shook my head. "I had it under control."

"Yeah. You and Sebastian. I hope you two have an amazing relationship." He stepped onto the curb and tried his hardest to keep balanced as we continued walking down the sidewalk. "Although, maybe a fake relationship will finally get you to realize that you should start dating real guys. Find your real Sebastian."

I shoved Jason off the curb and he stumbled into the parking lot. "I don't have time to date. And there is no Sebastian."

Jason narrowed his eyes at me like he didn't believe me. I was glad when he dropped the subject, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to forget it.