Introspective Strangers [h.s.]

Chapter 45

"Yes," I breathed. "It's so frustrating. It's taken me... forever to come to terms with so many of these feelings and I figured that Isa – er, my friend would be happy for me, but he just seems more upset than anything."

"Do you think maybe it's because he's jealous? That he wants you for himself?"

"I don't think so," I said softly, "We have quite the history together. I know that he loves me a lot and that he thinks he's looking out for me, but sometimes it's just too much. I just wish he could be supportive rather than automatically jump to the worst-case scenario and decide for me that Harry isn't any good."

"Harry?" the girl looked rather amused as she spoke, and I blanched slightly, not having realized that I spoke his name out loud. "A rather quaint name for this mystery beau of yours."

"Right..." I muttered, feeling like an idiot for having spoken about my issues to some strange lady on the bus. "Thanks for listening to me, my stop is coming up – "

"Ah," she held up a finger. "You haven't even heard my advice yet."

I furrowed my brows, craning my neck slightly to see how close we were to my destination, before turning back to her, "Okay. Sure. Sorry, go ahead."

"What's your name?" she asked, cocking her head to the side, entwining her fingers together in her lap.

"May."

"Here's my advice for you, May," she said softly. "This is your life. If you spend it trying only to please others or hide what you truly feel out of hopes not to disappoint – then you are going to find that it is rather dull. As hard as you try, you can't choose who you find yourself drawn to, who you love, who you make happy or who you make upset – you can only make sure that the choices you choose regarding all of those things are what's best for you."

She reached out to grab my hand, causing me to flinch, before continuing, "So long as you approve of this Harry and he makes you happy, the rest should be only background noise. If your friend loves you as much as he says he does, he will find a way to make peace with this decision of yours – provided he actually does only want what is best for you."

I swallowed hard and stared at her for a few seconds before the bus came to an abrupt halt.

"Thank you," I said quickly, dropping my hand from the safety guard to grip hers between both of my own, giving it a squeeze. "Really, thank you."

She merely grinned in response, giving me a short nod. I pulled out of her hold, pushing through the people to get to the exit of the bus when I heard her shout from behind me, "And, May! If none of that resonates with you – just remember that the aliens are going to get us all soon enough anyway."

I just laughed and waved before dismounting.

She's right. I thought to myself as I shoved my hands in my pockets and increased my pace down the sidewalk. This is my fucking life and I get to choose what is best for me.

As I rounded the corner, I found myself nearly halting in my tracks as I approached my intended destination. While a few minutes ago I had been all determined and hell-bent, I was now a little weary about what I had come to do considering I hadn't exactly thoroughly thought it through.

Though I guess there was no turning back now because here I was, currently standing a few feet away from the entrance to Everett, Harry's building.

"Christ," I breathed, running a hand over my face. This place was a hell of a lot bigger than I remembered, with a lot more security too. I guess it was to be expected, with the extent of the company, but how had we even gotten in last time – "The parking garage..."