Let's set each other's lonely nights
Be each other's paradise
Need a picture for my frame
Someone to share my ring
Tell me what you wanna drink
- Justin Bieber
TYLER
"So you're saying that you moved to New York because you thought your dad loves your stepsister more than he loves you?" I stared at Faith incredulously. She always acted wiser than her age so I was surprised when she told me that she was jealous of her stepsister.
Faith narrowed her eyes in disapproval. "I didn't think. I know he loves her more than he loves me." She sliced the tiramisu cake with her fork and brought it to her mouth.
Her father remarried after the divorce was finalized and had a one-year-old daughter. She lived with them for six months before moving out to live in New York instead.
"She's one year old, she's a baby, of course, he would spend more time with her. Or else your stepmom will have so much to do if he doesn't help." I raised my cup to my lips and drank the remaining. I put the empty cup back on the saucer.
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. Faith cleared her throat and put both elbows on the table as she leaned forward. "So, how is your love life? When can I see this lovely girlfriend of yours?" I flinched when she mentioned Autumn. Typical Faith, she didn't miss a single thing. "What? What happened?"
I swallowed hard. "We had a fight."
"Oh." She gave me an apologetic smile. "About what? I'm good when it comes to relationships, maybe I could help you." She shrugged. "Give you some advice, maybe?" offered her.
"About you, actually," I answered. "I lied to her about where I was yesterday and she was angry about it." I ran one hand through my hair frustratedly.
"Dude," countered Faith. "Are you stupid?"
I frowned. "Huh?"
"She was angry about you meeting me and two hours ago you didn't think that this is a bad idea?!" Her eyebrows lifted and she looked at me as if I just turned into a big purple dinosaur right in front of her eyes.
"This." She pointed at me and herself. "Us. Spending time in a cafe while your girlfriend is mad. Gosh, guys can be so dumb." She shook her head. "Ty, you had a fight with her about you meeting your ex-girlfriend last night and the next day you're doing exactly that."
"But I didn't call you or text you." My frown deepened as I tried and failed to understand her point of view. "We met by accident."
Faith rolled her eyes at me. "But you invited yourself to join me here."
"You were carrying three humongous books!" I pointed at the books beside her. "I can't let you carry them by yourself."
"I've been carrying them around all day. I won't pass out carrying them for a short walk from school to here." She paused and swallowed. "Look, you need to go to her right now. Explain to her that we're just friends and there's nothing going on between us anymore."
"She won't believe me." I let out an exasperated sigh. "I tried to talk to her this morning and she wouldn't listen."
"Well, try again! Rome wasn't built in a day!"
I shook my head. "I'll give her some time, give her some space. I'm sure she'll come around." Faith punched my arm and I flinched. "What's that for?"
"For being an idiot!" answered her loudly, causing several people in the cafe to glance at us.
"Hey, I'm not an idiot." I fold my arms in front of my chest and tried to stare her down. It didn't work. She was Faith, she didn't get scared of anything. Especially not me. "A few hours ago, you said I'm smart!"
"Well, that's a few hours ago. If I could take that back, I would." She shook her head in disbelief. "Are you seriously gonna tell me that you're not an idiot because you're a Biochem student?" Faith rolled her eyes at me for god knows how many times today. "Ty, even your Ph.D. won't help you save your relationship. How can you be so good at science yet so dumb when it comes to girls?"
I sighed. "What are you saying, you think I should keep pestering her?" At this point, I was hopeless. I had no idea what I should do. Autumn and I had a few fights before but none was as big as what happened last night and it broke my heart.
"No, not pestering her. I just don't want you to regret it later." She looked ahead and gave a sad smile. "If you give her too much space, someone else might get to her first. She's really fragile right now, especially after having a fight with her man, you shouldn't leave her alone to rethink the whole thing. You might end up losing her, you know."
When Faith said that, I felt like she just punched me in the gut. She was right, I shouldn't leave Autumn alone. Hell, I shouldn't go with Faith to this cafe and spend hours catching up. I pulled out my phone and was about to text her when I saw her message.
Come home before seven. Let's have dinner and talk.
I glanced at the top of the screen, it was six thirty. I still had thirty minutes to get home. I looked up at Faith and said, "I'm going now.".
Faith gave me an encouraging smile. "Good luck!"
I walked to the front of the cafe and froze when I saw the guy walking to the table where Faith was sitting. I watched her look up at him and the expression on her face went sour. I quickly moved back to our table. "Faith, are you okay?" She answered with a nod. "Do you know this guy?"
I knew exactly who he was, considering I'd been spending time with him for hours and running errands for him every day. I just hope she wasn't one of his acquaintances. The last thing I wanted was for any friends of mine to meet him.
Faith nodded once again. "Yeah." She let out an exhaustive sigh. "Ty, this is my ex. Mario."
"Hi." He turned to face me and smiled. "Mario Aiello," he added as he held his hand out to me. "Nice to meet you, man." The smile on his face might look innocent but I knew he was far from innocent. I may only spend three days with this guy, but I've watched him doing terrible things.
I didn't bother to fake a smile as I shook his hand. "Tyler."
"Are you one of Faith's friends?" Mario slid his gaze to Faith and then back to me. A small frown appeared on his forehead as if he was trying to assess the situation.
Faith answered before I did. "Tyler's my first love." I looked at Faith. Surprised and confused. I'd never heard her say that to anyone before and after the lecture she gave me about us remaining as friends, I thought she wouldn't say anything about us.
She looked calm but her eyes screamed for help. Whatever happened between Mario and her probably didn't end well. There was an unspoken pleading in her eyes and although she tried so hard to hide it, I knew she was scared.
This was probably the worst time ever since I was about to run back home and meet Autumn. My hands were tight, I had no idea what to do. The clock was ticking and I knew I had to decide before it was too late. One thing was clear, there was no way I could leave Faith alone with someone like him.
Mario raised his eyebrows and fixed his eyes on me. "Aren't you about to leave, Tyler?"
I refrained from cursing as I pulled back the chair and took a seat. "Nope. I'm staying." Mario sent me a warning look but I chose to ignore it.
I'd be damned if I let something happen to Faith.
AUTUMN
"That's it! I'm done!" I jumped off the stool and went straight to the bedroom. I told Tyler to get home before seven, I was giving him a chance to explain yet it was nine o'clock and he was nowhere to be seen. He didn't even have the courtesy to reply to my message.
I took my charger, wallet, and keys and then put them into my purse. I grabbed my coat from the hanger and put them on. "I'm done waiting," I muttered to myself as I dug my feet into a pair of sneakers.
I wandered outside without a purpose, trying to clear my head and brighten my mood but it was no use. I was pissed and hurt and nothing could make me feel any better. I heard the car horn from my right and turned. A sleek black car that I knew too well pulled on the curb and the black privacy window slid down, revealing none other than the second last person I wanted to see. Frazier.
I fold my arms in front of my Looney Tunes T-shirt and asked, "What are you doing here?"
He gave me a lazy smile. "Temptress, I should be the one asking you."
I was too tired to remind him that I didn't like him calling me with that username. "Well, Mr. Jackass," I decided to use the username I picked for him. "It's none of your goddamn business."
I turned and continued to walk. Only two steps and I heard the sound of his horn again. I gave him a warning look. "Can you just go and disturb someone else?"
He frowned. "What makes you so grumpy?" He clicked his tongue and nodded. "Oh, another fight? You should give the man a break, luv, it's not good to keep on picking a fight."
I stopped and faced him. "I wasn't picking a fight. He was the one who said he wanted to explain but when I gave him the time, he was a no-show."
"Ouch." Frazier pretended to flinch. "Sorry, Temptress." He shook his head like a parent looking at their child as stupid. "Relationship. It's good craic until it goes sour." He opened the car door and walked out of his car.
"What are you doing?" I eyed him suspiciously. The thing I learned about him over these past few days was that he had two different sides of him which he easily flipped from one to the other in two seconds flat. One moment he was being a dick and the next he was nothing but a sweetheart. It was both confusing and frustrating.
Frazier closed the door and leaned against it with his arms folded in front of his grey shirt. Instead of answering my question, he shot one of his own. "So, what are you going to do? Are you going somewhere?"
I haven't given much thought to that. It may sound childish but I didn't want to be at home when Tyler came home so he knew that I was not going to wait for him forever. Now that I was outside, I didn't know where to go to kill the time. "I'm going to a bar and get some drink."
Frazier shook his head in disapproval. "Drinking alone? Nothing's more pathetic than that." He went to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door. "Come. I'll keep you company."
"I don't care if it's pathetic, I didn't need your company." I started to walk away. All I needed was to be left alone so I could clear my head and get some drinks to calm my nerves.
I wanted to call Jess but it was not possible due to our recent fight. I hated not being able to talk with my girls.
"Autumn." I felt one hand on my arm and turned. "I've told you before, I want to be your friend but you keep pushing me away." He dropped his hand and let out a deep sigh. "I know we started off on the wrong foot, but I hope you can give me a chance. Who knows, I might surprise you." He looked at me with a charming smile on his lips. His eyes looked sincere as he stared at me through the ridiculously long eyelashes.
I sighed. He was right. I kept pushing him away even though I agreed that we could be friends. Maybe I should stop doing that. "Fine." I rolled my eyes. "Do you know a nice place to drink?"
He smirked. "I might know the perfect place."
* * *
Judging from how Frazier was, I thought he would drag me to a fancy place where the drinks were as expensive as the food. My first guess was hotel bars or fancy pubs, maybe like those kinds that I've seen in Gossip Girl. A fancy place where Blair Waldorf would go without cringing or scrunching her nose.
But he surprised me when he pulled up the car to the curb and led me to an Irish pub. The building looked hundreds of years old. I looked up and read the name 'McSorley's Old Ale House established 1854' which confirmed my early guess about the pub being old.
He held the door opened for me and I stepped inside the pub. The interior looked busy with portraits and posters everywhere, leaving almost no empty space on the wall. There were paraphernalia and stovepipe that looked like they were from World War II placer on the side of the room. Sawdust was on the floor with people's foot-trace here and there. I was surprised and utterly speechless.
"Why are you standing there? Let's get a drink." Frazier led me to the bar and we took a seat. "What do you want to drink? Dark or light?"
"Which one would you recommend?" I asked him since I'd never been here or tasted Irish ale before.
He suppressed his lips as he gave it a thought. "I usually drink the dark ale but it tastes more bitter than the light one." He shrugged. "It's a matter of preference, really. Do you like your beer tastes bitter or not?"
"I'd take the light one then."
Frazier called the bartender and said, "One light, one dark." He paused then added, "Could you get me a turkey sandwich too, please? Thank you."
I glanced at the old cupboard in front of me. A wooden plate hung on top of the cupboard with the words 'be good or be gone' carved on its surface.
"Have you been here before?" asked Frazier, probably noticing how I have been observing the interior of the pub.
I shook my head. "Nope. This is my first time." I shifted in my seat and faced him. "I honestly thought you'd bring me to a fancy and ridiculously expensive place."
A little frown appeared on his forehead. "Why?"
"I don't know." I gave a shrug. "You just don't strike me as a guy who'd be drinking in a bar."
Frazier rolled his eyes. "I prefer good stuff to a fancy place."
The server came carrying four mugs in his hands. He put the mugs on the table. Phrased grabbed two mugs filled with lighter-colored content and placed them in front of me. "They served in half pints." He answered my unspoken question.
I raised the mug to my lips and took a sip. I was expecting something dreadful yet it tasted so nice. Crisper and very refreshing. I looked up and noticed Frazier was watching me as if he was waiting for my reaction. "It's good," I commented.
That brought a smile to his face. "I know." He raised his mug and took a long drink. "I prefer the dark ale, though."
"Does it taste better?" I leaned in and tried to smell the darker liquid in his glass.
He nodded. "I wouldn't say better but I liked my beer a little bitter." He held the mug in front of me and added, "try it."
I held the side of the mug and took a drink. McSorley's dark ale was deep, caramelly, and smoky. "Now I know why you can't pick a side." Both beers had their own taste. Almost like we couldn't compare sugar and salt because they had a different tastes.
"You can order either or both if you like since they are served in two mugs." He paused then put one hand on the light ale that I haven't drunk and the other had on his dark ale. "Or we can swap." He swapped the mugs so each of us had one dark and one light.
I laughed. "Smart." I pointed at the floor where sawdust covering the floor and looked up to meet his eyes. "So what's the story there?"
"That's one of their traditions." Frazier leaned forward on the counter. "Back in the days when the customers were chewing tobacco, spit would go flying, and the sawdust would absorb it along with any beer spills. It also makes sliding a large box of beer across the floor so much easier." He explained as if he has been one of the workers sliding the boxes around and I couldn't help but giggle.
His turkey sandwich arrived and Frazier ate as if he were on death row, and this was his last meal. "Hey, slow down. You're gonna choke yourself."
"Sorry." His cheeks slightly reddened. "I haven't had my dinner."
I raised one brow. "Why?" I remembered seeing him this afternoon in the cafeteria and he ate his meal like a normal person, different from how he was eating now. Tonight he didn't eat with the effortless grace that he usually had.
Frazier swallowed and answered, "I had to pick up my grandma from the airport. I dropped her at home and took off but then as I was roaming the road, searching for a place to eat, I saw a lonely girl walking alone on the sidewalk."
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What do you think will happen? What will happen to our lovely ship Autumn x Tyler? What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Let me know ;)
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Loads of Pizza cos pizza is Love
your noob neighborhood author, agatha x
p.s. if you are confused *~*~* means a break but ▬▬ means the POV is swapped (Autumn/Tyler).
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