Elijah
“ScrewGabe.” Katelyn hisses, falling onto the couch beside Jamie. A little of her beer jumps out of the bottle, spilling on his shoulder. “Shit. Sorry.” She apologizes, rubbing her hand over the now damp spot on his sweater.
“Yeah, fuck Gabe.” Jamie looks down at it, swatting the spot too. “Wait, why are we hating this Gabe person?” he asks, looking up at me.
It’s pretty loud in this room with the bustling students who are chatting among themselves, but I try to keep my voice as steady as possible so only they can hear.
“He’s trying tofuckmy boyfriend,” I whisper-shout before throwing the dart in my hand and successfully hitting the green segment on the board across from us.
Katelyn sighs, getting up, and aiming her shot. “But are wesurehe’s trying to fuck him or is he just a new friend?”
I scoff. “Tobias doesn’thavefriends. He has people around him that want to fuck him if given the chance. I mean, just look at me.” I wave my hand in front of myself.
She takes her shot and misses tremendously. “Awe, wow. It’sfantasticknowing you wanted to fuck him while we dated.” She says sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
“Shit…sorry.” I cringe, because she wouldn’t be wrong. Ididwant to fuck him. I wanted to domanythings with him. Which is exactly why I don’t trust new friends. “You know what? I should go back. Just go and put a stop to it.” I thread my hand through my hair, a little harder than necessary.
“Woah, woah, woah.” Jamie hops up, snatching the cooler from my other hand. “How about wenotdo that?” He shakes his head, placing my drink on the table next to us. “You’ve been drinking.”
Dammit.He’s right.Can’t do that.
“You know what I think?” Katelyn lays her hand on my shoulder. “I think some space would be a good idea.”
A booming laugh escapes my lips. “Space!?All we’vehadis space. I hate it. Have you not been listening!?” I groan, shooting my dart. We all watch the dart hit the edge of the board and fall to the ground pathetically.
“What do youmean?” Katelyn groans. “All youdo is FaceTime. You’reconstantlytexting each other. I swear, you can’t stop talking about him for more thanfiveseconds,” she scoffs, throwing her hands at her sides. “I’m honestly surprised we’ve had your attention for this long.”
I jolt. Her tone shocks me, and I take a step back. Where the hell didthatcome from?
“Shit…I didn’t know you felt like that.” I say quietly.
She pinches her lips shut, darting her eyes away. “I didn’t mean it to come off mean or anything.” Breathing out in defeat, she looks at me with softer eyes this time. “I just…I know how much you like him. But, sometimes I feel like you’resotied up in him that you can’t see anything else. It’s like you two are fused together. That can’t be healthy for anyone. Aren’t you scared it can come across a little…clingytohim?” She looks down at her Doc Martens, scuffing the ground with her heel.
My face heats as I try to process what she’s saying.
Clingy?
My stomach twists thinking about Tobias possibly thinking I’m too much for him…
I guess Iamreally wrapped up in him.
I’ve never had an ounce of what we have with anyone else.
But, how could Inotbe?
The years we were apart felt…horrible.High school had its highs, but there were way more lows without him by my side. I’ve experienced what life without Tobias is like…and it fucking sucks.
It feels intense with him because itisintense.
“I don’t think you get it.” I shake my head, scratching the back of my neck. “He’s my person. Myonlyperson.” A sadness waves over me. I drop my head thinking about the distance we have between us right now. “How could I not want to hold on tightly to that?”
“Okay.” Katelyn breathes, wrapping her arms around me. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” She pouts, placing her chin on my shoulder. “Anyway, Thanksgiving is coming up inoneweek. Think you can last that long to see him?” She asks, squeezing me tightly.
I shift awkwardly in her arms. Suddenly I feel a little subconscious bringing up my plans with Tobias. What if she’s right and I’m being too much? How do I truly know? “Midterms are coming up, and Flux is going to need all the help she can get. I’m not even sure it’s going to be possible to go home…”
“Flux is a tough one, but she’s not heartless. She’ll let you go home for Thanksgiving.” Jamie adds, taking his shot and hitting a black segment.
Katelyn shrugs, flashing me a smile. “Orrrr, maybe that’s a good thing. It’ll give you a moment to do your own thing for a little while. And hey, I’ll be stuck here. Maybe we can hang together!”
