Javi had invited us all to his house after school. Our groups had been more intertwined than usual and everyone wanted to have an official hangout. I had no idea what he had planned for us all to do at his house, but I was excited regardless.
I scratched my forehead. "Whenever you want to show up, I'm pretty sure."
“Such a helpful answer, Eli. Thank you!” Ricky covered his mouth with his hand in a sarcastic manner. I rolled my eyes at his dramatics.
Bella pointed down the hallway. "We can ask him right now. He's over there."
I swiftly looked over my shoulder to find Javier. He was a little way down the hall, standing by a locker and out of the way of the flow of students. He seemed to be talking to someone, but I couldn’t tell who it was.
Students were rushing up and down the hallways and obstructing my view, so I stood on my tiptoes to see better. I kept trying until Ricky put his hand on my shoulder and pushed down, causing me to fall off my tiptoes.
"He's talking to Diane," he said slowly.
Justin scoffed and stood up to try and see for himself. "The hell? Why?"
That was a great question. What the hell was he talking to his ex for? What could they possibly have to say to each other?
"Don't jump to conclusions," Ricky warned.
Javi and I were not dating; we werenottogether. I had no right to be annoyed that he was talking to Diane. He had free will and could do whatever he wanted to.
We messed around a couple of times and while I hoped that it meant something to him, there was a very real possibility that it didn’t. Him saying that he ‘chooses’ me didn’t mean shit because we were not together. Him calling me ‘amor,’ and ‘baby’ meant nothing when there was no title for what we were doing. They were just words—everything was just words.
But that didn't change that I was, in fact, pissed.
There was a break in the traffic of students and I had a better view of the exes. Their conversation seemed simple and innocent at first glance. Javier was listening intently to whatever Diane was blabbing about, it must have been important. I felt the tension in my chest begin to fade once I got to see for my own what was going on.
At least that was what I thought until I watched her put her hands into his. Javier held each of her hands gently as she spoke, and by the look on his face he didn't seem too opposed to what was going on. Then he hugged her. It wasn’t a long hug, but a hug nonetheless.
"I'm jumping to conclusions."
"Me too, honestly." Bella muttered, standing up from the bench. “What do they even have to talk about? Eli’s hands are the ones he should be holding, not Diane’s.”
I turned to Bella with furrowed brows. “What? How did you…”
“...know you and Javier have a thing for each other?” Justin finished my sentence. “Anyone with eyes can see that. He hasn’t been subtle, and you’re just oblivious.”
Bella giggled. “He isn’t wrong, sometimes you don’t see what's right in front of you.”
I rubbed my neck sheepishly. “I wish someone would’ve told me that.”
“Don’t worry, it’s only obvious to us because we’re your friends.” She put a comforting hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "Anyway, I've got to go before you have me late to class. I'll see you both later."
"See you later,” Ricky waved as he took a step in front of me, blocking my view of Javier and Diane. "We need to go too."
“Are they getting back together?” Justin asked, his hands balled into fists by his sides.
I scoffed. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Justin shot me a mean glare, but it only lasted for a second before it morphed into an unreadable expression. “Hey, man. Jokes aside, I kinda need to talk to you.”
I eyed him, trying to decipher whether or not this was some sort of get-back he was trying to achieve. He didn’t seem to be lying, but I was not in the mood to listen to anything Justin had to say. “Maybe later.”
Tired of breathing the same air as Javier and Diane, I headed to class. Ricky followed closely behind me and his eyes were on me the entire time. It was like he was trying to make sure I didn’t lose my cool.
We got to class and all I could think about was what I had just seen five minutes prior. I shouldn’t have felt angered by such a small interaction, but I did. Them talking wasn’t so much the problem, it was the touching and lingering looks. Maybe I was making it out to be more than what it was, but my mind only knew how to think the worst.
That one moment screwed up my mood for the entire day. I couldn’t get rid of the scowl on my face the entire lunch period. Everyone could tell, I knew they could. It wasn’t like I was tryingtoo hard to hide it. I kept silent the majority of lunch and only talked when I was spoken to. It was the easiest way to avoid snapping and yelling at everyone.
