it was now march. a little more than a year since jamie and chris broke up that first time. however, this time, they were back and better than ever. the week after spring break brought chaos to the high school. prom was coming up in two months, exams were right around the corner, and, of course, graduation. over the break, jamie had officially committed to the university of massachussetts at amherst and she was more than excited to continue studying art. she was still waiting on something, though.

chris had yet to ask her to prom. jamie knew they would probably go together anyway, since they were back together and all, but she still hoped he's do something. just for the gesture, you know? and it didn't make her feel any better when matt had almost stopped talking to her completely. she couldn't complain too much about it, though. 

while she and chris were dating, she rarely talked to matt. they would talk when hanging out with the friend group or once or twice at lunch, but other than that, they didn't interact as much. jamie assumed that since she had officially gotten back with chris, matt wanted to go back to how they used to be. that didn't stop her from missing him, though.

"hey." jamie was startled out of her thoughts by caroline. the two were currently sitting in jamie's bedroom. jamie was clutching the bat squishmallow that chris had given her. 

"hmm?" jamie looked up at her. 

"you still look sad. i thought that once you got back with chris, you'd be up again."

"i am up!" jamie defended. "i guess i just didn't realize that my friendship with matt was temporary. i really enjoyed hanging out with him."

"have you tried talking to him?" caroline asked. jamie nodded glumly. 

"yeah. his text responses are dry and then he barely even looks at me when we're in gov. and we're literally partners in that class."

"does he do any work?"

"yeah, but other than anything school related, he won't even look in my direction. i'm sure ms. rome's noticed, too."

"maybe he's just giving you space now that you and chris are back together. he probably thinks that you don't want to talk to him anymore."

"caroline." jamie gave her best friend a look. "i have been talking to him. he ignores me or gives me dry responses."

"maybe he's just in a mood?" caroline asked. "i can try to call him to see if he talks to me like he usually does or if he's being dry with me, too."

"okay." jamie passed caroline her phone from where she was sitting on the bed. she searched for matt's contact before pressing the 'call' icon and putting the phone on speaker. the two waited patiently as the phone rang. a couple moments later, matt picked up. 

"hey, carol!" matt's voice echoed through the room. he sounded almost cheerful.

"hi, matt! are you busy right now?" caroline asked. she heard some shuffling on the other end. 

"sorry, i was just going upstairs. no, i'm not busy. what's up?" he asked her. jamie's jaw dropped in shock. she could not believe that matt was making conversation with caroline. this just confirmed that he is definitely upset with her. 

"i was just wondering. you're not taking anyone to prom, are you?" caroline asked. "because i was gonna go with jamie but since she's probably going with chris, then..."

"oh." matt's tone was suddenly cold. "she told you they were going together?" 

"well, no. i just figured. do you have any plans?"

"not really." matt replied. "i mean, i was thinking of asking brionna. things are going really well with her. but i can go with you, if you want. we can go as friends or something."

"oh!" caroline gasped. "no, it's okay. ask brionna, please. i'll just confirm with jamie or something."

"okay..." matt said. "hey, has jamie said anything about me recently?" he asked. caroline and jamie exchanged worried glances. 

"um, she's been wondering if you're okay, actually?" caroline looked at jamie questioningly. jamie nodded, motioning her to go on.

"if i'm okay?" matt sounded surprised. 

"she said she didn't realize that her friendship with you was temporary. she thought the two of you would stay friends, even when she got back with chris."

"who said we weren't friends?" matt asked. "i assumed she wanted to go back to how we used to be, before she and chris broke up."

"that's not true." caroline told him. "she really liked hanging out with you. and she said that during gov class, you're really dry with her and she just wants to know if she did anything."

"um, you're not with her right now, are you?" matt sounded nervous. caroline and jamie looekd at each other again. jamie took the phone off speaker and motioned for caroline to speak with matt privately.

"um, no i'm not." caroline stood up from the bed and started walking toward the bedroom door. "i just left her house, actually." jamie watched as caroline spoke to matt on the phone.

"guess it's just you and me." jamie told her bat, who came with the name emily. 

"you're fucking lying." caroline gasped. jamie looked up in curiosity. "matt, are you serious?" she paused for a second, letting matt speak on the other end. "no, yeah, this stays between us, for sure. and matt? please don't be an idiot."

"what was that about?" jamie asked as soon as caroline got off the phone. caroline shook her head. 

"i'm sorry." she grimaced. "i promised matt i wouldn't say anything to anyone. but the good news is, he's not mad at you."

"okay, but then why won't he talk to me?" jamie groaned. "he seemed to be talking to you just fine." 

"i don't know." caroline admitted. "maybe just wait it out? he's probably just going through some weird stuff."

"what did he tell you that i couldn't know about?" jamie asked her. "i mean, we used to talk about everything."

"i'm sorry, j." caroline looked at her apologetically. "i really can't tell you."

"i know." jamie nodded, glumly. "i hate that you're such a good person."

"yeah, okay." caroline rolled her eyes. "i have to go, but maybe just text him? who knows, he might listen to you this time."

"maybe." jamie nodded, hopefully. after walking caroline to her car, jamie pulled out her phone and pulled up matt's contact. her finger hesitated over the 'message' icon before ultimately clicking it. 

IMESSAGE

jamie
hi matt

matt
jamie
hey

jamie
are we okay

matt
what do you mean?

jamie
well
we haven't really talked since well

matt
since i basically told you to leave me alone?

jamie
right

matt
i'm sorry about that
thank you for the christmas gift btw

jamie
of course!

matt
jamie 
you havent talked to carol have u

jamie
well
i have
but she said she talked to you on the phone
but she didnt say anything else other than to text you

matt
oh
okay

jamiei just wanted to say that i'm sorry
for shutting you out after our kiss
and all that

matt
it's not your fault
it was an awkward position
and i shouldnt have gotten mad at you

jamie
and i'm also sorry for before
how we were never really close until after the breakup

matt
don't apologize
its okay

jamie
no its not
i met you first
you were my first friend
and then i got closer to chris and well

matt
jamie it's okay i promise

jamie
i miss you matt
i miss us working on gov projects together
scheming about our fake dating plans
actually spending time as friends like we used to

matt
i miss you too
and i'm also sorry
for getting mad at you

jamie
it's okay i deserved it

matt
no you didn't 
you needed someone to talk to
and instead of being there for you i gave you space

jamie
yeah well
water under the bridge

matt
funny
chris said the same thing when he apologized

jamie
u and chris are good?

matt
yeah we are
and i'm really glad
i missed him

jamie
that's good
so how are things with brionna??

matt
what
oh yeah
things are good i guess
she's really sweet and all

jamie
but

matt
but she's not you
ERASED.

but i can't seem to like her as much as i want to

jamie
oh
its okay
maybe you'll grow to like her
 when you spend more time with her

matt
right
im thinking of asking her to prom
should i???

jamie
if you want to
she seems like a really nice girl

matt
she is
she's amazing
i feel bad 

jamie
don't feel bad
maybe tell her the truth?

matt
maybe
its getting late but it really was
nice to talk things out and all
i'll see you tomorrow james

jamie <3
okay
good night matt

MY NUMBER ONE.
goodnight j

maha speaks :)

the contact name changes at the end im crying i missed them

ANYWAYYY we get to see the REAL reason why chris broke up with jamie really soon but we have a littttle bit of drama next chapter so be prepared