"So.. what was that?"

Hands on the wheels, Eve asks, curiosity lacing her tone as she keeps her eyes on the road. "Why was Lucy looking at you like she wanted to snap your neck?"

Sitting beside her, you keep your gaze on the side window, sighing, "You know how she is with me."

Eve tilts her head, thinking. "No, seriously. I saw her following you to that partition—"

"What?!"

You yell, grabbing the door handle and the transmission in panic. The car swerved a bit as Reed got startled, eliciting panic screams from everyone inside. Your face drains of color as Reed, intrigued, glances over and leans towards you casually, asking, "W—what what—why?"

"I uh.. We—" you stammer, running your fingers through your hair, bending over your thighs in distress.

Comprehension washes her face as Eve turns to the front of the road, eyes widening, "The fuck did you do with Tyler now?!"

Groaning, you mumble, "We.. we.. kissed."

"Are you both finally dating now?!" Tara chimes in from the back with newfound excitement, finally intrigued.

Oh right, Tara already knows about me and Dom now. Eve finally tells her—after your permission, of course—because she always pestered her when Dom was seen with other girls at parties while you were absent.

Blushing, you sit back, smiling dreamily. "I.. don't know.."

"After a hot ass. kiss?! You guys seriously need to have your reality checked. Unbelievable." Tara rolls her eyes dramatically—before Eve nudges her head from the front.

"They're still figuring it out, girlie. Cut them some slack~ We've known what they are since the very beginning anyway~"

"I'm scared though," you admit softly.

"Of what?" Eve and Tara ask simultaneously, their voices filled with concern. In melancholy, you tilt your head, gazing out of the window while saying,

"Of us."

You continue to stare at the sky, lost in thought. You see a plane soaring above—and you can't help but wonder if Tyler's on it. As the plane disappears into the horizon, you take a deep breath and close your eyes, holding onto the memory of him.. wondering..

So here I am, stuck. Stuck between being afraid to love you and wanting to love you. You're the first person I've ever felt this way about and I know this is going to ruin me.

But.. something so beautiful could hide as something so destructive, right?

Right?

"Ty hasn't texted me back! It's been almost a month—we're about to graduate—and still no word from him!"

From a distance, you hear Lucy complain to her group while checking her phone. Hesitating, you stop mid-bite with your gyoza, glancing at your phone to see notifications piled up from Tyler.

"Have you finished eating?"

"I'm off to baseball practice again, I'll let you know when I'm out."

Feeling a bit guilty.. you set the gyoza down, slightly.. losing your appetite. You've been fake-paying attention to Tara's new boyfriend story.. Nodding and smiling, but definitely not because of her story.

Driving with your hands on the wheel of your X6, you suddenly become melancholic. Remembering how Tyler used to drive you.. recalling his driving habits—right hand on the wheel.. left hand on the gear shift even though the car isn't a manual.. maybe because too accustomed to driving manual cars his dad taught him.

Deciding to call him, you bury your pride down deep in your already broken vein of shame.

One ring.. Two ring—

"Heyyo, Winny~"

From the other line, you can taste his joyfulness. Just the sound of him gets you overwhelmed—realizing how much you miss him—but your ponder makes you forget that you're already on a live call with him.

"Hey, what's up? Why are you silent?"

"What.. are you doing?" you ask, trying to sound casual while pouting, trying to keep the nonchalance act going.

"Driving. What's up, Emily~" he replies, sounding in a really great mood.

"Nothing.."

"Heyyy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, you idiot."

He goes silent, knowing exactly why if you're starting to sass him at a weird phone call. You've parked in front of your house, turned off the car, and just sit there—sighing. After a moment, with a voice far more gentle, he asks,

"What's wrong, My Winny?"

Sighing again, you feel your pout deepening at his sweet sweet words. Finally giving in to your feelings, you say, "It's just—" holding back a cringe, you continue, "I.. miss you.. I guess?" Once again, you sigh—getting out of the car and walking to your house. For a moment he stays silent, but then you hear him chuckle as you climb the stairs to your room. Annoyed, you snap, "Why are you laughing, you annoying brat?!"

You throw yourself on your bed as he asks, "When do you start at Yale?"

Thinking, you implore, "Probably.. three months after graduation? No additional announcements yet." After hearing him hum, you hesitantly ask, "Are you.. heading back there right after graduation?"

"Probably, adjusting here has been tough, everyone's really good," he says.

"I know you can do it, though," you assure him, then quickly ask, "Where are you driving to? Don't you usually practice till late?" But only met with his laugh, you press, "Where are you going?" But he just hums again, irritating you even more. "Ugh, where are you? You have a new girlfriend already—"

When you hear a car horn outside your house. You want to ignore it, but.. why does it sound like it came from two places? Why.. does it sound so oddly.. familiar. Until.. as you slowly sit up from your bed.. you hear him say,

"Look out the window."

Immediately standing up—you run to the window. And there, right in front of your house..

Tyler.

Leaning against his Defender, smiling up at you. As the phone's still pressed to your ear, you hear him say, "Hey," with his gentle voice, also loud enough for you to hear from outside. Tears of joy start to form in your eyes as you laugh, overwhelmed with happiness.

"I missed you too," he grins.

Your heart races as you rush down the stairs and out the front door. Tyler meets you halfway, pulling you into a tight hug. All the distance melted away at this moment.

"I can't believe you're—" you blurt out, pulling back slightly to look at him, tears glistening in your eyes.

"Believe it."

He says, brushing a tear away with his thumb. Then.. he draws his pinkie to the front of you while giving you the lopsided grin you missed so much. That beautiful.. beautiful grin. In a blink of an eye—you wrap his pinkie with yours, and you both laugh. Before finally holding each other in joy.

You're on your way home. After stocking some sugarcanes and burgers to take home, you and Tyler find yourselves stealing glances at each other. Everytime Tyler looks at you—you're not looking, everytime you look at him—he's looking at the road, back and forth—until.. finally you both look at each other at the same time!

The two of you stare at each other for a moment—until you break away out of embarrassment, each stifling a grin threatening to escape from your mouths. Awkward, you switch your attention to the radio.

Can we just sit down, have a little conversation?
Yeah, I wanna talk it out 'cause I'm all up in my feelings~

But the radio played 24/7 by Celina Sharma. Hesitantly looking at Tyler.. you find him already looking at you in a suppressed grin.

I never felt this before and I just wanna feel some more~
We used to keep casual~
Now I wanna just be yours—

Tap!

So you change the radio.

I got vampire tendencies biting your neck~
Sweat dripping down—

Tap!

In panic, you change again—hand retracting from the screen awkwardly. From beside you, Tyler holds in a chuckle so bad a grin already visible on his face. Embarrassed, you look away to the window and curse to yourself. But then–

I'ma take the time to get to know you~
'Cause I'm interested baby, baby~

T—!

But before your finger grazes the screen—he grabs it and brings it down to his thighs! You snap your head to him in a startle, eyes wide at this sudden gesture. And instead, you find him already grinning devilishly back at you as he chuckles,

"Hey,"

And I've been holding back these feelings for you~

"Not this one,"

His hazel eyes bore into you.. and you can't help but feel enchanted. Because now your eyes roam around, from his eyes.. to his perfectly angled jawline.. to his midnight jet black hair dancing around his perfect face.. to his..

'Cause I don't think the time's right~

As if liking your reaction to his gesture.. his grin turns into a smirk.. before he mutters under his low voice..

But I still wanna give it a try~

"This one's my favorite."

"How's Stanford, bro?!"

Sitting in your living room, in front of the TV watching Die Hard, you both chat. You're in your dad's lazyboy, and he's on your mom's sofa. The coffee table between you is littered with Burger Bros wrappers and fries. Tumba walks by to the pet food, joining you in your food galore. Delightfully, you chew on a burger while sipping sugarcane juice from the cup holder.

"You already asked," he protests, taking a big bite of his jumbo burger.

"Yeah but I need visuals from you, live—how's the girls?!"

"Oh they're hot!" he smirks, sipping his sugarcane. He's teasing you.

Sensing his mischief, you roll your eyes—regretting asking, you mock, "Wow, so faithful to your girlfriend, huh?" causing him to flinch—but it quickly turned into him—raising his eyebrows suggestively. With a smirk on his face, he says,

"Who? You?"

Blushing, you can't help but suppress a smirk. Your heart feels like it's going to burst—just as John McClane shouts 'Yippee Ki Yay' in the background. After finishing his burger, he crumples the wrapper and stuffs it into the paper bag, saying,

"Wanna know a secret?"

After sipping another sugarcane, you shout, "Hey! That's my line!" but then you chuckle, "Heh—what?"

He walks over to you.. and pushes the footrest of the lazyboy so you're sitting up. Panicking slightly—you quickly place your sugarcane in the cup holder. You look up at him as he looks down at you. But then you feel his hand resting on your head.. and as a lopsided smile plays on his face, he ruffles your hair, saying,

"I miss you everyday."

You can't help but blush. Grinning sheepishly, you stand up slowly.. maintaining his soft gaze on yours.. to finally hug him tightly—eliciting a soft chuckle from him. Sighing in elation, you close your eyes and say,

"Even though we talk everyday?"

"Even though we talk everyday."

He muffles on your hair, hugging you tighter. But momentarily—he spins you around till your feet lifts off the floor! You let out a little shriek—until he finally stops. And as he released you just a little, delightfully he says,

"I ended things with her."

The library was as quiet as usual, but today.. it felt suffocating. In the corner, Tyler and Lucy sat across from each other by the window. The sunlight from the sunset streamed through the glass—casting a warm glow over them, almost as if trying to soothe their—her heart.

"So this is it, isn't it?" she asked, her eyes never leaving Tyler's as she held her legs tighter to her chest—tears had already streaming down her cheeks.

Tyler looked out the window, a grim expression on his face—before turning back to her. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"I knew from the start that I never had a chance," Burns wailed, her voice choking with tears, "but I thought—" she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. When a slight resolve painted on her face, she continued, "I saw you kiss her," her voice trembling, "It's okay—I knew from the beginning I could never win."

Tyler flinched. He ran a hand through his hair, elbow resting on his knee. He looked down, unable to meet her gaze for that moment. The memory of the kiss at the airport flashed through his mind—he realized it must've been it. But for what it's worth, Tyler felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"I never wanted to hurt you," he faltered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lucy nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I know," she sniffled, her voice breaking when she muffled, "but it still hurts."

"I'm sorry," Tyler reached out, his hand hovering over hers for a moment before he gently took it. "You deserve someone who can give you all of him," he comforted, and when a soft smile grazed his lips, he whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't be that person."

Lucy took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She sobbed, looking at the window as her mind flashback to when she first met him. Tears continued to fall from Lucy's eyes as she nodded again and implored,

"I hope she knows how lucky she is."

A little girl with auburn locks walked with determined steps, trying to approach the boy—his green car toy gripped hard on his hands. She found herself just inches short of reaching him, her outstretched fingers hovering in the air—

She thought it was enough. She thought she was about to reach him.

But still, she couldn't.

She grew tired as her pace slowed down. And as the boy got further away.. instead, he got closer..

To the girl who'd been sitting beside the window, pouting.

Trying to make up for his mistake, the boy gently closed the girl's eyes. The girl with long hair grabbed his hand—about to pull away—when he whispered something in her ear. As she calmed down, he released his hands.. pulling a series of funny faces in front of her. The girl remained stubbornly silent, her pout unwavering. But when he closed her eyes again—to open them and made even sillier faces, she couldn't help but laugh.

The warmth of the afternoon sun bathed them in a golden glow. Now, the jet black haired boy played with toy cars on one side.. while the girl with dark brown eyes sat across from him, reading the book in peace.

As for the auburn haired girl, their parents called—ready to leave the library. Reluctantly, she stood up, taking one last look at the boy. Until eventually.. she walked toward her parents, hand in hand. Their footsteps echoing softly, until it falters..

And it's gone.

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to vote, comment, and add to your library!

Check out some additional content on social media💖

Cecylia Costania @rcpcswrites

You can elevate your experience by also listening to songs I added to this story's playlist! Full Playlist on bio💖

The song that matches this Chapter's vibe:

"So.. what was that?"

https://youtu.be/1IUCyniCWzg

https://youtu.be/wIFf9KLqzHw

https://youtu.be/hwA7IyJ26W0

https://youtu.be/TcbcB0GPUMI