love language [𝙹𝙲]

𝚌𝚑28. 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚠

✧ december 7th, 2020 ✧

"do you like the red top or the white top better?"

kassidy held both tops up to her chest, looking at jc expectantly. they were spending the day in santa monica and were currently at the mall shopping for christmas gifts, although guiltily, the blonde's attention had been caught by a cute top she'd seen in the window of bloomingdales.

jc looked fairly uninterested. shopping was one of his least favorite things to do, but he'd sucked it up and put a smile on his face for the girl in front of him. "they both look good, baby. whatever you prefer."

she frowned, letting the two tops hang at her side, "you okay?"

"all good, mama" he nodded, "just tired."

she nodded understandingly. they'd been shopping most of the day and after the second stop, jc had looked about ready to drop... and that had been almost 2 hours ago.

"you can go find a place to sit if you want, i'm just gonna check out real quick"

"you sure?"

she smiled, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on his lips before shooing him away, "go, i'll come find you in a few"

she watched as he walked away from her and out of the store, and once he was out of sight, she carried on with her browsing. about 15 minutes later is when she exited the store, immediately scanning the shopping center for any sight of her curly headed lover. when her eyes landed on him, she noticed he wasn't alone.

she frowned slightly, gripping her bags a little tighter as she walked over to him. as she got closer, she was able to identify the second person as chelsey, and her frown only increased when she noticed the wide smile on her boyfriend's face.

she swallowed down any jealousy that she was feeling as she stopped beside the two and put on the brightest smile that she could muster up. chelsey noticed her immediately and sent her a friendly smile, "hey, kassidy. how are you?"

the kindness in her tone made kassidy want to ram her head into a wall. the brunette was truly a good person, so why did she always feel some type of way anytime she was around?

"hi, chelsey" she smiled back, "i'm good, you?"

"i'm great. saw justin standing here all alone and decided to catch up with him"

"it was good seeing you again, chels. you should come around more often"

her eyes furrowed at her boyfriend's suggestion. she knew chelsey was still friends with a lot of the group, but her stomach clenched at how easily jc seemed to vibe with her. truthfully, she tried not to be a jealous person, but as she watched the way they interacted with one another, she couldn't help it.

"yeah, sounds great. you still going to texas for christmas?" when she got a nod from the boy, she continued, "tell your mom and dad i said hey and i miss them, alright?" she gathered up her things and sent the couple a smile, "i'll see you around" and with that, she turned on her heel and went on her way.

kassidy sighed, turning to face her boyfriend. "you ready to go home?" her mood had significantly dropped and all she wanted to do was curl on the couch with her sister and watch movies.

his eyes furrowed, "i thought you wanted to keep shopping?"

"no, i'd just like to go home. i'm really tired." as if to emphasize her point, she faked a yawn.

"you okay?"

"yeah" she smiled the most convincing smile she could manage, "can we go now?"

he nodded slowly, clearly unconvinced but thankfully not pushing the subject any further. "you want to stop for food on the way home?"

"i told ashley i'd have dinner with her" lie. she hadn't spoken to ashley since a couple days ago, but it was the first thing she'd thought of.

he frowned, but kassidy was refusing to look at him so she didn't notice. the walk to the car was awkwardly silent and the car ride home had been even worse. the only time she'd spoken to him was when she had noticed him heading to his house instead of hers.

"what are you doing?"

".. going home?"

"i want to go home, jc. to my house"

"what the hell is going on with you?" he asked, glancing at her quickly.

"i just want to go home, alright?" her voice was defensive and she seemed distant, and the annoyance that jc had been feeling quickly morphed into concern.

"talk to me, baby. what's going on?"

"do you still have feelings for chelsey?" she blurted out. she watched as his face turned into one of surprise, but overall he had stayed silent. her stomach clenched and her heart began to race and she had taken his silence as an answer, "alright, great. i want to go home now."

"don't do that."

"do what?"

"don't assume you know what i'm thinking when you don't."

"then tell me what you're thinking!" she raised her voice slightly, the frustration she'd been trying so hard to keep at bay making its way to the surface, "you're sitting there silent as hell. what else am i supposed to think?"

"i don't have feelings for chelsey" he denied, his voice remaining calm, "why would you think that?"

"hm, i don't know. maybe it's the way you look at her" her voice had a sarcastic tone to it, "or maybe it's the way your face brightens every time you see her" she tapped her chin sarcastically, "oh, i know! maybe it's the way you invited her to hang out with you?!"

"we're friends, kassidy. i'm allowed to hang out with my friend."

"i don't look at my friends the way you look at her. i look at you like that" her sarcastic tone had diminished, morphing into a more vulnerable one. tears had begun to well up in her eyes and she looked away so he wouldn't notice, but he already had. "friends don't look at friends that way."

"don't cry. please don't cry" he glanced at her and his heart clenched, "i hate it when you cry"

"she's your ex and you look at her as if she's your world"

he was getting defensive, not knowing how to defend himself when she felt so strongly, when she was so sure. without thinking, he snapped back at her. "not all ex's are toxic, kassidy. not all of us need to clarify that we've fully moved on with our lives. not all of us hold on to the past the way you do."

it was an incredibly low blow, and the jab at her past relationship and past self had made her heart clench. she gave a slight nod, biting her lip to stop the waterfall of tears that were begging to fall.

jc, however, had wanted to take back the words the minute they'd toppled out of his mouth, but before he could go spewing his apologies and begging for her forgiveness, she'd turned away from him.

"please, just take me home."