Something More? ✔️

17

It was a week later after the misunderstanding. At first Penny had debated whether or not to find James and explain the situation, but it didn't sit right with her. Why did she have to explain herself when he never elaborated about Kate? But after another week of silence, something seemed off. Unlike before, Penny didn't have to deliberately avoid him anymore. It seemed he was nowhere to be found. The hallways seemed emptier and she didn't see him in the usual classes. He had vanished again.

After the third week of his eery absence, she entered panic mode. There was probably something wrong with his mother for him to be gone for so long. Penny knew they were still in a stand off, but it seemed only right that she pay his mother a visit at the hospital. After all, they had met and had become somewhat close. That Saturday afternoon, she bought a bouquet of sunflowers and hitched a ride to the hospital. Standing at the door, Penny knew she probably wasn't welcomed after what had happened. But she also couldn't bear the thought of not trying to help the situation.

Walking through the doors and through the halls, as she approached the room, Penny saw the faint outline of a figure slumped against the wall. As she neared it, she saw it was James. He looked bedraggled and rough around the edges. He was wearing black from head to toe and his eyes were rimmed red with exhaustion.

"J-James?" her voice shook.

He looked up at her, but didn't seem to see her. Beside him lay a few sandwich plastic wrappers. Penny was afraid to ask him what had happened. She didn't know how to comfort him if the worst case scenario had taken place.

"Is she ... alright?" Penny whispered. His eyes was trained listlessly on some spot on the ground and she slowly sat down next to him, setting her flowers gently on the ground.

"She's in surgery."

"Will she be alright?"

He laughed grimly, "that depends on her fate, I guess. The doctor said it's a fifty fifty chance she makes it out." His words punctured the quiet atmosphere, and they settled into somber silence.

"Why did you come?" he asked suddenly. Penny was a bit caught off guard by this question. Truth be told she also wasn't sure why. Who was she to him? Penny wasn't even so sure they were together.

"Because we're friends."'

A black smile crossed his face, "Friends. Right, friends," he chuckled bitterly, "that's all we are I guess."

His words set off a blazing flame in her being, and she turned to him with angry eyes, "That's what all your friends and family think anyways." He rubbed his calloused hands over his tired eyes, shifting. "I just don't get it. Why couldn't you simply tell them we were together?" she hated the hurt in her voice. Penny hated sounding so vulnerable in front of him.

"You won't understand."

"Try me."

He shook his head, "I don't wan't to talk about this right now."

"It seems like you never want to talk about it! It's been a month, James. I'm tired of this," her eyes drifted to the ground, "I'm a simple girl. I just wan't to find someone who sincerely loves me and treats me well."

Their eyes met.

"If you can't do that, just tell me so that I can move on." her voice was soft. After a month of quiet, her emotions had somewhat simmered and she had come to the understanding that sometimes, some people just weren't right for each other and that's okay. Of course it was going to hurt like hell to no longer see him smile and laugh with her, but with time, maybe she would learn to forget about him.

"In the end, you're leaving me too," he said abruptly.

"What?"

"I knew you were going to, eventually. She's going to leave me soon, and now you're also leaving me," his voice was grave. Penny looked at him cautiously and was met with a broken expression. "What if — what if I didn't tell anybody about us because I didn't want to be a fool when you left?" as their eyes met, she saw a type of raw honesty in him that she had never seen before. That he had never allowed her to see before. In that instance, it became clear to Penny who he was. Was it hard growing up with a mother always teetering on the brink of life and death? How did it feel to live knowing that the person closest to you was one step away from leaving you? Looking at him now slumped against the wall eyes closed in pain, he didn't seem like the mature, confident man that readily took on part time jobs to save his mother.

He looked like a boy.

"I know it must have been tough for you, but not everyone will leave you. I won't leave you, James." He looked up at her words, his lips parting in mild surprise.

"Just tell me, did anything happen between you and Kate?"

He shook his head adamantly, "No. It was purely just a dinner with a group of friends. I broke everything off the moment I started to like you." Penny couldn't help the explosive smile that split across her face. She knew there was a slim chance that he would cheat on her, but hearing him clarifying the situation cleared her head of any lingering troubles.

"Who was that guy that was with you?" he asked after a moment's pause.

Penny cracked a smile, "Literally no one. We had just met that day, he's one of Sandra's friends." The two of them laughed softly at the absurdity of their situation, and the accumulated tension and worries of the past month melted away.

"I love you," he said suddenly. They met eyes and she smiled shyly.

"I love you too."

Gently he took her hand, "In that case, I'll tell everyone that you, Penny Wilson, am my lover."