Just A Friend

Just Different

Tyler's POV

"Dude, I can't believe that you'll be teaching at the same school you attended just four years ago. Isn't that weird?" Seth asked as he busily scribbled in the notebook in his hand. 

After departing from Emily at the cafe, I drove passed Seth's house and decided to stop. He was sitting in his front yard in a lawn chair working on a proposal for work. I had joined him sitting on the next lawn chair that was beside the one that Seth was on. This was where we were both sitting now.

"No, it's not weird at all. Well, I don't see it that way. I'm just glad I got the job." I answered.

"Well, I'm happy for you, bro," Seth said. We were quiet for a while as Seth continued to write in his notebook. He then looked over at me and then back to his book. "So, how does it feel to be back here?" 

"It's feels okay, I guess. I'm glad to be back here, but everything is just different though. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a strange place where nothing is the same." I answered.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I felt the same when I moved back here three months ago. Believe me, everything will go back to normal soon."

 I nodded my head, but I knew that nothing will ever be normal or the same again. However, I didn't want to think about that right now.

Seth and I went to college together; I did my degree in education while Seth got his degree in business. Seth left three months before me and moved back home when his father gave him a job at his company right after he graduated. Seth was happy about it and was even happier when his father had promised that he was going to run the business one day. All he ever wanted was to work in his father's company and one day own it. His father owns a large company that produces and sells gadgets. Seth got the position of project manager, and he is very good at it. His father took him to his company when he was eight years old, and he loved it there ever since. He was very serious about his job.

"Have you seen Emily yet?" Seth asked suddenly, broaching the topic that he was trying to avoid.

"Yeah, I saw her in town on my third day back. Then again at my mom's birthday party and just now. We had lunch." I answered as my mind wandered back to my lunch with Emily.

"Really? That's great. Glad that everything is good with you guys." Seth said.

"Yeah," I said but honestly, I couldn't see what was 'good' about any of this. At the same time, my mind was elsewhere. For some reason, my mind went back to the first time I saw Emily in the coffee shop. I remembered how my heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. How beautiful she still looked. How my heart had melted by just a simple smile. How I ached to just walk over to her and hold her in my arms and never let go. But of course, I didn't. I didn't have the right to anymore.

I honestly didn't expect to react the way I did. I thought that after these past four years, I had gotten over her. But I guess I was wrong. I had missed her so much ever since we stopped communicating and now that I've seen her again, it's like all the memories and feelings that I had buried and tried hard to forget came back to the surface. Or maybe I reacted that way because I hadn't seen her in a long time. Yeah, that was it.

There were so many times that I'd wanted to call her and hear her voice again, but I didn't because I knew it would be easier if we didn't communicate. I knew this because, for the first month when I left, we talked almost every day, and every time I talked to her, the more I missed her. The more it hurt. I guess she felt that way too because she didn't call me either. 

 "Tyler. Hey bro." Seth's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned to Seth as he closed the notebook and turned to face me completely. "What's up? Is everything okay with you, man?"

I shook my head to clear my mind and faced him. "Yeah, man," I said trying to be convincing.

"You can't fool me. Remember who you are talking to." Seth said. He then paused for a while before adding. "Is it about Emily?" He asked waiting for me to start talking.

I sighed. "Yes. It's just that things are different between us. It's not how it used to be." I knew I wasn't making much sense and that I was being selfish, but I couldn't help how I felt.

Seth nodded his head in understanding. "I get it because I knew how much you guys meant to each other. Come on, she was all you talked about when we were in New York. You still had her picture on your phone screen for three years and you didn't date any girls until a year ago and none of them lasted for long."

"It was only two girls, and they weren't serious," I informed him.

"Yes, but do you know why?" He asked looking at me as if it was a big discovery and that it was important to what we were talking about now.

"No, Seth, we went on a few dates, and it just wasn't working. This isn't even important right now." I answered.

"Oh, but it is. It means that you can't fully commit yourself to someone else when you're not completely over Emily." Seth said as if he was some genius and he'd solved a big mystery.

"I am over her," I insisted, but even I realized that I didn't sound convincing to myself. Seth lifted an eyebrow at me, and I sighed again. "Well, I'm trying to be. Now more than ever. She is with someone else now, so I just have to back off and just be her friend. Let's just forget about it, okay?" I said as I made up my mind that I had to stop thinking about her and get her out of my head.

"Okay, okay. I get it." He said as he laid back in his chair and closed his eyes. "So, have you found an apartment as yet?"

"Yes," I answered glad that he changed the subject. "I'm moving in on Tuesday after work." I then looked at the watch on my hands. "Speaking of which, I have to get going. I promised my mom that I would help her with something."

"Okay then," Seth said, his eyes still closed. I got up from my seat and walked towards the gate. I was almost near the gate when Seth called after me. "Hey, invite me over as soon as your settled. I need to grace the place with my awesome presence before anyone else."

I turned to face him and made up my face at his words. "You are so weird."

"I know, but that's why we are best friends," Seth said as he laughed.

Shaking my head, I chuckled to myself as I continued towards his gate.

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Alecia