Until Next Time | HS

37.

I glance down at the front yard when I see the adults talking with glasses of whiskey in their hands. I roll my eyes when I see Elijah and Gina laughing at some lame joke Mr Cooper said. I shake my head at their stupidity and bring my cigarette up to my lips. I close my eyes when I feel the smoke feeling inside before I open my mouth and blow it away.

I slightly startle when the darkness in the room gets filled with a bright light, I frowned and looked at the door. My face drops when I see Joe standing at the door and his hand on the light switch. I roll my eyes at him while taking a deep breath and taking a quick smoke, looking outside of the window.

"You still smoke?" I hear him through the music I sneakily turned down from my earphones. "I thought you were going to quit."

From the corner of my eyes, I see him walking towards the empty side of the windowsill. I bring my cig up to my lips and leave it there as I adjust my position and unfold my legs, moving all the place on the windowsill. I suppress the urge to smirk when I hear his frustrated huff while taking out a cigarette from my mouth and blowing the smoke.

"Luna," he calls me, but I ignored. "Luna! Are you listening? Hello?! I came to talk to you!"

Jesus Christ, somebody tell him to stop yelling.

I gasp when he pulls out the earphones from my ear. I turned to him with a scowl, "What is your problem?"

"You, not listening to me!" he says in frustration but I scoff and bring my cig to my lips. "And stop doing this!"

I sigh in defeat and rest my back on the wall when he takes the cigarette in front fingers and crushes it into the ashtray in the front corner of the windowsill. I bring my legs closer and gave him space to sit down. He got the cue and sits down in from of me, turning his body to me.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I just...I just want to talk to you, Luna." he sighs. "I missed talking to you."

I laugh. "Yeah, sure."

"Look whatever happened-"

"It wasn't whatever," I raise my hand to stop him. "I can assure you that. It may have been for you but not for me."

He sighs. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry but I told you I was going to tell you but... I didn't get the chance."

"We spent countless hours together last summer, Cooper." his jaw clenches when I call him by his last name. "You didn't get one single chance to tell me?"

"I was scared!" he exclaims. "I didn't know how to tell you."

"Well, then, people shouldn't do things they're too scared or guilty to confess." I scoff and shake my head. "Why are we having this conversation after 1 and a half years? I don't understand, why you are suddenly interested in talking to me."

"Because I wasn't mature enough to talk then," Joe says. "I just want my best friend back. The three of us were best friends, Luna."

"Oh, so you remember that?" I did a surprised face. "Nice memory you have Mr Cooper."

"Stop twisting the topics!"

"So what do you want me to do!?" I snap. "Do you want me to say 'Oh, Joe? I'm so sorry I'm not talking to you even though you fucked my best friend behind my back and didn't bother to talk to me about it for a year and a half.' is that what you want me to say?!"

"I'm not saying that, I just want us to be on good terms again. That's all."

"That's impossible, you know it."  I shake my head and stand up, placing the bear on the windowsill. "I don't understand how was I so stupid to fall in love with you and keep loving you even though I felt you and her getting closer than best friends."