"I need space." Those were the words Jacky said to Ryan the night before they both left for separate colleges. Now, each of them will try to learn who they are without the other. Will their paths lead them back together?
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Jacky
In the dark theater, Jacky half-drowsed in his seat. He'd taken the World Cinema class because it filled a graduation requirement, and because he figured a class about movies would be a breeze. Little did he know he'd be subjected to German Expressionism films from the 1930s. Today it was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and the lack of dialogue was not helping him stay awake.
Ryan had never responded to the text he'd sent last night. He couldn't stop thinking about it. Most of the time the thoughts ran along the lines of, You done fucked up, no one is ever going to want you, you made the biggest mistake of your life. Then he'd have a little fantasy that went something like this:
The moment Ryan had received that text, he had taken action. He had driven all night, maybe listening to that Cyndi Lauper song on repeat, and arrived on the Syracuse campus that morning. Jacky had just missed him in his rush to get to class on time. Ryan had no idea what dorm Jacky was in, so he had gone into the bursar's office to see if he could sweet talk someone into divulging the information. When that failed, Ryan had texted Cody, but Cody never responded. Now Ryan was asking random students if they knew anyone named Jacky Jennings with the fervor of an activist trying to get signatures on a petition. When Jacky walked out of class, he would look up and see Ryan standing there across the quad, desperate, and then Ryan would see him, and they would lock eyes, and Ryan's whole face would light up like Jacky was the best thing he'd ever seen. Then he'd run across the street, nearly getting hit by a car, and when he reached Jacky he would envelop Jacky in a hug, those big arms squeezing him so tight Jacky hoped he would never let go. "Sorry I didn't text back," Ryan would whisper in his ear. "Once I knew you wanted to get back together, I came right here."
"Hello? Jack?"
Jacky snapped out of his daydream and glared up at the interruption. A girl with long red hair stood over him. "It's Jack, right?" Her voice was a whisper. She looked like she was going to run away at any moment.
"Yeah," Jacky said, not bothering to correct her.
"Uh, I'm starting a study group to watch all the films for our midterm."
After waiting a beat for her to continue, Jacky said, "Good for you," and stood to gather his things. He hadn't taken any notes on the movie. Great.
"Uh – um, do you want to join it?"
There was something about this girl, the way she was so soft-spoken and petrified, yet persistent. It was fucking up his normal ability to make himself unapproachable. If he was mean to her, she might cry, and that would make him feel like shit. On the other hand, she seemed to really want him in her study group, for no reason Jacky could fathom.
"Why?" he asked bluntly.
She blinked and licked her lips. "I just – just thought, since we live on the same floor, it would be easier to meet up."
