✓ Never Is A Promise, p.js

23 | the future ahead of us

23. THE FUTURE AHEAD OF US

— JAY'S POV

The little exciting memories that happened in Jay's life lately has been fleeting away unreservedly in a moment of time that he forgot how it was like to live a bad day in his life. There were no passing days that gone by drifting away aimlessly without any purpose at all — as a matter of fact, he tried to fill in the ticking time with memories that'd only benefit his wellbeing positively. Jay never seemed to forget to wear his smile and cloud his mind with something that resonated felicity as soon as he fluttered his eyes open first thing in the morning.

It's as if like he looks forward to live in the day, becomes the best version of himself and enjoys the every day of his lives with something more meaningful, especially when the present mentioned life is replenished by those lovable soul that he adores the most. When things are moving exceptionally better with Anais in his life, Jay signifies every little things in life as something more worthwhile and significant. The presence of hers in his life makes him scared to conclude a decision that ends with a silly blunder, hence Jay tries his best not to mess things up, especially with Anais as he's falling deeply in love with her every day.

His usual mornings from now on will be filled with the routine of wishing good morning to his significant other, hoping that a single wish would suffice to make it more fulfilling for her throughout the day. Getting himself freshened up for the the final class of the week, Jay snuggles into one of his favourite khaki hoodies that fits the mood of the weather and grabs a quick snack out of the fridge to consume for his empty stomach. The bus journey from his home to the campus has been romanticised in his head as he keeps his gaze wander out of the window — watching the scenery of the city life unfolds before his eyes while listening to the music.

As Jay takes off from the bus and arrives at his destination, he adjusts one of the backpack straps on his shoulder, striding towards his faculty where his class was located at. Ears completely blocking out all the sound surrounding him with the music that meets his eardrum, Jay could hear the faint sound from behind that calls for his name. A steady tap on the shoulder causes him to swirl slightly, only for him to watch Jake pants lowly under his breath, "Dude, didn't you hear me?" The Australian asks, a single breath caught up in his throat.

"Sorry man, my earbuds has noise cancellation, hence why I couldn't hear you. What's up?" Jay states with a raised eyebrow, weirded out by the fact that Jake would come and search for him the first thing in the morning. There's a hesitancy drawing all over Jake's eyes at first, but then he lets the words out relentlessly from his lips after a single lick, "Uh—I wanna say sorry for what I said to you about Anais last time. You may perhaps be right about her that, I know nothing about her at all. In fact, no one else knows her the way you do" Jake utters, his eyes filled with regrets while apologising.

The words from Jake this time somehow resonate sincere and genuine concern over the spilled milk that he had caused, only for Jay to be tamed by Jake's gesture. A small smile suppresses over Jay's lips as he's reaching for his friend's shoulder to rest his arm around, "Dude, that's okay. Hope you could reflect your words again, think about how it's going to hurt others who never caused you any harm."

"Yeah, I admitted it I was judgemental about Anais on that day to the point you wouldn't talk to me anymore since then. I guess what I said to you about her really hurt you that much, huh?" Jake emphasises, reciprocating the movements by putting his arm around Jay's shoulder as well. "I just love her. I love Anais so much, man." Jay bitterly says, pauses in the middle of sentence before continuing. "I can't bear seeing her getting hurt, especially when she's out there living her life, not bothering anyone at all" Jay mutters.