𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 ;; 𝒶𝓊𝒷𝓇𝑒𝓎 𝓍 𝓀𝑒𝓁 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓉𝓈

↳ 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕠𝕒𝕕 ・❥・: ̗̀➛

ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ʜɪᴋɪᴋᴏᴍᴏʀɪ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ (ꜱʟɪɢʜᴛ ꜱᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀꜱ)

𝒾 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉?

┊ ┊ ┊ ┊

ʜᴏᴡ ꜱᴀᴅ ɪᴛ was to be alone on Valentine's Day. How sadder it was to be alone on Valentine's Day while it was raining with no umbrella.

Aubrey stood in the little shelter the front of a closed building offered her. There were times when she was younger when she questioned if she should be taking herself and her future more seriously, but she quickly got rid of those worries when she told herself that she probably wasn't going to live to adulthood. It was a weird thing to tell herself when she wasn't suicidal—at least, she was pretty sure she wasn't—but she was pretty sure that she fully believed it.

Now, though, Aubrey was an adult. She didn't pay attention in school, and she didn't feel like attempting to get her high school degree again. She didn't feel like doing anything actually. It was childish and pathetic, but she didn't know what she was doing with her life right now, and despite what she told herself as a teenager, she was too scared to actually kill herself.

What would be even more embarrassing was if someone she knew had found her. She was taking comfort in that until she heard her name being called. The only reason she turned was because she recognized the voice.

Aubrey hadn't seen Kel since high school. He hadn't changed much since then, but he still looked different. It could just be the amount of time that had passed, or it could be that she was still remembering Kel as the one that moved on from Mari's suicide without a second thought, leaving her and everyone else in their friend group behind. She was so mad at him that, now that she was thinking about it, she wasn't surprised that she forgot that he could change.

Despite whatever about him that made him look different, he still smiled so easily. "I thought I recognized you! How long has it been since we last saw each other? Years? Years, right?"

Aubrey didn't reply. She was still thinking about how the last time they met, at least she hated him.

As if he was thinking the same thing, Kel's smile dimmed. "Yeah, uhh... So what are you doing out here?"

"What are you?" Her tone accidentally sounded condescending.

He winced, but still answered. "My girlfriend, umm... Well, she wasn't really my girlfriend, but we were seeing each other a lot—"

"You got dumped on Valentine's Day."

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.

Aubrey looked at his empty hand. "You don't even have an umbrella with you."

"She lived nearby, so I thought I'd be staying in the night—"

"And you still didn't bring an umbrella?"

"It wasn't raining when I came!"

"You still shouldn't be making assumptions about a girl that isn't even your girlfriend!"

"It's literally Valentine's Day!"

"Just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean you get to stay over at a girl's house! If she isn't your girlfriend, then that's even more of a reason why you shouldn't have assumed you'd get to stay over."

Kel opened his mouth to argue, but, after a second, he laughed instead. Aubrey was about to ask why before she recalled how they used to be when they were children. This argument wasn't as stupid as their old arguments—but like those old arguments, she knew she was in the right—but it was still so easy to fall back into old habits. Yet, it was even easier to remember that this wasn't their childhood anymore.

"So now that I answered your question," Kel said, "you answer mine."

Whatever lightness their conversation had before vanished. "I'm not going anymore."

"Then why are you out here?"

Aubrey shrugged, her gaze falling to the ground. There was no way that Kel didn't hear about how she failed high school. This was just a humiliation ritual. She wished that she had the energy in her to care about this.

The silence stretched on until Kel asked, a little hesitantly, "Do you want to come over?"

She looked up. For a second, she wondered if Kel had grown in the middle of their conversation. "To where?"

"My apartment? If you want..."

The thought of being in his apartment already made Aubrey uncomfortable. This was the most civil they had been to each other in years, and while it was nice, she wasn't sure if she could survive spending a long amount of time with Kel in a closed space. If she stayed for too long, she would also have to tell him about her current living conditions, and that would be worse.

Yet, when she looked at Kel, she saw the hope in his eyes. His hands were behind his back, but she knew he was fidgeting with his fingers. His smile looked a little awkward and shy, but it still had the same warmth that it always did. She didn't realize until now that she wanted to be in that warmth.

"Okay," she agreed, her voice quiet. A part of her hoped that Kel didn't hear her.

But he did, and his shoulders relaxed as his smile widened. "Great! I'll call us a taxi!"

While he did that, Aubrey stepped closer to him until the sides of their bodies touched. He was surprisingly warm in this cold rain, but if she remembered correctly, he was always like that. It was weird back then, and it was weird now, but she appreciated it more right now.

When the taxi came, Kel held out his hand. Aubrey had nowhere to go, but she still had her hesitations about this. She could leave right now and never come back here. She would never have to apologize to Kel for running away, never have to tell him about her life, and never have to face his pity.

Aubrey was getting tired of running away, though, so she took Kel's warm hand and got into the taxi.

- - - -

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 𝟿𝟼𝟻