New Place, Old Love

Chapter 6

Mark's POV

G-girlfriend? I felt the whole world start to crumble around me. "I hope you don't mind." Jack smiled. I tried my best to get past the lump that magically appeared in my throat. "No, that's totally fine." I said through a forced smile. Signe grinned. "Nice to meet you, Mark!" She stuck out her hand for me to shake. My mind blanked. Girlfriend.. he has a girlfriend.

"Mark?" Jack waved his hand in front of my face to gain back my attention. I mentally shook myself and grasped Signe's hand. "Oh, sorry. Nice to meet you too." I said. We walked inside the establishment and took our seats. "So Mark." Signe spoke,"Jack, here, has told me a lot about you." My heart jumped.

"Oh really?" I cocked an eyebrow at the Irishman. A slight blush appeared on his face. "Haha yes." She laughed. "He said you two were next door neighbors and you both went to school together." Oh, did he also mention that we dated? "He also mentioned that you two were very close." That's IT? We were close?! We were MORE than close. He was the fucking love of my life and still is to this fracking day. I wanted to scream but this was all I could do.

I shifted my food around on my plate, taking occasional small bites. My stomach was in knots so I ate slowly in order to avoid getting sick. Jack and Signe kept smiling at each other the whole night, said 'I love you' a couple times, and held hands. I was fuming on the inside but outside I was just stone-faced.

After we finished, I offered to pay for the meal and we headed out of the restaurant. "Well it was great meeting you Mark." Signe shook my hand once more. "You too." I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. "Hey babe? Go ahead and go to the car, I'll meet you there." Jack said, turning to her and handing her the car keys. She nodded and walked to the parking lot.

After she left, Jack looked at me with a worried look. "You alright Mark? You seemed distracted all night." I awkwardly stuffed my hands in my pockets, gripping my phone tightly to keep myself from bursting into tears. "Oh yeah, I'm just fine." I smirked. "Are you a hundred percent sure?" He asked. Haha GOD NO. "Yup!" I silently prayed to whoever the fuck was up there that he would stop asking questions. He glared at me and shrugged. "Okay. If you say so." He sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow at PAX?" He said, placing his hand on my shoulder. I chewed my bottom lip. "Uh. Yeah. Heh. Seen ya then."

Jack turned on his heel and was on his way. I quickly called an Uber and tried to hold myself together til I got back to the hotel. I didn't bother taking the elevator, so I booked it up the stairs. I slammed the door to my room and slumped to ground. I became a blubbering, tear-soaked mess in .2 seconds.

I couldn't STAND the fact he was with someone new but I also didn't understand why I was still hung up on him after ten years. I almost considered saying I was sick just so I could go home and not have to worry about seeing him again. Lord knows how long I'd be able to keep cool there. I was relieved I made it back before I broke in front of people. But I couldn't let the community down. I would feel like utter shite if I did.

I wiped my eyes and groaned as I shuffled to the bed. Let's hope that tomorrow goes smoothly..