I wore an actual coat to the bus stop the next morning, because I knew that Ashton wasn't going to be there to give me his.
I didn't feel like we had only broken up the morning before, and that was so strange to me. I know that we'd only been dating for a few months but the short time that I'd spent knowing that I wasn't his girlfriend anymore felt almost like years to me. I didn't like being away from him and it hurt not knowing whether or not he felt the same about me.
Ashton still showed up at the bus stop at 7:15, but this time things were a little different.
First, he was wearing headphones. He hands were shoved deep into his and he stared at the ground as he walked, taking his phone out every few seconds to change the song. I remember asking him when we first met why he didn't just wear headphones at the bus stop and he said something about me not wanting to talk to him if he had them. I got the message.
The second new thing that I noticed is what bothered me the most, because I just really didn't understand what was happening. Michael was following slowly after Ashton, also looking down at the ground with his hands in his pockets. I couldn't tell at first if Michael just happened to be walking this way to school or not, but I think I figured out what was going on when both I'm and Ashton stopped at the bus stop and stayed there.
After receiving Michael's text yesterday I replied back right away, telling Michael I really did miss him too and I wanted to talk. He never answered back and that just made me feel incredibly stupid, because I started to think that maybe that text wasn't even meant for me in the first place. I mean, why would he send something like that to me? If he missed me so much he wouldn't have made a huge point to kiss Sarah against that tree when I walked by them yesterday.
I didn't talk to either of them while we waited for the bus and they didn't attempt to make any conversation either, I don't think Michael and Ashton even looked at each other.
When the bus finally pulled up I stood back and let Ashton and Michael get on first, just to be nice for once. Ashton got on right away without a problem but Michael stayed frozen, not moving from his spot on the sidewalk only a few feet away from me. I knew that he didn't want to get on the bus and I really wished that I had the guts to tell Ashton that, but I didn't.
"Michael, come on." Ashton sighed and stepped off of the bus, grabbing Michael's wrist and physically pulling him on. I guess Ashton just got tired of babying Michael and letting him walk everywhere.
Michael shook his head, trying to pull himself away from Ashton, but it was really no use. The bus driver said something to Ashton, who yelled at Michael again, and then he finally just gave in and got on.
"You just need to get over this." Ashton said over his shoulder to Michael as we walked to the back of the bus, and obviously Michael didn't respond. He nervously glanced around the bus, bringing a hand to his mouth as he started to chew on his fingernails. His hands were shaking and he looked like he was about to cry, but I doubt that Ashton even noticed.
I felt bad for him, but I felt that I couldn't do anything to help.
The entire bus ride was silent too. Between the three of us, at least. We all sat in the very back of the bus but didn't speak to each other. Ashton kept his headphones in and Michael sat next to him, nervously bouncing his leg up and down as the bus continued to drive down the street. I just sat in the seat next to them and kept quiet, taking out my phone and texting Brooke or Luke every few minutes just to keep myself occupied.
I don't think that Ashton - or Michael, really - noticed that Michael was crying and I really wanted to say something to make him feel better but I knew that I couldn't. Everything was just so different between all of us now and I didn't know how to act around them. It seemed like everything was going perfectly and then out of no where my whole world just came crumbling down.
