better than me - jeff wittek

s i x t e e n

JEFF 

He had no idea what he was doing. When he first found out that Diana was leaving to move to New York, he was angry. Five months of thinking about this girl nonstop and he hadn't made a move, he hadn't seen her often and she was moving across the country. He was angry because he had let her slip away, let her go without even telling him his feelings. When the two first met, he was still recovering from his breakup with Cierra but she made all that heartbreak heal. Diana had helped Jeff whether she knew it or not and he couldn't let her go. Sure, Jeff may have thought that Cierra was the one for him but she never made him feel like he had lost control of all of his senses as he did with Diana.  

When Diana told the chat that she was moving, Jeff didn't know what to do. He called Todd first and talked freely about his feelings. He loved that he could do that with his friends now and not be belittled for crying or anything like that. Todd had given him some good advice and even had Scotty join for advice from someone in a relationship and Jason join for some fatherly advice. Even though they were all men that would joke around about this stuff in front of the camera, they were a great help for Jeff. Jeff was absolutely lost, he had no idea what he could do to say goodbye to Diana or whether he should in the first place. She had started to block him out when the group was hanging out and whilst that got him down in the dumps, the boys all reassured him that it was nothing to be worried of, maybe she had some private things going on. Regardless, Jeff made a foolproof plan and sent it to the group chat for suggestions. Despite them all going against it, here he was in New York in a luxury studio apartment with the girl he was in love with. 

It was day one of their weeks away and Jeff had it all planned out; A picnic and bike ride around Central Park with a dinner to finish the night made by him. He had already showered and dressed and was waiting for Diana to finish up as he sat on the couch in the already furnished apartment. It was a small place but it was perfect and cosy enough to fit the two comfortably. 

"Come on, let's go!" Diana exited from the room and smiled widely at Jeff. She was wearing a simple outfit including shorts, a single and a pair of vans to ensure that she was comfortable whilst she rode the bike. "I want to see central park before I'm fifty!" Diana exclaimed, grabbing her bag full of her belongings and Jeff's arm, yanking him off the couch and pulling him to the door. Jeff simply rolled his eyes and grabbed the picnic basket from the door and let Diana close the place as they exited. It was a short walk to the bike rental store and from there a short ride to central park but after that, Jeff had no idea how long it would take before they found a perfect and hopefully private area to spend some time together. 

Half an hour later, the two were riding side by side on the bike tracks going up and down hills, occasionally trying to beat each other as to who could go faster or reach a tree faster. It was the small competition between the two that caused some bystanders to stop and watch them in awe, assuming they were a happy couple in love, except they were just friends. 

"This looks like a good place, Doll." Jeff called out, slowing his bike down as he came to a large clearing where a number of people were sitting down and talking, having picnics, posing for photos, the whole nine yards. Jeff looked back at Diana and smile, leading her to the shadow of a willow tree and set his bike down after getting the picnic basket off the back. He laid out the blanket and then nodded at Diana to sit on it, setting up the food one by one. 

"You really didn't have to do this, Jeff, all of this." Jeff simply shook his head and offered a smile. 

"Anything for you, doll." Jeff spoke sincerely. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Diana. He would do anything in the world to make her smile, to make her happy; anything. 

"Well, thank you." Diana leaned over and kissed his cheek, her lips lingering for a moment before she grabbed a strawberry and moved away, biting into the sweet fruit. Let the week begin. 

* * *

DIANA

Just as fast as the week with Jeff had happened, it was all over. He had his suitcase packed and was sitting on the couch in Diana's apartment (which only happened because of IMG). Diana wasn't taking Jeff to the airport as she was relying strictly on public transport and private drivers during her time living here as most expenses were paid for by IMG. She lived within close proximity of the agency so she could easily walk there. 

"This week has been the best thing to happen to me." Diana spoke truthfully. The week was full of sightseeing which she wouldn't have been able to do with her work schedule. Throughout the week she had been all over New York doing the typical touristy things with Jeff with the occasional fancy dinner or lunch. Nothing had happened between the two romantically but Diana had realised she didn't just like Jeff, oh no, she was in love with him. He had taken time out of his life to spend a week with her doing things he probably had done thousands of times before. He treated her like a queen and despite Diana arguing they could share a bed for the week, he had slept on an air mattress in her room out of respect. 

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, doll." Jeff spoke and brought the girl in for a hug. Diana sighed and his her face in his chest. Diana had no idea when the next time she would see him or any of her other friends back home in person so she was a little sad for him to leave. "Listen, I like you, a lot, Diana. Hell, I'm fucking in love with you but I can't do long distance I know you don't like to either because I spoke to Natalie about it. I want you to know that I'll be waiting for you back home. I'll be whatever you want me to be; a friend, a shoulder to cry on, a lover or a partner in crime for life. Anything. I don't want you to say anything if you don't want to but I just want you to know that. I'll always be there for you. I'm just a call and a flight away." Diana let out a sob and wrapped her arms around Jeff's torso, listening as he poured his feelings out. She was flattered he even spoke to Natalie about a possible relationship with her and that he respected her decision and wasn't forcing her to say anything. 

"I gotta go now, doll." Jeff spoke against Diana's head. She sighed and moved away from Jeff, looking up at him with sad eyes filled with tears. Jeff grabbed his backpack and his suitcase, leaving for the door and kissing her forehead. Diana followed closely behind him and stood by the door as he opened it and walked into the hallway. "Don't forget, always there for you." Jeff and Diana shared one last look before he made his way to the elevator, pressing the button and waiting for the doors to open. When they did, he entered and pressed the button for the lobby. 

"Hey Wittek," Diana called out, the man looking up at her waiting for her to continue. "I love you." And that was the day Diana said those three special words to the first male in her life that wasn't family. And it was also the day that Diana was left alone in a big city with no one she knew.