Don't Disappoint Me

I forgot about you, but you remembered me

Note: The title of this chapter is from the song "Violet" by Peach Tree Rascals.

"Woah!" June cried out. "This is juicy!" She was lounging on Bobby's couch scrolling through Twitter on her phone. Bobby was in the kitchen making omelettes. Their typical morning routine.

"What's that?" Bobby called from the kitchen.

"Just saw on Twitter that Noah and MC were spotted ring shopping!"

Ring shopping? It was a punch to Bobby's gut. Surely not. He stumbled dazedly over to the sink. His stomach threatened to empty itself.

"Well, they were spotted in a jewelry store together, presumed to be ring shopping."

Bobby attempted nonchalance, but his voice came out shrill, "So they're engaged now?" His chest felt tight.

"Unsure. She hasn't been spotted with a ring yet, so it's just speculation at this point."

Bobby felt the knot in his stomach loosen slightly. She wasn't going to marry Noah. Noah was a rebound. Bobby wiped away the sweat pricking at his temples. Sure, the guy was smitten, but it was never going to be enough for MC. She needed a great romance, something big and exciting. Besides, she'd had a chance at Noah and she had chosen him. They had won Love Island. Noah couldn't live up to what they had.

Used to have.

Bobby and MC were just doing the whole star-crossed lovers thing right now...right?

He returned to the stove to finish the eggs. His hands shook as he plated the food. In the back of his mind, he'd always pictured MC biding her time with Noah. Exploring a little detour she'd been curious about maybe, but wishing it was him instead. But a ring. A ring meant she chose Noah. She'd be walking too far in his direction to make it back to Bobby.

He tried not to think too far into the future these days. 'Live in the moment' was his motto. He'd doubled down on that since MC left. But she never lived that way, did she? She had always fearlessly faced the future. She'd had plans for them.

He took a breath and pushed those thoughts away. June didn't need that. He never burdened her with what their relationship had cost him.

"Isn't that interesting?" June said brightly, as he handed her a plate.

"Yeah, that's really something," he muttered dully. He felt a tinge of annoyance at June for mentioning it so casually, as though the news didn't have the potential to bother him. Was she testing his reaction? Maybe she really didn't realize. He had kept his cards close to his chest when it came to MC.

"Maybe we're next, eh?" He joked, overcompensating.

"Huh?" June replied, confused.

"Oh, I was just being silly, like, oh what if we got engaged next."

June raised an eyebrow as she looked away, pulling her mouth into a frown, "I don't know about all that."

Bobby, of course, knew that there was no chance they'd be engaged any time soon, but he still felt a little hurt at June's reaction. Not a glimmer of interest in that idea, huh? Very romantic. He rolled his eyes. "All jokes, love."

"I wouldn't turn down an extravagant honeymoon though. When are we going to take another trip? I want to go somewhere tropical! What do you think of Belize?"

"Sounds expensive," he said a little irritably.

She crossed her arms. "You have money, Bobby."