smithereens (a rebounds sequel) (discontinued)

12

jenna followed the brunette down the staircase to the basement. the hardwood floor was cold against her feet while she tiptoed behind tyler.

tyler's heart was on the verge of beating out of his chest. he prayed that he wouldn't scare jenna off, it would kill him knowing jenna was afraid again.

he cautiously flipped a switch, turning on the fluorescent lights of the studio. he watched as jenna's dreamy aura flew around her with haze.

"i don't think i'll ever get over how gorgeous you are." he mumbled as his mind wandered aimlessly. his mind didn't quite capture every non-sequitur to rush out of his mouth, his lips just ran.

he pulled out the black office chair that had been tucked beneath his desk for jenna. his movements seemed oh-so frantic and rushed, almost as if he'd been dissociating.

"tyler, what's wrong?" jenna finally asked. her light eyebrows furrowed, and the farther they pushed down, the more tyler's heart broke.

tyler stopped in his tracks. his cheeks were bright and flustered though his brown eyes were nearly dead.

the blonde had noticed this happened more than normal. every time she'd catch glimpses of him coming into the shared room to pick up clothes only to head to the guest room, he had that look.

"i don't want to worry you, jenna." tyler spoke in a strained tone. his eyes concentrated on the computer screen in front of him.

"tyler, you know i worry because i love you." jenna said. tyler watched the lines around her eyes soften.

tyler just stayed silent. he clicked on a few files before a document took up the whole screen. as jenna scanned it, not a single word seemed to be logically stitched together.

'DEMA'. 'TRENCH'. 'IF YOU NEED ANYONE.'

"you know what? it doesn't matter. it's not good anyway." he muttered. he closed the document almost immediately.

"wait- what? tyler it's okay, i'm sure it's beautiful." jenna tried comforting him by resting her small hand on his larger one. he quickly retracted his hand from under hers.

"no. i-it's garbage." her furrowed his eyebrows out of frustration. she began shutting the computer down.

"tyler, please?" jenna gave a soft plead. tyler wasn't giving in. he ran a frantic hand through his brown hair.

"i said leave it alone! it's fucking trash, jenna! i'm not ready to share it!" he snapped. his breath now weighed heavy from his change of tone.

jenna's blue eyes widened before they filled with tears. she was pissed. everything they'd just worked up to was ruined. because of him.

she sniffled softly while her nose heat up and ran. she just gave tyler a sadly stern look before heading back up the stairs to the bedroom.

and somehow they were back to square one.