Until We Meet Again

25

Ethan's POV

"Five minutes, Ethan." Jake warns me for the second time.

I let out an annoyed breath, "could you just not for once?"

He goes quiet and I silently curse myself for being short with him. We were getting ready to leave to have lunch with his parents. I've been to a thousand of these and they never get any better. His parents hated me for some reason and didn't bother to hide it. He keeps telling me that by keeping up appearances they would learn to like me, but so far I haven't seen any signs of improvement.

I turn around, looking at Jake. His eyes avoid mine as I move closer to him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out at you?"

"You never do," he mumbles under his breath.

I look at him, wondering what the heck that's supposed to mean. "What?"

His eyes find mine and hold them. I can sense how cold his attitude has gotten.

"You never do," his words come out harsh.

I take a step back, feeling like I had just been punched in the gut. "Wow," is all I can manage to get out.

He looks towards the window, staring outside. "I think we should break up."

I undo my stupid tie, throwing it on the bed. "Are you being serious?"

He doesn't answer me and keeps looking at the window.

"You know what, fine." I grab my keys and head for the door. "Let me know when you're done being a jackass," I tell him before slamming the door shut.

Alex's POV

"Hey," I greet Austin when he gets back from his run to hobby lobby.

He gives me a smile, setting down his keys on the table. "Hey."

I get up from my bed and reach past him for his keys. He stares at me with a confused look, "those are my keys."

"Yeah, I know." I twirl the ring around my finger, listening to them jingle. "We're going out."

His eyebrows go up, "out?"

"Yeah, I'm starving and you're driving."

He doesn't argue as I lead him out of the building and towards his car. His car was way nicer than mine, I could tell that his parents were loaded. I opened the passenger door, sliding into the seat. There's just something about nice looking cars that make you feel important. He slides into the drivers seat, turning the car on.

"Where to?" He asks, putting it in reverse.

I rub my hands together at the thought of a delicious sub from subway. "Subway if that's fine with you."

He nods his head and I take that as a yes. I direct my attention to the window, watching as buildings appeared then disappeared. As always my mind wandered to him. I wonder what he's doing right now and when I'll see him again. No matter how much pain I've experienced with him cheating on me I still think every day what would have happened if he hadn't done it.

"Is everything good?" Austin takes notice of my silence.

"Yeah." I look over at him, watching the way he squints his eyes when driving.

"Are you sure?" He looks over at me and I see the all too familiar look on his face. The look of wanting to ask more but hoping I would tell more before actually having to ask it.

"I'm good, just thinking that's all."

He nods his head even though I can tell he knows I'm lying. Again I respect the way he doesn't push things.

"So tell me about your boyfriend," I change the subject and release the awkward tension in the air.

He shrugs, "he's not my boyfriend at least we don't go by that."

I raise an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

He glances over quickly then back on the road. "He doesn't like labels."

"And you're still with him?"

"I mean yeah, you don't have to have a label to be together."

"Has he ever posted a picture of you two or told someone about you?" I ask him immediately regretting it. I know I stepped over the line by the way he tenses his jaw.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go that far," I apologize.

"It's fine," he shrugs. "And to answer your question, no he hasn't."

I look over at him, something different then the first time I looked him over. I noticed the way the sun hits his blue eyes and makes them look like the ocean, the way he grips the steering wheel as if he's afraid to let go, and how his hair falls over his left eye. Something inside me was different, a feeling that was all too familiar. I wanted to know more about Austin, whatever it took.

"He doesn't deserve you," I let out before I know what I'm saying.

Austin looks over at me with a surprised look. "Why do you say that?"

I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know." I look over at him and our eyes meet. "But he doesn't deserve someone like you, you deserve better."

Our eyes stay on each other for another minute before I look away. There's something there, something that hasn't been there since him.