Perfect Strangers

Chapter 5

As he slumped down on the sofa next to Eric who ignored him for the sake of his book, Mathew sighed heavily like it took all his energy to just stand up.

"Something that has happened before lunch has already spread all over campus by evening, how am I supposed to go back to uni?" he whined being ignored. "Not only that but Molly is super mad at me!" he exclaimed dramatically. "She doesn't pick up my calls and she doesn't answer my texts! Is this really the end!? What am I supposed to do!?" he continued to whine, getting no reaction out of Eric who simply turned his page. "Eric," called Mathew, glancing sulkily at Eric who still didn't react. "I know you can hear me, give a little reaction will you," he whined some more, getting nothing but another turned page in reply. "Eric, help me out," he said, dragging out the words and succeeding in getting Eric to clap his book closed, the sharp sound the only indicator he was angry.

At his reaction, Mathew withdrew slightly, not used to Eric ever getting angry. He had always been passive and unaffected no matter what, and if he was affected, he never showed it so openly like now, although one would argue that this wasn't open, it was for Eric.

"Oh, come on, I know I messed up, but she kissed me!" he defended, his attempt earning him an unimpressed glare from Eric. "She did!" he wailed. "I barely had time to react before all hell broke loose!" he complained, earning himself a small sigh.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Eric flatly.

"Help me reach Molly!" he exclaimed like it was obvious, and Eric had never had violent tendencies, but he had the urge to just dropkick him. "She's completely ignoring me which I guess I deserve, but if you call her, I'm sure she'll pick up."

"Don't bother if you don't plan to change." he simply said, turning back to his book.

His words honestly hit Mathew's heart like an arrow and left him speechless, but he couldn't find it in him to argue with that. It was true that if he wasn't going to be serious, he should just let her go, but a part of him cried out to him, telling him to never let her go because he'll never find another girl as good as Molly.

To be honest he did love her. She was the first girl he loved this way. He may be popular but the connection he made with others were always very shallow. While he presented himself as open and easy-going, it was actually hard for him to show his heart and believe in relationships. Molly was the only person apart from Eric who saw past his facade and what he could offer to reach the true part of him, but it terrified him how well Molly could see through the mask he had carefully built, and relationships aren't made to last, so why invest in them? That's what he always believed, but she had made him doubt that belief of his he stubbornly held to. That's why he found it easy to be a good boyfriend, but his fear would always return making him revert and run.

He won't lie though, seeing her silently suffer and remain patient for his sake, seeing her silently begging him with her eyes to open up and just tell her what was on his heart, and seeing her so heartbroken and hurt today were all daggers to his heart. More than that. It was like he had failed the only person whose opinions and feelings should matter. That was the case, wasn't it? But even though he was already a failure of a person according to him, if she knew truly the depths of that, she'd truly run a mile and he didn't want to give his heart just to have it shattered again. He couldn't take that again. He could take the fickle, two-faced people who surrounded him leaving, in fact, he hoped they would, but he couldn't take losing someone he truly attached himself to. Not again. However, that was already the case though.

Mathew didn't even need to express these thoughts because Eric already understood his pensive silence, and he simply closed his book again sighing.

"Do you truly believe she will leave after truly knowing you?" he asked, snapping Mathew out of his thoughts.