forget avery

pyper.

bewildered, she leans up to contemplate what i had just said.

"you... you too?" she seems less confident than she was before. now she is more... how should i say it... normal?

"well, she was more than a best friend to be exact." i remark honestly. it's a bit awkward to mention that she's my ex-girlfriend who is now detoriating in some graveyard.

"oh," she answers quietly. we're both still looking up until a drop of frigid rain falls upon my cheek. i lean up and wipe it off of my face, staring angrily up at the sky.

"today sucks." i state. i mean it. it's probably been the most uneventful day of my entire existence and now it's raining. i despise the rain, too. how satire of you, mother nature.

"i can agree with that," says the girl. we seem to be alike, despite her interest in notebooks that totally overuse the mere concept of grammar. i don't even get what's fun about making up stories that don't even end up being the slightest bit funny. they're all pretentious. well, i could say the same about myself. "what's your name?" she asks as i realize we're finally acquainted.

"kayden," i say, pulling my rolled up sleeves down to avoid the frigid raindrops. "and you?"

"kayden..." she whispers. i think she didn't mean to say that aloud. this is awkward. another raindrop pelts my cheek and then a few more. that's when i realize i'm halfway drenched and i don't even have an umbrella. i look at her to see if she realizes it too, and she's just looking at her feet. "that was her name," she looks as if she is about to cry. i have no idea what she means by 'her', but seeing as it's in past tense, it's most likely her best friend that she was talking about. i'm extremely awkward in these situations, so i don't really know what to do to keep her from crying.

"her?" i pretend not to notice the tears that are rolling down her cheeks. or maybe it's rain.

"you know who i'm talking about." she confirms my assumption. oh, i think to myself. i mean, people would think i'd be crying, too. i just try not to. yes, this very day when three years ago my girlfriend died, but i'm not the type of guy to get all worked up about it. it's not that i'm shallow. i'm just... bad at presenting my emotions, i guess. she's covering her face with her hands and leaning over towards the sidewalk. a few passerby's give her sympathetic glances. they all look at me as if i'm the cause of her relentless heartache. probably because i'm not patting her back or trying to make her feel better. but, in my opinion, i'm doing the right thing. sometimes people just need to let their emotions out.

"sorry dude," i almost pat her back but i immediatly withdraw my hand. i might not want to comfort her, but i sure do feel bad. maybe i don't want to because i'm always used to people comforting me constantly. it gets on my nerves. "want me to get you some ice cream or something?" i ask, but then i realize that all the ice cream and hot dog stands are being taken down due to the rain that won't stop falling down on us. "uh, never mind."

"y'know what? i'm fine." her voice catches as she lifts her head up and rubs her eyes. i can tell now that she was crying and it wasn't just the rain. i raise my eyebrows.

"are you sure?" i hardly believe her. i always say that i'm okay when i'm down. it's just an overused excuse. she doesn't answer. she just stands up, grabs her bag and straps it on her back. she smiles a desolate smile and i too feel sympathetic.

"i guess i'll be going now," she takes one last look at me, gripping the straps of her dark blue backpack tightly. i almost want to ask her to stay, but i don't want her to feel like she needs to comfort me when she's the one who deserves it. she turns to face the crowd. maybe i should go too, i ponder. i watch her walk away, almost until she's impossible to see due to the amount of people surrounding the sidewalk. that's when she suddenly emerges from the swarm of people, breathing heavily. i am about to stand up but she waves her hand dismissively. "my name is pyper!" she yells as she smiles for real this time. i nearly get to say goodbye, but she's already gone. i might never see her again. but, my life is full of people i'll only ever see again in photos and videos. people like avery.

hey guys! i enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. it isn't my longest chapter, but i liked the ending. i want it to be mysterious. idk. if you liked it, please vote for it and comment some tips for my writing! and like i'll say in every chapter from here on, i appreciate you all for taking the time to read this! thank you so much!