Between Hello and Goodbye

Chapter 5: Asher Samuels

New chapter here we go! The picture is someone making an appearance this chapter ;) and the song I've chosen for Tristan in this moment is Runaway With Me by: Carly Rae Jensen.

I didn't know that promises took two weeks.

    Two weeks to find out what our relationship was going to be from that moment forward, to see if there was a possibility for more than just friendship, more than tiptoeing around our feelings and just letting them consume us. Unfortunately it had been deemed impossible, the bane of Gage's existence to finally sit down and talk it out with me, something that we had both agreed to do. For two weeks, I had gone through the motions that everything was fine between us, that he just needed time to sort out everything that we needed to discuss together. I acted like everyday did not cause my patience to be driven up a wall with the elephant in the room, staring at me like I was the crazy one for having an ounce of hope that my best friend would keep his promise.

The blank document on my screen mocked me with its lack of words, the cursor blinked with each passing second left of my sanity, my head becoming a ticking time bomb. It was a feeling that I was not fond of, because I had never felt this way towards Gage.

Ever.

I was so deeply frustrated with him that I could not find a single drop of motivation to release my feelings through something I loved more than anything; writing. I stared at my computer screen, the manifestation of words eluding me in a way that made me want to pull my hair out. These new and confusing feelings— because you were not supposed to feel these types of feelings towards your best friend— made me confused on whether I wanted to cry or scream into the air in anger. Yet I was still so lost on what to do.

My creative writing class had become, what I considered, a sanctuary, a place where I could escape Ulyssa and the pressures of academia; another form of escapism besides books. A place where I could pursue my passion for writing, a passion that came second to my goal of being the best, somewhere I could unleash my creativity and emotions freely. But it was no longer that place at that moment. I wanted to find Gage, and corner him, as crazy as it sounded, until he broke enough to finally reveal his true feelings towards me. It was something I had longed for for two whole weeks, but here I sat reaching my boiling point in my safe place.

I looked around the classroom, my fellow classmates chatting amongst themselves, a select few typing away at their stories displayed on their screens. Their abilities to be delved in their escapism made me green with envy, the black cursor still antagonizing me from just outside my peripherals.

"Okay, calm down you heathens" the voice of our teacher, Ms. Wilder, disrupted the other students into silence, "I have a special announcement for all of you."

    Along with the other student's around me, I looked at her in confusion because special announcements rarely happened in her class. The students started to silently chatter at her words, the hushed whispers of what it could be started to float around the room. Ms. Wilder set all of her things on her desk, turning on her computer as she fixed her navy blue sunflower dress, the dress accentuating her brown slightly curled hair that flowed past her shoulders.

    "Okay class, listen up" Ms. Wilder stated, looking at everyone through her round glasses, "We have a new student today!"

    I looked in shock, like the other students I was surprised that someone would come in at that point of the year, especially since the year had just started weeks ago. In Brindlewood it was rare for us to see new students, due to the fact that we were such a small town on the outskirts of Dallas—We weren't exactly the poster child for people to come and live in luxury. But this new student had piqued my interest.