the thing about love.

|14| p r o g r e s s.

ℕ𝕆𝕋𝔼(𝕊):
💌

- hey, hey!! 🫶🏾

- this was supposed to be published already but like always, i end up writing more than i intend for a chapter... so here we are with a new one that i had to split up again 😅

- hope y'all enjoy this one!
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SOUTHERN CAL CAMPUS
JORDAN & OLIVIA'S APARTMENT
WEDNESDAY
******

Jordan sat slouched against the couch, his gaze fixed on a distant point, lost in the labyrinth of his thoughts. His expression was distant, his mind seemingly elsewhere as his surroundings became nothing more than a blur as he delved deeper into the recesses of his mind.

Beside him, Layla observed his dazed manner and the heaviness of his silence amplifying. With a furrowed brow, she reached out a hand, gently resting it on his arm to grab his attention.

"Hey. You okay?"

Jordan blinked, his focus slowly returning to the present moment as he turned his gaze towards her, offering a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Not really, but I'm glad you're here." He said, watching a soft smile grow on her face as she shifted closer to him.

"Are you up for talking?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Jordan hesitated, uncertainty flickering in his eyes as he considered her offer.

"Because it's about Simone?" Layla guessed, as Jordan's eyebrows knitted together in surprise and he chuckled lowly.

"How'd you—"

"You two aren't very subtle when you're around each other, and the way you became lost to the world when she left earlier said a lot." Layla shrugged, laughing a little as well.

"Well... yeah, it's about her." He nodded, releasing a quiet breath of heavy relief.

"How long were you together?" Layla wondered.

"Two years, officially, but we had already been together sometime before everything got serious." Jordan said, his gaze momentarily drifting into the past before he looked back at Layla, who caught on and nodded in understanding.

"Before she and I got together, I was not in a place where commitment sounded fun." He spoke with candor, a reminiscent smile pulling at the corners of his lips as Layla shook her head in amusement.

"But, there was this one girl... Kyla. I fell really hard for her. Even thought she was my first love. But, it didn't work out, and then, I started to accept my feelings for Simone. Feelings I didn't even realize I'd been keeping in since we were kids. And..."

Like his emotions, his voice trailed off, the weight of unfinished sentences hanging in the air.

"She became your first real love?"

Layla's voice was filled with empathy as she grasped the significance of Jordan's perspective.

"There was no thinking about it, with her I just knew." Jordan said, recalling happier times spent with Simone.

"I think she knew too." He chuckled.

"If you don't mind me asking... what happened between you?" Layla inquired gently.

"Things just... got really hard at the end. She asked for a break, I... kinda hooked up with someone else during that break." He confessed, his gaze hesitant as he met Layla's raised eyebrow.