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132

<<Surprises>>

[Next month. Toronto.]
I walked just through the doors of the café where Shawn and I want to meet up when a guy suddenly stands up and moves towards me. As he gets closer I identify him as a dark blonde with twinkling eyes and a sunny smile on his face. "Mandy!"

"Connor?! What you doing here?" I choke.

I can't believe that he's actually here. Is it just a strange coincidence? I mean Toronto is BIG and there probably are thousands of cafés. Shawn and I wanted to meet up here because this a sweet place - a book-café - and most people won't directly have their smartphones out to make photos or call all their friends to get them here. At least I hope so.
I wanted to speak to Connor for a while now but everytime I tried, he was with Shawn on tour thousands of miles away, or I was in London.

I stare at him as I see a ghost. "What do you do here?", I repeat.

Connors face changes from grinning to insecurity. He's showing all the signs of being uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. "I ... eh, well, I'm ..."

"He's on a date", a young woman enters the conversation by pulling herself closer to him and giving him a checky smile. She then takes his hand as she want's to underline her statement. But she doesn't do it in a bitchy way – no, it looks very natural and somehow Connor's face relaxes and his whole body-language changes from flight or fight to "everything's okay".

I stare at them. "Date?"

Connor's again like frozen. He nods in a very stiff way.

"I'm sorry about him", the girl says frowning. "I have no idea why he's acting so weird. "I'm April by the way."

Oh, I have lot's of ideas why he's acting weird.
"Cool, hi. - Where all the other months already saled?" I don't know why my voice does sound so weird. Or why I make so bad jokes. – I mean, it was a joke.

"Aw, that's exactly the joke Connor made when we first met", April says chuckling.

I laugh weirdly. "Let me guess: It's the joke almost everyone makes when they first hear your name?"

"It is, indeedly." April grins sheepishly. "But that's most of the times the moment, where I tell the people, that my brother's name is August and my sister's Summer. – She always feels exclued in a strange way."

"I get that somehow", I say. "I'm Mandy by the way."

"Connor didn't." April sniffs ironically. "But he's still a good boyfriend then. Nice to meet you, Mandy."

"B-boyfriend?"

Connor's still not saying anything – instead, he's looking again as he want's to run away.

I struggle a bit to find my language back, when I say: "Excuse me – April – may I talk to Connor for a moment?"

April smiles at me. "Of course! I'm right over there. If you'd like to you can sit with us."

"Oh. Oh no. I don't want to crush your date", I say, shaking my head intensely. "And I meet up with someone myself, so no. – But thank you. That's very kind of yours."

April twinkles. "Have a great evening, Mandy!"

"Definitely, you too", I smile back. Then I say: "Connor?"

He's awakening from him being frozen. "Eh, yeah. Yeah. Let's go. Let's talk."

April returns to their seats, and Connor and I go to a corner where it's a bit more silent and a bit more privat than between the tables of the café. Book café or not.

I hem. "So."

Connor hems too. "So."

We both keep silent for a moment. – I mean: it's crazy weird. The last time, I talked to Connor, he wanted for us a 'try-out' and I didn't have the courage to tell him about Shawn and me.
And now, Connor is on a date with his girlfriend.

Little break here:

Don't get me wrong. I'm not feeling any kind of heart-break right now. I hadn't been in love with Connor.
I just feel ... betrayed? in some strange way, and ... as a joke somehow. Like someone's showing a lot of interest in you and then suddenly it turns out they never have been really interested in you. It let's me doubt the good times Connor and I had, and it let's me doubt his intentions in general.
I hate doubting the intentions of people I trust.

At the same time I feel very relieved. I mean, I was going to introduce Shawn as my boyfriend to Connor the next time I'd see both of them – whilst knowing about all the issues Connor had and Shawn's fear losing his best friend, not to mention my own fear of causing a big fight between them and losing Connor as a friend, hurting his feelings, and seing the both of them – Shawn and Connor suffering and ... – I think, you get it.

"So, you're having a girlfriend now?", I ask after none of us saying anything for quite a while.
Connor nods, still red eared.

Another long pause.

"You deserve honesty Connor", I finally get to say. "I wanted to tell you about-"

"You and Shawn."

"W-What?!"

"You're a couple, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes, we are, but how-?"

"There are several signs this being true, beginning by all the news-paper-articles the last weeks, then Shawn talking weirdly on the phone and acting strange whenever I met him lately while he announced that he had a new girlfriend and not telling me who this is; Your reply on my – quite embarrassing – idea of a 'try-out', and maybe I got it also from Shawn standing right now right behind you, with pink and red roses and a smile on his face as he is crazy crushing on someone. – I know that it's not me, so I assume probably right that it's you."

I stare at him mouth-open-wided. "Shawn's... what?!"

Then I turn around.