Cedar and Finn

Chapter 2

"Hey, do you know what's the deal with that one employee at the comic shop? You know, the one with the blue hair, tattoos and piercings?" Finn asked his friend, Silas, as the two of them sat with Jaden in the cafeteria at their university, playing cards together.

"Uno."

"Huh? I don't know? They're hot, but like, they don't have many friends. I think Ethan's boyfriend is their friend," Silas said as Jaden picked up a card and played it.

"Uno."

"Okay, but do you know why they'd tell me I'd regret hanging out with them? I tried to ask them to hang out, or a date, whatever they took my invitation as, but that's what they said," Finn explained as Jaden had to pick up another card and play it.

"Uno."

"Well, from what Ethan said his boyfriend said, they're like, you know, sort of a downer? I think they've got some mental health problems and from what I was told, burdens those around them," Silas continued to explain as Jaden was finally able to play their final card.

"I win. Let's see who gets second place," Jaden said and both Silas and Finn threw the cards into the pile and started to collect them. "Hey, you didn't finish the game right."

"Jay, you win, that's what matters," Silas said, leaning over and kissing his partner's cheek, before going to pack the cards back into his bag. "I've got class. I'll see you two around," he said and stood up, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I've got to go too. I'll see you two around," Finn said to his friends and then started to walk to his class, thinking about Cedar. He couldn't get over how cute he thought they were. When he sat down in class, he looked around for a moment, seeing someone who seemed familiar to him, but they wore a black hoodie, covering their head with it. They seemed like they would be attractive if they didn't hide themself so much.

Finn quickly brought his attention away from the person and got ready to focus in class. He couldn't get distracted by two hotties right now, he had to do well in this class.

***

Cedar and Benji were hanging out after God knows how long, playing video games in silence. "Something weird happened recently," Cedar said, breaking the silence between the two of them.

"Hm?" Was the only reply Cedar got from Benji.

"This guy- he has this messy dark brown hair, and he's fairly cute, but that's irrelevant. He came up to me and asked to hang out. Isn't that weird?" They explained to Benji, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, so weird. You're not really approachable," Benji said and Cedar's face fell, hearing their best friend say that about themself. "How was hanging out with him?"

"Oh." Cedar paused for a moment. "I said no."

"Good choice." Benji paused as he went and defeated Cedar, who had given up at this point in the game. "Better you get your shit together before bringing more people into your dumpster fire of a life." It broke Cedar's heart to hear that from the person who was supposed to be their best friend.

"Right, yeah," Cedar mumbled softly, setting their controller down on their bed. Why did they even bother hanging out with Benji anymore? They clearly didn't want to spend time with them. It became even more obvious that he was tired of hanging out with them, when he said that he was leaving and heading out of their dorm. He'd only been there for an hour.

"Talk to you later," Benji said to them before shutting the dorm door. Cedar sat on their bed, saddened by everything. They laid down in their bed and closed their eyes, tears starting to form. They felt so alone with no one to talk to, or any self-esteem to accept any other friendships. Like the one Finn tried to strike up. They only said no because they didn't want to ruin his life. He was cute and seemed really nice. He would have been so good for Cedar.