I Felt The Sparks | Jaya

Salt and Sugar (2)

Jay:

I watched her walk away before going for a little walk myself.

What the hell did I do to her? Kept repeating in my head like a broken record.

When she was being punished by the teacher, I gave her a sympathetic look, and she scoffed at me.

When I asked her if she was okay, she was rude.

Was she always like this? I wondered. If so, this was going to be a confusing year.

The worst part was that she probably hated me. Me! Not a lot of people like me, but they tolerate me. But hate? How do I deal with that?

I found myself walking to the candy store. Going in, I saw my favorite. Gummy bears!

Walking out of the store, I had a fresh pack of gummy bears, munching on some while I further comptemplated my situation.

What will the next day be like? Will a lot of people start hating me now?

Now I found myself walking towards my source of advice, my best friend Cole.

Going up the stairs to his apartment, I wondered what he'd suggest.

I knocked on the door, and he invited me in almost immediately.

"Jay! What's up?" He ruffled my hair.

The apartment was silent. "Where's Lou?" Lou was Cole's dad, and he was almost constantly singing something.

"He's out with his band." I nodded. "So, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing." I replied, entering.

"Come on, you should know by now you can't trick me, Sparky."

I groaned at the nickname. He called me Sparky because I once accidentally electrocuted myself by walking into a fence I didn't see. "Alright, fine. So there's this girl," He made a face. "No, it's not like that." I sighed. "I've tried being friendly, but she's being rude for no reason."

"Do you know her name?"

"Nya."

His eyes widened. "Nya, what?"

"I think the teacher said it was Smith. Why?" I raised an eyebrow at his expression.

"Oh, nothing. My advice is to forget her, Jay. She may look sweet, but remember. Salt looks a lot like sugar."

I nodded and looked at the time. "Alright. Thanks for listening, buddy. I got to go." I left the apartment, Cole's words in my head.

Salt looks a lot like sugar.

Cole:

When Jay left, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in.

I couldn't let him get close to Nya, or he'd hate me.

I'm not the same person I was, but if he finds out what I did, would he be able to see past it?

I immediately start panicking. Nya may have forgiven me, but she's not the same person she was back before I hurt her.

I'm the reason she's so damn salty.

And even though the regret digs at me constantly, it won't make things better.

It's the reality. The sad truth.

I broke Nya.

And since she's hurt, all she does is hurt others.

I can't let Jay be a part of that.

But he deserves the truth, right?

But if he knew, he'd just try harder with her, and it would tear him apart.

I pulled out my phone and typed out a message.

Nya:

My phone pinged while I was watching Sunny at the park again. I checked it.

New message from the asshole

I rolled my eyes. I may have forgiven him, but I made it clear I did not want him messaging me.

Nevertheless, I checked to see what he had to say.

Nya, I know I hurt you, but please, stay away from Jay. He's innocent in this.

I didn't even know who Jay was.

K

I put down my phone and saw Sunny walk up to someone.

"Walker? What, are you stalking me now?"

He gave Sunny a pat on the head, and she wagged her tail, glad to see him. "This is your dog?"

I nod. "This is Sunny. Now, are you stalking me or what?"

He chuckled. "No, I just got back from my buddy's place." His expression changed as he seemed to remember something. "I'm just on my way home. Anyways, see you."

"See you." He really did seem like a good guy, but then again, they all did. "What do you think, Sunny? Should I give him a chance?"

She wagged her tail and ran a circle around me. I giggled. "You're a dog. What do you know about boys? They're only trouble."

"Come on, let's walk to the beach. We've got time. Besides, Skylor is coming over later, and I don't want to be caught between her and my brother's flirting."

I put her leash back on, and we walked to the beach, where I unleashed her again. Sunny loved the beach because she loved to get her paws wet on the sand. I loved the beach because the water always relaxed me, and there was terrible cell service, so there were no calls from my overprotective brother. 

I sat down where the waves would reach my feet, and I rolled up my pant legs.

I giggled as I saw Sunny running to attack the waves and then running back when they crashed on her.

It was getting dark, and I didn't like to be this far from home at dark, so we walked back home, the sunset behind us.

Walking home, I couldn't help but think  about Walker. What even was his first name? I'd have to ask next time I see him.

Wait, no. Why am I thinking about Walker? And who is this "Jay" person Cole mentioned?

I sighed loudly. Tomorrow had to be better, right?