Ignorance Is Bliss

7 . Marion

A tremendous time had passed. It was like being on a roller coaster, but it never stopped and kept going round and round. I didn't mind the constant action, cherished it even, although the last month felt like an out-of-body experience. Time was running way ahead of me and I couldn't help but feel like I was failing to catch up with it.

Ever since I was at Asa's home, we had grown closer to each other. When I thought about it, it was all thanks to him. The times we hung out together were never initiated by me. He made sure to spend time with me whenever he could. I wasn't sure if he was doing it for me or both of us. It's not like I didn't like spending all my time with him. I was merely too embarrassed to ask him if I couldn't just have one day alone to myself. At the same time, I didn't want to be a burden to him, even though a part of me knew that that wasn't at all the case.

"So, you're a thing now?" Raven said, as soon as we met up at our usual spot.

I leaned against the glass wall of the bus stop shelter. This had been going on for a while now. I'm sure she'd asked that question at least a dozen times by now. It was like she was waiting for the day when we weren't together anymore. To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure where my relationship with Asa stood. He never really asked me to be his girlfriend, but considering what had already happened between us, I thought there was no need to declare anything. I was also too much of a coward to ask him about it.

"Quit asking me about it. I already told you," I snapped at her, without meaning to.

Raven blinked at me.

"Well," she dragged out. "Not really. You said were 'something'. What does that even mean?"I rolled my eyes, not wanting to explain myself to her. Now that she apparently was in a relationship, she suddenly started caring about my love life. I didn't want to confront her about it, in fear of sounding like a jealous friend.

She waited for me to respond. When I didn't, she took that as a sign.

"Wait, did he not ask you—"

"Of course he did!" I lied.

I avoided looking at her, my eyes fixed on the bus instead, knowing that she didn't buy it.

"I don't want you to get hurt," she sighed. "That's all."

Her words sunk in and I felt a mix of anger and regret. I knew she was trying to help me, but she didn't know Asa like I did. And I couldn't quite grasp why she thought that that was a red flag. Apart from that, he wouldn't ever try to hurt me. He was going to ask me eventually, and once he did, Raven would have nothing more to moan about.

Once we arrived at the university Asa was already there waiting for me. He was wearing his usual black bomber jacket paired with a grey sweater. It made it hard for me to overlook him. I mean, there were a few other people that were wearing the same thing, but I had gotten so used to the way he wore it, that I could've spotted him from a mile away.

His eyes lit up with contentment when he saw me approaching. He swooped me up in his arms, kissing my cheek. I felt a fluttery feeling in my stomach, like every other time I saw him. When he let me go, I felt dizzy.

I almost forgot that Raven was tagging along behind me, that I was startled when she hooked her arm through mine. He looked at our interlinked arms, with an emotion so vague, I couldn't name it.

"Hey Asa," Raven called out, saying his name as if she were spitting out a piece of gum. He didn't respond, giving her a slight nod instead.

Every time they were near each other, there was this awkward tension. Like one of them was about to jump up and slap the other in the face at any given moment. At least that was the impression I was getting. When they could, they avoided each other, which, however, made it harder for me to spend equally as much time with both of them. I knew that Raven had friends of her own, but I wasn't going to exclude her based on that.