Falling Into Place

1 || falling into place ||

a / n this chapter is dedicated to inevitxble for being such a supportive friend. i love you so much x

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"YOU KNOW," JADE BEGAN, sniffling a couple of times. "This is actually helping."

I nodded acrimoniously. "Totally," I muttered in a rather caustic manner, examining my chipped nails. I was in need of a pedicure soon.

"I mean," she sniffled, wiping her nose along the sleeve of her navy, baggy hoodie. "There was this time where he was five minutes late to our date. I spent so much time waiting for him."

I declined the impulse to inform her that being five minutes late to a date wasn't a plausible reason to hate on the poor guy. I knew this was good for her, though. She's finally realising his (nonexistent) flaws.

"Yeah?" I trailed off as I crawled toward her, rolling my sleeves to my elbows. "What else did the jerk do?"

Her brown eyes shimmered with unshed tears and she deflected her gaze back to her pink notebook. A small moment later, she paused at a certain page, tapping her index finger against it. "Oh, there was this one time where he bought me Cola instead of Pepsi. Can you believe him?"

I nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder in an unconscious gesture of solace. Although, inwardly, I was a little discombobulated. Joseph, as much as I hated to deny it, was a great guy. It was rather evident that Jade was pointing out each and every single flaw of his in order to get me on her side. I mean, I was on her side; she was my best friend. But the poor guy hadn't done anything, because to be honest, if I were him, I'd dump her too.

But some things are better left unsaid.

I reached out and curled my fingers around the edge of her book, lifting it on my lap and riffling through the pages. An amused smile threatened to overcome my features as Jade stared at me expectantly, waiting for some kind of reaction.

Eventually, I looked up and met her gaze, smiling and nodding. "You're right. He's an asshole," I said softly, watching as the corner of her lips perked up into a small smile.

"But I still love him," she sighed, unconsciously flicking her long, black hair over her shoulder.

I denied the strong urge to sigh. "Jade, don't be stupid," I admonished, narrowing my hazel eyes at her. "You've only known him for a month. That's not enough time to fall in love."

A demure smile graced her features. "You wouldn't understand, Noelle. You're aromantic." A little laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head to her self, chuckling, almost mockingly, at me.

Narrowing my eyes, I brushed a strand of my hair away from my face. "I'm not aromantic. What makes you say that?"

"Look at you, Noelle," she said. I managed to capture one final glimpse of the title of her notebook, before she slammed it shut and tucked it under her right armpit.

Everything Joseph did wrong.

I almost snorted in hilarity, but refrained from doing so. "What's wrong with me?" I frowned, tugging at the ends of my brown hair.

"You've never been in love," she snapped defensively, a minor undertone of derisiveness leaking into her voice.

"So?" I quirked an eyebrow, folding my arms across my flat chest. "Just because I haven't fallen in love before, that doesn't mean I don't know shit about it."

Her forehead creased and she appeared a little melancholic as she stared at me, her brown eyes narrowed. Her mood rapidly changed and she grabbed her things, marching toward the door. "Call me when you're done being a judgemental jerk." And, without further ado, she slammed the door shut on her way out.

I stared at the door, frowning in bafflement. If this is what love does to you, then I don't ever want to be in love.

Rolling my eyes, I trudged back to my bed and readied myself to take a small nap. Though, as soon as I settled in my bed, the door swung open and I raised my head in puzzlement, staring at a mournful Jade.

"I love him! I don't want to exist anymore!" she wailed.