Feels Like Summer (on pause)

four

 Rosie's entire body goes cold. "You broke up with your boyfriend today?" she echoes.

"Yeah," Olly says, a few stray tears tricking out of his eyes. Rosie pretends not to notice. They're both sitting side by side on the bed, staring across the room at the opposite wall. There's a large bookshelf and a few small posters. Rosie can't really see any of it in the half-light of the room. "It's a mess."

Rosie fiddles with the hem of her sure, unsure of what to say. On the one hand, both Olly and Finn could be completely unrelated, but on the other hand, Rosie isn't stupid. In a town as small as Emerald Cove, there probably wasn't a thriving lgbt community, and the chances of both Finn and Olly dealing with different breakups are extremely slim. It's a strange coincidence, and one that makes Rosie unsure how to proceed.

"We can talk about this some other time," Olly says abruptly, drawing Rosie's attention back the real world. "I'm sorry I got you involved."

"No," Rosie says quickly, but Olly continues, almost to himself, "Mom said you'd be cool with me, but you're clearly uncomfortable, so..."

"No," Rosie says again, louder. "No, listen, I think I may have met your ex-boyfriend."

That gets Olly's attention. He turns to look at her for the first time since she entered the room. "You saw Finn?" he asks softly. He says the name with so much love that it almost breaks Rosie's heart.

"Yeah," she says. "He gave me and Nora an impromptu tour of downtown."

"The 'Town Tours' sign," Olly says sadly.

"He told me his ex hung it up," Rosie says.

"That was me," Olly says, his voice wobbling again. After a pause, he adds, "how was he?"

"Pretty messed up," Rosie says honestly. "I met him about a half hour after everything happened. We talked for a while. I don't think he knew who I was."

Olly groans and hangs his head in his hands. Rosie awkwardly places her hand on his shoulder, wondering what strange game fate was playing, having her be the shoulder for both heartbroken boys to lean on.

"I really, really liked him," Olly sniffles. "Like, a lot. Like, I didn't believe how lucky I was."

"It's alright," Rosie murmurs.

"Did he say anything about me?" Olly asks. "Anything at all?"

"I think he really is sorry for what he did," Rosie says softly. "You guys should try and talk it out."

"You don't get it," Olly says angrily. Rosie knows that kind of anger, wet with tears and burdened with caring too much. "He cheated on me, with a girl. He knew how much that would destroy me, and he did it anyway, and he just expects me to get over it."

"He was drunk," Rosie says. "People do dumb things when they're drunk." At least, she assumes they do. Rosie's never actually been to a party with alcohol. God, she sounds like such a nerd in her own head.

"I can't believe you're defending him," Olly says, pushing her hand off his shoulder. "Are you really taking his side on this?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side," Rosie protests. They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds, before the door bursts open. It's Bailey, and a cute redhead that Rosie doesn't recognize. That's not surprising, though. The number of people in Emerald Cove that she doesn't recognize far outnumbers the people she does. The redhead has pretty dark eyes and a splattering of freckles across her face. She and Bailey are dressed nearly identical, with short shorts and shirts with bright, graphic logos for brands and bands Rosie only vaguely recognizes.