May Fever

May 14th 2014

OPEN MIND:

in which a character understands something that was unclear to them before

~

I couldn't sleep at 2am because of Darius. The thunder was roaring in the night and the city was being struck by rainfall. I opened my eyes and yawned, focusing my eyes on a dark figure sitting on the windowsill. Jory sat on the windowsill and stared out the window quietly. I blinked and sat up tiredly, and walked towards him, careful enough to avoid stepping on Joyce, who was fast asleep on the floor beside me.

After the events that took place yesterday, Jory decided that we should all stay together for a while. Joyce insisted that her dad return to work, although she didn't want him to leave. But, she said that she would stay with us, and Jory and I insisted that we would keep our eyes on her.

I listened to Jory sing Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls and smiled.

"You should be asleep right now," I told him. "Why are you awake?" Jory shrugged and fixed his nest of hair.

"I've been thinking about something for a while..." He told me.

"What exactly?" I asked as I crossed my legs and placed a pillow on my lap, leaning my hands against it.

"I think I'm in love," he said seriously. I stifled back a laugh and looked at him before bursting out loudly. I quickly shut my mouth and apologized quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked him quietly, leaning in slightly. He turned his head to the window and pressed his forehead against the cold foggy glass, watching the small raindrops fall.

"I mean that I can't seem to get somebody off of my mind. I just can't stop thinking about them.

"At school, I'll just sit there and write about them. I'll write stories about them, and just wish that they were mine. I can't bring myself to tell them how I feel though. Because I'm sure that she won't feel the same way and it breaks my heart.

"I can't even eat without thinking about her. When I take a shower, I think about what I want to say to her. I want to include her in my day. I want to be with her. I want to make her smile and hug her and hold her but-" Jory cut himself off when Joyce started stirring in her sleep. I looked at Joyce, and watched him turn his head to look at Joyce longingly. I squinted my eyes and tried to figure out his emotions, but he was so scattered.

Maybe Joyce was the one that loved.

I kept my mouth in a straight line as I watched Jory struggle to figure out how he felt.

"I just want to tell her everything," he whispered as he looked at her. My eyes widened as it seemed obvious that he was talking about her, but I didn't want to ask him. Instead, I asked another question.

"Jory," I began. "How did you know that Joyce was at the graveyard?" I did think about it. Even I couldn't figure that one out.

"Love," he said slowly, his eyes drooping as he stared at Joyce. I snapped my head to look at him, my eyebrows scrunched.

"What?" I said loudly. Jory quickly snapped his eyes open and shook his head, laughing nervously.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I-I m-meant to say that it was pretty obvious. That was the only place she could run to to feel something again." I nodded, although I didn't necessarily understand what he was saying. I sighed and looked out the window.

"How do you keep a secret?" I asked Jory. He turned towards me.

"Is it one that should be kept a secret?" Jory asked me. I shook my head, my eyes welling with tears. Jory shrugged tiredly.