Ashes in March

Chapter 6: Not That Hot

Hope you guys are liking AiM (I just realized Ashes in March spells AIM YOU'RE WELCOME)!!

***

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

Jack.

He sees me.

I guess I'm not as sneaky as I thought.

I turn around slowly and he's there, brows furrowed in confusion and a small smile on his lips.

"Oh my gosh, it is you," Jack exclaims and leans forward to envelope me in a hug. I freeze, rigid as his arms wrap around me, warm and familiar.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. How are you doing?" he asks as he pulls away and for a moment, I'm speechless. He's looking at me like he's happy to see me, not resentful or angry or pitiful. Not like I blocked him out and ignored his presence for years.

"Um, I'm doing all right," I manage to finally say. Sad and confused but not so utterly hopeless, so I guess, yeah, I'm doing all right. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. Still working for my parents but I'm planning to transfer up state with this guy," he smiles and gestures to the man next to him. "This is David."

David grins and sticks out his hand. "Hi, I'm the boyfriend." He's tall and dark and handsome but I can't even pretend like it flusters me because I'm wound so tightly I might pop at the seams.

I reach out to shake his hand and find that I can't bring a smile to my face. I'm still uneasy, my shoulders clenched too tightly.

"And is this your boyfriend?" Jack asks, his eyes flashing like they would when we would spot a hot guy back in high school.

"Oh, no. Ha. No. Ash isn't my boyfriend. We're just friends," I sputter, waving my hand in the air dramatically, the explanation for what we are, or rather, what we are not, rolling off of my tongue.

Jack raises an eyebrow and glances at the space between us, which is nonexistent being that Ash's chest is pressed firmly against my shoulder. I take a subtle step away that may have not been as subtle as I hoped because Jack's eyebrow raises even further.

"Hey, I'm Ash. The not boyfriend, boy friend," Ash says brightly, the space between boy and friend very accentuated and extends his hand to both of them. I feel my cheeks blush traitorously.

"This is the girl I was telling you about," Jack says to David. "Rowena used to yell at the assholes that would make fun of me in high school."

I feel Ash look at me in surprise.

I press my lips together and glance at him.

"Really? March yelling at someone? I can't picture it," Ash laughs, his eyes still on me.

"Oh yeah. Ro had the loudest mouth out of all of us. She never passed up an opportunity to give you her opinion," Jack grins warmly, perhaps reminiscing on memories of us.

I can feel Ash thinking, but she's sad now and barely even talks at all.

"How interesting. I would love to meet high school March." He looks down at me, a small smile on his lips, a somber yearning in the depths of his bizarre mixture of hazel-something eyes.

"Well, I'm sure our Rowena is just as wonderful now as she was back then," Jack says, pulling my attention back to him. His green eyes are sparkling, his fingers nestled between the man's by his side. He looks so unbelievably happy and I'm so unbelievably jealous that it makes something ache in my chest.