Smile - CrankGameplays

33. Feeling

She could admit that she was terrified. Not terrified of the fact that she left her loyal boyfriend for the sensitive dork, but terrified for the outcome of it. She was falling for the idea of love, how she imagined love and seen love in all the cheesy movies and terrible novels. How she desperately craved the affection she witnessed on the big screen.

But what if love was nothing more than simply wanting to be with a person? She wanted Tucker because Tucker gave her everything imaginable and made her feel beautiful in the strangest light.

She grew with him during her college life and experienced many firsts together. Their relationship run was something that she believed wouldn't simply just be a relationship anymore. They talked about things in the evening of the night, when the sun had set behind the school buildings and the stars illuminated the sky. Whispering silly nothings that she secretly hoped weren't just nothing.

Because when he said he found her, she believed that she found him too. And there wasn't a need to continue searching because everything she had been searching for had already been found.

She shut her eyes and focused on the main road ahead, her eyes sometimes shifting over to the little box that was perched inside of the cupholder.

"You still there?"

She drew attention to the phone that was still in her lap as Ethan's words registered.

"Y-yes," she answered, "Are you on campus?"

"We just pulled into lot 80."

She grappled her phone and pressed the microphone up to her mouth, "I'll be there soon."

"Drive safe," his reassuring words comforted her as she hung up the line and threw her phone on the passenger seat.

She pulled into campus and navigated her way into lot 80, finding Mark's car parked in one of the open spots. She parked and rested her forehead on the steering wheel, unbuckling the seat belt as she took a second to collect her scattered thoughts.

Ethan's finger tapped on the glass, an anxious expression painted over his face.

She removed herself from the steering wheel and held down a button for the window to descend down.

"What's wrong?"

"Ethan, hi."

"Reese, good morning." Mark approached from behind and put a hand on Ethan's shoulder, "What's... uh up?"

Reese somehow granted a smile to the two, "Kind of trying to stay sane?"

Mark nodded, "I get that."

Ethan could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as he reminded himself of what he blurted out to Mark earlier in the morning before he jumped in the shower. Mark had known what was going on between the two - whatever that may be.

She rolled up the window and stepped out of her car, "Sorry, Mark." She blinked her doe eyes up at the taller one, "I didn't want you to get in the middle of this."

He put his hands up in defense, "Don't feel bad, the last thing I need is for any of you guys to get hurt."

She acknowledged his comment with a smile, "I appreciate that."

"Give me a second," Mark said with a frown as he pulled out his ringing phone, "Tyler's calling me, let me take this real quick."

Ethan and Reese both watched Mark step aside and answer his cell phone. The boy turned his attention toward her and shrugged.

"It's good to see you, you know."

Reese chuckled, "Hi."

"So what exactly happened?" Ethan asked, voice cracking.