paper cranes | ✔️

xxxvi.

usually when i have nothing to do

i end up thinking about you

and maybe how easy it would be if i didn't

but all the little things you do

fill up my mind

until i become red

and the butterflies fill me up

till i can barely breathe

✕

There Mae sat, hunched over her laptop as she rapidly typed her lab report. Her earbuds sat idly in her ears, playing hip hop tunes quietly. She hit the enter bar and sighed, taking a sip from her coffee cup. She turned to look across the room and saw Jasper also working on his lab report, but animatedly laughing and conversing with Minhee. Mae let out another longer, deeper sigh. She slapped her cheeks slightly to keep herself focused, but she couldn't help that her attention would always turn to him...

Wouldn't everything just be so much easier if I didn't like him? she thought, biting on the end of her pen. I wouldn't get into stupid fights with Minhee, our friendship probably wouldn't be ruined, and maybe it wouldn't be so awkward around Jasper all the time.

"Maybe if I convince myself that I don't like him, I'll actually not like him," she muttered softly. Mark looked up from beside her.

"That's not going to work for you. Do you think it will?" he asked. And so Mae paused to think. As much as she wanted to stop liking him, it was the little things they had together—the things he did, the things she did. Like staying up till 2:00 in the morning talking about emotions and problems. Like buying her a chocolate chip cookie  or a hot chocolate when she was having a bad day. Like holding eye contact with her for longer than normal. Like making her feel special. It was those little things that made Mae like him more and more.

It probably didn't mean anything to Jasper though. Considering how enamored he was with Minhee. And she knew that it would be better if she stopped having these feelings for him. But she couldn't help it. And she still can't.

"Hey Mark?"

"Mhm," Mark grumbled in response.

"What's going to happen now?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"I don't think I can like Jasper anymore. At least I don't want to. First things first, my friendship with Minhee is almost dead because he keeps coming in between us. And can I really like him? He's so aloof...he's out of my reach too, probably."

"I don't think you should dwell on it too much. So what if Jasper and Minhee get together? Yes, for now, it may have changed your friend status. But, at some point you'll go back to being friends and it'll be like nothing ever happened. He's not out of your reach either, but like you said earlier, he's too busy thinking about Minhee to think about you. No offense." Mae shook her head in response.

"And you? How are your romantic endeavors going?"

"Uh...how do you know about her?"

"I know everything, child," Mae replied with a chuckle.

"Well there's nothing happening right now. Is she oblivious? I don't know what she's thinking. Like we have a good time together and she's very nice and we do a lot of things together but I wish that maybe she would say something about it. Yeah, as a guy, maybe I'm being a little too emotional about this but—"

"What."

"Okay sorry. But I honestly have no idea what's going to happen."

"Wait it out. It'll get better, trust me. It always does. Even these stupid feelings will go away some day and everything will be okay again."

✕

hey loves!

here's another chapter i just pulled out of my head and my inner turmoil thank you for reading

i guess this is more of a filler chapter because i'm trying to figure out what to write? but it does include subplot about mark and his mystery girl and i'm sure most people know what the ship is c:

thanks for reading today's chapter!

- daze

p.s. the book is going to end soon. i wanted to end with an even number. but we'll see.

p.p.s. stan talent stan heize