Jared Abitol is ugly, past his prime, and desperate for love.
Years of being hyper-aware of his own looks have made Jared develop social anxiety. When you look like Jared, love isn't easy to find. Jared might not have the looks or confidence, but h...
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Abby did as she promised and stopped dropping by at Jared's office at random hours. She now came at office hours, and although two or three other people were usually there along with her, there were rare days when she was the only one that came by to ask for help.
Jared was frustrated with her. She knew everything. She was ahead of the class in her reading, assignments — everything. He couldn't understand why she kept coming over to bother him. Jared got lost in his mind when explaining something to her, which was unlike himself. He couldn't help it. He just couldn't be bothered especially when he knew she didn't need the help. He felt bad when she nudged him back to reality or gave him a sad frown, but he couldn't feel bad about it. There was nothing to teach her, and she was just wasting his time.
Today was one of those days where she was the only one that came by, and like any other day when she was the only one asking for help, Jared was zoning out. Most times he would just stare off into space, but today he replied to Darnell's texts as Abby rambled on about the formula to him. Jared wasn't sure if he spent too long chatting with Darnell, but what he knew was that he had spent enough time on his phone for Abby to get up and walk up behind him. He only realized that something was out of place when it dawned on him that Abby had stopped talking. He looked up from his phone, noticing she was not on her seat before looking over his shoulder find Abby standing behind him. He slipped his phone under his notebook when he noticed that blonde girl with crystal blue eyes was staring at his screen.
"I—" he started before closing his mouth that had been open in shock. He bit down on his bottom lip, not knowing what to say or where to start. He wondered if Abby saw anything incriminating, but he couldn't tell from the blank look in her face. The two stared at each other for a while, waiting for the other person to talk first.
Abby sighed as her gaze moved to the floor. She couldn't look at Jared, she felt embarrassed and pushed aside. "You're seeing someone," she said, making Jared tense up. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Abby had been able to decipher that from the texts. Abby gave Jared a small smile. The way he was reacting to her statement was all the confirmation she needed that her guess was true.
"She's very lucky," Abby muttered, walking back to the chair she had been sitting on. She didn't sit back down, however. Abby picked up her books before stuffing them in her bag. her face had gone a deep pink and she was blinking back like she had something in her eyes. Jared might have just been confused but he could swear that Abby looked upset about him texting Darnell.
No, that couldn't be it. Maybe something came up and she had to leave because of that. Abby said a quick goodbye under her breath before her office and shut the door.
Jared stared at the door for a while, still shocked at what had just happened. He had to be a lot more careful now. With a long sigh, he leaned back on his chair, slouching. He was just glad that Abby didn't pick out that Darnell was a man through their texts. Sure, he was already out, but not to every Nick and Tom in the world. He didn't need his students chatting about his sex and dating life during his class, while he tried to teach up front in the lecture room. Jared took his phone out of its hiding place before going back to the chat he was having with Darnell. He apologized for leaving him in the middle of a conversation, before explaining that he had to get back to work.
