You and Me.

Chapter 12: Aftermath.

Theo waited outside the studio at their usual spot with Shailene's favorite sandwich ready. He wanted to make an apology for how he reacted yesterday at the spring. He had made the whole situation awkward for Shailene. The look of hurt and disappointment on her face had made his heart hurt. It was a look that he knew he would never forget and he never wanted to see it on her anymore.

He waited. It was way past the usual time that they meet for breakfast and there were no text messages from her telling him that she would be late.

He waited. The early birds of the crew were already here.

He continued to wait. Miles and Ansel greeted him as they made their way in.

Then, five minutes before their training was due to start, Theo saw Shailene's car turning in. He held the sandwich and jogged over to the car.

Shailene got off and before Theo could say anything, she made a beeline for the entrance of the studio. Theo was unable to stop her. He knew she was affected, despite saying that she was fine yesterday.

Theo sighed and followed behind Shailene into the training facility. He did not want to lose her, not as a friend at least, but he does not know how to keep her as a friend and control his feelings for her. The whole situation with Ruth had not blown over and Theo does not want innocent, bright and bubbly Shailene to be entwined into the already complex relationship he is still involved in. This, he did not mention to Shailene in his reply to her yesterday.

"Hi." He tried, walking over to Shailene as their training started.

"Oh hi." Shailene greeted with an air of false brightness, not meeting his eyes.

"Listen..I-" Theo tried and Shailene interrupted.

"I need to train Theo." She said. "I want to focus." She ended the conversation and went back to her punching back.

Theo hung around her for a moment. He was lost. Shailene had always been the one sending in waves of positive energy to him, always the one making the first moves and initiating the conversations. She was the one that always brighten up the mood and making Theo laugh. Without all of that from her now, Theo did not know what to do. He did not know how to make her smile after what he had done yesterday.

"Theo, go back to punching!!" Abrams called out from across the hall.

Theo left the sandwich beside Shailene's punching bag and started his training in silence.

------

They did not speak to each other for the whole day. During lunch Shailene had successfully avoided him and joined Miles and Veronica in their discussion.

Theo was frustrated. He desperately wanted to fix this. He realized how much he had taken Shailene's positivity for granted and realized that without it, he felt drained. He felt tired in a world outside of Shailene.

------

After training ended, Theo made one final attempt to try to reconcile things. He waited outside the shower room for Shailene as usual. As expected, Shailene rushed over towards the exit without as much as giving him a glance.

"Shai..." Theo tried, holding onto her arms. Shailene did not turn, but remain rooted to where she was.

"Look-"

"Theo, please don't." Shailene said. Theo could hear the agony in her voice. "I don't know how to go back to being friends. I can't stop liking you for now. So if you don't feel the way as I do, please, just...stay away." She pulled her arms away from Theo's grip and ran towards her car.

Theo looked at her move away from him. He did not say another word, he did not try again. He just stood there, feeling the shattering pieces of his heart.