The Middle - Volume Two ✔️

Chapter 5

Jamie

11:50am, and I'm heading to the park with Benji. I thought bringing Benji seemed like a good idea. He'll be a good buffer between me and Noah, if this doesn't go well. Or it could be a total You've Got Mail moment. You know? Benji runs over to Noah, and I call out Benji! Benji! Camera shows Noah smiling as he realises I'm around the corner, next to a nice bed of flowers in the park. Pan over to me, walking towards Noah and Benji with a big smile on my face. We hug, we kiss, maybe someone cries a little. Happy ending.

But I know that won't happen, because I slept with Shaun last night. And I've decided I'm gonna be honest about it. I have to. I can only hope Noah will understand, given the circumstances.

I arrive at the fountain and look around. No sign of Noah, and Benji is just sniffing around at the plants lazily. I sit down on one of the benches and wait. Not the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan moment I was hoping for.

A little after noon, I spot Noah walking towards me. He's wearing his track clothes, sports shorts and a matching t-shirt, and his running shoes. He looks amazing, as always. He doesn't look sweaty, so I guess he hasn't gone for a run. Yet. Maybe he's planning on running away from me. I'll find out soon enough.

"Hi, Benji." I hear him greet my dog as he pauses to pet him. Benji wags his tail excitedly, before trotting off to sniff another dogs butt. Cute.

"Hi." I greet him as he approaches me. He's not smiling, which isn't unusual. I can't let that phase me.

"Hi." He says, as he sits down on the bench next to me. He doesn't look me in the eye, he continues watching Benji. Good start. I decide I need to just dive in head first.

"Noah, I'm honestly so sorry. I was so fucking dramatic last night, and it was all for nothing. I had everyone worried, I yelled at you, Madison probably thinks I'm crazier than she already thought I was. I totally fucked up." I say, and he still doesn't look me in the eye.

"I should have talked to you about the Madison thing sooner. I just couldn't. I was too pissed about it, you know? After Thursday..."

He finally turns to face me, and when he speaks, his voice is cold. "You didn't talk to me much after Thursday."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to think. You told me you liked me, but you don't want a girlfriend and all... I was confused."

"Right. And that was before you thought I'd slept with Madison." He says, turning away from me.

"Well, yeah." I agree. It was. "That's not important, though. I just need you to know how bad I feel about how I acted last night. I had the wrong end of the stick, and I feel like a total fucking idiot today. I just wish I'd talked to you. After that text you sent me on Friday night too..."

"About that." He cuts me off sharply. "Madison sent that text from my phone. I didn't know, I only realised last night when I went to text you after you stormed away from me. She thought she was playing match maker or something, I guess."

Oh. I'm thrown by this. He texted me to tell me that he likes me, again. And he also said that Thursday night meant a lot to him. But... He didn't send me that text? Madison Hudson did? What the hell?

"Um, okay..." I'm startled, and I don't really know how to respond to this revelation. He sounded so cold about it just now, and I'm not getting good vibes from him at all.

"So, you read that text. Then you showed up at my dorm with coffee, and you found Madison half naked." He points out, still sounding totally cold. "If Madison hadn't been there, what did you expect to happen?"

He turns to face me, raising an eyebrow at me in mild interest. I don't know, exactly...

"I don't know, I just wanted to see you. Because I'd read your text..." Wow, I feel dumb.

"Right, the one that Madison sent." He reminds me. Thanks, man.

"Well, yeah." I say, and he cuts me off.

"Well, I didn't send it. Madison did. And if you were expecting some kinda romantic scene between us yesterday afternoon, you would have been disappointed. I haven't lead you on, I told you I don't wanna date you. I like you, it's true. But I like a lot of girls."

He pauses to sigh, and I actually kinda wanna slap him now. Okay, so I was a total bitch last night. I overreacted and made assumptions about him and Madison, but Jesus Christ, I had good reason! It was a misunderstanding on my part, but a completely fucking understandable misunderstanding. Why is he being such an asshole right now?

"Take the Madison thing out of it, and you probably still wouldn't be happy with me today. Because I can't give you what you want."

Oh right, yeah, he is an asshole. I forgot about that.

"Well, okay then." I say sharply, at a loss for anything more to say to him. I don't wanna yell at him again, and I'm pissed. I need to watch myself right now.

"We had sex, and it was good. We get along well, and if you didn't want more than I'm willing to give, I'd probably consider sleeping with you again. But as things stand, well. We should probably just leave it."

He stands up, because apparently he has nothing more to say to me. But, fuck no. He doesn't get to leave things like that. I don't think so.

"Noah, I came here to apologise to you for how I acted last night, and I've done that." I say, getting to my feet too. I'm really mad at him now. But I'll keep a lid on it. "I wasn't exactly expecting you to shoot me down like this."

"I'm not shooting you down." He says, totally cool. "I'm just reminding you about what you already knew. I'm never gonna be your boyfriend, so if that's what you want, this whole thing has just been a total waste of everyone's energy. You got upset over nothing last night. You missed Fall Out Boy for no good reason. It's a shame, really."

I cannot fucking believe him.

"Why are you being like this?" I demand, careful not to raise my voice. I'm sure he can sense the venom in my tone, though.

"I'm being honest with you. And honestly, all that drama last night was for nothing. If you hadn't thought I was screwing Maddie, we would still be in the same place right about now. Two people who had sex once and did a college assignment together. That's it."

I'm glaring daggers at him now, and his facial expression hasn't changed at all, which is only pissing me off more. How can he be saying these things? He's trying to convince me that he doesn't care about me at all, but I'm not buying it. He does care, I know he does. But he's like a fucking statue! I need to evoke some actual emotion from this fucking robot. Time to tell him about Shaun.

"I slept with someone else last night." I say, watching him for a reaction. And much to my surprise, I don't get one.

"Good for you. I didn't, but I might tonight. See you around, Jamie."

And with that, he takes a few steps away from me before breaking into a jog. I stare after him, absolutely livid. If I could run worth a damn, I'd go after him and trip him over. But I can't run, and violence doesn't solve anything anyway.

I spin around on my heel and begin walking quickly towards home. Benji runs ahead as I pull my phone out of my pocket. Before I have time to think rationally, I find myself looking Shaun Campbell up on Facebook. I don't have his number, but I'm gonna get it. Once I Facebook message him and propose what I'm thinking, I will be getting a lot closer to Shaun. If he's up for it, that is. He said it's never off the table with me, though. I have a feeling he'll be up for this. Hopefully tonight. Angry sex with Shaun would be just what I need right now.