Prime Meridian (Book #2 of IDL)

Chapter Sixty-Eight: I'm just a wreck. A lost cause.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: I'm just a wreck. A lost cause.

He wasn't smiling, nor was he showing any signs of anger. He was just.. There... Looking at us.

"Hey, bro." Tyrone was the first one who approached Finn, and nonchalantly raised his fist like some kid he was.

Finn returned the fist bump and gave a cute smirk. "Tyrone."

I was surprised with one thing, they knew each other?

"Look bro, Caleb and I were leaving soon. Right, Caleb?" Tyrone shot Caleb a dirty look which prompted Caleb into walking away from me.

"Sure." Caleb plastered a fake, wide smile.

After the both of them disappeared, I turned to Finn and mustered enough courage to just say some irrelevant things like, "You know them??"

"Tyrone and Caleb. Your friends, right?" Finn's expression, as usual, was unreadable, but his voice seemed to echo with sadness.

I nodded, unable to speak more. It felt as if the world was choking me. My senses still unsorted. While there were people walking around, it felt as if everyone was looking at the grandest stage of them all: with Finn and I being the main protagonist.

"Why are you here?" I clutched the corner of my leather bound journal that I was hugging with my left arm; the nails digging in.

Was it bad for me to expect that he would tell me, "I miss you.", "I need you back." or "I really can't live without you."? Because if he did, I wouldn't look back anymore. I would run to his arms, hug him so tight, and have him back without second thoughts.

There was a long pause, which made me more anxious. Deep down, I have always loved Finn. It had always been him.

Finn stared at me, not knowing what to say. Where was the sarcastic and confident Finn that I remembered? He was basically just standing there.

"Why are you here!" I almost yelled a demand instead of a question as tears started forming. I felt like walking closer to him but my feet were rooted on the floor.

He also felt the same thing because I saw him trying to move his foot, but hesitated at the last minute. "Jessamine... I..."

"Hey Jessamine!"

I turned my head to see Connor approaching me. He was holding a bouquet of roses, smiling at me as he walked closer. The smile immediately vanished when he realized that Finn was actually with me.

"You're... Busy?" Connor's enthusiasm shrunk back to the old him that I remembered, the weak willed.

Finn slowly walked towards me, with his shoulder now side by side with mine (if I grew taller). Connor tried to stand tall, to show how he wouldn't back down, but deep inside I could feel that he was afraid.

I expected Finn to get mad again, to punch him in the jaw or something, but Finn took a deep breath and talked to Connor in a civil manner. "Not really. Just meeting up with an old friend. You guys got a date tonight?"

Not really. Old friend. Date tonight. These words rang in my ears as if they were foreign. The sadness deeply registered inside me but I couldn't open my mouth to speak up. Because obviously, we need to be busy because I had millions of stories I haven't shared to him. Old friend? What happened to us being a couple? Date tonight? I wouldn't consider Connor's friendly dinner as a date.

Connor bit his lip out of awkwardness, moving his eyes from me to Finn, back to me, back to Finn. Apparently, whatever his answer would be, I wouldn't care anymore.

"Yes. A date." He pushed aside his awkwardness and turned to me. "You're ready to go?"

"Oh okay. Sorry for bothering your cutesy date." Finn remained stiff, with a little bit of bitterness in his voice. There was a little hope inside me that he still cared.