If We Ever Get an Hour Together (A Van McCann fanfiction)

Long as You

Lucia:

Isabel went to sleep at noon. Something about how her head was killing her. 

I was perched on the couch, watching commercials and biting off the loose skin on my lip. A nervous habit. When Van showed up and knocked loudly, I hurried to open the door, feeling annoyance claw at my throat. "Can you not knock so loud? Isabel's asleep." 

"Asleep? It's noon."

"Tell her about it." I rubbed my tongue against my lip, tasting rust. 

"Are you ok?"

I was annoyed at Isabel's assumptions that I had accepted Van into my life as quickly right after seeing him. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was right. But all I knew is that my best friend's lack of support had left me feeling a bit down. I took a deep breath, trying to control myself before I said anything mean to Van. "Why don't we go out somewhere? I've been here all morning and I need a change of scenery."

"Sure." Van stepped to the side while I slipped on my shoes. He walked behind me, his body bumping against mine at the bottom of the stairs. I curled my toes in my shoes. Things would be infinitely better now because we'd cleared the air. Van was going to stop acting jealous. And I resolved to act better. Whatever that meant. 

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We sat at the coffee shop on the corner of my street. Van sipped from his fruity tea drink while I drank coffee, of course. He swallowed. Somehow he looked paler than I remembered. "Are you sick?" I rubbed my nose, looking at him.

He frowned. "What? No."

"Oh." I rolled the straw in between my teeth. Somehow I figured that our reunion was going to have a lot more, I don't know, revelations? But then again, did I really want to know what Van had been up to since he'd broken up with me? I swallowed, looking around the coffee shop. 

"I think we better just get it all out." Van murmured, leaning forward. 

My phone vibrated in my bag. Probably Isabel, wondering if I'd been kidnapped. 

Cody: Hey stranger :)

I dropped my phone back, feeling guilty. Van scratched his head, looking at me. "Get what out?" I didn't know what he meant. 

"Is Cody someone? Really. I feel like if Isabel brought him up, then..."

I looked at Van. "I thought we weren't going to do this anymore. You weren't going to do this anymore, I mean."

"I just don't wanna be in the dark." 

I licked my lips, feeling a sudden rush. "What about you, Mr. Celibate Rockstar?"

Van rubbed his eyes. "It doesn't matter if they're nobodies, they"-

"What happened to 'I didn't sleep with anyone'?" 

"It was just twice. Some girls that"-

"Right. At least I know the name of the people I've slept with." I watched Van's expression shift. This reunion was off to a tremendously bad start. 

"Maybe this was a mistake to bring up on my part." Van tapped his fingers against the table. 

"Maybe it was." My chest felt heavy. Obviously it didn't seem outlandish to think Van had slept with a girl or two while we were broken up. But some part of me had hoped....well who was I to judge, I guess. But I was right, at least I knew who I'd hooked up with. 

Cody: Dinner, Friday? Isabel said you weren't feeling well lately 

I looked down at my phone. Isabel was making excuses for my avoidance of Cody. Van cleared his throat. "Something wrong?"