The One Who Got Away is Back

Memory 9 ♡ Pool of Tears

"There you are."

My vision swam a little as I looked up from my sketch pad and saw Ayrton behind me. He stood with his hands in his pockets and I didn't think I imagined him swaying on the spot.

"Been looking for you for a while," he added.

I motioned at the several empty beer bottles around me, snacks and my drawing instruments. "Clearly not hard enough, I've been here for like two hours. Except for all the many times I left my spot to go get supplies."

A hiccup escaped from my throat.

Even more people had arrived, which either told me my roommates were much more popular than they let on, or we got a bunch of surprise guests. Despite that I'd managed to sneak into the kitchen unseen and into my room to get the pad where I drafted my designs. Lucky for me I could lock my door and prevent my space from being used by any of these randos. Unlucky for me, I looked around every time, trying to catch a glimpse of Becca and Miguel, but they were nowhere to be found. And every time I failed to find them, it felt like a knife was twisting inside my chest.

So back to the balcony I went. The warm breeze and the smell of the damp earth were much more comforting to me than the noise all the people behind me, in a party that was supposed to be about cheering me up. I took refuge in working on the main assignment for my Fashion Design II class. I had two big projects to deliver at the end of this semester, with strong incentives. This was one of them. There would be a design showcase that was pretty much a fashion show. Whoever won the showcase would have their pick of the best internship at a fashion house that the school had made a deal with. The house was still unknown, and that made the assignment all the more complicated. By not knowing, no one knew what kind of style to pander to in their designs.

The other big project was the Business Plan one, to be presented to an investor. It was the one I was with Miguel. The other night after my breakdown, based on his own idea, we decided to base our project on my dream of sustainable fashion. We were drafting the pitch for a fast fashion company where the raw materials were going to be recycled pieces of clothes or even plastic. Something like a twenty first century up-cycling to tackle the fashion demands of modern society, while minimizing pollution.

We came up with it together over ice cream. I loved it. It was absolutely my dream business idea. Now I had no idea how I was going to get my shit together enough to work with him in a civilized way and not feel this pang in my heart that prickled my eyes. But I couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse to get out of working with him for the assignment, so I was going to have to suck it up when all I wanted was to hide under the blankets and never see him again.

I knew I was being stupid. If Vera were here she'd be saying exactly the same thing. Now I was really regretting having teased her so much when Ashton started showing feelings for him. The fact that she didn't kill me for it was a testament to her character, because if anyone teased me right now for being an immature child with the way I handled my unrequited feelings, I'd stab them wherever it hurt the most.

That was why I asked Ayr, "Are you here to make fun of me? Or tell me to man up and socialize?"

He crouched next to me. "Fuck no. I'm not heartless."

I traced some loose lines on my pad that were the beginning of a men's jacket. I had to create two, unique and ground breaking outfits for men and two for women. That plus all my other assignments and work should keep me busy for the next couple of months until the semester ended. I technically didn't have time to be thinking about pesky things like feelings. They were distracting. I had to focus.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, as though I were a toddler on the verge of a volcanic tantrum. I took a swig of beer.

"Fine, and you?"