shorts

short three

inspired by how you get the girl by Taylor Swift

He got up from his bed. Frustration filled his body thus making him restless. He decided to take shower as that is where people make their life.

He stood under the shower head as cold water blast upon his blonde hair. His mind travelled back to six months ago. When a brunette crashed into his life. It was just a month after his moving to New York. He smiled at the thought of their first encounter.

A homeless girl entered the crowded diner. At least that was what he inferred from her untamed brown curls and her wrinkled plaid shirt. But then she looked better than half of the other homeless people he met before. He continued to observe her as he sipped his tea. Blergh! He never liked tea but their coffee maker was spoiled.

The girl placed her order and looked around for a place. And there were a few spaces empty but there were other people too. She took her tray and walked towards his direction. He pretended to read his book as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked as she motioned to the empty chair in front of him.

Surprised, he only nodded. The girl smiled a beautiful smile, showing off her pink gums and slightly crooked front teeth. He tried to take another sip of tea but was appalled by it. He gagged and the girl giggled. He looked at the girl, wide eyed as if daring her to laugh. She took the dare and laughed as she clutched her stomach.

"It's not nice laughing at strangers, you know," he said as he took a napkin and wiped his mouth.

"I'm sorry but you were just too adorable! I take it you're not into tea?"

"More to a coffee drinker, and you seem to like cold soda in the morning?" he asked her.

"That's the way I roll. I'm Chloe, by the way," she introduced herself.

"Bryan," He replied short as he felt uncomfortable talking to a stranger that drinks soda in the morning.

"Hey, is that The Death Cure?! I searched everywhere for that book!" she exclaimed as she noticed the book in his hand. Hearing that, he warmed up as books was an easy topic for him. They spent the next few hours talking about the past books and about each other.

They went out together as an item the next week. It was a fast-paced relationship. They both jumped headfirst and now both are hurting. He turned off the shower as he came to a conclusion.

Flagging down a taxi, he told the driver an address he knew like the back of his palm. It started raining as soon as the taxi stopped at the first red light. He mentally cursed himself for forgetting to bring an umbrella. But on the brighter side, he was wearing his hoodie jacket so at least he had some kind of protection from the rain. He hoped that the item he was bringing would not get wet.

He was drenched from head to toe by the time he got to the door. The address that he thought was right was actually wrong and then the rain got heavier by the time he got here so he had to walk through the rain. And the fact he had a cold shower before going out was not helping at all.

He was just about to ring the bell when the door opened, revealing Chloe, in her morning beauty. Hair everywhere and squinted eyes that went wide when she realises that he was here. After six long months, he is finally here.

He gave her a sheepish smile as he shivered. Chloe called him stupid as she dragged him into her house. Though they were exes, she would never let him die out of hypothermia right outside her house.

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"Did you get the wrong address again? What do you want anyway?" Chloe asked as he came out of the toilet in dry clothes. The clothes he left when he slept here before.

He took out the item he brought. It was dry, thanks to the plastic that was covering it. He brought a book. Where She Went by Gayle Forman. Chloe gasped.

"I saw your tweet. That you wanted this book. So yeah, a gift for you," he said as handed her the book.

"Thank you, this was so thoughtful of you. I thought of going to the bookstore but you bought it for me," Chloe took a seat as she read the synopsis.

Bryan cleared his throat before saying, "Chloe, I know it's been six months. But can we just-" He was cut off by a glare from Chloe.

"This was what you wanted okay? Free from commitments, free from me. Go and chase your dreams, don't let me hold you back," Chloe said, tears already threatening to leave her eyes.

She got up and opened the door. "Leave. Seriously, after six months, you think you can just waltzed into my life like nothing happened? Just go."

Bryan got up from his seat and walked towards the door. "Chloe, I was immature at that time. These past six months I thought about us. All day long! Not a second of my day goes by without me thinking about you. I may be six months late so forgive me. I was in the wrong but give me a chance. Give us a chance. Please." His voice wavered at the end.

"Don't make this harder for any of us, Bryan. Just, just leave," she said as she opened the door wider.

"Seriously Chloe. I am in love with you! The idea of it scared me six months ago! But now I realised how stupid I was. So please Chloe," he got on his knees, "I am begging you to accept in your life. You want to get married? I'll say 'I do' at the altar with you. Just please accept me."

The reason they broke up was because Chloe wanted to settle down with him, but he felt that he was too young and still had a lot of things that he had yet to experience, so he walked out.

Six months on, he realised he was an idiot for breaking up with her. He saw his other friends getting married. He thought they were fools but in reality he was the one. All of them became happier and led a more purposeful life after getting married.

"Last chance. The place where we first kissed. Today, 9PM."

With that Bryan was pushed out of the door. Wherever did she got the power to push him out of the door, baffles him. He smiled a little smile as he thought about his second chance. It turned into a frown when he could not remember where they had their first kiss. 6PM. He had three more hours to remember. He called for a taxi as he thought of possible locations.