broken home - j.f✔️

seven.

Elizabeth was parked by the school, as promised, waiting around for Justin. There was a guilty feeling in her stomach, like she shouldn't be doing this. Like she was sneaking around. She finally saw a blue letterman jacket approach her car, unlocking it so he could get inside. He sat in the passenger seat, strapping himself in. "Eisenhower Park."

"I have no idea where that is." She stated. All she heard was his chuckle and the car door open. He had walked round to her side, opening her door and holding his hand out.

"M'lady." He gestured. She giggled and grabbed his hand, locking the car as they took a stroll to the park. It was getting quite dark, so she pinched a small park of his jacket to hold on to. "You know, you don't have to pull my jacket."

"Sorry, I'm scared of the dark." She admitted, stopping in her tracks. He smiled once more, his grin infectious. Finally, he held his hand out for her to take. Was this wrong? He had a girlfriend, and he was holding hands with her. But when she took his hand, it didn't feel awkward or forced, it felt... okay? They finally arrived at the park, Justin walking over to the bench. She sat beside him, their hands finally apart.

"What's up?" She asked, swinging her legs back and forth. "I know something was up earlier, and you can talk to me about it. I might not always know the right things to say, but I'm good at listening." He nodded, biting the inside of his mouth. A bad habit of his.

"Jess, my girlfriend, who you haven't formally met, we were having issues last night and we didn't speak. At lunch, she pulled me aside and was shouting and attracting a lot of attention. And we eventually made up." He explained. "It should feel good, but I don't."

"Does this happen a lot?" She questioned, standing up and pulling his arm over to the swings. She sat on one, Justin on the other, and they began swinging slowly.

"Yeah, it's like we haven't gone a day without arguing. And I bottle up everything I want to say, until eventually, I snap. And we stop talking for days." He spoke. "Then, before I know it, we're back together." Elizabeth was stuck, she didn't know Jess nor did she know what they were arguing about.

"Why don't you tell her everything you want to say? Why do you bottle it up?" She asked. "I think, saying what you need to say can't have a worse outcome than bottling it up."

"You're right. Thank you." He muttered, smirking at her. He still had things on his mind, but she left it to him to figure the rest out. "I feel like your name is too long."

"It is, that's why there's a millions nicknames."

"What should I call you?"

"It's up to you, there's a lot to choose from."

"I like El."

She smiled, "me too."

Eventually, they'd walked back to her car. She was driving him home, finally arriving outside his house. She turned to him, smiling sweetly at him. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." He mumbled, grinning back at her. "El, wait." She turned to face him, and he leaned in to kiss her. She couldn't believe it, it was like how she felt earlier when they held hands. It should feel wrong, but it didn't. It felt comfortable, like she'd known these lips for years.

"I'm sorry." He apologised quickly. "I'm so sorry, um, I'll see you tomorrow". Before she could even say goodbye, he had left the car and gone inside. Leaving her a confused mess.