Pet

16

Avoiding everyone was getting hard. In all honesty, I was a bit too embarrassed to see them after what Jay had said at dinner. I was now realizing how lonely it was to not be attached to anyone. I'd never admit it, but Jasper was my friend too and I was mad that I'd let Jay take that away from me. I liked hanging out with Alex, even if all I did was tease her. They had made me let my walls down, and since I'm being honest it was kind of refreshing. It was exhausting being so reserved all the time. I sighed and texted Jasper, maybe I could hang out with just him, that way I could spy on the group through him.

•••••

I slid on my shoes and checked myself in the mirror. I'd decided on an edgier vibe for today. A red checkered skirt and black long sleeved crop top paired with a red choker. I picked my purse up and left. The drive to the little diner was short, however, it was long enough to let my anxiety spike. What if he was mad at me for ignoring him for so long? What if he didn't even come? He wouldn't stand me up, would he? I pulled into the parking lot and took a deep breath, I could definitely do this.

Of course, all of my worries were pointless as Jasper would never treat me that way. The thought made my heart hurt, I had treated him that way. I made my way into the diner and found him alone at a window booth.

"Hey, stranger! I hope a window seat is okay? I picked so you'd be able to see me from the parking lot. "

"A window seat is fine. Thanks for coming." The last part was said quietly. I felt ashamed of how I'd acted. 

"You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm pretty resistant." 

I just smiled at him. "Okay, so what has everyone been up to?" 

"They've been okay, Alex is a little bummed that you-"

"Hi, guys! What can I get you guys to drink?" I jumped as the waitress suddenly appeared. I mean out of nowhere. 

"We'll both have a coke. If that's okay?" Jasper looked to me for confirmation. I just nodded my head at the waitress.

The waitress left and jasper let out a small laugh. "As I was saying Alex has been a little bummed out that you haven't been around. We miss you hanging out with us." 

"I haven't been around long, Jasper. There's no way my absence left an impact." 

"We've had the same group since school. I think we were just excited to have someone new, someone we could learn from scratch. And like we've said before, Alex hasn't always had the best luck making friends. She was really happy when you started coming around."

I sighed, starting to feel bad all over again. "I'm sorry. To all of you. Jay is just so...exasperating. i can't stand him. He pisses me off. I love hanging out with the rest of you." 

The waitress set our drinks down and Jasper asked for a few more minutes. 

"Don't let Jay be the reason we all lose a friend. Come on, Lilly, hang out with the group again. We're going to play laser tag on Friday. You should come." 

"I'll think about it."

"Great! Then it's settled, I'll let everyone know you're coming." 

A smile pulled at the corner of my mouth and I found myself wondering how I had ever let Jay overshadow Jasper.