Spring Writes Stuff

24. I Almost Had You, Didn't I?

Wishing I stayed.

Its been three years. Three whole years. And yet it still haunts his thoughts every time his mind wanders about the questions he still craves answers for, even though he knows he will never get his hands on it.

He tried not to think about it at all times, but there will always be moments when he does. And in most cases, he doesn't even realize it himself.

The thing is, the comfort of closure didn't exactly land between them, and as the years passed, they both found better people to pursue, until eventually their group of friends eased their ever growing rift.

The thing that troubles him is the fact that they might go talk with one another, but he couldn't figure out if they were formally friends. Again.

He took a small sip from his shot glass as he looked over the quaint city of Cheesebridge in peace. It was the birthday of Winnie's mother, and she wanted their whole gang to be there.

Unfortunately Neil had an urgent family trip, and Norman had no choice but to go to the party without him. He honestly wish Neil was here with him, because even though Norman is with his friends, that pain is always there.

"I thought I'd never see you all night."

Even though he didn't see who talked, the slight twist in his heart was enough to tell him who spoke.

"Congratulations," Norman huffed playfully, taking another sip from his shot glass, before smiling bitterly down below.

"Were you out here by choice?"

The playfullness in her voice still stung because of how sweet it is. "You know how much I hate formal events, CJ."

He can already tell that she's smiling, even without looking at her. "You'd still call me that?" She asked bitterly, as he felt her gaze land on him.

Norman knows that her question was an invitation for him to finally look her in the eye. His thick brows knitted tightly together, before finally deciding to turn his head to look at her.

And he really wished he didn't.

He wished his heart would stop skipping every time their eyes met, because it's simply not right anymore. It used to be, and it could've lasted longer, if he had only knew better.

"I'd only ever call you CJ, you know that," he answered softly,

"Yeah. I do," she sighed heavily with her head hung low.

Norman stood silent as he looked down on the city once again, contemplating to himself if he should ask or not.

He couldn't think of anything to pry her off, and this is a perfect time to talk about things that should have been talked about a long time ago.

Alright, to hell with it.

"Do you... do you still miss me?"

Her head perked up at his sudden question, but then she realized that they didn't really have proper closure, so might as well get it over with.

Coraline stared at him hard, her mind trying to chose her words carefully. "Wybie asked me that same question, like two or three months into our relationship."

"What did you tell him?" Norman asked without thinking.

She let the question hang in the air, before slightly nodding her head, looking away. "I told him yes. I do miss you."

Now that wasn't the answer he was expecting from her.

"B-"

"But not for the reasons that you might think," she cut him off quickly with a scoff, and the sound of him sighing in relief prompted a small smile to make its way on her lips.