One More Year Ch. 13

I was being left out of the conversation, but I didn't mind at all. Louis and Angela were some of the best people I knew, and I enjoyed my front row seat to the two of them bonding. I quietly finished my milkshake while they chatted, and they were so busy talking that I sneakily managed to pay for the whole round without them noticing until it was too late. They were annoyed, but grateful.

Angela's house was close, so I dropped her off first, and then made the long drive to Louis' place, out towards Avalon. After Angela got out, we were somehow left in an awkward silence. It was a relief when he broke it by clearing his throat.

"I need to tell you something." He fidgeted nervously, turning down the radio.

"Oh?"

"Eric's dad is out of town again." He grimaced.

"Ah."

"He texted me last night," he said. "So I think it's really recent."

"Right."

"You okay?"

"Yeah..." I took stock of my feelings. "I think I'm fine, actually."

It almost surprised me how fine I actually was. Over the course of what was happening with Jamie, I'd been thinking about Eric less and less, and as far as I could remember, it had been over a week since I'd thought about him at all. And when Louis said his name, it wasn't twisting my insides the way it used to.

"I just figured I'd give you a heads-up, in case he phones you out of the blue or something."

"Yeah. Thanks." It was definitely good information to have.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, still not sure why I wasn't feeling something. "I guess I'll find out if he tries to talk to me."

"Should I tell him not to?"

"No, it's fine. But don't encourage him either," I said, and he nodded. I grimaced. "I'll deal with it when it happens."

We'd gotten to his house at that point, so fortunately the conversation didn't continue. I honestly wasn't sure what I was feeling. I didn't know if I wanted to speak to Eric, or if I never wanted to hear from him again. It would probably take me a while to figure it out.

"Have a nice night, Jay." He hopped out. "See you next week, maybe?"

"Probably." I smiled. "Goodnight."

"Night."

I watched him walk into his house, and sat there in the driveway outside the gate for a second. I pulled my phone out to check if anyone had messaged me while I was driving. Not 'anyone', I suppose - I was actually wondering if Eric had texted me already, as if Louis telling me the possibility existed would have been the signal for it to happen.

He hadn't - but Jamie had.

[Congrats, champ]

[Wanna celebrate]

[?]

There it was - the thing I'd been avoiding since the holidays ended. I took a deep breath, wondering what to do. Part of me - the smart part of me - told me to send a polite response, informing Jamie that I was going to go home and sleep, enjoying my nerdy victory for the night. Then do exactly that.

But the smart part of me was tired after half a week of project preparations, and it was busy struggling with the question of what to think about Eric, so the other parts of me won out.

______________[I'll be home in about 20 minutes.]

[;)]