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Jack: Monday, May 21
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I took a deep breath and watched he rain outside from within the coffee shop. It was cold and icky and I was going to see if the rain would let up before I had to walk in the storm.

I was so exhausted, my eyes were gently closed as I sat at the table. A cup of warm coffee in between my hands.

Then I heard something that made me want to run for the hills.

The door opened and I ignored the bell, but then someone spoke. "Well, hello gorgeous." And I froze. I opened my eyes and I was shocked to see a grinning Mark looking me directly in the face. I felt my heart drop into my stomach as water dripped from his hair onto his already wet face. "I thought I saw you coming out of here, wasn't sure though. Favorite coffee shop?"

"Uh no, I work here." I answered. My voice barely above a whisper. Why was he talking to me? I had fucked up his life and wasted his time, why was he staring me in the face now? "Why are you talking to me?"

Mark sat down in the chair and wiped the water from his face as he spoke. "Well, I saw you and I thought the least I could do was to at least have a little bit of a conversation with you."

"We broke up over a year ago though."

"So?"

"So you don't normally approach your ex in public. Let alone greet them with that." I said, shaking my head slowly. I didn't understand what was going through his head. Not at all. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Well," Mark began. "I graduate in about a month, I never left. I find that it's easier to focus when I'm not at my apartment." He gave a light laugh. "They're kind of crazy."

"Bob and Wade?"

"Huh? Oh. No, I moved in March of last year." Mark answered with a shrug. "We just kind of all grew apart, so I live with a few other people. They have a dog, you know."

"I wouldn't know." I said and tried not to roll my eyes.

"Do you like dogs?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Well, lots of people." Mark shrugged. "I think I can't focus because of the dog! I always just wanna play with them and cuddle." He gave a light laugh and I had no idea how he was so casual when I felt like I was going to throw up. "So how have you been? You smell kind of.."

"Foul?" I answered. Mark nodded his head. "Fine, the people I live with are kind of into smoking and drinking, I'm not though. I just retain the smell of it."

"No college?"

"Nope."

"Should have known." Mark laughed. "I'm surprised you still live here though."

"Yeah well, where was I supposed to go? Just wander around until I found a home?" I scoffed and totally ignored the fact that was what I actually did. I met a couple of people at a bar and they offered me a home. That was the story.

I hated the fact that Mark looked so much better than I did. I was working in a coffee shop and he was finishing up his degree where he would no doubt get a teaching job where he would wear expensive shirts and ties and be happily married with someone else. Meanwhile, I was wasting my life hanging out with a bunch of nobodies and operated under the idea that I was in only open relationships. Looking at him made me infuriated.

"What's with the red?" I asked him with an unamused tone.

He laughed a little bit. "I don't know. Why do you seem so unhappy to see me?"

"Because I would have been so much better without you!" I snapped at him and immediately lowered my voice. "You had to go fucking ruin everything for me at school and I was lucky I even graduated. Now there's not even a chance a college will accept me because I'm infamous for what happened. Why did you feel the need to go and tell the entire fucking school that?!"

"I was angry," Mark shrugged. "I wanted to get back at you for cheating on me."

"You cheated on me!"

"I lied." Mark sighed and I felt myself sit back in shock. "I only said that so I wouldn't have to deal with the fact that I was losing my mind on the inside. It was much easier to lie to you than admit that I felt like falling apart." I watched the pained expression on his face as he told me. "I couldn't believe it and I still kind of can't believe it."

"I'm sorry, Mark." I spoke solemnly. "I don't think I actually ever told you."

"It's fine. Nothing to do about it now." Mark shrugged before laughing a little bit. An awkward laugh to fill the tensions. "I guess it was better to find out then instead of later."

"Yeah, sorry you found out that way." I said, clearing my throat.

There was a pause of silence, I refused to meet Mark's eyes with the fear of losing myself in them. That was until he said something else. "It's okay, I forgive you."

"So what do you really want?" I asked him. "Did you come to wave your diploma in my face and brag about how well your life is going?"

Mark laughed. "What makes you think my life is going great?"

"It has to be going better than mine." I rolled my eyes.

"You did it to yourself though." Mark said. "What happened to me was out of my control. "

"What happened to you?"

"Well, recently my father passed." Mark said and I felt my eyes grow wide, he said it so casually but you could sense it in him that it actually broke it heart. "Don't apologize or anything, I'd rather not hear it." He sighed. "I lost my two best friends because of petty arguments, and I ruined the lives of so many teachers who I had cost them their license and their degree. You have no idea how many death threats I get from them besides the other students or families of those teachers."

"Oh.." I said quietly.

"And I lost you too, so I guess that's kind of icing on the cake."

I snickered. "Mark, I wouldn't call that a bad thing."

"I would." Mark said, a very serious look and tone to him. "I spent so much time with you, it was weird to no longer be able to see you or talk to you. When I saw you yesterday I got so excited, even just to see you. Even if you aren't mine."

"Mark I was terrible to you, you can't miss me." I said and shook my head.

"I know you're like drugs." Mark laughed a little bit. "You weren't that bad, either."

"I cheated on you, numbskull."

"I know." Mark sighed. "Maybe I was wrong to come and talk to you, clearly there's nothing left here."

I felt my chest physically hurt as if my heart was breaking all over again. I had lost everything just like Mark had. Whether we wanted to admit it, we fell apart without the other. I was a terrible kid, and Mark deserved the best that could be given to him. I couldn't give him that, he understood it. However, Mark was the very best that I could ever get. He could give me what I wanted out of life, but there was no point if I could not return the favor.

So I told him, "You deserve better than a kid like me. You deserve to have the world."

"You're not going to give it to me, are you?"

"The world?" I paused. "I can't give you the world."

"You were my world though." Mark said and I felt my face turning red. "Funny, even now you're still as flustered as you were back then. When we first met you were nothing but a little flirtatious boy."

"Stop talking about the past." I sighed.

"That's all you talk about," Mark said. "You're contradicting yourself." I took a deep breath and released it into Mark's face. Making his hair move slightly. "If you want me to stop talking about the past, then give me the future."

"What do you mean?" I sat up straight.

"I want to be able to least be friends with you even if you don't want anything more." Mark said. "I don't have a whole lot of friends left, I'll be damned if I just let this opportunity slip through my grasps too. I don't care if you think you're a bad kid who makes bad choices. I don't care if you're ashamed over the fact that you were at a coffee shop instead of attending college. I don't care about any of it. But I miss having you around. Just, one more time."

"You're so stupid." I sighed. "What is wrong with you?"

"I dunno." Mark smiled. "I miss having someone who makes me happy like you do."

"Y-You're an idiot!" I huffed. "I did all this awful stuff to you! Why are you trying to convince me to even befriend you, why would you want to be friends with a kid like me anymore anyways!?"

"I told you already!" Mark laughed.

"I don't understand how you're so carefree about running into me, acting like nothing happened in the past."

"Because the past is no place to live." Mark said with a smile. "You gain nothing by holding grudges against other people, instead of narrowing in on all the bad times we went through, I just ignore it and tweet it as if I have met you for the first time, with only good things to proceed it."

I folded my arms as I shook my head. "You're seriously insane."

"I'm not going to leave you alone until you at least agree to spend one day with me." Mark said.

"You can do so much better than me." I rolled my eyes.

"I've told you many times and I'll tell you again. I don't want someone else, I like you." Mark told me.

"Even after all this time?"

"Mhm."

"Well," I said and tried to sound a little snotty despite my own moods betraying myself. "I guess, that I'll spend more time with you just so you leave me alone."

"Mm that's what you say." Mark laughed. "I gotta get to class though, I will you later." I smiled to him as he got up. What was I wasn't expecting was him to kiss my temple before walking out of the coffee shop. I sat wide eyed and red.

"He's so fucking stupid.." I grumbled but ultimately felt myself smile as I left the coffee shop as well, the rain had cleared and I took in a deep breath as I knew I reached the next chapter in my life.

~AN

That wasn't as sad as I was going to originally make it. Lol. I don't know if I want to write an epilogue or not so just let me know if you would like one! Also if you want it to be a certain time period in the future you can suggest that as well because I'm curious of what I'll do.

Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and I've wrote other things and I'm working on writing other things as well!

Once again thank you so much!

Love Rinny!