20: Heartbreak

Zane

"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" André asked, flustered and arms flailing everywhere. "You've been holed up in your room for days!"

He was wrong. I had been going to school.

"School doesn't count," he replied to my thoughts. André was a mind reader, apparently.

"Drop it, André," I sighed. "You're seeing me at work and school, so I don't see the point of you being mad,"

André flopped onto my bed. "You spoke to me exactly three words at work. 'Shut up, André',"

Just then, my older sister walked into the room. "I'll take it from here, André," she said.

"I'm not a nutcase but okay,"

André and I were close friends, but we rarely discussed feelings or relationships. However, my sister and I have, and she was good at drawing words out of my mouth.

André gave me a hug before leaving and wishing my sister good luck.

"What did Gavin Ross do to you?" She asked bluntly.

"It's not-"

"Your whole body tensed when I mentioned his name, so cut to the chase," I hated how right she always were.

I took my blanket and sat by the window. The very same blanket I slept on next to Gavin a few days ago. To think I wanted more of him.

"He didn't do anything I didn't anticipate," What I was having with Gavin was too good to be true.

She got up and left the room. A few minutes later she returned with two cups of coffee and sat next to me. She handed me my mug. It had little puppy ears. I had always wanted a little puppy but mom didn't allow us to get a dog.

"What happened between you two?"

I was kind of uncomfortable. I didn't know if she knew anything about my sexuality. We had only discussed girls before. I was afraid she wouldn't be as accepting as I thought she would.

But to hell with everything, right?

"I don't think it's my place to tell, but we just won't work out,"

"And why's that?"

What was I supposed to tell her? He's meeting up with someone to see if he's the one he's been wanting all his life?

His friend, who wanted to hurt me and humiliate me is in love with him?

And where did I stand? The spare wheel?

"He loves someone else," I said bitterly.

We drank our coffees in comfortable silence. She tried to tell me that there's more to life than what I was going through; that I'll fall in love and get my heart broken multiple times before I find a love that mends me. I didn't care. I didn't want love or broken hearts, I wanted Gavin Ross by my side.

But alas.

He was visiting his sister, and playing the last game of the season at Eastmill Secondary, where he will meet the love of his life, leaving two broken people behind.

-

"You're not in our class," I told Noah Grayson. He was Gavin's friend and Co-captain of the football team.

"The team is away, and my foot is limpy," he didn't have to tell me the team was away. I knew that very well. "the teacher gave me an easel to explore my inner Picasso,"

"Well if you use those two colours you'll end up with a disaster,"

"Jeez, what's up with you?" he sneered.

If only people would stop assuming I was mad?

I didn't respond to Noah. Instead, I grabbed my binder and flipped to the very last page, the zuperman that gave me inspiration, only to find that it wasn't there.

Panic started to set in when I realised it's missing. I looked everywhere: my bag, the file cabinet, the whole binder. There was nothing. "This can't be happening right now," I muttered.

"What can't be happening?" Noah asked, and I was so tempted to scream at him. "Maybe I could help?"

"Ugh, fine," I hissed. "I'm looking for a kids' drawing of a superman."

"Oh, okay," he started searching with me, but alas. It was not there. "I'll tell my friends to keep an eye for it, just send me a pic of it if you have one and they'll do the rest,"

"Thanks, Noah. And sorry about my pissy mood, I'm just not feeling it today,"

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged, "is it because of Gavin?"

How did he know about Gavin?

Then I remembered he was sitting next to us when we kissed in the gym. What a dumb move on my part.

"It is," I admitted.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No," I politely declined. "I'm trying to forget he exists,"

Noah let out a soft 'oh'. "Well, hate to break it to you, but he won't let you forget he exists,"

"What do you know that I don't?" I asked. He was onto something, obviously.

"Not my place to tell, but I do know that he cares deeply for you." he said before Miss Parks scolded us for talking.

Noah's words stuck with me for the rest of the day. I wasn't dumb or naive. I knew Gavin liked me and cared for me, but he was conflicted and I didn't blame him for it.

To think that he was scared I'd hate him made me recoil onto myself. If I closed my eyes and cleared my head, I could feel the last kiss he gave me before sneaking out the window he came from.

Life was so unfair.

As if I needed more reasons to be angry, Madeline walked into the Mug Drug. She wasn't alone but I didn't get time to wait her table because I was interrupted by a pretty girl waving her hand in my face.

"Hello! Zane right?" the girl asked. Too eager, too friendly. I wanted to dislike her, to be honest. "I'm Ruby, Noah's friend,"

Oh. Made sense.

"Can you please get us two frappes? I'd come retrieve them but I need you at our table. Please and thank you!" she dragged her redheaded friend and sat at a table towards the end of the café.

André made their drinks and I took the tray and headed towards them. I tried my best to avoid Madeline because I knew any interaction with her was going to end in flames.

"Oh my god, Zane! You're so handsome!" Ruby said, making me flustered. I couldn't take a compliment to save my life.

Sawyer elbowed her. "What? His complexion is beyond beautiful."

"Anyway," Sawyer said, saving the situation. "This is yours right?" Sawyer shoved a phone screen in my face. It was the picture I sent Noah.

"Did you find it?" I gasped louder than I intended.

"Yes and no," Ruby said. "And keeping your voice down or she'll hear us," she pointed in Madeline's direction.

"We didn't exactly find it, but Sawyer saw it with Madeline a few days ago,"

Then everything came back to me. When we met, when our books fell. It was on purpose all along, and I was too stupid to realise it. The party, the pranks, everything was planned so she'd put a distance between me and Gavin.

"But I don't understand," I said, "she wouldn't take a stupid drawing if she didn't know how much it meant to me," I spoke my thoughts.

"I'm guessing you didn't tell her what it meant?" Ruby asked.

I shook my head. "We never spoke, really,"

"Oh my God, this is another Kent Sinclair mystery!" Ruby cheered, Sawyer sighed.

I was confused once again. They seemed to be lost in their own world of detectives and mysteries.

"I'm gonna have to go before my boss appears and I get in trouble," I gave them a curtly smile. "Thank you for the help, and please tell me if you find anything else?"

"Yes, of course," Sawyer said.

"It was nice talking to you, Zane!" Ruby smiled geniunely.

I went back to the counter to see Madeline ordering a coffee.

I spat in it.

A/N: reminder to vote and comment. I like your comments and the interactions with you guys. They make writing more fun.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, there's likely one or two more chapters left.