Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Slipping on Heart Shards ❯ Isn't it Funny? ( Chapter 2 )

She was sitting there, watching as the people she'd come to love and care for the past two years walk across the stage. It was thrilling to watch the friends she'd work alongside finally get the degree they had been working so hard for. She almost couldn't sit still, knowing that her turn was coming up soon—that she would be walking across the stage, her name called for all the world to hear. Finally, she thought. She was finally proving to herself and to everyone else that she had done it. The people in the seats around her were just as excited. She caught a few words here and there that brought back so many memories of the past years: two for her, four for most of them.

But it wasn't these memories and laughs that she was thinking about now. Instead, she was remembering the last time she was in a situation like this, sitting in the audience and waiting for her time to come to walk across the stage. Her high school graduation had been four long years ago, but it wasn't the one she was remembering. This one was for her Associate in Arts. She had opted to go to a community college right out of high school to save money. It was definitely
cheaper because the government scholarship she had gotten paid for her entire tuition at the college. She had spent two years there, working her butt off to make it out as a music major in that time, which was an accomplishment in itself. Many people at the community college took three years; music majors sometimes more. It was that graduation that she remembered right now.

The ceremony had started at four o'clock in the afternoon on a Thursday, which confused her family. Why not on a weekend? they had asked. She never had an answer, and they just shrugged their shoulders and took the day off work to see her graduate. It wasn't only her family, though. Many of her friends were there, waiting their turn to cheer her on. When she finally was able to walk across, she heard them all, somehow managing to pick out one voice in the large auditorium. She could remember even now how she had felt to hear that voice, could feel the rush of emotion run through her as she had walked across the stage, knowing he was there watching her.

It almost brought her to tears now, but she quickly pushed those memories to the back of her mind. Two years, she told herself, steeling her nerves once again. Two years. No more.

With that reminder reinstated, she carefully paid attention to the comment the person to her right said and laughed at the memory it stirred. The list kept going and going, the anticipation rising higher and higher. It was a relief when they finally announced her major, allowing her to stand with the other people around her.

The names were called slowly, the few people in front of her practically glowing as they were called. She could feel their excitement and joy as they climbed the steps, heard their name, and set across to receive their congratulations from the faculty on stage.

Then, her time had come. The announcer looked down at her and smiled, reaching for the card with her name on it. She proudly handed it to him and walked up the stairs, head high and looking toward her prize. She heard him call her name and walked with pride across the stage to shake hands with the many faculty members waiting in line. She heard the cheer of the people in
the audience, not the biggest cheer she had heard, but a cheer nonetheless, and it made her heart swell in emotion.

And then she heard it. The sound she never thought she would hear again. It took everything in her to continue moving, to not stop on stage and look directly into the crowd. She was just imagining it, she told herself. She had just been thinking of it, so of course she would think she heard the same thing again. Smiling, she continued down the stage, her poise not faltering once. It seemed to take a lot longer than half a minute, and she cherished every single one of those seconds. It was with a heavy heart that she allowed the person behind her to take the stage.

With the fake award clutched tightly in her hand, she walked back down to the seats to watch the rest of the ceremony. As she sat down, she did what every other student before her had done and looked at the paper she had been given. Of course, it wasn't her official degree. That came in the mail. Even in high school, they didn't give her the actual diploma during the ceremony. There were too many ifs.

 

The rest of the ceremony both dragged and flew by. She remembered sitting there in anxiety, annoyed at how many people were receiving their degrees as well, but was surprised at how quickly it passed when she walked out of the auditorium, looking for her family and friends. She always hated this part, looking for those that came to see her. It was here that she had to face the truth as to who showed and who didn't.

 

She walked around before remembering that her phone was on silent. She probably had a dozen missed calls from her mother wondering where she was, so she quickly dug into her bra and pulled out her phone. A couple of people who saw her only laughed. She smiled back at them before looking at her phone and realized it was ringing.

 

“Hey.”

 

“We're over by the lake.”

 

And the conversation was over. Smiling, she flipped her phone shut and walked over to the lake, figuring her mother wanted pictures and that's where she so deemed the pictures shall be taken. Go figure.

 

Her family came into sight and it made her grin. Everyone was there—her parents, her three sisters, her brother, and her nephew. It was definitely a sight worth seeing. Her nephew saw her first and ran to her, jumping into her arms and hugging her tight.

 

“Hey buddy!” she laughed, holding him close. It had been months since she'd seen him, as he and his mother had moved to Texas a week before she had moved to Miami. She continued walking toward the rest of the family, allowing herself to be enveloped in their hugs and congratulations.

 

After what seemed to be a hundred dozen photos convincing her that her eyesight was now permanently damaged, she noticed a group of old friends walking up to her, smiling. She ran to them, practically jumping in each of their arms. Oh, how she had missed them. Even though she had made small trips back home, she never really saw them for a decent amount of time, usually spending time with family. She got through almost all of them before turning her attention to the last one waiting to hug her, finally realizing who was standing in front of her.

 

And she froze. She hadn't imagined that cheer she heard on stage. He was here. He came down to Miami to watch her graduate. He smiled and opened his arms, expecting her to walk into his embrace.

 

She just stood there.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

The buzz of conversation around them ceased. Everyone fell silent, watching the two. He cocked his head at her while keeping his arms out, his smile slowly fading.

 

“I came to see you graduate,” was his reply.

 

“Why?”

 

His arms fell to his sides in defeat. “I told you I would.”

 

Memories flooded through her mind, many of them unbidden. She didn't want to think about them now, later, ever. But there were too many of them. Too many that involved the man standing in front of her now.

 

***

 

”Congratulations!” His arms enclosed around her frame and pulled her flush against his chest, lifting her off the ground. He spun her around, laughing in her ear before setting her back onto the ground and kissing her soundly on the mouth.

 

She wobbled a bit in her heels from the abrupt landing, holding onto him for balance and laughing along with him. “I'm done!” she exclaimed, smiling up at him.

 

“I know. Only one more of those I gotta sit through for you,” he teased, his fingers dancing up her sides.

 

She quickly shrank away from the tickling he sought and gave him a soft bat to the back of his head. “Hey now, no one forced you here.” She smiled. “And besides, there's at least two more, as far as I'm concerned.”

 

“Oh yeah,” he remembered. “You are so set to get your doctorate.” His arms pulled her back to him as he buried his head into the side of her neck. “I wouldn't miss your graduations for the world,” he whispered into her ear, his tone suddenly taking on much more emotion. “And I'll be there for every one of them.”

 

***

 

“Jessie!” her older sister's voice brought her back to the present, forcing her to swallow all those old memories and remnants of emotion.

 

She turned to see her family standing behind her, their faces hiding their thoughts, not that they needed to. She knew what they were thinking, and also knew that they had too much tact and pride to say anything in front of him. Instead, they played it safe.

 

“So where are we going to dinner?” the second oldest girl asked, smiling. “Olive Garden?”

 

Jessie couldn't help but laugh. It was typical. After a few more restaurant ideas were thrown into the air, they agreed on Olive Garden, much to her sister's delight. She then turned to the group of friends. “You guys are welcome to join us if you want. If not, we can always meet up and go out later tonight.”

 

Her friends looked at each other for a second before deciding to go out to dinner with her and her family, after her family repeatedly assured they wouldn't be intruding.

 

Dinner went well, the conversation remaining light and full of laughter. This was what she missed so much of home. Her family was all she could ask for. There were so many nights where all she wanted was to hop in her car and take the four hour drive home just to have dinner with them. It had always been her personal chicken soup, and she had really missed it.

 

After a while, the conversation drifted to her future plans. She now had her Bachelor's in Music Education. Would she be staying in Miami or would she be moving back home, looking for a job there? Quite honestly, she didn't know the answer to that. The lease on her apartment was up in August, so she had until then to decide. She planned on using the time until then to look around and figure out where she would be able to work.

 

During this time, her friends fell quiet. Throughout dinner, they had remained in the conversation, but now, they seemed to stay out of it. After a couple of questions, she found out that they were expecting her to be sick of the city and move back home. Talk of her not coming back seemed to put a damper on them, particularly those closest to him.

 

Throughout the time they had all been together, he had stayed the furthest away from her family, mostly listening to the conversation and rarely participating. At the talk of her future plans, he seemed to withdraw even more to himself, something that had always alerted her that there was something important on his mind, and that succeeded in sparking her curiosity. She cursed herself for that when she realized that in order to satisfy said curiosity, she would actually have to talk to him alone.

 

She hadn't done that in almost two years.

 

Pushing that to the furthest corner of her mind, she immersed herself in the present conversation and fully enjoyed the rest of the conversation and time she had to spend with her family and friends.

 

***

 

It wasn't long before she found herself alone with him. She couldn't quite recall how it happened. After the long dinner out, her family went back to their hotel rooms to sleep while her and her friends went to her apartment. She showed them the place and sat around talking before they all left for their respective hotel rooms.

 

Except him.

 

He was staying over and sleeping on her couch. Again, she couldn't remember how he ended up staying over rather than sleeping on the floor or something in one of the hotel rooms, but what could she do, short of turning cold and kicking him out? No matter how much she knew that's exactly what her family and close friends would've told her to do, she just couldn't find herself capable.

 

And so he was now sitting on her couch listening to the music she had turned on earlier that night. She was standing in her kitchen, washing the dishes her friends had used and cleaning up after the party. There wasn't much to clean up after, just a handful of cups and a few plates. It would've been more had they brought alcohol, but she wasn't having any of that. A few had complained about that lack, but none of them would touch her ultimatum of no alcohol or no Jessie. When asked why, she simply had shrugged and said, “I no longer have to deal with it, so I won't.”

 

She knew that those words took their toll on him. When they had dated, he normally had a couple beers every single night, no matter how much he knew she despised it. To her, a couple every now and then was fine, but three to four a night was ridiculous. But, she didn't say a word and just dealt with it, claiming that she had no right to make him stop when she knew that was a habit of his since long before they started dating.

 

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize he had walked into the kitchen and was standing behind her until he took a wet dish out of her hand and dried it before looking for its place. She was so stunned that she could only point. Shaking her head and postponing the inevitable conversation, she continued washing in silence, and he followed her lead.

 

The music playing from her computer made her chuckle. She had put the music player on shuffle, not bothering with trying to find a playlist that fit everyone. Instead, she simply pulled the “my place, my music” card and left it at that. One of the guys had reached to immediately change the song as a Garth Brooks song filled the room, but he recoiled back as soon as she pegged him in the head with one of her pillows. They all took the cue and left her music alone.

 

She sensed his pause next to her as the next song started up and felt him turn his gaze on her. Stubbornness had always run in her family, so there was no way she was going to meet his gaze.

 

“What is this?” he asked, his tone turning slightly condescending, which only riled her up more.

 

“It's music,” she replied shortly, reassuring herself that she no longer had to take any of his jibes against her particular music tastes.

 

“You're kidding me.” He tossed the towel down before leaning one hip against the counter and facing her. “You're almost twenty-two years old and you're still listening to Jesse McCartney?”

 

She bit back a smile. “Hmm. Which is worse; that I, a girl whose favorite band is still the Backstreet Boys, have this song in my music library,” she paused as she tapped her forefinger against her lips, “or that you, a guy who's sworn off anything that could possibly make a complete stranger even question his sexuality, actually know who this is?”

 

She chanced a glance at his face and smiled. He was stunned. Good. It served him right. She placed the last dish onto the rack to air dry before snatching up the towel he had just dropped and dried off her hands. And then, just to really annoy him, she started singing loudly along with the chorus.

 

“I don't want another pretty face, I don't want just anyone to hold…”

 

She danced her way out of the kitchen and started cleaning up in her living room, purposely singing louder than usual because she knew it would tick him off.

 

Halfway through the first verse, she caught him starting toward her computer and stepped to stand in his way.

 

“Come on, Jessie,” he pleaded. “Please don't make me listen to this crap.”

 

She stiffened and lifted her chin in defiance, steeling herself against what she knew was coming. “I'm not making you listen to anything,” she argued. “You can leave any time you want.”

 

He squared back his shoulders, not entirely sure how to take that. They fell into an uncomfortable silence as he tried to figure out what to do. She decided to take pity on him and speak first.

 

“Look, I don't have any obligation to curb my musical taste to fit yours anymore, and so I refuse to do so.” She took in a deep breath and met him squarely in the eye. “If you have a problem with what I'm listening to, either leave or endure quietly. I won't tolerate your insults anymore. You never once cared that I don't like the Red Hot Chili Peppers at all when we dated, so why should I care whether or not you don't like the music coming from my computer in my apartment when we are definitely not dating?”

 

He stood there a moment before taking in a breath of his own. “About that. Jessie, I have to tell you this. I made a huge mistake when I broke up with you.”

 

“Oh really?” she replied icily. “I never noticed.”

 

He closed his eyes and sighed. “You know, you could really make this easier for me.”

 

She shrugged. “I could, but why would I want to? You made our breakup pure hell.”

 

He rubbed his face with his hands before wrenching his fingers through his thick, black hair. “Jessie, I made a mistake and I really would like to fix it. I know I treated you terribly then, but I would do anything to get you back. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I'll do anything I can to prove that to you.”

 

She watched him carefully, fully comprehending everything he said to her. How many nights had she stayed up, hoping for just this to happen? But there was something she had to know.

 

“Did you wait for me?”

 

His eyes widened. “What?”

 

She cleared her throat. “Did you wait for me?”

 

He paused for a second. “Jessie, it's been almost two years. I-”

 

“It's funny how things work, isn't it?” she asked, breaking their gaze and sweeping her eyes around the room as she forced the tears to stay in her eyes. They were not falling this time.

 

“What do you mean?” he asked, keeping his eyes on her.

 

She took in another breath, forcing herself to do what she knew she had to. “When I was ready to commit, you wanted nothing to do with me. Now, two years later, you grow up and want to commit.” She paused for a second, bringing her gaze back onto his. She wanted to watch his reaction as she said her next words. “Unfortunately for you, I don't want anything more to do with you.”

 

She watched as his entire expression fell, as tears welled up in his eyes, and she couldn't take it. She immediately turned on her heel, walked into her room, slammed the door, collapsed on her bed, and burst into tears onto her pillow.