Mia lay in the sun with her eyes closed, Solange playing low from her bluetooth speaker. 'He's late... AGAIN,' she thought to herself. They always met at the bleachers in between classes to smoke and get away from the drama in the cafeteria. Lately, though, he's been arriving later and later, and she couldn't figure out why. Did she do something wrong? It didn't make sense as to why it felt like he was avoiding her.
After about 20 minutes, she heard someone step on one of the metal benches below her. She decided not to open her eyes.
"Late again?"
"Yeah-I'm sorry, I had to take care of some stuff," Cameron replied. His tone was unusually casual, as if he was talking to a man he had little to nothing in common with.
"Hey, if you don't wanna hang, ain't nobody keeping you here," Mia stated, her eyes still closed.
"No, it's-it's not that. I like kickin' it witchu," he said. She sat up on her elbows, her curly hair falling slightly over her eyes, which narrowed as she focused on him. Something was wrong. He seemed shaken up, like he'd been pulled over on the way here.
"The fuck wrong witchu?" She asked.
"Nun', fam, I'm good," he said, chuckling nervously. She hopped up with a childlike curiosity, rushing down to grab his chin and turn his head at different angles.
"Yo, I'm GOOD, aight? Chill!" He laughed.
"Whatchu do? You fightin' again?" Mia asked, scolding him with her eyes.
"No, I stopped when I graduated high school, you KNOW that."
"I didn't KNOW you in high school," she replied, "Wassup witchu, Cam,? Are you okay?" Her demeanor shifted into one of genuine concern. This softened him to his core, which scared him even more now.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm good." Mia takes a step back and chuckles.
"I mean, OBVIOUSLY not, look 'atchu! Aye, you ain't gotta tell me shit if you don't want to, but you've been acting fuckin' weird for the past, what? Like, month? Got me out here lookin' like a fuckin' loner. I miss my friend, bro, what happened?"
"Nun' happened, Mia," he shrugs, "Just workin' through some shit, that's all."
"I mean, I get it," she states, throwing up both hands, "But at least lemme know. I was 'bout to drop yo' bitch ass." She laughs.
"No, no, no! Don't-don't do that," he said. The sudden urgency in his voice confused her. She cocked her head to one side; he rolled his eyes, attempting to hide the intensifying flush in his cheeks. Every little thing about her became more and more unbearable for him to witness. He could feel himself slipping the longer he stuck around.
"Did I... DO something to you? You can tell me if I fucked up, you know that, right? I'll own that shit right now," she stated plainly.
"No, no... ugh," Cameron sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"See? THAT," she pointed at him. "That RIGHT THERE. Why you so irritated with me all of a sudden, if I ain't even DO nun'?"
"It's not that-"
"Then what, Cam? You know how much I can't stand that wishy-washy shit. At least lemme know if you not feelin' it no more, 'cause clearly I can't do nun' 'bout it," Mia continued. He attempted to stop her, but he couldn't explain himself; otherwise, he'd ruin everything. He wanted, more than anything, for things to just go back to normal, but he didn't know how to turn back. He struggled to get a word in.
"I'on understand what the fuck is goin' on witchu, bruh. You would think that after a couple years, you'd feel safe enough to lemme know wassup, ESPECIALLY after your breakup. You're acting fuckin' weird lately, you're blowing me off all the time now, you don't even hit me up on the weekends no more, whatchu tryna do, GHOST me now? We're fucking ADULTS, Cameron."
"NO!" He shouted. He hated raising his voice at her, but he didn't know what else to say. He was reaching his breaking point, and fast.
"Then what is it, huh? What, we can't be friends no more?"
"No."
That stopped her dead in her tracks. He could almost hear her heart shattering inside of her chest; all of the sleep he'd lost, every minute of repressing himself, all of it paled in comparison to the pain he felt knowing he could hurt her so deeply. 'No. This ain't worth it,' he thought, 'She needs to know.'
"Wh-... why not?" Angry tears welled up in her eyes, and it stung; she felt betrayed. "Y-you couldn't tell me this shit a MONTH ago?!"