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Iris half expected Caden to stand up and leave right there, but to her surprise, he didn't. She looked up at him from her hand, confused at his laugh. "I know, I know, I should've said no, but I'd already agreed before she said Carmen's name..." Iris knew she was going to start on a tangent-- a quiet one, of course, they were in the library-- before she even began. "...And now I'm worried you hate me or she'll find out or you'll ignore me forever and I'll be alone all over again and I just don't know what to do!" The last part was spoken a little loudly, and a nearby librarian shushed Iris. |
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Caden kept laughing, wiping tears from doing so too hard. "Oh man, good luck with her. If you make her mad she'll throw chairs at you or if a textbook makes her mad she burns it so... be advised. And, i'm not trying to be controlling and not let you be friends with who you want to but... could you maybe, please not get too close with her? We both have uh.... beef between us." He warned, actually proud of himself since he figured out that 'beef' could also mean other than a food. |
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Iris was staring to get nervous. If what Caden said was true... Maybe tutoring Carmen was going to be harder than she thought. "Yeah, of course. If that's what you want." She replied absently, thinking hard. |
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"I mean, she might not throw things at you... I think she only did it because i'd throw something back at her until one of us eventually stormed out." He explained softly, tone slightly sad as he drummed lightly on the table with his fingers. |
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Iris didn't answer, wondering why the two of them had gotten so mad at each other. Why would you date someone if you kept getting into fights? Not being able to figure it out, Iris brought herself back to the present. "Yeah... So... Oh, the first session with her is tomorrow, after my classes, around 2:00." |
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Caden just nodded, not really listening to her words as he zoned back out. The times him and Carmen planned futures under starry skies, depended on eachother, were there for eachother... oh how he missed them. |
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Iris was quiet for a few minutes before she remembered the homework she had to do. "Sorry Caden, I have some assignments I really need to finish tonight. See you tomorrow?" She asked, gathering her things. |
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"Yeah, yeah no worries. Best you go and get those done," He agreed, handing her her things which had spread over the table. Caden was slightly sad to see her go, yet he felt he had ruined it by not talking and making things too awkward. |
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Iris smiled at him, zipped up her backpack, hefted it onto her shoulders, and headed off to her room. It occured to her that she could have just stayed and done her work there in the library, but Caden might've been too distracting. Besides, she much preffered her quiet room to the library. |
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Caden let out a breath when Iris left, holding his head in his hands for a moment---tense. Not until he smelled the familiar scent of honey and a graze of a hand over his shoulders. "Caden, long time no see." Carmen murmured softly, Caden surrendering and looking up at her. "Yeah, a little bit." Was all he said, eventually breaking her gaze as she started massaging his shoulders, something she remembered he liked. "Why are you so... tense? What happened?" She asked, Caden huffing a laugh. "I..... I don't know. First I found out you were here, then I found out my girlfriend was tutoring you, then she left and now I feel bad since i'm pretty sure it was my fault." He admitted, Carmen nodding. "Oh, that little Iris girl? The quiet one who seems she's barely spoken any words besides to teachers?" Caden swallowed hard, nodding slowly. "I guess.... that's one way to put it." He murmured, the woman chuckling. "Caden Caden, don't you miss us? Before everything went south, before we started fighting. When we genuinely enjoyed eachother. Just give me one night, and i'll prove to you i've changed." She offered, Caden's heart hammering inside his chest. He was torn between the options, stay with Iris, or go with the one he'd been waiting on to change. His throat was tight, jaw working like it wanted to say something. "Say it, c'mon Caden, just say it." Carmen said bitterly, digging her thumb into a spot she knew would hurt. "N-No," He muttered, almost inaudible. She chuckled, shaking her head. "That's not the right answer, try again." The woman said again, digging her thumb in hard enough to make him wince. "No." The man said firmly, though his voice was still quiet. He went to rise, though Carmen just pushed him back down into the seat. "You'll either say it or i'll force it out of you, to be clear." She said casually, Caden still resisting. He pushed her off of him and grabbed his things, shoving her out of his way so he could get out of there. The man quickly strode away, suddenly hot underneath his jacket though it was 30° outside. His eyes stung at the realization: he had about cheated on Iris----with his ex of all people. Caden made it to his dorm, hand shaking as he opened the door and shut it quickly behind him, breaths shaky and short as they came in. He tugged his jacket off, tossed his bag aside, and went to his desk. Head in hands, the wood beneath him became damp with salty water. And no, the tears weren't because he was dramatic or weak or anything, they were simply only there because their producer was overwhelmed with everything. Three essays due, in a language he barely read and could really only speak----his maipulative ex back on campus and a tutee of his girlfriend----realizing his friends were fake----and somehow,
Caden was still going strong. |
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Windy with Flurries
