I parked my car and went out of it. I locked the doors and then ran up to Sandy, shouting "Hey, Sandy!" I shouted in her direction, I shouted again, "Hey, Sandy!"
"Hey Micah," she said as she looked at where I was, "You okay, bud? You did your thing again. From the first to the latest, huh?"
As I reached her, I panted, I'm tired, the cold air hitting my heavily sweated face doesn't feel relaxed at all, "Hey, I'm just happy to see you. What made you message me to go here?" I asked her.
"Oh, nothing, I just want to reminisce again. Remember when we all used to go here?" She asked
"Yeah, I still do," I say as I chuckle, "this place never really changed, huh?" I said as I added, "I see you still have that yellow jacket I gave you two years ago."
"And I see you still have the orange cap and blue hoodie I gave you merely two and a half years ago on your birthday too."
"I guess so, It's my favorite hoodie and cap. I like using it, especially when I go out with my bandmates." I say as I lean into the railings of the pier, removing my cap and holding it with my hand. "You know, this was a good idea, just us. Reminiscing at the place where we all used to go to, but what really made you go here?" I ask her again
"Well, I'm just stressed out with all the projects, essays, presentations, and other things. Mostly about school." She answered, "And like I said, wanted to reminisce."
"Oh...I- That's nice," I say
"Yeah, it is nice. I just miss the other guys from way before college, you know? Like Elijah, or Sean. But I guess we all went our separate ways and are no longer in contact with one another, right?" She said
"Yeah, that's, that's right. Hell, I wonder what those two are up to now." I said, while still leaning on the cold railings of the pier, then turning around to see the sea and the furthest mountains in the distance. Sandy turns around as well.
"Well, what do you want to talk about?" She asked me while looking at me, her cheeks red from the cold air, it's still in the middle of June, it's supposed to be summer. It looked almost as if she was blushing, but she isn't.
"Well, you go first," I answered her.
"I don't have anything to say other than how the sea and the mountain range in the distance are beautiful to look at." She said
I blushed for no reason at all, the way she said it made my heart skip a beat. She's cute, but I'm waiting for the perfect time to tell her how I feel.
"Hm, they are." I said, "Hey, uh, Sandy? I have a question to ask you." I said, then added, "If that's okay with you, I mean."
"Yeah? It's fine by me," She asked as she then looked me in the eyes, she is curious on whether what my question is. "Shoot."
"Why are we still friends?" I asked her
"Huh?" She answered me, "What do you mean?" She asked
"Why are we still friends, Sandy?" I asked her again.
"I-, Why are we still friends?" She said, "Well, of course, we're still friends. We've been friends for half our lives now." She said.
"I meant, why are we still friends, or can we be more than friends?" I answered my own question.
"Oh! I-I don't know what to feel about that. I don't know what to say about it." She mumbled, but her face went serious, very serious, "You know, I-I thought I made this clear six years ago, on February Thirteen, 2022, right? I thought that was a clear response, I thought I said Happy Valentine's and sent you a picture I made saying happy valentine's, yet you still waited for us to be until 18 or 22, God, did you seriously forget it?" She said, chuckling, "Sorry if I sound like an asshole right now." She added and apologizes to me.
"Don't worry, you aren't," I said to her in a reassuring manner, I hold back my tears, and she then showed me her phone with a message on it:
Hey uhh...Happy Valentine's I guess. Sorry if I didn't reply to your messages I was surprised and I couldn't say anything to you. Look...I really think we could just be friends and I don't want you to wait for me and be hurt. I don't want to hurt you again....I don't really want to be in love at the moment. I just want to finish my studies first. I'm really sorry.
Wait, that's what she meant? I did not notice that I really think we could just be friends. WHAT WAS MY DUMBASS THINKING? God, and then I confessed to her a second time that year, then again right now. I laugh and she looks at me
"What?" She asks me, "What's hilarious at a serious time right now?"
"Well, my fifteen-year-old self is right there crying right now because I did not notice that I really think we could just be friends part. I'm laughing at my younger self right now." I say, sounding okay but I'm really not okay. I'm just holding it in at this point. This feels like a punch to the gut. The scenery is beautiful but I got rejected. I really got rejected by someone I loved for eight years. But that's fine, I can handle this. Jay wouldn't be there to comfort me anymore because of that one situation that happened between us five years ago but that's fine. I can handle this alone.
"Hey, it's fine, we can still be friends, don't worry. Our friendship is strong, right?" She says.
"Yeah, our friendship is strong. Let's just forget this ever happened, okay?"