Page 55 of Septembers

your distractingly handsome and hilarious old roommate

Oh, hi Jason!

The sun glared off Theo’s screen, so he had to squint to see the picture Dae sent of a giant Toblerone. He dared him to eat it all before the flight, but Dae didn’t respond. Probably boarding and had to turn off his phone. Or his hands were busy stuffing chocolate in his mouth. Theo hoped it was the latter.

He was walking to Jordan’s, easing his aching heart by scrolling through the comments on the video of her song. In his desolate grief, he’d forgotten to disable them, and woke up to the video going borderline viral.

“Look alive, Theo.” Jacinda was walking towards him, her hands up as if about to steer him away from traffic. Which he was definitely about to walk into.

She was the picture of autumn vibes with ripped jeans, a light cardigan, and her curly hair swaying with the slight breeze.

“Thanks.” He shoved his phone in his back pocket, mentally vowing not to walk-and-scroll. “Um, how are…things?”

They both winced. There was no avoiding the topic. “Things are okay with me, Theo. How are you?”

“Fine.” The lie came out as a squeak, and her expression made it very clear she didn’t believe it. “Okay, I will be fine. Someday.” She kept staring at him. “Once he’s back.”

She nodded, seeming proud that he eventually made it to the truth. “Did you guys talk?”

“Um, not really? He said he was on the waiting list and just got in.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Did Dae tell you why we broke up?”

Holy shit, here it was. He was finally going to get answers. He scooched closer to her as a woman walked by them, bubbly pop music leaking from her headphones. “No, he didn’t.”

Jacinda seemed to war with herself but then shook her head and squeezed his shoulder. “If you need to get some ice cream and cry to sad music, you know where I am.”

What? He’d never been denied gossip for this long before. “You’re really not going to tell me?”

But she was already walking away, giving him a wave over her shoulder. “See you around, Theo.”

His phone buzzed, and he took it out to see a picture of Dae on the plane holding the fancy sketchbook Theo got him for his birthday.

Thank you.

i expect a creature inspired by me

I’m not sure how to capture ‘incapable of texting with proper punctuation.’

I won’t miss you at all

text me when you land

FIFTH SEPTEMBER

No Strings On You

would u visit me in jail if I killed my boss?

Dae

Probably not.

WHY??

I try not to associate with murderers.

but I wouldnt be any old murderer id be your best friend who just happened to murder 1 person