What is?

Discussion in 'Archives' started by mr_croup, Feb 9, 2007.

  1. mr_croup Traverse Town Homebody

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    This is part of a story i wrote because i was bored and thinking about valentines day. It was too long to post in one post, but i guess this one could stand alone. It's kind of cheesy and slow at the beginning, but i tried to make it interesting at the end. I hope it doesn't suck. :)


    What Is?

    Tom had been with Jen for a little while now. He couldn’t help but look back on
    the way in which they had met and laugh at how cliché it was. It was like one
    of those horrible high school drama movies that Jen made him watch. Jen was
    a lonely outcast with no friends. Tom had just moved to town. Tom was the
    skinny kid with black hair, whose eyes practically held up signs that said “I
    LIVE IN MY OWN WORLD”. Jen was the slightly gothic girl with green hair dye
    and piercing blue eyes. One day at school, their eyes met from across the
    hall. Being the guy, Tom naturally made the first move. He walked up and
    introduced himself to her at lunch, and they talked for a while. They had a lot
    in common, and became instant friends, and eventually lovers.

    Tonight was their six-month anniversary. Tom was waiting for her at the place
    they usually met. It was on a hiking trail that had entrances near both of their
    houses. Tom felt the cool spring breeze and looked up at the stars. He
    thought, what a romantic evening. I can’t wait to see Jen. Tom had bought
    Jen a particularly nice necklace for her to celebrate. It was a pendant with
    rubies making the outline of a heart. He hoped she’d like it.

    That was when Tom realized that he had been waiting for fifteen minutes
    already. Jen was usually so punctual. It was unusual for her to be this late.
    Once, he had been five minutes late meeting her here and she had almost
    broken up with him. Tom worried for a moment, and then realized that she
    was bound to make mistakes sometimes. After all, nobody’s perfect,
    thought Tom. He knew that if anyone was dependable at meeting people,
    especially him, it was Jen.

    Finally, in the distance, he noticed something moving along the path. He ran
    to look closer. He hoped that it was Jen, because it was starting to get a bit
    too cold for him out on the trail. His hopes were confirmed. Jen ran toward
    him and almost tackled him when she ran into him and hugged him. He
    hugged her back, and they kissed.

    “Happy anniversary, Jen,” said Tom after they had parted.

    “Happy anniversary,” replied Jen.

    They walked back towards Jen’s house, which was where they usually went
    when they “hung out”. They just watched movies or played board games or
    stuff like that. Their relationship was pretty tame for the most part. They had
    had one or two large arguments in the past, but they had managed to move
    past it.

    And yet, for some reason, as they walked along the path, Jen was strangely
    quiet. It seemed like something was bothering her. She looked sad. Tom
    tried multiple times to raise conversations, but each time, Jen dodged the
    questions. Every time Tom tried to look in Jen’s eyes, she looked away.
    This wasn’t how Jen usually behaved, and Tom could tell that something was
    off. They had gotten to the top of the hill that led to Jen’s house when Tom
    managed to build up the nerve to ask the question.

    “Is something wrong, Jen?”

    Jen took a deep breath, and looked Tom directly in the eye. “Tom, I’m not
    going to beat around the bush. I need to break up with you.”
    Flashbacks of those hideous teenage dramas seared through Tom’s
    mind. “Why?” he asked.

    Jen sighed. “Look, our relationship wasn’t healthy,” she said quickly. “I’m not
    happy, and I haven’t been for the past couple of months.”

    “But I love you. You’re my only friend here. That can't possibly be the only reason you’re breaking up with me, can it?”

    “I…” Jen hesitated. “I’ve found someone else.”

    Tom snapped. “Oh, so it’s that simple?” he yelled. “You just find someone
    else and drop me like some kind of toy? I’m a human being! I have feelings,
    too!”

    Jen wrapped her arms around him and kissed him one last time. “Tom, you’re
    not real. You don't exist. You're a hallucination."

    Tom pulled back and blinked. “What?”

    “I don’t know why I started seeing you. Maybe it was just because I was tired
    of being the lonely outcast girl. Maybe I just wanted to act out some of those
    teenage drama movies I’ve always loved.” Tom’s eye twitched at the thought
    of those horrible shows. “But either way, I guess I made you up, and you
    appeared.”

    “Jen, are you alright?” Tom asked honestly, even though his head was the
    one that was spinning. “Is this some sort of a joke?”

    “No, it’s not. And now, I’ve found someone real. Someone who can actually
    care for me. Someone who’s a real, flesh-and-blood, human being.”

    “Jen…” Tom made a couple of inarticulate noises before his voice trailed into
    silence.

    “Goodbye, Tom.” Jen said with a tone of finality.

    And suddenly, it was as though Jen couldn’t even see him anymore. She just
    looked through him. Then, she turned around and walked down the hill. Tom
    just stood there for a little while and watched her. He didn’t know what else
    to do.

    Eventually, as she just reached the point where the trail ended, he ran after
    her. Tom had never felt more impotent and pathetic in his entire life. He felt
    like a little kid lost in a nightmare. Was his girlfriend going insane? Was this a
    dream? Or did Jen just break up with him because she was having another
    depression attack? Tom didn’t know, but for some reason he was afraid to
    find out the answer.