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2.
Buffy didn’t know why it bothered her so much. She had thought that saying no to Marty wouldn’t hurt this much. But at the same time, she didn’t expect to be completely ghosted by Marty from this. She was asking herself so many questions at once, she completely forgot that she was even at the Spoon with Andi and Cyrus.
“Buffy? You okay?” Andi asked.
“What? Yeah. Sorry I was just… Thinking.”
“Is this about Marty? I thought you two would make it up by now,” Cyrus asked confused.
“I thought we would too, but apparently not. He completely ghosted me all of this morning and we haven’t talked since. All I said was that we were friends! I thought we’d just easily go back to the way things were.”
“I’m sorry, Buffy. Maybe just give him some space for now? You two were so close, I doubt this will last long,” Andi explained.
“Yeah, I hope so…”
8.
Buffy stared at her phone. Thirteen texts, and all in blue. Not one was read. She put her phone down exasperatedly and looked up at the ceiling. Will he ever even talk to me again? No. She couldn’t think like this. It shouldn’t even matter this much. It wasn’t even like they knew each other that long. Yet, it didn’t help the fact that it felt like something was missing to her. Why did this hurt so much more than all the other times someone walked away? She was Buffy Driscoll after all.
Her phone finally dinged.
She quickly jerked to grab her phone only to see a text from Andi.
andi <3: hey buff. cyrus and i are gunna go bowling later today, wanna come?
buffy c: ! : sorry :/ i don’t know if im up to hanging out today,,,
andi <3: awh come on buffy! :( you’ve been so down this whole weekend, it might take your mind off stuff?
buffy c: ! : i’m really sorry andi. maybe next time?
andi <3: yeah sure, of course
Buffy set her phone down slowly. How long was this going to affect her for?
Buffy runs out of her class. She knows that Marty has science next period so she runs across the hallway to catch him before class starts. She runs up the stairs and to the science classroom. She looks inside the room halfway full. She didn’t see Marty anywhere. She decided to wait outside until Marty showed up, but he never did. She knew he was here today so where was he? Did he really skip a class just to not see me? She finally comes back to her senses and realizes that she has class too. Maybe she could try again tomorrow? Yet she was never able to find him at school no matter how hard she tried.
Buffy: hey… i was wondering if you could meet me at the spoon to talk this all over? please?
She reads the text over again. Sent 2:14, and the time was 4:27. She didn’t know why she sat there and waited for over two hours. She did have her distraction of homework though, so that helped pass the time, but she did genuinely have some hope that Marty might read the message. She looked out the window on the cloudy day as she picked up a babytater and slowly ate it. Will I ever even see him again?
23.
Andi, Cyrus, and Buffy are all in Cyrus’ basement listening to old R&B when finally Cyrus gets up and stares straight at Buffy.
“What are you doing?” Buffy asks, stretching out her words.
“Just… Analyzing.”
“Analyzing what? Is there something on my face?”
“I’m just wondering. Have you ever thought that maybe the reason why it bothers you so much that Marty left was because you liked him back?”
“W-what? I don’t like Marty.” Buffy replies timidly.
“Are you sure? Because you seemed to walk away from me easier than you walked away from Marty.”
“That was different. Plus, I said no to Marty? I knew what I was saying and I just miss having his company because he was my friend.”
“Maybe you said no because you were afraid of what might change if you two started dating.”
“Uh- I- I’m gunna go now. Thanks for having me over by the way I just-”
Buffy gathers her things quickly and starts heading towards the stairs.
“Wait Buffy no I didn’t mean to scare you-” Cyrus calls out, yet she didn’t listen.
Buffy shuts the door quickly as she runs home.
25.
Up, down, up, down, up, down. Buffy lays on her bed as she throws a ball up to the ceiling and back down. Is it true? Do I like Marty? Up. Down. Up. Down. Pfft. There’s no way I like Marty. I mean wouldn’t I have known by now? Up. Down. Up. Down.
Buffy finally throws the ball onto the floor. She turns to her side and looks at the clock.
1:34 AM
Buffy groans as she shoves a pillow onto her head.
“Why can’t I let go of this stupid, stupid, STUPID-”
She wasn’t even sure what to call it. Argument? Fight? Occurrence? Break up seemed appropriate, but they weren’t even dating. Buffy picks up her phone and types another message.buffy: marty please. just because we’re not a couple doesn’t mean you have to shut me out of your life. we did practically everything together, even though thats extremely cheesy, we did. i miss having you around, and having playful “banter” with you, and arguing constantly about who was the fastest, even though we both know its me. thats besides the point, i miss you. can you at least just respond to one of my texts? a hey maybe? it could be less i really dont care i just miss you so, so much. i really dont want to let a 7 month friendship to go to waste. i mean come on, we’re buffy and marty. we just work together. please.
Buffy debates on sending the message. On one hand she wants to at least try one more time, but at the same time she sounds like a clingy ex. She builds up the courage to finally send the message.
She pauses. The message was green.
Buffy sits there feeling as if all of her energy just left her body. She sets her phone on her night stand as she crawls up under her covers.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbles to herself.
She wishes she said to Marty all the things she hesitated on now that she realizes she might not see him for a long time.