Chapter 16: Why Do You Even Care?

                                    

                                          
                                Edited
                          
It was lunch time and I had just sit down at my table along with Anna, Brian, and everyone else who usually sat at that table. 
                          
The lunch special was pizza, thankfully it wasn't the nasty school made pizza. It was fresh from Domino's Pizza. 
                          
"Hey," Anna smiled as I turned to her.
                          
I smiled back nudging her. "So, how's Brian doing?" I said rather loudly. 
                          
Brian and Anna were pretty much the "it" couple of the sophomore class. Everyone wanted to know what was going on with them and everyone wanted to be in their business. I honestly don't know how they handled it all because I most likely would have broken down the first week if I'd ever been the "it" couple with someone. 
                          
But Brian was a nice guy and I was happy for Anna. 
                          
He turned to look at me, laughing. "I'm good, what about you?"
                          
"I'm fine," 
                          
He whispered something in Anna's ear and she nodded, before they switched seats. 
                          
"I heard about you and Nathan," Brian whispered. 
                          
I pressed my lips together. "Yeah, it wasn't working out." 
                          
"Mallie, he's been acting strange. Anna told me you guys broke up because you felt like he didn't care about you, but the way he's been acting lately doesn't add up." he said.
                          
"What do you mean?"
                          
"At football practice he's been constantly talking about how he's going to get you back and that he still loves you and that he knows you still love him too..."
                          
I shook my head. "I don't get it. I already told him that I didn't want to be in another relationship at the moment and he said that he got it." 
                          
"Well, obviously he didn't," 
                          
I shook my head, turning to look at the table that Nathan sat at. He looked perfectly fine to me. In fact he didn't look like a boy who had lost the girlfriend that he loved. He looked better, actually. Like he was almost... happier. 
                          
And that was what hurt the most. Not that I'd broken up with him. Not that we weren't together anymore or that we'd been together for that long and hadn't been able to make it work out. What hurt the most... was that he actually looked like he didn't care, despite what Brian was saying. 
                          
"Thanks for telling me Brian," I whispered as he nodded and I got up to dump my tray. 
                          
I hadn't eaten any of the food I'd gotten today, but there was no possible way I could've even tried to eat. Not after what Brian had told me. Thinking about that just made me queasy to my stomach. Queasy to the point where I didn't want to eat a thing. 
                          
I needed to stop thinking about him. I already told myself I was going to forget about him and I needed to start living up to that. 
                          
"Those doughnuts were like really good," I heard his voice say behind me. 
                          
I don't know why, but even after everything I'd heard, seen, and felt today somehow a smiled managed to cross my face as I turned to look at him. 
                          
And when my eyes landed on him and I took in his appearance I couldn't help but let my smile widen. Those perfect blue eyes and smile sure knew how to get me every time. 
                          
I crossed my arms over my chest, still smiling. "Were they now?"
                          
He smiled. "Yeah, they were almost worth doing that nose dive down the stairs."