Chapter thirty-six

                                    

                                              
Regan-
                          
Very rarely do I put myself in awkward situations but somehow I ended up doing just that. When Avery told me he wanted to go get fro-yo my initial thought was, he'll no. After some thought I realized that if I did that it would seem as if I wasn't over everything that happened. Granted, I wasn't over anything; as a matter of fact I wanted nothing more then to be really petty and throw it in his face every chance I got but that would make me look like I was still hung up on him which I certainly wasn't cough* cough*. 
                          
So here I am sitting down across from the person who devastated me just so it would seem like I was fine. Admittedly the fro-yo helped a little. Something about it always made me smile. "So what should we be doing to prepare for the manticore?" He asked. I was snapped out of my thoughts by it and I shrugged. 
                          
"I'm really not that sure. The only thing of interest that the bestiary said was that on the full moon it would come into some incredible power, so we might want to make our move in the next two days." 
                          
"Yeah, gods only know what 'incredible power' means and I don't actually want to find out."
                          
I shrugged again and turned to look out the window. It was grey out today but I still found something beautifully calming about it. Maybe it was the neutrality that came with this kind of weather. Everything seemed stagnant, at a stand still and I found solace in that. I felt his eyes on me and I didn't want to turn back around because I knew what was coming; apparently that didn't matter because he spoke anyway and I cursed myself for being right. 
                          
" you're cute when you do things like that." I turned around with raised eyebrow and gave him a scrutinizing glance. 
                          
"What?"
                          
"Just you sitting there looking out the window, most likely asking yourself why you think this kind of weather is pretty." He said and my eyes widened a bit. Can Avery read minds? No; stop being stupid, of course he can't but it rose a different question. Does Avery really know me that well?  
                          
"I don't know what you're talking about." I said as I turned to look back out the window. 
                          
"See; cute." I heard the smile in his voice and the heat of blush filled my face. "I miss this, Rey. I miss us." I snapped my head back to him and saw him wince. Good, he should wince, why did he keep doing this. 
                          
"There is no us, Avery."
                          
"There used to be, there still could be." He said sounding a bit exasperated. 
                          
"No. there can't be; why do you keep doing that?"
                          
"What?"
                          
"You're trying so hard to wiggle yourself back into my life. I just managed to bury you deep down and you want to undo that. Why?"
"Because I still love you." That hurt a bit. 
                          
"Well I don't love you." I dead panned.
                          
"Yes you do, you just said so." I looked at him like he was stupid, he noticed and continued, "if you had to bury me deep down then that means that I'm still in there, and as long as I'm still in there I won't stop trying, Rey."
                          
This was so frustrating and quite frankly annoying. "Avery you made you're choice. Just stop." I said raising my voice, he looked around in concern but I didn't care, they could kick us out but I had to get this off my chest. "You told me you wanted Niko, so have him. Leave me alone, I don't want to get hurt by you again. I have a good thing going on with Indie now anyway so just lay off." As soon as I said that his expression flashed with several emotions. I saw regret, I saw anger, jealousy and fear. I wanted to ask him what all of that was but Im sure he would get the wrong idea so I left it well enough alone.