Chain Reaction 3.24: Bubblegum

Jarvis

     Six months. It's been...six months since Lottie quit. I've tried to speak with her, to see her, to hopefully get a chance to get her to see that she was affected by that moment, but she refuses to acknowledge me or what happened. I even tried seducing her again, but that only made me narrowly miss getting a black eye. It was like the more she was affected, the more violently she'd react. I don't know what else to do. So... I stopped. I haven't spoken with her in four months.

     My store is the only thing that keeps me going, but even that is a reminder of her. Maybe someday I'll be immune to all the constant reminders. For now, though, I'm a store-owning bum who can't sleep.

     "Well, if it isn't cloud-boy," a woman says as she approaches me. She's familiar, but I can't place her. She watches me watch her walk closer. "I guess it's okay that you don't remember me. Not everyone has a memory for faces like I do."

     "My name is Isabella."

     "Uh, Jarvis." I stare at her exposed midriff. "Did you just come from a party?"

     She gasps in recognition. "You were the guy with the pink sneakers! I met you right before I graduated. You told me you'd dropped out."

     Wow. She does have a good memory. "Bubblegum," I say aloud.

     "Excuse me?"

     Oh, plum. My face turns red. "Sorry. That's what I called you in my head."

     She giggles like I just told the world's greatest joke. "You gave me the nickname 'bubblegum'? I guess it's true I like gum."
     I don't bother to tell her she got the name because of how bubbly she was and how it looked like it would be hard to escape the conversation--therefore sticky.
     "So, it looks like you still have the cloud over your head."
     "Huh," I remark with no emotion.
     "Is it this mystery girl again?"
     I feel my brows come together in a kind of surprise. "You remember that?"
     She smiles. "Yeah. I do." Pause. "Well?"

     "You really wanna hear this?" Honestly, maybe she could give me some tips as to what I'm doing wrong or let me know if there's no hope.
     "Yeah. What can I do to help?"
     I exhale roughly. "I've known this girl since we were kids. I think it was the last time I talked to you when I saw her kissing another guy."
     "I think so."
     "She wound up dating him, but ... I still found a way for us to hang out. Naturally, he didn't trust that, but he got really clingy. And that drove her crazy enough to break up with him. So, as soon as I found that out, I told her how I felt."
      She breathes in a hiss sound. "Oh. Oh no, bad move."
      Surprised, I ask, "Why?"
      "Do you want to be the rebound guy?"
      "Uh... No."

     She sighs, closing her eyes. She's...pretty. Why is she sitting here giving advice to this loser? Did the party suck that badly?
     "You should've given her time before throwing how you feel at her."
     "I'd actually told her years ago. That was even before she dated this other dude."
     Her very blue eyes open. "Really? I'm sorry."
     "I assumed then that she just wasn't ready to hear it. So..." My heart breaks. "So, you think it's hopeless?"

      "I don't know," she replies.
      "You know, I'd thought it might've been that it was all too fast, so I went to her house a few times to try to get her to talk to me. You see, I almost kissed her, but I didn't. She warned me not to, so I didn't. But then I made her want me to, even though I still didn't." I pause. Was I a prick? "I just wanted to prove that there was something between us. She wanted me to kiss her. I know I wasn't reading that look in her eyes wrong." I finish spilling my guts and watch Bubblegum for her reaction. She still looks sad. Plum. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?" I lean my elbows on my thighs and put my head in my hands.
      "I'm sorry, Jarvis. Maybe you did misread the look in her eyes."
      Not only did I just spill my guts to an almost-stranger, now I want to cry. She's right. Lottie doesn't love me. I've been wasting my time. I don't get why, but my sorrow quickly turns to anger. I've wasted time chasing a girl who didn't want me.
     "Okay," I breathe out in a 'well, plum' way, and I sit up. "So, tell me why you left whatever party you were just at."
      She tries to smile. "I wasn't at a party. There's a club over there called Halfsies. It closes at four."
      "Oh," I reply, sounding braindead. I've never been to a club. I've never even been to a bar. I'm secure financially; maybe it's time I started letting myself have a little fun. "Maybe I should... try going there sometime." I've been so driven to make money ever since I was a child that the thought of just throwing money away for fun-related things is foreign.
      She smiles at me again. "I could introduce you to some people."
      I smile back. I don't know if I'm ready to let myself fall in love again, but I am mad at myself for chasing Lottie for nothing all these years.
      Bubblegum and I sit and talk about our lives. She has an overprotective father who sounds like tries and fails to control whether or not she goes out and parties when she feels like it. I tell her I ran away from home to escape my step-father. I don't want to tell her who he is because of all the negativity associated with the Landgraabs.

     The sun starts coming up, and we get closer... physically. I couldn't tell you exactly how that happens. I only know that it's nicer to talk to her than I'd have guessed. She's smarter than she acts. Before I know it, hours have passed.
     "So," I ask, "do you live around here, or am I just going to have to hang out at random park benches and hope you show up again?" Of course I'm referring to the first time I'd met her.
     She laughs quietly. "How about you start with getting my phone number before I give you my address, hm?"
     "Oh. Yeah. Right. That might be better. I guess."
      She asks for my phone, and I hand it to her before she enters her first name and her phone number into my contacts.
      I scowl, thinking. "What's your last name?"
      "Taylor."
      My jaw drops. Nah. She can't be related to Lottie. She looks nothing like her! Surely, there are plenty of Taylors in and around Eden. Maybe a very distant cousin, but that's about it. She asks for mine.
      I scowl in an angry way this time. "I don't like my last name. Everyone immediately thinks 'wannabe' when they hear it. I'm thinking of changing it. Maybe something inconspicuous like 'Johnson' or something. Yeah."
     She gives a quiet laugh. "Well, Jarvis 'Johnson,' I'd better get home before my dad has a heart attack." She stands up. What do I do? Kiss her hand? Hug her? I have no idea! She smiles. "Call me, okay?" Her shoes hit the pavement as she walks away.
      "Oh. Yeah. Okay," I say to her retreating back. Then, I see her smile and wave to me before vanishing.
      Does this mean I really give up on Lottie? The thought saddens me, but neither will I stand around forever waiting for her to maybe realize she has feelings for me, which she probably doesn't.
      I sigh and stand up to go home. I have to open in a few hours.