I'd been thinking about soul mates a lot that week. I know, I know the cliché-hater shouldn't be doing that but hear me out. I was thinking about how stupid the whole concept was. Like, are we really supposed to believe that there's only one person in the universe for us? How tragic is that? Let's forget Jason Harley for a minute. Does that mean that if my soul mate was a ninety-six year old man, that I didn't belong with anyone else but him? So that when he died, the universe would want me to live the rest of my days alone? Idiots.

But I couldn't help thinking that Jason was my soul mate and it seemed pretty evident that I couldn't have him. Fate was dangling a carrot for me and I couldn't reach it.

The most ironic part of it was that everyone was treating me like I was some sort of victim. My mom and Anna kept talking to me as if I had been violated or something but that wasn't the case at all. Why couldn't they see that it was exactly what I wanted to happen? Dad and Brandon both changed all of a sudden too. Dad kept saying how angry he was with Jason and I actually had to stop him from going over there to punch him. Brandon said something very similar but I was quite sure that he was just saying it to sound tough.

They were all back to driving me to and from work again too and I didn't see Jason in the store at all anymore. Either my parents told him to shop somewhere else or he decided that by himself. They even seemed to have totally abandoned their plans to fit new lights in the bathroom as well. With everyone trying their best to act like nothing had happened, in our house it was as if Jason had never existed.

He still existed in my head though, and on social media. I was still watching his page daily, seeing him post things about work or whatever sports game was going on at the time. I certainly wasn't expecting him to post anything about me, but it still hurt that he seemed to be moving on with his life.

Lily came over to try and cheer me up, and even though it wasn't working, I was glad to finally have someone to vent to.

"I just don't understand why he suddenly decided to break it off like that" I complained as we sat on my bed. We were supposed to be watching Lily's New Girl  box set but it was really just background noise at this point.

"Didn't you say he freaked when the old lady came over?" She asked.

"Yeah and for a start I thought that maybe had something to do with it but now I'm not so sure. Maybe Mason was right all along and he was just a creepy jerk who wanted to get into my pants" I sighed.

"Mason is an idiot ok" She said flatly. "Trust me, that boy doesn't know anything about girls and their crushes. He wouldn't know true love if it literally slapped him in the face"

"But he knows about guys"

"Jason is different, I know it. But do you really think it's done forever?" She asked.

"For sure. Now that my parents hate his guts, they'll be watching him like a hawk. I'm actually surprised we haven't put cameras up outside the apartment yet to spy on him in the hall" I shivered at the creepiness of that thought. "God, it's just so frustrating that he's right across the damn hall and we're here talking about him like he's a ghost!"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I guess I just have to get over him" I shrugged. "What else can I do?"

"You could fight for him? I mean this is just like Romeo and Juliet! I said it all along!"

"And I'm pretty sure I told you that they both died at the end" I reminded her.

"Spoiler alert!" She giggled, making me laugh for the first time that day.

"I don't know what to do!" I cried in frustration. "I really like him Lil, but there's no point pining over someone that I can't have. I hate people that do that"

"Well I'm sure I saw a meme somewhere online that said that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, maybe you could give that a try?" She suggested.

"That would be a great idea . . . if I was a slut!" I cried. Sometimes I wondered why I was friends with Lily.

"I don't mean literally!" She laughed. "I wouldn't suggest your first time to be because of that but maybe you could go out with someone else at least? There are plenty of guys at school who would kill to take you out"

"There's one problem with that. I don't like any of them"

"You don't know until you try! We didn't know we'd like Mason so much before we were forced to hang out with him. And now I don't think I could live without him. None of us could!" She cried.

"I guess you're right. I'll think about it. But I swear we're going to do that thing where I get you to phone me if it's going horribly wrong so that I can get away" I joked.

"Obviously" Lily said, not joking at all.

I found it pretty ironic that after half-hatching this stupid plan with Lily, that I would then bump into Jason that weekend.

Because I was only sixteen, I wouldn't be able to go out for Anna's bachelorette party so she decided to take me out for lunch instead. I was pretty pissed off for a start because all I wanted to do right now was drink alcohol. I hadn't tried it before but it seemed to cure any stressful feelings that Jason ever had. When it finally came to the meal though, I did enjoy myself. All of her friends were there too and we ended up having a great time. I hadn't seen any of her friends in years; they used to come round to our house all the time when I was growing up and I would always try and act their age so that they would let me hang out with them. Now they were voluntarily letting me be one of the big girls. This alone cheered me up.

I was offered a ride home afterwards but politely declined. I was in a good mood for a change and thought that the walk would be good for me. The mugging was a distant memory now and I'd saw on the news that someone had confessed to the murder which had shook the whole city. With the guy off the streets, and contact with Jason non-existent, and the fact that it was still daylight, there were no complaints from anyone about me walking home alone.

I reached the small café that Jason and I had had breakfast in what seemed like a lifetime ago, when I saw Jason walking into it. For a start I was unsure if I was just seeing things but closer inspection told me that it was definitely him. Without thinking, I immediately followed him inside. Standing behind him in the line was torture, almost as bad as living across the hall from him. He was wearing his working clothes, which was unusual for a weekend but he still looked amazing.

He placed his order and turned round to meet my eyes. The look of surprise in them was clear for all to see.

"Hey" He mumbled nervously.

"Hey" I whispered back.

"How have you been?" He asked.

"Pretty good" I lied. "Are you working around here?"

"A few blocks away. Overtime" He shrugged.

"You look hard at it" I jokingly observed.

"Yeah I'm trying to avoid it" He laughed. "They put trackers in our vans not long ago to stop people going home instead of working. So I felt like a walk and a break" He winked at me but quickly seemed to regret it. "Were you working?" He changed topic.

"No I was out for lunch with Anna, and I felt like a coffee for the road"

"I thought you didn't like coffee?"

"I don't like the bowl. You convinced me with the drink itself" I was kind of lying but it was better than telling him that I was really following him.

"Don't let me hold you up then" He nodded before heading to a nearby table.

My heart sank. Once again, I didn't know what I wanted or expected to happen but it wasn't this.

"But f you aren't in a rush, you can join me if you want to" He motioned towards the seat opposite him. I wasn't sure if he was offering because he wanted to or because he'd seen the disappointment in my expression and felt sorry for me. Either way, I jumped at the chance. Part of me knew it was a bad idea, but part of me just couldn't pass up the chance. What if, right?

"So why are you trying to avoid work? Isn't it better to just get it over with?" I asked.

"You would think so" He admitted. "But somehow I just don't want to do it" He spoke with that gorgeous wry smile of his.

"Fair point" I said. He didn't reply, leading to an awkward silence, similar to the ones we'd shared when we first started talking. It was amazing how much had changed since then yet how much had stayed the same. Seemingly sensing the tension I was feeling, Jason sighed before speaking again.

"Look, I'm sorry for how things have been lately. And how I dealt with the whole you-know-what thing"

"I get it. I mean, I'm disappointed obviously but it was pretty stupid of me to think anything would happen"

"It isn't stupid. You're great! And if things were a little different then maybe. But your moms reaction kind of sums up why it shouldn't have happened. So again, I'm sorry" He looked sincere in his apology.

"You know we can still keep it a secret, right?" I smirked.

"Because that ended well last time didn't it?" He laughed.

"Doesn't that just make it hotter?" I don't think he realised that I was being serious. Even I didn't realise how serious I was.

"More stressful" He corrected. "Besides, you should be focusing on school, and hanging out with your friends instead. Not hanging out with someone like me"

"Alright dad" I joked before turning back to my serious-self. "What do you mean by someone like you? You're awesome! Everybody thinks so. Or at least they did until you –"

"You don't need to say it" He interrupted.

"It's hardly the worst thing that could've ever happened, Jason. It's not like you killed anyone or kidnapped me. It was mostly me anyway; you didn't take advantage or anything"

"It's not that simple"

"Yes it is!" I cried, louder than I intended. Realising that people were watching, I lowered my tone. "I like you. And I now know for a fact that you like me too. Shouldn't that be all that matters? Isn't that the only thing that counts? Age shouldn't matter"

"But it does matter"

"Not to me! If we both want this then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I don't want this!" He shouted angrily. I felt like I'd just been hit by a truck when he said it. I hadn't expected him to be so blunt.

"You don't mean that" I said, my voice catching in my throat. It was more of a question than a factual statement.

"I do" He sighed. "I'm sorry but I just can't do this ok. I know you don't want to hear it but this is never going to happen. You need to get used to that"

I told myself that Jason sounded pained but he was probably just angry. Who could blame him for being fed up with the annoying little girl that was following him around like a lost little puppy? I didn't want to be that typical girl who cries in front of everyone but I couldn't help myself.

"Well I guess that's something" I whispered as the tears formed on the edges of my eyes.

"What is?" Jason huffed.

"It's something that you finally decided to be honest with me instead of pretending that you actually liked me" I sobbed.

"Louise" He softly said, putting his hand on my forearm. Why was he trying to comfort me now? What was he playing at?

"Don't touch me!" I shouted at him, this time not caring who heard. "Just leave me alone!" Before I knew it, I was running out the door and heading home as fast as I could.

Dusk had fallen on the city but I didn't even see the streets I was passing or the cars that were patrolling them. I could have passed the entire cast of The Avengers and wouldn't have noticed them. All I saw was the blurred vision that my tears had caused.

I got home and slammed the front door, before slamming my bedroom one seconds later, only for it to be opened right away by my mom.

"Louise! What are you doing?" She cried before seeing that I was curled up on my bed, crying. "Sweetheart, what's the matter?" She turned sympathetic and ran to my side, crouching to hug me.

I stuttered my answer to her for two reasons. Firstly, my constant heaving made it difficult, but mostly because I wasn't sure I wanted her to know. Would she be mad that I'd spent time with Jason again instead of coming straight home like I'd promised? In the end I decided to tell her the truth, because above all else, she was my mom.

"Why doesn't he want me? Why won't he like me back?" I wailed, turning to whimper into her embrace. Her reaction wasn't the one I was expecting.

"Oh darling" Was all she said as she stroked my hair and tried to console me. This time she didn't go to Jason, she stayed with me as I told her absolutely everything, right from the start until I pretended to fall asleep.

Once she left my room I just put my headphones on and listened to the same sad song on repeat, over and over again.

How cliché.

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Authors Note: So obviously not a happy ending to this chapter! :( But while I was writing it, something amazing happened. I didn't specify in the story what song Louise was listening to but the song in the video below came on shuffle and it just seemed perfect for this story! What do you guys think? This is just for me that this is the song she was listening to but for you it's maybe a different song that was your soundtrack to getting your heart broken. Cheerful, right? Haha

https://youtu.be/SXjXKT98esw