Leila: Part 5

Clio is sorry this has been so long in coming. School just started and she has had little to no time to write.

“She hasn’t spoken to me in forever! It’s like she’s still mad at me for that… incident.” Seth grumbled.

“Oh… Maybe she’s busy. School is pretty hectic now.” Crystal explored the possibilities. She knew Seth wasn’t thinking straight.

“No. She’s online and not responding to me. She’s not even responding to my test messages!” Seth was annoyed. Why was Leila being so incredibly evasive?

“Well, maybe she’s on, but not on. I’ve done that before.” Why am I protecting her?

“For six days?” Seth couldn’t believe what Crystal was doing. When did she, of all people, become so defensive over Leila?

“It’s possible… I don’t know.” Crystal trailed off uncertainly. She didn’t know what Seth wanted to hear from her anymore. He didn’t get her either nowadays… What do you want from me?

All of a sudden, Seth’s phone buzzed. Crystal raised her eyebrows.

“Speak of the devil…” Seth hit the red cancel button angrily.

“Call her back. You're never going to get anywhere if you guys don’t talk.” Crystal wondered why she was giving love advice. She had never been in a relationship before…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several days later…

“Go talk to her. You’ve been waiting for her for hours, days even.” Sounds familiar…

“You don’t mind?” Seth gave Crystal a puzzled look.

“No, of course not.” Crystal paused, “well, yeah I do, but when has that ever made a difference…” She mumbled under her breath. It’s not as if your mind is around anymore now that she’s here…

“Oh, okay. Bye!” Seth scampered off as fast as he could. “Leila! Wait up!”

“Bye…” Crystal looked across at them dejectedly. She didn’t like Seth, not that way, but she loved him. She couldn’t stand seeing him be with… her. The “witch” as some of her friends called Leila. Many were wondering why they were still together, especially Crystal. Seth could do so much better.

Leila: Part Three

“She broke up with me…”

“Again?” Probably not the right thing to say… Crystal cringed. “I’m sorry, what happened this time?”

“Yeah, for about the... fifth time this week?” Seth’s sarcasm wasn’t lost despite the fact that Leila had… done it again. “She went on a date with Nate while I’m out of town, and conveniently forgot to tell me.”

“Wait, hold up. Nathaniel – Nate?” Crystal, completely taken aback, gives Seth a quizzical look.

“Yeah, that Nate. They were out past dark. I’m not the jealous type, but that concerns me – ”

“And rightly it should!” Crystal interrupted. Ashamed, she drew back. “Sorry…”

“It’s alright.” Seth sighed, clearly upset. “They went out for coffee and stayed out quite late doing stuff… I don’t even know what stuff!”

Silence. Not knowing what to say, Crystal didn’t respond. They both were thinking hard, that much was clear. After a moment, Crystal asked, “What happened next?”

“She said she wanted to talk, and I told her I was in a public place and so I couldn’t.” Seth paused. He seemed to be looking for the right words to say. “She got mad.” Surprise there… Crystal suppressed a smile while Seth continued, “She basically said she’s sick of waiting and so we’re over. To top it all off, she did this over text.”

“Seriously? Over text?” Crystal was shocked. Even for Leila, that was low.

Seth nodded. He was numb, and he wasn’t sure if it was with anger or pain. How could Leila do this to him… again? It’s not as if this was the first time. This was the third, fourth maybe. He wasn’t sure. He still loved her; that much was for sure. But now he wasn’t so sure how she felt about him either…

“Seth?”

Seth snapped out of his deep thought quickly. “What were you saying?”

“And so what happened?”

“Well she told me she’s now with Nate. When I asked how that happened, she said that he asked her out.” Well that was quick… Crystal didn’t know how to respond. When these things happened, she rarely did.

“Oh… So are you guys still together?”

“I don’t know; she hasn’t spoken to me since or informed me otherwise.” Seth was thoroughly confused. And while talking to Crystal usually made things clearer or made him feel better, it wasn’t working this time.

“Go call her.” Crystal suggested mildly but firmly.

“You think it’s a good idea?” Seth was unconvinced. He wanted to call her, but maybe they should just let things cool off a little first…

“Definitely. You guys need to clear things up. I’ll be here if you need to talk later. If not, just text me.” I’m always here, aren’t I? Crystal mused for a moment, then smiled at Seth.

“Alright. I might not be able to come back later, I’ll tell you what happens though.” Seth walked off into the distance, fumbling with his phone.

So you guys are supposedly still together although she broke up with you. Crystal shook her head, wondering how that works. Seth, such a complicated child, though not really a child at all, was he? And Leila, oh Leila, she’s two-faced. That’s the only good way to put it. Crystal wondered what others said about her, and she hoped it was good things. God knows how much she hoped it was good. 

Leila: Part Two

“Hey, what’s up?” Crystal finally got a hold of Seth after a week of no contact. With Leila gone at camp for a fortnight, it was not as if he had a good reason to be unavailable. In fact, that weekend before, he himself had said how he was going to be free to hang out with Leila gone.

“Nothing… Just bored now that the summer’s finally here. Nothing to do, you know…”

“So is that why it so hard to contact you nowadays?” Crystal’s customary and well-known sarcasm kicked in.

“No, I’ve just been busy…” Crystal tried not to get aggravated; Seth was being annoyingly vague. She pressed on.

 “Well, didn’t you just say you’re bored?”

“Yeah, I’m busy being bored.”

“What? That makes no sense!” After a short pause, Crystal continued. “Anyway, what have you been up to?”

She waited a few minutes. After no reply came, she was forced to leave the conversation. 

Leila: Part One

Crystal looked over at Seth and Leila. They were perfect for each other, as so many had already pointed out. Crystal wasn’t sure how she felt about this. In public, they were adorable; doing all the things couples ought to do – holding hands, flirting, and basically behaved like they were in their own little world. However, alone, only Crystal knew what went on behind the scenes. Her mind flitted back to the many times Seth had confided in her about Leila.

“Are you talking to Leila?” The conversation often started this way.

“Yes. She’s mad at me again. She’s being moody…” He often trailed off, unwilling to say much else about the situation.

Crystal’s mind darted back to the present, in which Seth and Leila were walking quickly toward her. She was confused. She knew she didn’t like him, the way everyone was suggesting she ought and did, but…

“Hey Crystal!” Seth smiled and came over to her. Leila followed a little distance behind, pouting just the teeniest little pout. Crystal saw it and pulled back quickly, but not noticeably.

“Hey, how’s it going?” She forced a smile on her face. At this point, Adelia, one of Crystal’s better friends also known as Del, ambled over to the trio.

“Hi guys!” Del made a reference to a popular book series, or something of that matter, and the conversation sprung up from nowhere. Soon, Seth and Del were debating the most arbitrary topics. Crystal allowed her mind to wander back to the past. She remembered the days in which Seth seemed to care more. Nowadays, he barely seemed to notice things. Off course, Seth had never really been observant, but with Leila, things had just gotten worse.

Crystal thought about these things. She cared deeply about Seth. She knew that, but why did her friends always have to alter that into something completely different, romance. She had an absence of romantic feelings toward Seth, but she knew if given the chance, something could develop. As Del often liked to phrase it, “Leila’s sudden kidnapping by ninjas” would work just fine. But it was his life to live; Crystal knew he had thought this through many times. She’d just have to wait and see what happens…