The Past is Only the Future with the Lights On

"So. . .Skyler, huh?" Frank asked, trying to make small talk with me as Mikey and Dahlia acted all couple-y and we dodged any volleyballs that attempted to smack our heads off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, placing a hand on my hip and turning to face him, not bothering to worry about dodging volleyballs anymore.

We had been in PE for nearly an hour now and Frank and I had barely spoken a word to each other. I wasn't quite sure what was bothering Frank, but his comment seemed to clear things up for me. Skyler was bothering Frank. Now I had just one more thing to clear up.

Was Frank jealous that I was spending time with Skyler?

'Of course not. Don't flatter yourself,' I thought.

"Nothing. Am I not allowed to ask my friends about their friends?" he said nonchalantly, passing someone their volleyball that had ended up in our court.

"Sure, but what was with the rude tone?" I asked, my position staying the same.

"Rude? Hmm. . .I hadn't noticed my tone was rude," he mimicked, his voice sounding almost sour.

"Alright Frank," I stated firmly, walking towards him. "What's your problem? And don't you dare say nothing - I know you too damn well to know when something's up, and something obviously is. So, instead of pissing me off, why don't you just tell me?" I told him, feeling proud of myself for keeping a tight voice with Frank, even though those captivating hazel eyes were staring back at me with some kind of desperatness and longing that I didn't understand, trying to swallow me whole.

We simply stared at each other for a few more seconds, my face taut, his almost pained, before he finally opened his mouth to say something.

"I -" he started, only to narrow his eyes at me and continue with something different than what he first had planned to say. "I don't know what you're talking about. So maybe you should just go talk to your new friends before you piss me off," he spat at me, quickly pushing past me and towards the locker rooms.

What in the hell?

So this was about Skyler? What could he have against him? And why would he talk to me like that?

"Where is Frankie going?" Mikey's sweet voice met my ears, pulling me from my stare at the boy's changing room doors where Frank had stormed off to just seconds ago.

"I'm not sure," I barely managed in a whisper. Tears were threatening to spill from my eyes, simply from the tone Frank had used with me. It was such a silly thing to cry over, so I forced myself to get a grip and quickly wipe the area under my eyes with my fingers.

Before I knew it, Dahlia's thin arms wrapped around me in a warm embrace.

"I'll go talk to him," Mikey promised me, not needing an explanation from me to know something happened between the two of us; Frank had just walked out of class, still dressed in his PE uniform, and my eyes were brimming with tears.

I watched as Mikey walked away in the same direction as Frank, wanting nothing more than to be the one to go talk to him, but knowing that probably wasn't the best idea. After all, I was the reason he left in the first place.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Dahlia asked, pulling away and watching my expression carefully.

"Maybe later," I shrugged, knowing if I talked about what just happened between Frank and I now, I would most likely break out in tears.

"Sure," she agreed, patting my back soothingly. "I'm here when you're ready."

I'll be ready once Frank isn't mad at me anymore.