Splinter In My Eye

I've loved everything about you that hurts

"Wake up, Shane! Wake up! You're gonna be late for class." I heard my roommate yelling.

"Unf, five more minutes." I buried myself deeper into the covers and threw a pillow over my head.

"Shane Wakerman, you'd better get your butt off the bed and start getting ready for class! You've already missed two lectures and I'm not gonna cover up for you again, missy." I felt myself being pelted with pillows.

"Fine! I'm up! Now stop hitting me!" I cried out furiously.

I saw my roommate and good friend, Ivy standing over my bed, a scowl etched on her pretty face.

"Shane, you seriously have to get it over with, babe. It hurts me to see you like this."

I ran a hand through my messy brown hair, threw aside the covers and stretched myself. I finally got up from the bed and slowly padded across the carpeted floor to the bathroom, all the while ignoring Ivy. She gave me a loud sigh, picked up her backpack and left the room. I made my way to the bathroom and checked myself in the round mirror.

Heavy bags lined underneath my eyes and my dark hair stuck out in random places. I appeared skeletal in the bright sunlight, with shadows falling under my cheekbones in an unsettling manner.

It had been a month since the breakup. Oh God, I loved him so much, it hurts me to think about it. My eyes started to brim with tears again.

Lips pressed close to mine, true blue

"Hey babe, how are you doing?" Caleb Matthews' sweet, boyish voice could be heard over the receiver.

"Hey, not doing too fine here. Missing you badly," I giggled. "Can't wait til you're back."

"Aww babe, I've been gone for only three days and you're missing me already?"

I nodded and pouted, eventhough I knew he couldn't see what I was doing.

"If that's the case, open your front door. Now."

I was taken aback by what he had said. He wasn't supposed to be back until the day after, as he was accompanying his elder brother to his bachelor party. Caleb's brother was to be married by the end of the week.

I rushed down the steps two at a time, my cell phone still glued to my right ear. I threw open the front door and saw my boyfriend of two years, standing with his own cell phone held to his ear and grinning.

"You're back!" I squealed. "But-"

He silenced me by putting his forefinger on my lips and took both of our phones to put them in his back pockets.

"Kiss me," he breathed.

I stared at his baby blues which I'd always adored and pressed my lips close to his.

Things aren't the same anymore
Some nights it get so bad
I almost pick up the phone

"Do not answer the phone if it's that douchebag," Ivy had reminded me, over and over again. "If I were you, I'd change the number."

It had been a month, but Caleb was still calling and leaving me text messages. He flooded my mailbox, stating how sorry and stupid he was. I stared at the ringing cell, entranced by the ringtone.

It's his fault. He cheated on me and I did the right thing by breaking off with him. So why do I miss him so much? Worse, I'm still harboring feelings for him.

Ivy walked over to my bed and picked up the phone. She silenced it and tossed it inside the chest of drawers, together with all my underwear.

"C'mon, let's unwind for a bit. I don't think you can continue cramming like this." She grabbed my arm and dragged me to the wardrobe. "I promise you that I'm going to make you forget about Caleb. Let's head to Scholars."

Trade baby blues for wide-eyed browns

"Shane! Let's go! We're fucking late!"

"If you hadn't brought me out yesterday night, this wouldn't have happened!"

Ivy and I were scrambling madly to get ready for classes as we had overslept by an hour or so. The trip to Scholars did help us to relax, but it also resulted in us bunking in late and being unable to get up in the morning.

We had to run to the School Of Media Arts and Studies, which was over two blocks away from campus. By the time we reached there, lectures had already started.

"Good to know that both Miss Hurst and Miss Wakerman cared to join us this morning," the lecturer, Dr. Thomas, remarked out loud.

I grinned sheepishly while Ivy cringed beside me. We took our seats quickly and started taking down notes, until I noticed someone was staring at me from the corner of my eye.

I looked up from my notes and saw an unfamiliar guy's face, two rows below me, grinning. He had tousled brown hair and brown eyes, which was hidden behind a pair of old-fashioned glasses. He wasn't as handsome as Caleb, but his goofy grin and geeky appearance made my heart beat a little faster.

Stop associating Caleb with everything! He's history!

"Mr. Newton, I presume Miss Wakerman there had your attention after she waltzed into class half an hour late. However, I would like to remind you that I am the one who's giving the lecture, not her," Dr. Thomas reprimanded the guy.

"I-I'm sorry," Newton replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. I distinctly heard he had an accent.

A few of the students snickered at this and I couldn't help, but to blush at the commotion around me. "And to fill you both in on who's your new classmate, that's Mr. Kyle Newton. A transfer student from England and he'll be studying with us till he graduates," Dr. Thomas informed me and Ivy. "I hope that's settled then. Can I have your attention now?"

The lecturer started to drone on and on, but my mind was already somewhere else. Technically speaking, on someone else.

Kyle Newton.

Things are going to look brighter. I smiled at the thought of this and continued scribbling in my notebook.