Until We Meet Again

September 24th 1999

“Hey.” Jordan smiled faintly as Logan met her outside of her workplace. She had gotten the last shift, so she and another girl she worked with had been the last ones to leave the diner, having to clean everything up for the next morning.

“Bye Jasmine.” She waved at the slightly older girl as she waved back and walked up the street.

Logan leaned forward to kiss Jordan, but she grunted, pretending to be fixing the hem of her t-shirt in order to move her face away from his.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. “I’m just tired, that’s all.” She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

Two months had passed since she had last seen Gerard. Since she had revealed to him that she had a boyfriend, when that subject had been brought up for the first time, and last.
If there was anything he wanted to tell her about it, he didn’t. But, although Jordan wasn’t happy with the way they had left things when Gerard left England, she didn’t dwell on it either.

What made her worry came later. The feeling of guilt that endured, when his phone calls decreased from daily to weekly, the way her brain never ceased to think about him, and how she had ended up avoiding Logan for the past few days, made Jordan realize she could no longer pretend to herself that what she felt for Gerard was just friendship.

And that was why now, as she stood in front of her boyfriend and he gave her a confused look, she decided that it was time to be honest with him. And herself.

“We should talk, Logan”. She looked at him straight in the eye, not wanting to let any of her uncertainties shine through.

Logan’s reaction, however, was not the one that she expected. He looked at her, and rather than looking confused, worried, or even afraid, he simply smiled.

“This is about Gerard, isn’t it?” There was almost a hint of amusement in his voice. Instead, Jordan was the one to look confused, catching a strand of her hair that kept on hitting her face and placing it behind her ear.

“What are you talking about?”

The boy stuffed his hands on his jeans pockets, the amusement on his face replaced by some sadness. “Part of me always kept saying to myself that you just liked him as a friend, that he was your best friend and you were far away from each other, so it was natural for you to miss him.”

“What do you mean? I do miss him, but we’re just friends.”

“You never really noticed it, Jordan?” There was that half smile, half frown again. “You should really listen to yourself when you speak, because most of the time all you speak about is him.” He waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t, her eyes simply moving from his face to the concrete sidewalk, he kept on talking. “Look, I understand. I already knew what I was getting into when we starting dating,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair to keep it away from his eyes. “But honestly, I thought that maybe I could, I don’t know, not replace him, but make you happy too.”

“I’m sorry.” That was all she managed to say.

This was supposed to have been more difficult. She should have had to explain him that things weren’t working out between them, that it was not his fault, because she was the one who hadn’t been honest with him. This should have been harder to explain and therefore, easier to deal with.

Logan’s shoulder touched hers, making her stare at the sad smile on his face. “I just hope he realizes how lucky he is to have someone like you, Jordan.”

December 22nd 1999

Jordan couldn’t be more excited to arrive home. She was finally on vacation, she had missed her parents and she was finally going to see Gerard. The familiar tingle on her stomach was even stronger. Although the long distance conversations between Gerard and her hadn’t been the same since July, he had still offered himself to pick her up at the airport when they had last talked, a few days ago.

Her green eyes searched for his face, wearing a smile on her face which she struggled not to widen excessively. She had tried to call him the minute she had landed, but he hadn’t answered it.

She glanced at her cell phone and decided to try again. Still, there was no answer. She sighed and decided to wait at the airport entrance.

It had almost been an hour and she saw a familiar car arriving at the airport’s pick-up lane. But it wasn’t Gerard’s.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Mikey stopped the car and went around it to meet her. Jordan blinked several times as she tried to process what had just happened. Why was he here?

“Where’s Gerard?”

“He couldn’t come, so he asked me to. Didn’t he tell you?” He shrugged, after hugging her and grabbing one of her bags.

“No.” She raised an eyebrow, taking the passenger seat.

She watched his face harden. “Oh, I see.”

“What happened?” Jordan stared at Mikey’s face, but the boy avoided any eye contact. “I wasn’t able to talk to him today; he doesn’t answer my phone calls.”

“When was the last time you two talked?” He asked and she frowned at his question.

“A few days ago, maybe three of four, I don’t know. Why? Is something wrong?” The question had sent her on edge.

“No, everything’s fine.” He smiled although his eyes showed a different emotion. They telegraphed disappointment.

“Why didn’t he come to pick me up?” She insisted once again, as they got closer to her neighborhood.

Mikey didn’t open his mouth. He played with the radio, trying to find something else other than news or old songs.

“Mikey!” She suddenly snapped and turned the radio off. “Are you listening to me?” She glanced ahead as the car turned left. Her house was just down the street.

“I don’t know, okay?” He almost yelled, letting go a sigh as he stopped the car in front of her house. “I’ll tell him you want to talk to him, alright?” He unbuckled his belt to go help her with her luggage. She didn’t budge for her seat. “What now?”

“I’m not going home until I talk to him.” She crossed her arms against her black winter coat.

Mikey glanced at Jordan’s house; hoping one of her parents would appear. Nothing happened. “Look, he’s not probably even home yet.”

“Then I’ll wait for him.” Her stance didn’t change.

He let out a desperate sigh. “Why are you being so stubborn about this? Why do you want to see him so badly?”

“Why don’t you want me to talk to your brother? Is there anything wrong about me wanting an explanation for what happened today?”

There was another sigh, followed by the sound of the car engine being turned on.

“Thank you!” She breathed out, letting her back fall against the car seat as it started to move.

A few minutes later they strode to the front porch of their parents house. As Mikey opened the front door, silence welcomed them in.

“Your parents aren’t home?” Jordan asked.

“Dad’s still at work and mom probably went to the grocery store.” He said after closing the door and looking around.

Jordan nodded, taking a seat at the family’s room sofa and starting to fiddle with the television remote. She’d been inside that house so many times that she almost acted like if it was her own.

“Listen Jordan,” Mikey started after a while of watching tv next to her in silence. “I know you’re upset with my brother, but he’s a good guy. He just has some issues.”

“What are you talking about?” Her eyes moved from the screen and narrowed at him.

“He’s, huh, it’s complicated.” His eyes moved from the floor, to the tv and back to the floor, trying to avoid her gaze.

Jordan turned the television off. “What is complicated? Why are you being all secretive today? What the hell is going on?”

The sound of keys fumbling against the door lock made her stop talking. She got up, with Mikey mimicking her, her lips tightening as she walked to the front door. She heard Gerard’s voice and then an unfamiliar one.

“Wait, Jordan,” Mikey murmured, but the look on her face when she turned to face the front door made him stop.

“Hi Gerard.” She stared at him at then at the source of the unfamiliar voice. There was a girl next to him, smiling brightly and staring back at her with big blue eyes.

“Hi Jordan.” He stared back. There was no welcoming smiles, no hugs, no exchanging of any others words. They just stared at each other and neither of them moved, like if there was a wall between them.

“You’re Jordan?” The brunette asked, her smile faltering for a second before widening again. “I’ve heard so much about you!” Jordan’s eyes narrowed, only to widen once the girl took a step toward her and hugged her. “I’m Katherine. I’m Gerard’s girlfriend.”

Jordan didn’t want to have the reaction she had, but she couldn’t help it, so she laughed. Hard. The girl gave her a confused look and Gerard frowned. Even Mikey was probably shocked by her reaction, but Jordan couldn’t really tell since her back was facing him.

“I’m sorry.” She finally managed to say, covering her mouth with one hand to muffle the chuckles. So that’s what it was all about. That was why he hadn’t picked her up at the airport, and why Mikey didn’t want for her to wait for Gerard.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Katherine.” Her tone tried to sound as less sarcastic as possible, but Gerard caught it.

“So, how’s Logan?” It was his time to speak. Jordan’s eyes darted from the slightly shorter girl in front of her to him; a wide grin matching the one Gerard showed her. So this was how he wanted to play? Well, two could play that game.

“Logan? Oh well, we’re not dating anymore.” She was ready to wipe the smug look from his face. “I guess he was not the one I was in love with.”