The school counselor's office seemed stuffy to the couple as they sat apart from each other, both resenting their situation in separate ways.
"What're we doing here?" Tony gave a sideways glance to his girlfriend Whitney, who shifted in her seat.
Whitney never peeked over at Tony, not even to meet his questioning glances. Secretly, she knew that some point along in their relationship they would end up here, down this road, there were too many mistakes. Her's being the biggest blunder, of her life. She quickly learned that texting a boy, who was someone she just met at a café, wasn't the wisest thing to do in a relationship. Especially when that certain somebody asks you out over the phone while your boyfriend has it in his hands. Not pretty. To make matters even worse, Tony did find all their exchanges, and did suggest that what she was doing equaled to cheating. She, of course, adamantly denied ever considering such a horrendous thing, then naturally they got into a heated "discussion" about the fragile rules of dating. The extremely fragile rules. But, he committed a dating crime as well. It wasn't just her.
Tony, in complete contrast to his girlfriend, had tried to be extra attentive towards her, but she kept pushing him away. Now he understood why. They had been perfectly happy until this month; it must be that other guy. Maybe that guy was better than he was, maybe he made her happier, but why didn't she break up with him? Because she wanted to make him feel depressed? Make him regret ever being her boyfriend? Never speak to her again? Well, that was the way she was heading. The least she could have done was tell him about the other guy. Tell him it was innocent, that he was just a friend, perhaps even let him meet this guy. But no, she had to converse with him in secret, some boy that she had never even met, while he knew her for years. In his opinion, she was the one who did wrong.
"Whitney said you two might need a little...couples counseling." The counselor, Miss Brackett, glanced between the two, sympathy shining through her chocolate orbs.
He narrowed his eyes, "Are you, qualified for that? At all?"
"Actually, I...no...but Isabelle and Christian came to see me, and...I thought they found it pretty helpful."
"They broke up." he glanced over at Whitney, who had sunk down in her chair, eyes slightly widened.
"They did? They seemed so good together too. Okay, well, brutal honesty is the cornerstone of every relationship. So, I want you to feel like this is a safe place for you to air your differences." Miss Brackett waved her hand.
"Okay. Well, first, Whitney has been texting this guy, and I got kind of upset." Tony crossed his arms. "They apparently just met."
Whitney sighed. "Tony, I said I was sorry for thirty minutes. Consistently."
Upon hearing those words, Miss Brackett slid a pamphlet under her papers tilted, "Heartfelt Apologies."
He shot his girlfriend another glance, seeing if she would look in his eyes, but she did not, so he returned his gaze back to the red-headed counselor. "So, if we're here to be brutally honest like you said, there are a few things I want to change."
"I'm actively listening." Whitney gave off another sigh, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.
"Well, for starters, Whitney has a tendency to go into literally every store we pass by." he turned to her once more, and she still would not look at him. "You don't need anything, why are you going in there?"
"Okay, I hear you, and that's something I'm willing to work on," she crossed her legs.
"Also, stop with the shoes. Please."
"I like shoes."
"You have a closet full of them, you don't need any more."
"Tony, maybe you would love Whitney just as much if she did have a lot of shoes." Miss Brackett interrupted what appeared to be the start of an argument.
"You know what?" Whitney clenched her hands, fighting back tears. "And while we're being perfectly honest, I have something to say. I hate that with every, single conversation we end up talking about the company. What you're going to do with it, what you're going to do first, and how amazing it's going to be. It's like Stark International is the only thing we talk about now, Tony. It's like...it's like you can't wait to get away from me. How is that supposed to make me feel? In a year, you're going to be gone, with a brand new life, brand new friends, brand new everything, and I'm going to end up in the background...by myself." she took a deep breath to silence the on-coming sniffles. "You're right, I shouldn't have texted Lucas, but I swear it was completely innocent. And I'm so, so, sorry for being so distant, I...you are the love of my life, and I...I'm just ticked off that I have to learn how to live without you."
Tony's resolve crumbled at her confession, and he leaned over towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'll always find time for you, no matter what."
"I love you so much," she let a solitary tear escape her defenses.
"I love you, too." he confessed, smiling, and making her smile back.
Miss Brackett sniffed back her own tears as the couple embraced, eyes closed, obviously forgiving each other.
Happy endings always tugged at her heartstrings...