A/N: Oh, I like this one a lot!
30. Go the Distance
A sigh broke the silence between them. Olette and Pence looked curiously over at Hayner.
"What's up?" the girl asked. "Is the ice cream bad?"
"Naw," Hayner said after a minute. "It's just…"
There was another silence. Above them, the clock tolled five. The train rattled past below them, its whistle blowing. Shops were closing up below them.
"I dunno," he said at last. "Something just… doesn't feel right. It seems like there's something missing. Like, I keep looking over and expecting to see someone sitting three. It's driving me nuts…"
He laughed, shaking his head, but his ice-cream was drooping from his fingers.
"It sounds crazy, doesn't it?" he muttered, mostly to himself.
"You know," Pence said thoughtfully, "I sort of feel that way, too. I keep laughing at weird things, like it's an inside joke, but I forgot it."
"Come to think of it, I almost got four ice creams," Olette added. "I'm not sure why."
They looked at each other.
"Ha," Pence chuckled finally. "We're just trying to forget that school starts tomorrow. That's it, right?"
Olette and Hayner laughed.
"Sure," Olette agreed. She twisted to check the clock. "I have to go," she said. "See you tomorrow!"
"School," Pence muttered glumly, following
Hayner lingered, sitting alone on the low wall as his ice cream slowly melted, little drops sparkling in the light as they fell. Even now, it felt as though he could glance to the side and see… so close… someone.
It was on the tip of his tongue.
Ro… Rox…
He snorted at his own idiocy. What was he thinking, anyway?
Maybe… maybe he really was going crazy.