Over and Over by ficfriction
Chapter 1 by ficfriction
She bit her lip slightly as she looked at her cell phone, needing to know what time it was, to see if it felt as long as it seemed it had. She felt the despair rise in her chest when she saw it was 8:54, leaving him six minutes to arrive; she doubted he would.

FictionFriction: I’m on the verge of hating my life

6RageInside66: i always hate my life

FictionFriction: If I hate my life, I’ll want to end my life

6RageInside66: no you wont

6RageInside66: id be really upset


I really don’t think he would be that upset if I did off myself, she thought to herself as she leaned on the shelves for the Fantasy/Sci Fi books in Barnes & Noble. We’ve know each for two years and in the past year haven’t seen each other once, have had three scattered phone calls, and every now and then I get a text session. She shook her head as she half-heartedly read the manga in her hands.

She met Frank two years ago and their first two months had been a little steamy together, before Mallory, his friend for longer than Kelly had known him, came into the picture. He was working on moving in to a new place and wanted to start a relationship when he was done moving, so not to take time away from a brand new relationship. But then of course, Hell would never freeze over entirely, and Mallory got him in her clutches. At first the landlord for the new place saw the eviction notice from his last place and said, “Go somewhere else,” last minute. The eviction notice was only on there because he didn’t renew the lease to the last place he was in.

At first Mallory was playing the nice friend, giving him somewhere to stay until he found another place he liked. Then, one night when Kelly was visiting him at his work on his break, a regular routine since she moved to the town, she heard the words slip from his mouth. The words that made her heart clench and brought tears to her eyes, which she pushed back. “You know, I still want to be friends with you and all…” And that was it. Mallory had him with her, living with her and dating her. She had gotten what she wanted.

Kelly had slightly feared Mallory since the third day of knowing her, second time meeting her. When they first met at the recording studio, Mallory had silky blonde hair, the second time they crossed paths her hair mirrored Kelly’s in color and style. It was obvious then what she was after.

The saying, “What Mallory doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” became a favorite saying between Frank and Kelly a month later during a steamy meeting that left both breathless and dazed stupid with passion. Their trysts went on for months until the day Kelly had to move again due to family problems in another city, but her last day, someone said something that had turned the saying on her. “What Mallory doesn’t know won’t hurt her, but it will hurt you.” Why wasn’t he with her instead? He could make it without living with her, so why wasn’t he? Because he was stringing her along of course and now that someone was saying it to her face she could see it was true. He didn’t care.

She was out of town for five months and when she came back he seemed happy about it, yet a pattern started up. Every time they had tried to meet up something would come up for some reason or another, always on his side.

FictionFriction: If you want to look at logic, if I did off myself I wouldn’t be taking anything away. We never see each other, so I would only be taking away text messages.

6RageInside66: do you work tomorrow?

6RageInside66: im going to barnes and noble sometime tomorrow

FictionFriction: Frank, something will come up. Like always. I’ve given up hope on us ever seeing each other again.

6RageInside66: and dammit

6RageInside66: I will make sure nothing comes up if you want to hang out

FictionFriction: I do want to hang up, but as I said, I work from 8-10 tomorrow

6RageInside66: they are open til 10 or 11

6RageInside66: kelly I want to see you

FictionFriction: I want to see you too, but you can’t make any swear or guarantee or whatever that you’ll be there. Something always comes up and it will again.

6RageInside66: ok i wont promise we will see eachother, but lets do everything we can to see each other tomorrow

FictionFriction: If you’re serious about this and IF you’re there, I’ll be there between 8:30-9. I’m only waiting a half hour. Where do you want to meet if you show up?

6RageInside66: inside?

FictionFriction: Where inside?

6RageInside66: books. Fantasy/sci fi

FictionFriction: Okay… If something does come up, which it will, please call/text me to let me know so I don’t waste my gas.

6RageInside66: i wont

FictionFriction: You won’t what?

6RageInside66: let you waste your gas


Kelly sighed as she grabbed her Chai, sipping through the straw and finding some comfort in the ice cold Venti Chai. She could feel it in her gut that he wasn’t coming, had only played to her again. She had been here since 8:20, having managed to squeeze out of work early, and now it was 8:58, leaving him two minutes to arrive. Two minutes until she gave up.

I should have known this would happen, she thought to herself as she swallowed her new sip of the Chai, shaking her head slowly after as she looked up from the manga to see if anyone was approaching her, trying to be stealthy. Nope, she thought with a bit of hurt showing in her eyes to anyone that might happen to look her way. No one… Please Frank, don't let me down again.

She shut the manga and stayed in her spot so she wouldn’t risk walking away and missing him. That would be too cliché and she didn’t think she could handle that much with everything else going on in her life. She needed this, needed to see him, need a hug of familiarity from his caring arms. At least she wondered if he did still care, or if he just kept her around for the next day Mallory was being, well, Mallory.

She felt a lump surge into her throat and felt the familiar sting of hot tears in her eyes when she looked at her phone again and saw it was 9:03. He was late and probably wouldn’t even be coming tonight she realized as she waited for two more minutes, giving him traffic leniency. When her cell phone said 9:06 she shook her head and walked the manga back to its spot, returning it to where she had retrieved it from, before she turned and took a sip of her Chai to help swallow her tears.

She kept her eyes peeled for him as she walked slowly from the store, searched the lot for his car from her spot next to her own and frowned deeply when she saw no sign of him. Slowly she slid into her car, a lone tear sliding down her pale cheek from her dark green eyes, before she started the car. Feeling nothing but defeat, she pulled out slowly and left the parking lot, searching the incoming cars, hoping for the obviously impossible event that she would see his car pulling in as she left. It really didn’t surprise her as much as it hurt her that he had failed her yet again.



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