Larimar's POV

My life has seriously decided to take a turn for the worst. First off Amber and Caleb couldn’t go five freaking minutes without being glued to each other. Ugh. I mean seriously. It’s like a constant slobber fest. I mean fine they have every right to be all coupley but jeeze cant they just do it somewhere where the rest of us don’t constantly have to know about it? God. I had higher expectations for them, but now its all just Amber this, Amber that, bla bla bla Amber bla bla freaking BLA. So yeah this week was already fucking horrible, but it just HAD to get worse. Around Thursday Amber started acting super weird. She got super quiet and jumpy and pale and wasn’t slobbering all over Caleb like there was no tomorrow. Or audience. Ugh. But anyways. Caleb of course seemed to be getting worried, seeing as she would jump and pull away any time he tried to touch her, and of course I could tell he was getting depressed. We hadn’t talked since he and Amber had decided to become surgically grafted by the mouth, but of course as I was heading towards my dorm I saw him sitting outside of it looking like a kicked puppy. I knew for a fact that Amber had gone with Illia to her dorm for a sleepover, it WAS Friday after all, and I was almost positive Caleb knew that. As I approached him he looked up at me. God that puppy analogy really was on the nose. His grey-green eyes were large and worried as he peered up from under his bangs.

I stood there in an awkward silence for a few seconds.

“Uh… hey.” I said finally.

“Hey.” He replied, now looking more like a normal boy rather then a dog.

Another awkward silence.

“Um, you know that Amber isn’t here, right?”

He nodded, looking back down at the floor.

I sighed.

“So then what are you here for?”

There was a pause.

“I guess I just wanted to talk. I don’t really have anyone to talk to about this.”

He didn’t have to state what “this” was. Fucking Amber.

I shrugged towards the door to my dorm.

“Do you want to come in? We have chairs that I’m pretty sure are more comfortable than the floor.”

When he hesitated I hastily added

“Zenery is out with Set, Nico, and Briar. Something about the forest and keeping an eye on people.”

Caleb relaxed slightly, and nodded.

I opened the door and showed Caleb in, and went over to one of the observation platforms with plush chairs and bookshelves. The ceiling was showing a twilight sky with the stars twinkling just as brightly as always. I motioned for Caleb to sit on the chair across from mine. He sat.

More awkward silence.

“Um do you want some tea or something?”

He cracked a small smile.

“Not going to happen. I almost died last time I tried some of your tea.”

I crossed my arms and scowled slightly.

“Hey! That was healing tea! And you were acting like a baby. Its good for you! And besides I was just going to make normal tea anyways. You know, with honey and stuff.”

Caleb perked up at the mention of honey.

“I’ll skip on the tea, but give me the honey!”

“Nope. Either honey with tea or no honey at all. I don’t want you blaming me for all the cavities you’re going to get.”

“Fiiiiine” Caleb pouted, “Tea then, but if it kills me you’re explaining it to the headmasters.”

I smiled slightly and went down to make the tea. I guess I had missed Caleb’s childish attitude somewhat. When I returned with the tea, Lemon with plenty of honey, Caleb was gazing distractedly at the roof.  I set the tea in front of him, and he took a sip without looking over, or complaining. Something was on his mind.

“What, does the sky make you depressed or something?” I said, trying to lighten the mood a little. I didn’t like seeing Caleb like this, all serious and depresses and not… Caleb.

“No.”

I sat down, drinking my tea distractedly.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally he broke the silence.

“Does Amber hate me?”

Ugh. Of course it was Amber that he started with.

“No. Not that I know of anyways. Last I checked she was rather attached to you. Couldn’t get her off with a friking crowbar.” I trailed off slightly at the end, my annoyance showing a bit through my voice.

Caleb seemed to pick up on it.

“Do you hate her?”

I jumped.

“What? No! No no. She’s fine.”

He let it go.

“So it that all you wanted to ask me? If Amber hated you?”

He shook his head.

“So then what?”

Pause.

“How do I… let her into my life.”

“Huh?”

“I mean. You know. I mean all we really did was kiss and… stuff. We never really talked emotional stuff.”

“Wait what do you mean stuff.”

“Like backgrounds and life and-“

“Nonononono the other stuff idiot.”

Caleb blushed.

“Oh. Uh. Well I mean… its like…”

I cut him off.

“Did you two have sex?”

He turned crimson.

“WHAT? No!!! No!! Oh jeeze. Larimar really. I’m sixteen. Come on. Just other stuff ya know. A little fooling around that’s all!”

“Well age really doesn’t have much to do with it, but ill take your word for it.”

“Good. Dear lord. You really are something. Jeeze.”

“Oh shoosh. So what you’re saying is you two don’t really have an emotional connection?”

“…yeah…”

Something in me was happy to hear that.

“Well then maybe do less of the tongue and more of the talk.”

There was silence.

“What? What did I say?” I asked him worriedly.

“Nothing. No. You’re being helpful. Its just…”

“Its just what?”

“I’m worried it might be too late. Because of what happened.”

“Oh.”

Silence.

“What exactly did happen?”

He looked up at me.

“I’m not really sure. She’s just said a little about Gareth and then went quiet when I asked.”

Gareth. That. Little. Fucker.

“Larimar?”

“What?”

“I think she’s gonna break up with me.”

He stared at me with his big puppy eyes again, a tear rolling down his face.

I leaned over and hugged him. And inwardly cursed that bastard Gareth and whatever the fuck he was doing now.