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21:12 :(
21:12 It's school night
21:13 yeah brought my clothes so we can go 2gether to school tom
21:14 Aw okay
21:14 Have fun!
21:15 Goodnight Sammy~
——
[Friday afternoon]
12:24 Sammy, where are you? Come on, lunch?
12:27 Ayako brought me packed lunch
12:27 we're @ the quad tho, feel free to join us
12:28 Nah I already bought something from the cafeteria
12:28 And there's lots of bugs in the quad ew
12:29 We're going home together later right?
12:32 I promised Ayako I'd go with her to the bookshop
12:33 Oh okay then
12:36 next time
12:37 Sure
——
Next time became two weeks later and by that time, Maddison just didn't have the energy to pretend he was happy that he was losing quality time with Sam. Sam never ran out of excuses whenever Maddison wanted to spend time with him, even though Maddison knew those excuses were valid. Sam, after all, was in a relationship. It just frustrated Maddison that all the things they have been doing Pre-Ayako, all those traditions, have been parked somewhere at the very back of Sam's priorities.
He was tired. So he decided to keep his distance. It was him who made excuses when Sam wanted to see him. If Sam noticed, he didn't say anything.
It lasted for another two weeks. And at one point, Maddison gave in and initiated contact with his best friend.
His competition was coming up and it would be held in Wellspring this time. A couple more art club members were chosen to compete with him so he was not going alone but as far as tradition went, Maddison always, always went with Sam to his art competitions.
With determination and swallowed pride, he sent Sam a quick text with the date and venue of the event.
The reply came almost instantly and Maddison opened it with a pounding heart — only for his heart to momentarily stop and break as he read Sam's reply.
Sam wouldn't be able to come; the event was simultaneous with Ayako's cheer dance competition and he had already promised to go with her.
Maddison bit his lower lip to stop himself from crying, calmly placing his phone on the nightstand before curling down on his bed, wallowing in self-pity.
On the day of the competition, Maddison glumly walked inside the hall with his co-members Kim and Thomas, his backpack full of paints and brushes slung behind him. It was heavy, he realized idly. Sam often carried his stuff for him in these events, wanting Maddison to feel relaxed and comfortable but alas, Sam was not here with him today. Sam was probably carrying his Ayako's stupid luggage with a grumpy scowl on his face.
Sometimes, Maddison wished he had more friends, or at least was able to keep the handful of friends he used to have. He became so dependent on Sam, always spending all his time with him, that he didn’t realize he alienated their friends until there was none left.
Shaking off his thoughts, he wandered to where their seat assignments were and to his disappointment, it was closer to Wellspring Academy than he would have liked.
