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Typing Hearts

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Chapter Three: Extra Syrup, Extra Silence

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[Jay > Noah | 9:02 AM]

you’re late

I’m sitting here with an extra menu and a rapidly melting butter pat

[Noah > Jay | 9:03 AM]

you said 9:15

[Jay > Noah | 9:03 AM]

i lied to make sure you wouldn’t be late

and it almost worked

[Noah > Jay | 9:04 AM]

that’s manipulative

and weirdly thoughtful

[Jay > Noah | 9:04 AM]

thanks

i pride myself on romantic dishonesty

[Jay > Noah | 9:04 AM]

table by the window

second booth from the back

sunlight optional

[Noah > Jay | 9:07 AM]

found you

you look like a tourist in a syrup ad

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(In-person silence. Noah sits. Jay grins. Menus shuffle. Coffee arrives. Neither one drinks it for five minutes.)

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[Jay > Noah | 9:14 AM]

why do you always look like you’re deciding whether or not to bolt?

[Noah > Jay | 9:15 AM]

because I am

every second is a coin toss

[Jay > Noah | 9:16 AM]

should I stop flipping it?

[Noah > Jay | 9:16 AM]

…not yet

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[Jay > Noah | 9:27 AM]

okay

not to brag but I just ordered the best thing on the menu

banana-stuffed french toast with cinnamon syrup

what did you get?

[Noah > Jay | 9:27 AM]

scrambled eggs and dry toast

[Jay > Noah | 9:28 AM]

Noah.

what did joy ever do to you

[Noah > Jay | 9:28 AM]

I like bland things

they don’t surprise you

[Jay > Noah | 9:29 AM]

then I must be terrifying

[Noah > Jay | 9:29 AM]

you are

but in a stupid, bearable way

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(Server arrives. Food appears. Jay grins at his plate like it’s a love letter.)

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[Jay > Noah | 9:41 AM]

what do you usually do on weekends?

besides haunting libraries and ignoring texts

[Noah > Jay | 9:42 AM]

read

sometimes write

walk aimlessly

think about deleting social media

[Jay > Noah | 9:42 AM]

what do you write?

[Noah > Jay | 9:43 AM]

that’s a secret

[Jay > Noah | 9:43 AM]

what kind of secret?

a dark “i write murder plots” secret?

or a soft “i write love poems at 2am” secret?

[Noah > Jay | 9:44 AM]

yes

[Jay > Noah | 9:44 AM]

now i’m both afraid and intrigued

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(Later. They’re halfway through their plates. Noah pushes food around more than he eats. Jay watches.)

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[Jay > Noah | 10:01 AM]

you’re thinking too loudly again

what’s up?

[Noah > Jay | 10:02 AM]

just

not used to this

[Jay > Noah | 10:03 AM]

brunch?

[Noah > Jay | 10:03 AM]

being wanted

[Jay > Noah | 10:04 AM]

i want you here

in this booth

in this weird little moment

with cinnamon syrup on your sleeve

[Noah > Jay | 10:04 AM]

I don’t know what to say to that

[Jay > Noah | 10:05 AM]

you don’t have to say anything

just don’t disappear again

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[?? > Noah | 10:07 AM]

yo noah??

no way

didn’t expect to see you here

still writing those insane short stories in creative lit?

[Noah > Jay | 10:07 AM]

yeah

hi, Leo

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(Jay’s head turns. A tall guy in a varsity jacket stands beside their table. His smile is a little too wide. He claps Noah on the shoulder like they’re old friends, even though Noah winces slightly.)

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[Leo > Noah | 10:08 AM]

dude your writing was always so dark but like

weirdly romantic

didn’t you write that one with the boy who erased himself from everyone’s memory?

[Noah > Leo | 10:08 AM]

yeah

that was mine

[Leo > Noah | 10:08 AM]

still got the same sad eyes

makes sense

hey if you’re ever bored you should totally swing by the writers’ group again

we meet Fridays

and you make things more interesting

[Jay > Leo | 10:09 AM]

i’m Jay

his… brunch partner

[Leo > Jay | 10:09 AM]

cool

I’m Leo. We had a few classes last year

didn’t know Noah was socializing these days

[Jay > Leo | 10:10 AM]

yeah

he is

with me

[Leo > Noah | 10:10 AM]

right

well, good seeing you

you still have the best pen handwriting I’ve ever seen

don’t be a stranger

(Leo leaves with a backward glance. Jay stabs a banana slice with unnecessary force.)

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[Jay > Noah | 10:12 AM]

Leo, huh?

[Noah > Jay | 10:12 AM]

we shared a class

he was loud

always commented on my work

called it “beautifully bleak”

[Jay > Noah | 10:13 AM]

he touched your shoulder

[Noah > Jay | 10:13 AM]

…jealous much?

[Jay > Noah | 10:13 AM]

just

observant

[Noah > Jay | 10:14 AM]

if he’d sat down

you would’ve flipped the table

[Jay > Noah | 10:14 AM]

only slightly

[Jay > Noah | 10:15 AM]

it’s just

i didn’t like the way he looked at you

like he had a claim

like he remembered something you forgot

[Noah > Jay | 10:16 AM]

he doesn’t know me

not like you do

[Jay > Noah | 10:16 AM]

then tell me something

only I get to know

[Noah > Jay | 10:18 AM]

I keep a journal

not for thoughts

for lines of dialogue

things people don’t say out loud

yours are in there now

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(They don’t finish their food. Jay pays without asking. Noah walks beside him, not quite touching. Their shadows overlap on the sidewalk like they’re trying to learn how to be close.)

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[Later | 1:33 PM]

[Jay > Noah | 1:33 PM]

still thinking about that guy

ugh

[Noah > Jay | 1:34 PM]

I noticed

you didn’t even finish your syrup masterpiece

[Jay > Noah | 1:34 PM]

because he showed up

all smug and familiar

like he’s part of your story and I’m a footnote