on autopilot

Gage felt a little out of it, at work. He probably shouldn't have been texting, but he'd found a random text he'd sent Dustin last summer in his phone. He decided it might be best to hear his side of the story about Macy.

'I heard from Macy. You guys DONE?'

Gage winced, wishing he hadn't sent it. He slipped his android in his back pocket and went back to watching the pizza dough rise.

He overheard Jesse then, talking to this new fellow, by the name of Omaha.

"They always put in, with the Asian groups." Omaha shrugged as he went to check on the  freshness of the veg for the pizzas. "But I'm not even Asian. Just Lakota-Sioux."

Gage wondered what that was about.

"I'm not exactly Native American." Jesse shrugged back. "I don't really know Spanish, either." Jesse leaned against the counter with his arms crossed. "Just darn lucky, I'm not a teenage father." Jesse smirked.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Gage tensed as he glared down Jesse.

"Nothing. Really." Jesse straightened up and acted like he might be cleaning something. Maybe.

Gage sighed.

"But I'm still gonna be a Dad and those classes we go too..I mean.." Jesse shook his head sadly. "I don't think I'm ready, you know." Jesse went on to say, all casual.

Gage nodded. Feeling bad, he didn't get to go to any of those pregnancy classes.

"Well, at least you're..you know, you're there for her, and the baby too." Gage remained straight lipped, wishing he could say something more enlightening. "Uh, I wasn't with my girlfriend, when she had..had Alec."

"You, gotta kid?" Omaha perked up with a smile. He wanted to see pictures. Gage told them she was in England when she had the baby, but they were both here now, with him. And yes, he was a teenage father.

Omaha and Jesse looked through the baby pictures as if they were really good guys, at heart.

Gage smiled. Maybe they could be friends.

Just about then, a text came through from Dustin.

Dustin winced more. This was all he needed, a text from Gage.

Actually, he was at his wits end with Macy. How could she do this too him?

True, he hadn't really talked about it, to anyone. There was Gil, his roommate in the dorm, to deal with. They'd have a row. Get a drink. Be buddies for about ten minutes, and they were back at it.

He'd moved to Molly and Archie's. At least, Dustin had his room back. Life would go on, but he still didn't know, what to make of Macy.

She wouldn't even work at the counter, when he came to the little bakery(where she worked). She would hide, but he'd let it go. Hoping time would tell him something.

'We are just on a break.' Dustin texted back to Gage.  He told Molly the same thing.

There was so much to deal with, at the moment... his studies, the papers to write. Maybe he wasn't capable of having a girlfriend at the moment. He felt as if an avalanche hit him in the heart.

When he looked around him, he could see how happy Molly and Archie were. They'd found happiness. He thought he had that too. But maybe he didn't know Macy, after all.

'It will all be fine.' Well, it might have been a lie, he texted to Gage. Still, it was none of Gage's business. There was no need for him to bother. Dustin certainly wasn't going to even ask about Halie.

He tightened his lip, hoping it wasn't wrong of him.

"How's our Alec?" He'd missed the little bugger. Truly, he wished he could see him now.