Constellation .. Ryan Ross .. Of Frustration [07]

Why had she made it so complicated?
She could have lived such a happy life with him.
She could have stopped running.
All these thoughts, and plenty more, ran through Anna's head as she sat silently in Jon's car.
Sure, they had made small talk here and there. Between after the rejoinders, a prolonged quiet seemed to blanket everything around them. It was suffocating, really.
"Anna, are you from here? Like, New York?"
"N-Yeah. Yeah, I've always lived in New York. Born and raised, haha," Anna lied.
"Oh. That's cool. I'm from Chicago."
Anna turned her head to look out into the black of the world and scowled at herself.
How much lamer can I get, lying to a complete stranger?
"Do you like, play video games or anything? Guitar Hero maybe?" he hinted. This was getting difficult. This small talk was going in a circle - worse than nowhere. He was trying, but intuition told him that she wasn't making so much of an attempt as he.
Hearing this question, something seized Anna, and her hands seemed to lock onto her knees. Passing moments later, she replied, "Oh no. Not into video games at all, haha."
There she goes, there she goes again.
"So...are you really into Panic?" Jon asked lightheartedly.
"What?! Why would you ask that?" she asked defensively, panic itself rising in her chest.
"Whoa, I didn't mean to offend, or anything," he started, "but you didn't seem that enthusiastic during the show, and your friend was kind of over-the-top enthusiastic. It was weird; she seemed to be holding enthusiasm for the both of you."
Anna was silent. "In a way, she is. I mean, I am a fan. Things just kind of fell apart for a while and I didn't have time to do anything else except try and build back up," she murmured.
The silence filled the car, and the windows looked as they were holding their breath. "Where do you want to eat?" he asked her.
She gave a small, indifferent grunt indicating that she did not care one way or another. There were other things on her mind.
Five red lights, six arbitrary turns, and nine billboards later the vehicle turned into Fuddruckers.
"I know this is pretty much a low standard on your part, but they do serve really good food," he explained before she could say anything. Jon quickly got out of the car and opened her door.
The two walked in, where they were greeted with a BIG ASS long line.
"Damn, I didn't know there'd be so many people here so late," Jon muttered, placing his hand behind his head in embarrassment.
Anna couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "It's okay. Want to try somewhere low key and fast?"
He shook his head in playful disbelief. "Now you talk," he kidded, taking her hand and leading her back out.
rest in results
The saddest song I'll ever write for anyone anytime
And Anna couldn't help but feel, a bit...disappointed. And empty. She expected grand fireworks and dragonflies in her stomach when their hands clasped together. Like when she held Ryan's hand.
It didn't happen.
There wasn't a spark or flutter at all. In fact, his hands were a bit clammy, and cold.
Maybe it's just my hands, Anna thought. She swallowed down her uncertainty as she climbed back into the car.