Promise. (Manthony)

Thirty-Two

     I turned my car off as I finished staring at my steering wheel for a solid five minutes. Had I agreed to go on a date with Elijah after what he did to the band? Some part of me felt that I was going behind Mitchel and Clinton's back, even more so since I didn't tell them. 

They were both my best friends. The people I knew who would save me from a burning building if it meant that I'd live. But here I was about to walk into a Starbucks, full of people, with Elijah. 

At the same time, after everything Mitchel did to embarrass and humiliate me, it felt...reasonable? Deep down, it was also me throwing a dig at Clinton for blaming me for the entire party incident. 

I wish I could remember who Mitchel had gotten in a fight with. But, unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to watch the video since you could see and hear me crying in the background like a three-year-old toddler. 

I kept trying to jog my memory of what happened that night, but with the amount of cocaine I snorted, I couldn't. 

I was too embarrassed to hear anyone's perspectives of the story. All I could feel was the disappointment from my friends, even though they most likely didn't feel any. 

I even began to distance myself from social media ever since the incident because I'd always somehow get a glimpse of a picture or a video. Of course, I'd immediately scroll away, but it was never-ending, so I turned my notifications off and removed the apps from my home screen. 

I exit my thoughts and leave my car. I take a deep breath as I approach the door to the famous cafe. This was also a massive step because someone, somewhere, would capture pictures of us, and they'd be everywhere before we even left the place. 

I type a quick text to Elijah, asking him where he was. He replies instantly and says he's towards the back. I nervously make my way past the tables and spot someone sitting alone, looking down at their phone. I swallow hard and clear my throat. 

"You're Elijah?" He looked familiar, but I wasn't sure since I saw him in a very drunken state, but he also seemed to match the picture of us kissing, so I had to assume he was the infamous Elijah. 

He nods and gets up. Sticking his hand out for me to shake. I stick mine out as well, and our hands connect. I noticed his outfit was very elegant looking. This had reminded me of the other night. He and his friend were very well dressed. I remember not knowing why, but looking at him again now, I assumed that it was just his style. 

"You look nice," I admit. "Sorry, that was really abrupt." Elijah smiles and sits down. I across from him and glimpse around the Starbucks. It felt like I had come in here with Amber forever ago and ran into Mitchel and our friends. 

"Thank you, you as well." I smile nervously back. I wasn't anywhere near close to dressing as nicely as Elijah did, but I took the compliment anyway. 

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" 

"uh, a little hungry. I haven't eaten breakfast yet." I admit shyly. 

"Perfect, you wanna bagel? I'll have one since I haven't eaten either." 

I nod happily. "What do you want to drink?" Elijah asks politely. 

"Just a simple grande iced coffee would be great. Thank you." Elijah nods back and heads back to the counter to order for the both of us. I scratch my neck nervously and smile at how sweet Elijah seemed to be. 

Maybe everything that happened was a huge misunderstanding. None of us heard his side of the story. We all just assumed he was the bad guy. 

Was I beginning to defend him?