The second I laid eyes on him, I knew. How everything about him made me giddy and anxious, nervous and afraid. He lit every organism in me and that caught me off guard.
Like a presence surrounding me, he called me.
Filled me.
_____________________...
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Look who I casted? Why, you ask? Because a reader and a pretty amazing person suggested Sabrina Carpenter as London and she fits!
The Thursday before a long weekend.
I guess I should catch you up. Yeah, that would be fair.
After Day 22, school was canceled for that Thursday. The Friday practical (Which was the last thing on my mind) was also canceled, pending a new date. Out of the entirety of all the events that had happened, that was one very good thing.
Cass and Shana updated the rest of the group, plus a few more, about Bran. He was essentially fine baring lacerations on his neck and a swollen oropharynx. Given a few days rest, he could've returned to school on, what would've been, day 27. But he didn't.
He didn't return. My guess? I think he was feeling guilty for what he did, especially since it all spun from him assuming things. It ruined two relationships, that I would've assumed, were dear to him. At least that's what I thought, there were other culprits. I also didn't blame him. When I returned to school, some of the things going around was that it was all Bran's fault. I wasn't sure if I would return after that.
London confirmed it too when she spoke with President Theodore. He said he had arranged afternoon and online classes for Bran too, for as long as it took him to return. That explained why I saw Harry so little during school. He attended school in an attempt for normalcy but otherwise had afternoon classes when everyone else was away.
And then there was Harry.
Harry.
Annabeth didn't want to tell me anything at all but eventually she let some slip. I wasn't sure why too, it definitely wasn't to protect me but anyways. Harry had been diagnosed with a concussion and was to be hospitalized for some time.
When she said some time I was sure she meant maybe come next Wednesday, but no. No, for a whole week he didn't show up at school, at my window, NADA. Annabeth informed me whenever I asked that he was still in the hospital but nothing else. I learned to give her space because she was in her own mood. Everyone was.
If you couldn't tell the group was fractured before, that definitely changed. Shana and Cass were bystanders to our moods. London was feeling guilty for the entire Bran and Harry thing. What happened with Harry really did push it to a new height and every day he spent away from us, she felt it. I felt it.
But it was Annabeth too. Maybe she was also feeling guilty about having just watched but she was strangely angry too. Especially towards London. I guessed towards Bran too but without him actually being there it was hard to be sure. Along with my depressing mood, we were all a bunch of happy chaps.
Why don't I just go to the hospital myself, you ask? Simple. This isn't a movie. Sure Harry may climb into my room every now and then but it's not like he sleeps with me or anything. It's actually quite far from the cliché through my window.
I had no idea how to convince my parents to go to the hospital. Annabeth wouldn't tell me everything, much less actually take me. I decided against asking Chief Naomi as she was busy with the recent siege of press. London was too afraid to even set foot near Harry either and Cass and Shana had decided that the right course of action was to just remain neutral.
But there was also the normal, teenage part that stopped me. How was I supposed to act around him now that I knew I loved him? Continue our casual flirts? Did he even want to see me? What if he remembered what he'd done and was ashamed to even be near me? He better not pull that bad-boy-I'm-protecting-you-by-staying-away nonsense because I wouldn't stand for that. Still, these last two weeks were the most agonizing of them all.
Annabeth seemed better that day. Maybe that meant good news for Harry. Or maybe she was just tired of being angry with London. Whatever the case, she was definitely in a good mood.
"You ready, Beautiful?" Annabeth appeared as I closed my locker. I hadn't heard that nickname in a while.
I nodded, having to look up at her slightly. "Yep. Just have to stop by mine and grab my bag then I'll make my way there."
"Good girl." She sighed and stared out the schools entrance. The day was a bright golden and, being inside, kept us safe from the piercing wind. It reflected her mood and it was a sign that there was something good on the horizon.
I could feel it.
"I need an ordinary, normal sleep over. I'm tired of guns and blood all the time." She huffed and smiled brightly, imagining it. I agreed.
I heaved the duffle bag further up my shoulder. I wasn't sure what to bring. For all I knew we'd lounge around the entire evening or maybe we'd go somewhere the next day. Either way I was fine with it. I needed one... Both.
Annabeth was already standing on her porch, patiently waiting. Her dark hair almost faded in the shadows of her house as the afternoon sun officially hit 'golden hour'.
"Get your ass in here already!" She smiled teasingly.
Authors note
Did you know that each song has a meaning? Either its the theme of what's happening/coming. Sometimes it's even eluding to what's next. Pay attention now. 😉
