Riley's POV
"Hey" he says again.
I feel so stupid, I didn't even say hi back the first time.
"So, do you want to exchange numbers?"
What.
"I mean, I think I have to get back to the fans any time soon. So I don't really have much time right now, you know"
"Uhm, sure"
I honestly have no idea why I practically said yes, but it might be nice to talk to him later on, when he does have time.
It's been so long. I keep saying that, even though nothing has ever happened between us. I know that he was that kind of stalking kid that used to follow me everywhere in school. I know he thought that I never noticed him, but I did. Not that I liked him or anything. My friends kept saying that he was a loser and a nerd and that I shouldn't pay attention to him. I listened to them.
When he quit school and suddenly became famous, everyone told me I was stupid. They said I was stupid for not talking to him and not taking any action. He suddenly became incredibly hot and everyone wanted to date him. And somewhere, deep in my heart, I wanted the same as everyone else.
I went to college and prepared myself to never see him again. But here I am, giving my number to Luke.
After he has given me his number, he gives me one more big smile, before he turns around and walks away with Paul right behind him.
I watch him walk out of the parking lot before I get into my car and drive away.
The drive home seems to take forever, and I just can't seem to concentrate on anything except for scrolling through itunes, looking for one of Luke's songs. I never actually listened to his songs. Meeting him again sometime seemed impossible, until today of course, so I didn't want to remind myself of him by listening to his band.
When I finally get home I immediately get my laptop to search for Luke his tour dates to see how long he will be staying here. I can't find it. A little disappointed, I close my laptop and check my phone. One new message. Not from Luke, unfortunately. It's my best friend Alison.
"Hey , is it okay if I come over and we'll watch some movies together? It's been a while since we saw each other"
Even though I'm kind of disappointed that Luke didn't text me, this is a good replacement, I guess? It's true, we haven't seen each other in a long time. Alison and I go to different colleges, and she mostly has to work until late at night.
Although we do text every single day, I kinda miss her.
"Yeah sure, what about tonight?"
"Okay, see you in a few hours"
I smile. Now let's get some work done.
...
It's been 3 hours since Alison text me when she finally shows up, carrying a large bag full of snacks. This will never change. We always watch movies and eat a lot of snacks. It's always so nice with Alison. She's always happy. Always. Never complains when I talk to her about problems and is just so nice to be around with.
When we first met, in 7th grade, we kind of hated each other. I was dressed really different from the other girls and thought they were all talking about me behind my back. Alison seemed to be the main problem. She was popular, looked cute and was just perfect. After being alone for almost every lunch break at school for a few weeks, Alison came to me and invited me over to her table. I was confused, but finally followed her to the table. Her friends were all very kind and since that day I made a lot of new friends.
We all went to different schools after a while, but Alison stuck around till the end, until we had to go to college. And well, we're still best friends.
I take the bag from her and sit it on the couch. I turn on netflix and Alison decides to let us watch a horror.
'Have you heard the news?' Alison asks when we are halfway through what seems like the 5th movie. 'Luke is somewhere in our city. I wanted to see him today but there were just so many fans. It was crowded. Can you believe it? The nerd turned into some hot guy with fans.' Alison laughs.
I pause the movie and smile uncomfortably.
'What's wrong?' Alison asks
'Well, I kind of, you know, saw him today.'
'Really?'
'Yeah, I went to see him as well as you did. But after a few minutes trying to spot Luke, I walked back to my car. There were too many fans'
'So then when did you see him? You walked away'
Should I tell her the whole story? That I have his number but don't want to text first? Alison will definitely tell me to text him. I mean, I love her and all, but sometimes she can be annoying and tell me what to do. I'm that person that actually listens to what people tell me to do. I know, I should stand up for myself.
I decide to tell her, she is my best friend after all.
'What, really? So what did you do next? Did you just let him walk away?' Alison looks surprised.
I smile at her reaction. I didn't expect anything else from her.
'Yeah, well what should I have done? I couldn't just run after him, he had to meet some more fans. Besides, I was too astonished to think of anything else to say to him.'
'Well, If that would happen to me, I would definitely try to start a conversation instead of waiting for him to text me. I mean, who knows if he is even gonna text you. Maybe our nerd turned into a big jerk that just tries to wrap girls around his finger and then drop them like they mean absolutely nothing.'
The way she calls him our nerd makes me cringe.
'I'm sure Luke didn't become such a person. Remember when he wanted to help everyone in school? He was, and still is, very kind to everyone. He doesn't just change like that.'
'You don't know what fame can do to you' Alison says with a grin on her face.
I decide to ignore her and press play to continue the movie.
With only 20 minutes to go until the end of the movie, Alison falls asleep on my shoulder. I smile and after a few minutes I fall asleep as well.
