We'll meet again

Chapter 4

The next morning

Atlas' pov

I woke up to a strange pain in my back and neck. It wasn't until a few seconds later I realized I had fallen asleep at the dinner table. I yawned while I stretched my arms up in the air.
I had been up until 4 am, spawning with ideas for our date. I was so tired that I fell asleep in the chair, using the papers laid out on the table as a pillow. Which wasn't very comfortable.

My eyes gazed around the room until they landed on the flashing device before me. It read "New message". My eyes widened in excitement as a smile began forming on my face. I hoped with all my heart that it was Gale who had texted me. And to my surprise, it was!

xxx xxx xx xx
- Hi, I'm free this evening. Do you have any plans in mind for the date? /Gale

Me
- Hii, I thought about having a romantic dinner at xxx. But if you want to do something else, we can always find something else to do. I'm open to suggestions<3

I quickly went to the settings on my phone to write in his name instead of his phone number, while waiting for him to reply.

Gale<3
- Yes, that sounds lovely. Does 7.30 pm work for you?

Me
- Perfect, works just fine for me! See ya<3

I didn't wait for his reply, instead, I shut my phone off and went upstairs to take my daily cold shower. Thoughts were spinning around in my head for hours. 'What should I wear? How should I do my hair? Should I buy him flowers? Is it too much with flowers? What kind does he even like? Everybody likes roses, right? No, no, no, no, no, you're overthinking again, stop! It's no good' I quickly shake my head, in the hope of getting rid of the thoughts. Once I stopped I placed my hands on the bathroom sink as I stared at myself in the mirror. 'I look sick' I thought to myself as I examined the details on my face. Dark purple circles underneath my eyes, my pale skin, dead-looking eyes, my dehydrated and pale lips. My face shape had changed from a healthy-looking face to a skinny and bony one. All because of this stupid illness.

Time passed quickly and it was almost time for me to get going. But before I headed to the restaurant, I decided that I would buy him a flower bouquet. I was so excited about the date that I could barely get a hold of myself. I went into my room and got dressed for the occasion. I happily exited through the front door and almost skipped to the florist, which wasn't too far away. The one I bought consisted of 10 lavender roses, as well as a few small white flowers, spread between and around the roses. I walked out of the florist shop after paying for the bouquet that I was now looking at in admiration. It was really pretty, at least in my eyes. 'I really hope that he will like it' I thought to myself as I walked down the street, on my way to our first date. I smiled to myself at the bare thought of going out with him.

I arrived at the restaurant and went inside to sit down at our reserved table. I told the waitress that he would come later since it was about 10 minutes before the time we agreed on.

I was thinking about all the things we would talk about and what fun things I would learn about him since I barely knew anything about him or his life.
Before I knew it, the clock was 7.30, but no Gale was to be seen... I began overthinking again 'What if I sent the wrong address? Did he get lost? Maybe he's just a little late? He'll show up in no time. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the waitress standing beside me, calling out for me.

"Sir?" She asked. It wasn't until she tapped my shoulder that I noticed her. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," I said as I smiled in embarrassment.

"That's okay, I was going to ask you if you're okay, you looked a little troubled... is everything okay? Is there anything I can get you?" She kindly asked. "Oh, yeah everything's fine, I'm just waiting for my date, hehehe," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "And no, I don't need anything for now, thanks though," I said, answering her question. "Okay, I'll be around if you need anything," she said, smiling and then walking away to continue with her work.