another world c.h

• 11 •

Alena's POV

It's Saturday night. 5pm on the dot. My date is in 30 minutes. I'm not sure if I'm going yet.

He knows I have anxiety. I can't believe he knows. Now he'll probably think I'm some freak.

Oh Alena he already thought that. Silly girl you thought he might actually like you.

The voice in my head laughs at me. I curl up in a ball on my bed. So what if I do go to the bookstore. It doesn't have to be on a date. I can just go to read books. That's what a bookstore is for anyway. It doesn't have to mean anything, right? And so what if Calum happens to be there? It's a public bookstore. He can do whatever he wants. Maybe he'll talk to me, and maybe I'll politely nod back. It's rude to ignore people.

I stand up and look in my full length mirror. I grab some high waisted skinny jeans and a twenty-one pilots sweatshirt then throw a jacket over it and some gloves. I pull on my combat boots and fix my hair.

I slink out the front door without my mother noticing and begin walking to the bookstore. I get there at 5:28. 2 minutes early. Not for a date of course, just because I thought I'd get here at 5:30 and I'm actually early...oh who am I kidding. I'm not even that convincing. So what I'm going on a date with Calum. It's not a big deal. This is totally normal.

But you're not normal, Alena. You're a freak, remember?

Stupid subconscious. I push the door open and head for the back corner and there he is. That perfect mop of black curly hair on top of his gorgeous head. He's wearing a button down black dress shirt, black skinny jeans, and Vans. I must say he looks really really really good. I'm behind a bookcase so he hasn't noticed me yet.

He checks his watch and sighs. He begins to stand up, to leave I assume, when I clear my throat. His eyes dart up to meet mine and I swear to god his whole face lights up. His eyes twinkle brighter than the whole damn night sky and a smile spreads across his whole face. His eyes crinkle a little and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

"I thought you wouldn't come oh my god" he beams and engulfs me in a hug. I stiffen a little at first, then melt in his arms and hug him back.

"I uhm...well...I set this up f-for our...date..." He stutters pulling away and gesturing to the floor covered in blankets and pillows. He's blocked off the whole back corner with stacks of books and shelves. On the floor is bags of candy, soda, and popcorn. He's hung twinkly lights all around and has a projector and screen set up. My mouth falls to the floor and my eyes widen 2x their normal size. I stare at him in disbelief.

"The store manager said we can have the whole store to ourselves for the rest of the night, as long as we lock the door on our way out and clean up before tomorrow morning" he smiles shyly, his cheeks flushing pink.

"D-do you l-like it...cause we can do s-something else if y-you want?" He mumbles, nervously scratching his neck. In a sudden burst of emotion, I get on my tip-toes and kiss his cheek. When I pull away he's staring in disbelief. I walk over and sit down on the blankets then pat the seat next to me. He rushes over and sits down, putting an arm around me and pulling me in.

I'm glad I came.