Wrong Number

Chapter 1

"Swear you didn't give my number out?" I hum at my best friend through the phone.

"For the hundredth time, El, no," she groans.

"Well then who the hell is giving out my number?! This is the 7th guy in the past two weeks what the hell."

"Did you ask Sean? I bet it's him," Haley suggests sure of herself.

"No, he wasn't even out last night. Plus I asked him the first time I got a text," I sigh, plopping down into my desk chair and opening up my laptop.

"So you believe him but not me?"

"He's never given my number to a rando before," I reply pointedly.

"It was one time a year ago, get over it already!"

"You nearly broke up my relationship with that one!" I chuckle reminding her of the fact.

"Yeah well your boyfriend was an ass anyway," she shoots back matter-of-fact.

"Well, can't argue with you there." I scroll idly through my emails seeing one of my classes is canceled for the day. "What do I do about my problem?"

"I don't know, change your number?" Haley suggests.

"That's so much work, then I'll have to make a post and have to deal with giving everyone that I rarely even speak to anyway my new number." I close my email tab and open a new one on Facebook.

"Just don't give it to them, it'll be a clean break."

"Hm, I don't know..." I trail off scrolling down my timeline, subtly looking for a specific someone.

"What? You still hoping Jerry'll suddenly decide to reach out?" She says smartly.

I roll my eyes. "You know his names Gary, and I didn't say anything about him."

"Even worst. Who names their poor kid Gary?"

"Gary's parents."

Gary just happens to be the boy I spent the better half of my school break hooking up with. It's not a big thing, not like we were in love or anything. He was just, well, for lack of a better word, a rebound.

Someone I wouldn't usually go near had it not been for my breakup with a long-time boyfriend of two years. The thing is, I don't really care what Gary is doing or whether or not he's pining after me. I do however, care that - yep, just as I had dreaded seeing, he was doing better off than I was.

"He has a girlfriend? What the hell," I grumble more to yourself than to Haley.

"Why do you care?" she points out justifiably.

"I don't care. I just...how is he doing so well with his stupid new car and annoyingly perfect love life and more than decent job?" My eyes scan over the computer screen, continuing down his wall.

"Oh my god," Haley says lightly. "You're a terrible person."

"What? Am not!" I defend, drawing away from the computer screen.

"You're upset that he's doing better off than you."

"No I'm not," I scoff full of crap.

"Okay Penelope, whatever you say," Haley hums.

"Just...stop giving my number out to people," I mutter out, getting ready to hang up.

"I haven't even but okay," she sing-songs.

"Good. Don't. And don't forget to text me your grocery store needs."

"Will do. Now stop Facebook stalking Gary and do something productive!" She calls with a chuckle as I hang up.

Maybe if I had something better to do like go to class or maybe if I was a better person I would stop stalking his life and instead write my mom back on a comment she left on a post of mine earlier. But maybe I wasn't as good as a person as I'd like to think.

Fifteen minutes and 65 photos later my phones vibrating against my wooden desktop. I assume it's Haley's list but instead the message pops up at the corner of my laptop screen showing an unsaved number I roughly recognize from last night. Curiosity getting the better of me, I click on the bubble before it can go away.

Unknown Number [Today 3:37 pm]
Fuck sorry about last night I don't even remember where I got your number but I swear I'm never that rude x

That's alright, glad to see you made it home alive!
[Delivered 3:43 pm]

I don't usually like to respond so much to texts from strangers as it more often than not ends with them wanting something and I also have a deep fear of it being some 40 year old creep.

For some reason though, this ones different. He seems...softer than the others. Putting the fact that he apologized aside - though most people hardly do - he didn't really sound very confident in what he was typing last night. He seemed almost helpless in a way.

I don't know, maybe it was something to do with the fact that he also didn't go off and call me a bitch when I told him there would be no kind of sexual services from me.

Either way I can't help but find myself waiting for him to reply. When he doesn't I type out another message despite myself.

If you happen to find out or remember where you found my number I'd love to know please you're unfortunately not the only person who has texted me and sadly I don't think you'll be the last xx
[Delivered 4:59 pm]

Minutes go by with no reply and rather than staring at the message screen like some eager puppy I decide to finally like and reply to my mom's comment. It's something about being safe and missing me which I know she'll probably call about if I don't respond to now and guilt trip me into joining one of her book club meetings again. So I type out a quick 'Lol' at her terrible joke and message her about missing them all too and 'don't worry I'm still alive' then find myself back to my text messages.

Still nothing.

Reluctantly, I leave the screen again, switching from Facebook to Twitter. For the most part Twitter is pretty useless, I mainly use it to see all the things no one dares to post on Facebook where their family could see.

Most of it is all pictures from parties and girls fighting over boys and boys complaining about girls and every now and again I'll see posts from an old friend of mine who I hardly talk to anymore but we still like to keep tabs on each other and check in every so often.

It's easy to pick hers out of the bunch since they're more often than not always related to some band of hers she's obsessed with.

My laptop dings with a text and I switch screens faster than I'm willing to admit. The messages switch over to my conversation with Haley and there's her grocery list. For some reason I'm filled with a weird feeling in my gut; something short of let down. I text her back a thumbs up and shut my laptop screen, shaking the weird feeling and pushing the unknown number out of my head.

--
Tada. First chapter. I'm so excited to be writing a story again you have no idea and to do it in a style I don't usually do. Hopefully you guys aren't bothered with the point of view change from the rest of the stories I've done. I'm lowkey worried about it.

Also, this story's going to be a bit weird in the way that there wont be real context about her and her background story until she and Luke start talking more so just bear with me if things get a lil confusing.

Anyways, comment. Vote. And don't forget to add it to your library if you want to get notified when I update which hopefully will be an every other day thing! (: