Apart

Movie

March 22nd
Emma
I put on some ripped jeans I'd made myself and a black shirt with the words 'NO' printed in white on the front. Well, it was actually a hoodie. I had put on eyeliner, mascara, and a bit of eyeshadow. I slapped my curls into a bun, grabbed my bag, and hurried out the door.
"Bye mom, I'm going out tonight!" I yelled.
"Just be back by nine!" She called.
"K." I hopped out the door and started hastily walking towards my school. It is about a five minutes drive, but, using a few shortcuts, I made it there in fifteen minutes by foot.
Even though Luke is paying for everything, I brought ten dollars. I want to buy Alice something for her upcoming birthday. I already have something in mind.
You know those cheesy friendship necklaces you got for you and your best friend when you were little? They were heart shaped and you gave them one half. When we meet we can connect the heart. Yes, I know they are super cheesy, but hey, whatever.
A red truck pulled up at the school and Luke hopped out. He held out his hand to pull me up off the front steps of the school, where I'd been waiting.
"I hope I didn't keep you long." He smiled.
"Nope, not at all." I returned the smile.
Luke's hand slipped into mine as he led me back to the truck.
"This is your hot chick, huh?" Luke's brother, probably about the age of nineteen, asked.
Luke flushed red. "Uh- yeah."
"Well, nice to meet ya, Emma." He told me.
"Yup." I replied.
We came upon the movie theatre after about ten minutes of laughing and cracking jokes in the truck.
"Thanks for driving us!" Luke called as he drove away.
"Have fun!" He answered.
We walked into the building.
Luke turned to me. "So watcha want to watch?"

***

I laughed as I walked out of the room we'd watched the movie in, hands linked with Luke's.
"Yo, can we run across the way to that shop real quick?" I asked.
"Sure."
"I just need to get something for my friend, it'll just be a sec." I ran across the road, Luke following closely.
I picked out a necklace, which I luckily found almost right away.
'Best Friends' How cheesy. I smiled.
"Best friends?" Luke crept up behind me.
"Uh- yeah. Long story." I told him.
"I'll wait if you wanna tell me."
I hesitated. "Lemme buy this first." I hurried to the cash register and purchased it, then stuffed the two half hearts into my bag.
We took a seat on the bench outside the shop.
"So." Luke questioned.
"So. This is for my internet friend, Alice." I told him.
"Internet friend?" He asked.
"Yeah. She lives in Paris. I met her on Instagram. We talk every day. I've never hugged her, never been remotely close to her. I mean, there's a fucking ocean between us. But I'm sending this to her for her birthday. We are meeting this August and when we do we can connect these hearts." I smiled.
He seemed mind blown. "I-I didn't- I mean, I didn't really know you cousin befriend something over an app."
I shook my head. "Oh, it wasn't over the app. I mean, we met on the app. But it's all because of a fandom. We are both fans of a group of people who make YouTube videos about mine-" I cut myself off. He would think I was weird if he knew I played minecraft. "Just a amazing group of people."
"Huh." He said. "That's cool. Like, your friends with someone you've never seen in real life."
"We don't like the term 'real life'." I cringed. "This is real life. Non real life would be like in a game or something. We are all humans, even if we've never hugged or anything. We've seen each other. We skype all the time and we have each other's social media."
"Do you have her snapchat?" He asked.
"Yeah, why?" I asked.
"Go into snapchat." He ordered.
"K." I opened up the app and he took my phone, wrapped his arm around me, and told me, "Smile!"
It was a cute picture, I'll be honest, but I hate taking pictures all the same.
He wrote, "This is Luke." And sent it to Alice.
"I shouldn't have told you her name." I smiled.
"Well, you did." Luke replied.
Within seconds I received a snap from Alice.
"ITS 3 BUT WHO CARES AND DAYUM HES HOT."
I blushed and covered my face when I realized Luke was looking over my shoulder.
"Forgive her." I murmured through my hands.
"Don't be embarrassed." I hugged me.
She sent another.
"WHEN PUBERTY HITS YOU LIKE A TRUCK."
We bursted our laughing, this time Luke blushing.
"You know he's reading these, right?"
"O."