Alabaster || Luke Hemmings

Chapter 10 - Vanilla Latte

(7/4/16)

((Sorry I haven't written anything in like 20,000 years, I just never got around to it. Also I'm all sorts of fucked up, so it's been a fun ride. But, I'm medicated now and just returned from a 5sos concert a few days ago, and ready to write. So bare with me while i get back into the swing of things...))

((also, the gif above is meant to be Porter aka Jack Falahee))

~Elsie's POV~

"Are you excited Elsie?" Lola asked from where she was leaning over the sink to apply eyeshadow to her lids. I glanced over at her and just stared at her for a few moments before realizing what she was talking about.

"Excited about Luke visiting?" I asked, even though I obviously knew that's what she meant. "Yeah, I guess." It wasn't that I wasn't excited, I was just kind of nervous, that's all. 

"'I guess'? That's all you have to say? You haven't seen Luke since the concert like a month ago!" Lola practically screeched, now leaning back against the sink. 

"Exactly. I haven't seen him in a month. You know me. I'm nervous about everything. It's going to be so awkward." I mumbled, packing my backpack with the books I would need for class in about an hour. 

"You'll be fine! You've been texting and facetiming practically every second of the day. The only difference is that he'll be here in the flesh." Lola said, turning around and continuing to apply her make up. I sighed and zipped my backpack shut.

I knew she was right, but I still couldn't help but worry. We had gotten pretty close in the past month, but what if that all changed when they saw each other in person again? What if he found her repulsive and didn't want to see her ever again? Maybe he just forgot what she actually looked like in person and when he saw he would stop talking to her forever. I know I'm being irrational, but that's just how my mind works. 

"I sure hope you're right..." I mumbled, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and leaving the dorm to head for the cafe.

~~~~~~~

I had an hour before my first class, so I decided to go to my favorite coffee shop and read for a little bit. I could just do it in my room, but I don't think Lola would shut up for even a second about Luke visiting. I shouldn't really be complaining about her like this though, she definitely has helped keep me calm the past few days about all of this. Well, mostly calm. 

I picked up my vanilla latte and walked over to one of the arm chairs near the front window. I set my bag down next to the chair and my coffee on the side table before plopping down into the overly squishy dark red armchair. I pulled out my current read, one about a socially awkward girl in college who loved to read, sound familiar? Yeah, it could practically be me. 

I was only about a chapter in when I noticed someone had sat down in the chair a few feet away from me. I looked up to see a guy probably about my age, with dark curly hair and olive colored skin. He was making direct eye contact with me and I was definitely not a fan.

"Ah, you finally noticed me. I've been sitting here for the past ten minutes and you haven't even looked up from your book." The mystery guy said with a smirk. I raised an eyebrow at him, a bit confused as to where he was going with this. 

"Sorry, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Porter." He said, flashing a smile at me. What did he want? I was just trying to read....how was I meant to respond to this information?

I settled on just slowly nodding with a confused look on my face. Wow. I am terrible at social interactions. 

Porter gave me a strange look and tilted his head. "You're not going to tell me your name?" he asked, propping his ankle up on his knee as he continued to stare at me.

"Oh...uh, Elsie" I said quietly, hoping he would just leave me alone soon so I could continue reading. I stared blankly back at him, waiting for him to say what he wanted.

"Well hello Elsie. I just was so captivated by your expression when you were so focused on that book. I even had time to draw a quick sketch before you noticed  I was here. Which was quite a long time, if you ask me." He said, flashing a sketchbook page at me. I caught a glimpse at a small sketch of someone who looked very much like me, but I couldn't quite tell from where I was sitting. 

I continued to stare at him, my look probably now a mix between confused and creeped out. He looked down and chuckled a little before holding the sketchbook out to me. I stared at it for a moment before putting my book down and accepting it. I opened it to the page that was bookmarked and looked over the page. It was like me, except more elegant and calm looking. Or maybe that's actually how I looked when I read. I guess I'll never know. 

"I know it might seem creepy, but I'm an art major and I have a short assignment to draw a few people I see around campus. You're the first person to actually catch my eye and make me want to draw." He said, his face a little pink from embarrassment. He quickly bounced back though and was all smiles again. 

"Oh...that's cool I guess." I said, unsure of what else to tell him. I was certainly less creeped out now though. 

"I guess I just wanted to get to know you more. You seem really interesting. Well, seeing as I found you interesting enough to draw, I think you got that already." Porter laughed and closed his sketchbook back up. "I realize now that you don't seem to be much of a talker...but you do seem to love books and reading. I think I could definitely get you to talk to me about books." He grinned, looking over at my now abandoned book on the arm of the chair. "So what are you reading? It has a really pretty cover."

I glanced down at my book and nodded, that had been one of the reasons I had picked it up at the bookstore in the first place. I guess it couldn't hurt to talk to this guy. He seemed reasonably innocent and nice. "It's called Fangirl...it's kind of fluffy...but it's really good. And definitely relatable." I said, picking up my coffee and taking a small sip. This small piece of information seemed to satisfy him, because he leaned forward slightly and nodded. 

"hmm, sounds good. Have you ever read anything by Laura Ruby? I feel like you'd really like her" He said, surprising me with his knowledge of books. 

"Yeah actually, Bone Gap is one of my absolute favorite books" I said with a grin. I could tell that I was slowly coming around to Porter and maybe this could be the start of another friendship. Which was rare for me as it is, let alone someone who shares my love of reading.