LUCIFER » SIMON MINTER

Chapter 19

'Hey Lu, you look great!' Ed stood up politely as I walked into the café. I was surprised to see he was already there, and his wild ginger hair looked a little more tamed that it did yesterday. Did he actually make an effort to look nice, just for a lunch with a friend?

'Thank you,' I giggled awkwardly, appreciating his complement. He leaned in for a quick hug which I gladly accepted, and then we both sat down opposite each other. We were sitting next to a window, so I could see all the people walking past.

'This place is so nice, I can see why you recommended it.' Ed joked, looking around. The place smelled nice, too, as they always baked fresh goods at this time of day.

I looked back at Ed, who was looking at me intently with his green eyes. For a split second, I pictured Simon sitting in front of me instead of him.

'What are you so smiley about?' He asked, tilting his head to the side and letting a soft smile appear on his face.

I hadn't even noticed I was smiling, but with a pang I realised I was smiling because I thought back to the times Simon and I went here for dates.

'Oh, um, I don't know, I'm just really happy with the success of the magazine.' I made up a white lie. I mean, I was happy with the magazine, but it wasn't what made me smile.

'Oh, I'm glad you are, you deserve it.' He said and my stomach churned. Why was he being so... flirtatious?

After a couple more moments of small talk, a waitress walked over to our table and took our orders. I ordered what Simon and I always ordered whenever we went here.

'So, tell me, when's our next photoshoot?' He asked, leaning on the table as he leaned forward. I leaned back a little bit, hating that he was trying to sit closer to me. Thank God there was a table separating us, because I did not like where this was going.

'I don't know?' I said, making it sound like a question.

'Well, you tell me when and I'll tell you if I'm free.' He said, pulling out his phone and opening the calendar app.

'Actually, I'm not sure if modelling is my thing.' I made up a silly excuse. I actually loved the whole modelling experience and I'm so glad that it went well and that the fans all liked it, and I'd definitely consider doing it again for whatever reason. 'I think staying behind the camera is where I belong,' I told him. It wasn't necessarily a lie, because I also did love being behind the camera.

'Now why's that?' He asked.

'I–I don't know.' I stuttered as he placed his hand over mine on the table, gently rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

My heart was beating out of control inside my chest, and my palms were sweating buckets. I also noticed I was holding my breath, and breathed in deeply so to stop my face from getting completely red. I looked out the window at all the people that walked past calmly, and I wished I was them so that I could just walk away from the situation.

I hated how touchy Ed was being, and I needed to get away. I stared into his soft green eyes frantically as I tried coming up with an excuse to leave. My eyes darted around the café at all the other couples that were enjoying themselves, and my heart practically jumped when I saw a familiar face walk through the entrance door.

I forced myself to calm down as Will made his way over to us with a big smile on his face. Will was a friend from uni whom I got to know quite quickly. He made YouTube videos, too, but he wasn't as close to Simon as the others. He knew about my photography and the magazine and whatnot, but he didn't get too excited about it like the other people at uni. He still treated me as the Lu I was a couple weeks ago. Which I liked.

'Hi,' Will said to me first, and then glanced at Ed, who waved at him, dipping his head and flashing him a warm smile politely. The two hadn't met each other yet, and I felt a bit bad for Ed since he probably thought my friend was disrupting our 'date'.

'Oh Will, I'm so sorry I completely forgot! Here, let's go right now.' I said, standing up and putting my coat on in a rush, throwing my bag over my shoulder. I could see Ed frown from the corner of my eye.

'W–wha-' Will tried to say, but I held his hand in mine and hurried out of the café and into the harsh, dizzying wind outside.

'But our food hasn't even arrived yet!' Ed yelled after us.

I walked down the street quickly so to get out of Ed's sight, pulling Will along behind me, and then came to a stop and turned around to face him, pushing my hair out of my face.

'Lu, what's going on?' Will asked, his soft green eyes looking down at me. He pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around my waist. Out of all the people I knew, he probably understood my anxiety the best. He was extremely supportive, maybe even more supportive than Simon had ever been. He just understood. 'Lu, you need to calm down, you're panicking.' He said. He was right; my breathing was uneven and I felt lightheaded from the sudden rush of adrenaline. He felt him rub his hand on my back soothingly.

I held on to him as I tried to slow my breathing, closing my eyes and letting the cool wind hit my face. The mix of the clean air and Will's sweet smell helped me calm down.

'Want to tell me what was going on in there?' He asked. I followed him as he called a cab, the two of us now standing on the edge of the sidewalk.

'Well, Ed invited me for lunch and I suggested we go here because this is where Simon and I always went and I love it there. It was fine; we were making small talk but he was acting really flirtatious and it made me feel really uncomfortable.' I explained.

'Ed is the photographer, yeah?' He asked and I nodded. Will looked down at me, reaching out to hold my hand as the cab he called parked right in front of us. He let me get in first, and then followed me inside. He told the cab driver my address, and I focused on my breathing as we drove away. I didn't even think twice about Ed, who was probably still sitting inside.

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I decided I just had to add Will in this story. I love his videos and he seems like such a genuine and supportive guy. If you haven't heard of him or haven't watched his videos then I really suggest you do. His YouTube is WillNE.

Mel xx