The Asylum

Chapter Three: More Than Friends

      That night, I hardly got any sleep, and it wasn't just because it was my first night back in the asylum. I had finally found another person on this earth who I had an interest in, who enjoyed my company, who I felt comfortable talking to, and it was one of the best feelings in the world. I just couldn't get over how amazing Luke was. He was a gentleman of sorts, but seemed to have an adventurous bad boy hiding behind his deep blue stare. His hair was a light auburn color or a sort of dirty blonde, and it had a messy style, almost like he had just woken up. His voice was deep, but not too deep, and it had a husky tinge to it. Man, how long was it until breakfast again?

I look over at the alarm on my desk a few feet away. The bright red numbers show 4:00 AM. 2 and a half hours left, I could wait that long right? Oh my gosh, am I already obsessed? Is this what it feels like to be in love? No wonder people say love hurts; I feel as though I would do nearly anything to talk to him again. I try to get some sleep, and thankfully, I am able to drift off after not too long. Yet, as expected, I find myself dreaming of Luke and I. As soon as my dream started, it was abruptly over when I was awoken to the continuous and rather annoying beep of my alarm. Breakfast!

I hopped out of my bed, not bothering to tidy it up after my long night of tossing and turning. I got dressed in dark skinny jeans and a black band shirt, tying a red checkered flannel around my waist on putting on some fur boots to top it off. At 7:00, I walked confidently from my room, strutting down to the cafeteria. I totally skipped grabbing my portion of slop, finding myself to not be very hungry. I sat at the back corner table, and waited for that familiar face to walk through the swinging double doors.

Some time passed before I saw him, which I had expected because newborns usually aren't so used to waking up this early. In fact, many of the kids who were here seemed to resemble walking zombies rather than people. When he finally walked through the doors, I could see he had taken some extra time to pick out an outfit that really showed him off. He had a pair of khakis on and a baseball uniform shirt with some grey converse to complete the look. I also noted his sleek black lip ring on the left side of his bottom lip that he proudly showed off quite well. Almost immediately, he saw me and walked over to the table, sitting across from me in the same spot as last time.

"You look good today." He started, smiling devilishly as he took a moment to glance at my figure. "You too." I returned, grinning as I started to become more comfortable in his presence. He added a short thank you before standing up. "I'm gonna grab some food real quick. Wanna come with?" He invited, and I obliged even though I wasn't very hungry.

We spent the rest of the breakfast period chatting about random things like our families or funny stories about us. Before we knew it, our conversation was interrupted by the bell ringing, signaling the end of breakfast. Luke took the time to walk with me back to my room, and I had soon stopped at my door. "Whelp, this is where I get off." I stated, shrugging my shoulders playfully. "Oh, alright. You know, I'm only a few doors down if you need me." He pointed several doors down to what I assumed was his room. " Got it. Thanks for walking my back, it does mean a lot to me." I let him know with a small smile as I opened my door and took a step into the room. "Alex, wait." He rushed, grabbing the back of my arm to halt my forward motions. I immediately relaxed into his touch, turning around to see what he had left to say. " Um, I wanted to rest up in my room for a bit, but after lunch do you wanna, you know, show me around the place? You don't have to, I mean, I just -" He was nervously searching for the right words, staring at the ground and rubbing the back of his neck. "That would be a great idea." I interrupted sweetly, watching as he blushed with sudden embarrassment. "Alright, I'll see you after lunch then." He said, making his way down the hall to his room after finishing.

With a small sigh, I tucked back into my own room and closed the door. In the beginning, it was possible I would have been stuck as just friends with Luke. Now, I was sure we were bound to be something much more.