Hopeful and Hopeless

Eleven.

"The story of life is quicker than the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye." - Jimi Hendrix

Saturday, March 24th, 2018

I CHEW ON THE INSIDE OF MY CHEEK NERVOUSLY, checking my phone again. Lukas told me to meet him at the map of the school where I last saw him at exactly 4:00. It is now 4:15 and he is nowhere to be seen.

Lukas didn't come across as the type of person to be late, which is why my discomfort at being alone here is growing very quickly. I am now sat on the stairs that lead up to the large building in front of me, waiting. He honestly probably forgot about today, he seems like a busy guy. He has his studies and...probably other things that I don't know of yet.

I'm looking around the area, trying to find at least one familiar face to ease my nerves. Maybe Willa, Julian, or even better, Lukas, who is supposed to be meeting me. Then I spot a familiar face. Not one that I was hoping or expecting it to be, but a familiar one at least.

"Finn!" I call out, jumping up from the stone stairs. He is talking to what looks like a mate of his but looks around, his eyes meeting mine.

"No way, if it isn't the famous Emilie!" He says goodbye to his friend and strolls over to me. His tall, stocky build would normally intimidate me, but he is wearing a warm smile, which is comforting.

"Famous?" I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, from what I've heard. Without outing him, Luke thinks pretty highly of you." He says almost in a whisper as if Lukas could hear us.

"I think you may have just outed him," I whisper back with a chuckle and he shrugs.

"He had it coming, he talks about you all the time." I blush furiously at the thought. What does he say? What is there to say? Why would he even talk about me? So many thoughts are running through my mind that I almost forget what I'm here for.

"Speaking of Lukas, you wouldn't know where he is, would you? I was supposed to meet with him," I check my phone, "20 minutes ago and he is MIA." I grip onto the strap of my bag.

"That's weird. He's never usually late." A-ha. I knew it, "I'll give him a call." Finn pulls out his phone, tapping at it before putting it to his ear. I shuffle on my feet awkwardly, waiting.

"Hey mate!" Finn says, pausing. There is nothing more awkward than hearing the tail end of a phone conversation, not knowing what's being said on the other line.

"So... I just bumped into Emilie. Apparently, you were supposed to meet with her like 20 minutes ago." Finn says into the phone, sending me a little wink. My face heats up and I roll my eyes. He's very similar to Willa. Finn's cheeky grin drops and I get a bad feeling.

"Right... Yeah... I'll tell her... See you later... Bye." He hangs up and shoves the phone into his pocket. "He got caught up in a meeting with his Dad, but he asked if I would take you to the library to meet him. So, off we go." Finn does a little spin and begins walking. I follow after him nervously.

"So what do you mean by he talks about me all the time?" Curiosity gets the best of me and he laughs.

"Well, you may not know, but while a lot of girls are interested in Luke," that's a fair call, "He doesn't tend to go crazy over girls that often. He's not gay, trust me, I've seen him in action. Just picky I guess. But he's never really had a lot of time, you know. With all the pressure from his Dad and the school." He babbles.

"Pressure?" I question him.

"Yeah, his Dad wants him to get into the business. It must be a rich people thing for that to happen, I wouldn't know what its like," Finn shrugs, "but, Luke wants to be his own person you know, his entire life he has been in his Dad's shadow. It must be tiring."