Unbearably Broken

Chapter Two

 I fiddle with my shirt as I looked myself in the mirror. This was my first date ever and the first time I'd be with a guy who could end up being my boyfriend. I wore a pair of nice jeans, a green army jacket, and leather boots.

I was nervous as hell.

I ran my hand through my hair. I then bounced up and down a bit before choosing to put my hair up in a high bun. Then I started to pace back and forth around my room.

I called Charlotte. "Elana?" she answered.

I sat down on my bed and my foot decided to have a mind of its own. It began to tap like crazy. "Char, I don't know what to do. I'm freaking out here," I said in a rush.

"Elana, just calm down. Take a few deep breaths. You got this."

I followed her lead and breathed in and out. I could feel my heart slowing down as I did this.

My phone beeped. It was an alert telling me that it was time to go.

I ignored this for a few minutes before saying, "Charlotte, I gotta go."

"Bye. Good luck. You can do this, I promise."

***

 I showed up ten minutes late and battled for a parking spot. I finally ended up at the restaurant. I asked the hostess to point out the boy who I had been set up with.

She pointed me to a table with a boy sitting there. He had long hair and was in a baggy sweatshirt. My nose scrunched up as I looked him over. I reminded myself to keep an open mind and not make a judgment straight off his looks.

"Um hi. I'm Elana," I said once I walked over to him. I placed my hand on the back of the chair and smiled brightly.

"Andie," he responded barely paying any attention. He then glanced at the menu and I frowned but then forced my smile back on my face. I took this chance to sit down. "What we getting?"

I opened my menu and glanced it over. I frowned a little bit as I looked over the menu. There wasn't much variety "I think I'm just gonna get the classic burger."

He slouched down. "Whatev'." He then made a big show of looking through his pocket and folding them outwards, showing that there was nothing there. He grimaced and said, "Shoot, I forgot my wallet. Can you pay?"

I gave him the "seriously" look. He didn't crack under my stare so I bit my lip to stop from saying something I'd regret. "Sure."

Then the waiter came by. I ordered my burger with fries. Andie, on the other hand, got a full rack of ribs. I went wide-eyed as I looked at the price.

It was twenty bucks.

He looked at me when the waiter left and shrugged. "I like my food."

I smiled again and began fiddling with my necklace. It had three charms on it. A charm that said Colorado, my initial, and my birthstone. "I understand," I lied through my teeth.

His phone then began going off and he stood up as he dug through his back pocket for it. He chuckled and gave me a look.

I slumped in my seat as I realized that there was no hope of fixing this date. "What now?" I asked.

He sighed and looked at me like he was making a huge sacrifice. "My friends want me to play Fortnite with them." He shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, but I have to."

The waiter came with our food. I stabbed my ketchup with my fries. "Whatever. I don't care."

He ended up playing the stupid game for the next hour. Before the check even came he walked out of the restaurant.

I slapped the money down and walked out myself. This had been the longest and worst day of my life.

I walked out of the restaurant feeling the cool, fall air. The trees were changing colors and the air had a bite to it. I had set my path to my car but when I reached it, I just kept walking. It was only eight o'clock but the night had begun to descend on me.

I found my way into my favorite bookstore. I grabbed a book from the shelf after a quick glance in the teen romance section. I sat in the small cafe after buying a small hot chocolate.

I let a good hour pass by, lost in the book, when suddenly I heard a chair scrape at my table. After a small jump, I glanced up and saw Noah.

"Hey," said Noah. His goofy smile on his face.

I reached for my drink and took a sip, my eyes never leaving his. He wasn't strikingly attractive but his face was soft and gentle. It had a quiet beautifulness to it and I respected that.

I set my drink down, slightly impressed that he was able to hold my stare. I allowed myself a small smile.

I noticed his smile for the first time. I had grown accustomed to a sort of cockiness behind a smile. It had been a learned skill for me to always feel as if there was a motive behind the smile.

But Noah's smile was different. It was innocent and pure. He was smiling just to smile. Not to stop hearts or anything like that.

"Hey," I responded, hearing the smile and relief in my voice.

He turned the chair around and sat down, straddling it. He leaned over the chairs back. "So what's a girl like you doing at a bookstore on a Saturday night?"

I laughed and bowed my head, a tint of red in my cheeks. This always happened when I was around him. He'd tease me or talk to me and I'd register it as flirting. I knew that I was just reading too much into a simple gesture. "A girl like me. You mean a nerd?"

"You said it not me."

I leaned in on my chair like I was giving away a secret. "I had to go on a date. I found myself here. Now, what's your story."

His smile grew and so did mine. He leaned in, two of his chairs' legs coming off the ground. "I have this thing called a car and it needs a thing called gas. So my parents told me to get a thing called a job."

We both laughed and relaxed back into our seats. It felt good to laugh. I glanced up at him and his puppy dog eyes found mine. We stared at each other for a quick second before we both looked away. I let my hair fall in front of my face.

Stop reading to much into this! I yelled at myself.

"So...you went on a date. Since when do you have a boyfriend?"

I laughed again but this time it was more like I was mocking myself. "I don't. Skyler decided to set me up on a blind date. Long story short, I had to pay and he played on his phone the whole time."

"That's rough," he responded but he seemed to be trying not to break out into a smile.

I shrugged and sighed. "I'm used to it."

I grabbed my phone and checked the time. "Well, I better go it's nine and my curfew is ten."

"Bye."

I got up and said goodbye. It took me a second to get my feet to move. While heading to the register to buy that book I glanced back.

Noah was still there. His hand was running through his hair and he was staring off into space. A quiet smile on his face. It almost looked like he was satisfied with something.

I smiled. There was something different about that boy. I just didn't know what it was.