Chemistry (Otis Milburn)

13

Me? Liking Otis? Why would Camille think that? 

otisslayer17: Vivienne what time should I meet you tomorrow?

Me: 5 pm, at the GoldPlate Hotel. Bring your suit and they'll glam you up.

otisslayer17: Okay, are you going to school still?

Me: yeah i guesssss

otisslayer17: good u better!

I woke up the next day with a nervous feeling in my stomach. I was worried, but brushed it off quickly and got ready. 

"You okay Vivienne?" Otis whispered to me as we were taking notes in chemistry.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Why?" My heart was actually racing. 

"I'm just making sure. I never know with you sometimes." He giggled.

"Are you excited for today?"  I leaned over and whispered to him while he was eagerly taking notes.

"Of course Vivienne! How could I not?" He whispered. 

"Also a quick reminder for you all, your group project due date is nearing as we speak! I hope you all have more than a starting point by now." 

We hadn't even mentioned the project since the day he gave it to us. 

Something just felt off the whole day, and I couldn't figure out what it was. Otis seemed fine. Class was the same as usual. Everything was fine. Was it just me?

Camille picked me up right as my last class got out and we headed over to the hotel to get ready.

"Hey! You okay?" 

"Um yeah! Yeah I'm fine. Let's get going."

"Do you know what time Otis is meeting us?" 

"5pm, I told him to bring his suit and they'll dress him up there."

"Good." She turned to me.

"Vivienne, are you sure you're okay?" 

Maybe if I told her, she might put a name on what all this is.

"Actually, throughout the day- I just- have been getting the strangest feeling. I mean- everything was fine at school, so I can't figure out what the problem is."

"Maybe you're nervous because you're about to put Otis out in the public eye." Damn, she was right. 

"Well when you put it that way it sounds-harsh." 

"What do you mean? Isn't that what you're doing?" 

"I'm not 'putting him out there' Camille! I'm just taking him to the event so he can have fun at the afterparty. That is all."

Camille rolled her eyes "Vivienne, you're going to leave the car together to go on the red carpet to stand in front of hundreds of people with high-end cameras taking thousands of photos of you guys. Last time I checked, that is some pretty big publicity for somebody."

As dumb as it sounds, it did not fully register until she said it to me out loud. 

"Well, I'm just going to hope for the best. It'll be fine. We'll be fine." I tried brushing it off.

We got to the hotel and immediately went to get ready. I had messaged Otis, but hadn't gotten a response yet. 

Me: Otis! Are you almost here? We are almost done getting ready 

No response.

It was almost 5 and I still hadn't heard from him. Was he okay? Did he forget? How could someone forget something like this?

Me: are you okay? It's almost 5 Otis!

otisslayer17: I can't be there Vivienne. I'm sorry.