Commitment

two

Rose.

.

'that was weird,' i thought to myself as i watch him stand up from the log adjacent to mine. was he even talking to me?

i look around thinking that maybe what he said wasn't even directed at me, but there was no one else around other than those walking by or are already talking to someone else.

"sorry that took way longer than I thought it would." I look up and see my best-friend Aubrey holding two ice-creams in both hands. "was that who I thought it was?" she asks as she sits beside me.

"who?"

"Calum Hood" she says, as she looks at me surprised that I didn't know who he was, "you know, the guy who broke so many girls' hearts in our university. apparently, he was in a 3 year relationship that ended suddenly but no one knows what happened. since then, he's been jumping from girl to girl then leaves right before things get serious; a total heartbreaker if you ask me. did he say anything to you?"

I thought back to our short encounter not too long ago. "he said 'you're beautiful' but he wasn't even looking at me so i doubt that it was to me. plus, he left right after we made eye contact," i shrugged and put my focus back on my ice cream.

"stay as far away from him as possible unless you plan on getting your heart broken," she warned, "but knowing you, i bet that falling for a boy is the last thing on your agenda."

Aubrey wasn't entirely wrong, studies was my main priority at the moment and i barely have time to take care of myself alongside studying, let alone be in a relationship. we are currently in our second year of college and i was just now adapting to the balance between school and the job I just recently got. speaking of work...

"oh no i have to go, i'm going to be late for work" i say standing up and eating the last bite of the waffle cone, "ill see you in class tomorrow?"

-

math was my last class of the day today and as soon as i put my notebook into my backpack and stood up, i ran into someone.

"hey beautiful, thought id come pick you up from class" it was none other than Luke Hemmings.

"i told you to stop flirting with me" i laughed as i softly hit him on the chest, "your efforts will just go to waste." ever since middle school, Luke has been trying to get me to be his girlfriend but i never took him seriously and always turned him down. at this point, im pretty sure he knows that he'll never go past the friend zone but he still teases me and checks up on me once in a while.

"i know, im just messing with you. even if you wanted to avoid me you cant cause now you work where i work" he beamed as we walk side by side to his car. we work at a movie theater thats less than a 10 minute drive from the campus.

-

"What time is it?" I ask Luke as I sweep the popcorn on the ground.

"10:14 pm, less than an hour left until our shift ends" Luke replies while trying to hold back a yawn. "Calum?"

i look over at Luke who seems to be speaking to someone then to the person who was walking over to us. it didn't take me long to recognize the person and realize that its the guy who was sitting on the log a couple of days ago. "oh hey Luke, how've you been?" Calum says with a short nod. Calum was wearing black pants and a green flannel, a casual attire. 

shortly after, a girl walks over from the women's bathroom and brings her arm around Calum's arm. "do you want anything?" Calum asks. "popcorn sounds good," she replies.

as Luke prepares their popcorn and swipes Calum's card, Calum looks over my direction as if knowing that i've been stealing glances ever since they walked in. what was merely a few seconds felt like eternity when we made eye-contact, fortunately the girl broke it by thanking Luke for the popcorn and rejoining her free arm to Calum's.

once the couple was out of sight, i turn to Luke. "you know him?" i ask.

"yeah, he used to have a thing with my sister. stay away from him if you don't want your heart broken."