Zero O'Clock

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

I first met Finn at twelve o’clock; at first I thought I was seeing things when he started to approach me.

 

No one’s on the street at this hour .

 

I thought to myself as Finn loomed out from the dark street corner. My first instinct was to run, because hey, no normal person walks around town at twelve o'clock. As far as I knew the only people who walked the streets at night were thieves, the heart sick, the addicts, and the restless, and quite frankly I wasn’t in the mood to face any person that fell into those categories.

 

But I didn’t run. I think my choice not to run down the street screaming “bloody murder” had half to do with the fact that I was tired and half to do with the fact I knew no one would hear me.

 

The moment I saw Finn’s face emerge from the dark shadows of the night was the moment I regretted staying. I knew who he was, most people would. His name was Finn Wehr, and along with having one of the coolest names ever he was from Canada which automatically made him beloved by every kid in Marbury, Pennsylvania.

 

When he came closer to me, I saw something, something other than his one hundred and one wat smile. I saw his eyes, and it was weird, because I never noticed they were just like mine; tired.

 

“ Hey.” And though it was a greeting he had this odd way of making it sound like a goodbye.

 

“restless.” I thought to myself. “ He’s definitely restless.”

 

He looked at me funny when I didn’t answer.

 

“ Your Edith right?” I nodded quietly suddenly tugging my shorts down. “ I remember you from last year, you were in my..bio...no, it was english, oh yeah, you're the girl who read like, five books a week right.”

 

I smiled slightly.

 

“ One each day.” I whispered.

 

He laughed, like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Side effect of sleep deprivation.

 

“ You know I really wasn’t expecting to see anyone around until August, most my friends go on vacation this time of the month.” I nodded as if I completely understood what he was talking about. I didn’t really have any friends, of course I had people I would occasionally exchange a “hey” with in the hallway, but other than that I had never really been able to pass the rudimentary of a casual conversation.

 

He stared at me for a few seconds, before smiling as if every bone in his body was breaking. His one hundred and one wat smile looked so full of hurt that it was cringe worthy. I tried not to cringe, but if I did, I decided to blame it on the cool July air.

 

“ So what are you doing on the streets at twelve at night?”  His voice was quieter than it had been before. I rubbed my hands over my bare thighs looking at the empty street.