MY HAND IMMEDIATELY DROPPED from my ear to my side, tightly clutching my phone. Without looking back as Ava stood up and shouted my name, I ran off to the nearest flight information display screen and quickly scanned down the list for any flights leaving to New York.
"Come on," I anxiously whispered as I waited for the next page of flight details to appear, which would show all flights heading to the East coast. The names of the different flights flipped and showed all departing and incoming flights.
Sandwiched in the middle of listed flights, I found a flight listed for New York, which had a gate that was nearly on the opposite side of the airport and was leaving in ten minutes. Adrenaline pumped furiously through my veins as I sprinted like my life depended on it, dodging out of people's way while some glared at me.
And to be honest, I didn't know where I was going half the time, solely relying on signs hung overhead that pointed the direction of the different gates as I made a mad dash.
After running down one last hall, I turned the corner and ran to the gate that was listed on the screen, 40F. Hardly able to breathe from sprinting, which didn't help as my anxiety made it hard enough to take a breath, I looked around the waiting area, which was completely empty.
I looked out of the giant floor to ceiling window and saw the plane pulling out. I sunk down in defeat in one of the chairs closest to me, feeling a wave of strong nausea hit if I didn't sit down.
This was it, there was no way I could stop Milo at the last second from boarding that plane.
As my hands trembled, I dialed Milo's phone, hoping that he hadn't turned on airplane mode yet. The line was silent before it began to ring a few times, causing a swirl of emotions in me.
In the middle of the second ring, it cut off and his voicemail immediately came on, indicating that he purposely declined my call. Tears welled in my eyes as I heard his smooth, calm voice, speaking as if everything was alright as his voicemail played.
I brought my knees to my chest as my elbows rested against them, the heels of my palms digging into my eyes as I let out quiet sobs.
He told me he didn't want to lose me again. He told me he loved me. How could he let me go?
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"NATALIE INVITED us to a get together with some of our old classmates for this afternoon. Do you wanna go?" questioned Ava as she peered up at me from behind her phone.
I shrugged, playing with the scrunchie around my wrist as I let out a deep breath.
Before I could think about what I was doing, I opened the Photos app and scrolled through the pictures of Milo and I in the special album I made with pictures of us together. He deactivated all of his social medias a couple weeks ago and wouldn't answer any of my calls or texts, so these were the only memories of Milo I had left.
Without even realizing that the raw emotions were evident on my face, my lip quivered as tears began to blur my vision.
"Stop torturing yourself," Ava scolded gently as she snatched the phone out of my hand, closed out the app, and placed my phone face down on the nightstand beside my bed. "I know you're hurting and all you want to do right now is stay in your room all day, but as your best friend, I won't allow you to do that."
"Please, Ava, just let me stay in," I groaned, turning over so that my face was fully squished into my pillow, the tears in my eyes getting it wet.
"No, you've been stuck in here for weeks when you should be out at the beach or doing anything else because it's summer."
"It's only been three weeks," I deadpanned.
"You know what we need to do?" She responded, ignoring my hindrance. "We need to go out and do something that'll make you feel better and take your mind off of things."
She hopped off the edge of my bed and smiled.
"Like," she dragged out the word, "going to Natalie's get together."
I sighed, a frown etched on my face. "Come on, wouldn't it be nice to see some of our old classmates again? Who knows, maybe you'll actually have a good time and enjoy yourself," she joked as she tried to cheer me up, sticking by my side the entire time during these recent rough weeks.
Convincing myself that maybe it could be fun after all and was a good way of taking my mind off of Milo, I gave in and groaned, "Fine."
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AS WE PULLED up to a cozy looking one-story home in Aiea, some of the house's tan paint chipping off, nervous butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
I hadn't seen these people for a year and knowing that they knew about Milo and I's relationship through the few Instagram posts on my account, I was afraid someone was going to eventually bring up the sensitive topic.
The car grew silent as Ava turned off the ignition and twisted out the key, parking next to the curb in front of the house. I took in a deep breath as I tried to calm my nerves.
"You okay?" Ava asked as she glanced at my nervous expression.
"Yeah, I'm just a little nervous to see them, that's all," I told her truthfully.
After a few more seconds of waiting, Ava and I hopped out and we walked up to the gate, the smell of delicious barbecue wafting into my nostrils.
"Hello?" Ava spoke loudly. A girl wearing a light blue crop top and white shorts emerged from around the corner of the house, a smile emerging from my face as I recognized one of my other close friends from high school, Laura.
"Oh my gosh, hi, you guys," she said enthusiastically with a hint of a pidgin accent in her voice and a big smile, her eyes widened. She let us in and we both hugged her tightly, a bit of nostalgia washing over me.
"Follow me, everyone else is hanging out in the backyard." She led us to the back of the house where Ava and I were reunited with more of our friends, Amanda, Ren, and Kai.
As Ren and Kai handled the barbecue portion, Laura, Amanda, Ava and I chit chatted amongst ourselves, updating each other with our lives from college and some gossip that we brought back from there.
Half an hour later, the guys joined us. Then Amanda brought it up, the one thing that had me on edge all night as I prayed that no one would bring it up. "So, I noticed that you and that senior guy you dated are together again," her eyebrows were raised as she gave me a knowing look, trying to hide a smile.
"Uh, well..."
"Wait, what was his name again? Milo, right?" Kai interjected, his eyebrows pulled together in the middle as he tried to recall the past.
"Yeah, I think so," Amanda said. "He's pretty cute," she wiggled her eyebrows.
A heavy pressure fell on my chest, feeling the oxygen being restricted from my lungs as I began to panic, afraid that tears would start to cloud my vision soon.
"We're...not together," I managed to spill out, looking down at my hands as I twiddled my thumbs.
"I don't know, you two seemed pretty cozy to me," Amanda responded with a smile, oblivious to my sudden change in mood.
"Well, we're not...things just didn't work out," I agitatedly responded, wanting to desperately change the subject.
Ava quickly changed the subject, which I threw her a thankful look her way. The rest of the night went by in a blur, and other than the exasperating conversation about Milo, it was actually a pretty fun night. Although there was always a subtle reminder of Milo in the back of my head, the little voice that kept on reminding me of him slowly became quieter and less noticeable.
And for the first time in weeks, I had a peace of mind as a smile spread across my lips.
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HE WALKED AWAY for a split second before returning as I stood by the counter, waiting for my order as Holden, the barista I befriended a month ago at the end of summer, and I chatted about trivial things. "Here's your order, Hadley."
Holden flashed me a smile as he set the tall cup in front of me, placing a straw wrapped up in paper next to it.
"Thanks, Holden," I grinned, unwrapping the straw and poking it into the lid, taking a refreshing sip.
Holden was the new recruit at Bella's. He was a university student at Berkeley like me and was hired immediately on the spot when he impressed Bella with his barista skills, having worked at his local coffee shop back home in Minnesota.
When Holden first handed me my coffee, he noticed my old Troye Sivan hoodie I was wearing that I owned from high school and commented on it.
"You listen to Troye Sivan?" The newly hired barista asked, his ocean eyes contrasting with his olive skin and freckled decorated cheeks, which struck out to me.
I nodded, a smile playing at my lips as I was impressed that he knew who Troye Sivan was since many people had asked me several times who he was after seeing my hoodie.
"I listen to him too. He's such an underrated artist," Holden said, scooping some ice into a cup.
"I know right. His music is so good," I replied, appreciating the thought that someone else also liked Troye Sivan.
"I'm Holden," he smiled brightly, his eyes twinkling.
"I'm Hadley."
And from then on, we've talked about random topics and shared many laughs in between as I waited for my coffee, his natural charisma rolling off of him. Sometimes I'd even stay and chat with him over the counter even though he'd made my coffee long ago, or wait for him until he finished his shift.
As my phone vibrated from an incoming text from Ava, telling me to hurry up because she needed me urgently, I said a quick goodbye and took a step before Holden stopped me. "Wait, Hadley."
I turned to face him, flashing him a soft smile. "Did you hear about the Troye Sivan concert this weekend at the arena?"
"Yeah, I tried to buy tickets but it was too late by the time I went online," I replied with disappointment.
"Well, I managed to buy a ticket and I bought an extra one for you because I know how much you like his music and...," He paused, his cheeks turning the faintest tint of pink as he spoke slowly, not wanting to mess up his next words, "and I was wondering, do you wanna go on a date with me to the Troye Sivan concert this weekend?"
'"Yes," I said as a colossal grin formed across my lips, biting my bottom lip as adrenaline began to pump through my veins at the thought of seeing Troye Sivan perform live.
That, and the fact that for first time in three months, I finally felt bliss with a peace of mind knowing that I was going on a date again.
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A/N: THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE (AND POSSIBLY BONUS CHAPTERS) ;)
Note: Just a friendly reminder, I gladly accept CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, but please do not leave negative comments :( Keep in mind that this is a draft, and there will ALWAYS be room for improvement to make this a better story.
-Karlee ð