𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ➙ 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐧

𝟐. 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞

𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 any other day, but the deep feeling that was pitted at the bottom of my stomach, told me otherwise. The entire day just bled into the other, with classes lasting what felt like an hour, or five minutes. 

My mind was somewhere else, but my eyes were glued to the door of every classroom I entered, waiting for the boy to pass by. But he never did. And so, I watched and waited until the bell rang and I was forced to leave my seat. 

I never did see him again, and when I stood at my locker, he was the only person I could think about. "Are you coming to the football game tonight?" Kiara asked as I pulled my head out of my locker. 

"Huh?" I mumbled, not realizing she was having a full-on conversation with me. 

"Have you been listening to me at all?" She asked and I smiled sheepishly. "You're still thinking about that boy, huh," She commented and I looked towards my locker. 

"I'm sure I saw him," I replied as I put my books away. 

"Or was your mind filling in the blanks, like it usually does?"

I sighed. She was right. I have a wild imagination, and I could really just be in my head about this. "You're right, I'm probably just tired,"

Kiara knocked shoulders with me as her blue backpack hit my black bag. "Look, why don't you go home and take a nap, then I'll call you when it's time to get ready for the game," She offered and I smiled thankfully. 

"You're honestly the best," I told her. 

"I know, that's why we're best friends," She grinned before she hopped down the set of stairs and held the door open for me. 

"Any luck with Nate?" I asked her as we passed him and his small group of friends. He flashed a smile and gave Kiara a small wave. 

"Hell yes," She waved back, "I read on the internet a thing called manifestation, and I think it's working," 

"Oh God," I muttered, "Please do not start casting love spells on him, this isn't Harry Potter,"

"I'm not casting spells," She replied as we pushed through the crowd, "I'm just using crystals that I bought on Tuesday,"

Shaking my head, I laughed. Leave it to Kiara to find some magical way to make the boy she's been crushing on since tenth-grade fall in love with her. "Look, as long as you don't make him a stalker, I'm all for it," 

Suddenly, as if magic, the boy from earlier today appeared a few meters in front of me. My eyes widened as he began walking away, never taking a glimpse backwards. I bolted away from Kiara and after him. I rushed towards the road as he moved across gracefully, almost as if he was floating. 

"Excuse me," I grunted as I squeezed past a small group of teenagers. Keeping my eyes on the boy, he stepped into the middle of the road and I knew I had a good chance of catching him. 

Just as I was about to cross, a transit bus flew past me, blowing my hair away from my face. Shielding my eyes from any dust or rocks, I caught my breath, and when I looked up, the boy was gone. 

"Are you crazy? You could've just killed yourself," Kiara exclaimed as she stopped next to me, her hands on her knees while she gasped for breath. "Where'd you even take off too?" She asked. 

"I-" I could say that I saw the boy again and that I chased after him, but we already decided that it was just a fragment of my imagination. If I told her what I say, she would send me a one-way ticket to crazy town with the other schizophrenics. So, I did what I do best; lie. "I thought that was my bus,"

"Well, you got insanely fast, have you been practicing or something?" She questioned as she stood up straight. 

"Just genetics, I guess," I replied chuckling. 

"You should try joining track," She laughed, "But anyway, you should give the crystals a shot," She offered as we walked down the sidewalk. 

"As far as I know, I'm not into anyone that I can think of," I replied as I shoved my hands into my pockets. 

"What about the mystery man?" She opposed and my face fell. There he was, jumping right back into the conversation and into my mind as if he never left. I had thought with the change of subject, we were over it, over him, but I was wrong. "Y/n?" She questioned as my eyes darted to hers. 

"Sorry, I just--" I faked a yawn, "Really need that nap," I lied again as we stopped at the small bus station. 

"Well then, I will pick you up in a few hours, girly," She beamed as she hopped away, already putting her earbuds in. I watched as she walked away as the bus arrived. Hopping up the steps, I sat down in the closest seat I could find, wishing I was home and in my bed. 

But that boy– that almost interaction– he couldn't have just disappeared. Maybe he made it across the road and was walking down the sidewalk. Maybe he caught a cab and was blocks away from me. Maybe, he was never real in the first place. 

No. 

He was real, and I know that he was. He had pushed past students, physically touching them, which couldn't be fake or my imagination. He was there and I was determined to find out who he really was. 

Finally, with minimal amounts of traffic, I was home. Throwing my bag onto the ground, I headed towards my room and threw myself onto my bed. I could feel my body sinking into the mattress, the warm comforter surrounding my body. 

My eyes drooped shut as my mind wandered, reliving the day I had just gone through.