Autumn Finch

Chapter 4

Leo's POV

I was surprised to find that, when the siren finally went, I was sad to see her go.

Autumn looked down at the ground nervously, wringing her hands. "Um, thank you for this morning. I wasn't in a very good place because of, uh..." She trailed off. "Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is I enjoyed chatting with you, and would you like to meet again tomorrow morning?"

Struck speechless by the thoughtfulness of the girl in front of me, I couldn't say a word.

She must have taken my silence for hesitation because she hung her head, turning around. I blinked, reaching out a hand before I could think about it and grasping her own.

"Autumn, I would love to meet with you again." She blushed, and I let go of her hand, sensing I was making her uncomfortable. How adorable, I thought to myself. Suddenly shy, I gave her a hesitant smile. "Is the same time tomorrow alright with you?"

She chewed her lip, and my gaze dipped just for a second. I cleared my throat and stepped back, out of range of her comforting warmth.

"Could we meet a few minutes before? There are, uh, some people I want to avoid."

I nodded, understanding. Perhaps they were the same people that had left her crying this morning. For some reason, the thought made me want to find them and teach them a lesson. "Of course. See you then!"

A thought crossed my mind, and I called just as she began to turn away again, "Wait, Autumn, do you want to exchange phone numbers or something?"

Autumn turned, grinning good-naturedly. "You know, if you wanted my number, you could have just asked for it."

I laughed, grinning back at her. "In your dreams, Autumn. I just wanted to keep in touch in case either of us can't make it tomorrow."

We quickly exchanged phone numbers and went separate ways to our first-period classes.