To No One

Ch.17 - Runaway Hopes

<E - Even after an entire week had passed, I couldn't stop thinking about my own words:

"...I'll do it myself."

There were so many things I could've said. Anything at all. Even nothing would've been better than what my stupid heart came up with.

Just what the hell was I thinking? I kept telling myself that I said it for her sake, but... did I really? Even if it was for her own good, it didn't stop the doubts from slowly chipping away my sanity while I sat there in that plaza.

I got so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't realize someone had snuck up behind me.>

S - Yo.

E - AGH GODDESS!

S - Whoa girl, relax! It's me, Sam!

E - S-Sam!? What are you doing here?

S - Um, to hang out with you and Francis? What's up with that reaction?

E - I uh, sorry, got my head on something else.

S - Ouuukay then. So... any signs of Francis' whereabouts?

E - Well- *ehem* He did say that he'd take a bit longer to come.

S - Hm...

E - I'm sure he'll message at some point.

<E - We spent the next minutes in complete silence. All the time she was scanning the plaza in search for the last member of our sorry group. It was pretty obvious from her expression that she was more uneasy than I was. I can't blame her; she had every reason to be anxious. We basically spent the whole week in the dark waiting for a message from him, only to get a single one that same day telling us to meet in the usual place.

Knowing Francis, it was natural for us to wait for him longer than the time we agreed on. The guy always managed to arrive late every time.>

S - Eve.

E - Hm?

S - What are you thinking of making for his present?

E - Eh, present for- oh, his birthday!

S - I know it's like in a month, but I can help but think ahead just in case.

E - Y-yeah...

<E - In hindsight, I should've remembered that. But at that moment I was too anxious to think about presents. I was more preoccupied thinking if I would even be able to look at him straight in the face.

Another half hour passed, and we still had no sight of Francis. At that point, my anxiousness was slowly transitioning into frustration and dread.

Why wasn't he there already?

Was he okay?

Did something happen in the way?

Should I try to call him again?

I kept asking myself those questions over and over again, hoping that I would find an answer eventually. But nothing, time passed and he was still nowhere to be found and the calls didn't reach him.>

S - Eve, I- no, Evelyn.

E - Sam...?

S - I've been thinking about what you said.

E - Um, I say a lot of crap on the daily so you might want to specify.

S - Does "I'll do it myself" ring any bells?

E - Oh...

<E - And there it was. The subject I had been avoiding like the plague.>