Manifest // h.s.

four

Leah Presley

"Jude?" I held the door open, my eyes scattering his apartment in hopes to find him. It's been a few days since the night at the bar, and I haven't seen Jude since that night. I felt tremendously guilty for avoiding him and distancing myself from him, considering he's been blowing up my phone in hopes to figure out what's been wrong with me. This whole ordeal has been consuming my thoughts and I've found myself losing sleep over it. 

I breathed a sigh of relief once Jude came rolling in with basketball shorts on, shirtless with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. His eyebrows were furrowed in my direction and his eyes widened at the sudden realization that I was standing right in front of him, after avoiding him for so long. 

"Leah?" Jude muffled, running back into the bathroom to spit out the rest of the toothpaste in his mouth. I stood there with wandering eyes as he walked back out, his expression even more confused than previously. "What's been going on? I feel like you've been ignoring me," His lips upturned into a small pout and I felt my chest get heavy with guilt.

"I'm sorry, I've just been in a really weird headspace, I have a lot on my mind," I exclaimed with sorrow in my tone of voice as he shrugged it off, walking over to me with wide arms. I could feel his body heat envelop mine as he pulled me into a tight bear hug. I pinched my eyes shut and hugged him back, breathing in his scent. Even just touching him, was starting to feel wrong inside my head. 

"How about we do something tonight? Go out and have a few drinks, yeah?"Jude smiled towards me and my heart sank at the idea of having to go out again. After that night at the bar, I felt emotionally drained and my body couldn't keep up. The smile on Jude's face was persuading me and I knew he just wanted to spend time with me, considering I've been avoiding him for days now.

"Uh, sure, why not," I smiled back towards him, no matter how forced it felt. Jude's face lit up at my response, and he quickly gave me a soft kiss as I pecked him back, a smile still on my face. 

"Why don't we invite Harry and Sadie? It'll be nice just us four, like a cute double date," Jude laughed with a wink and I felt my stomach churn at his suggestion. I thought I could be sick any second.

"H-Harry and Sadie?" My voice mumbled as I couldn't help my eyes grow into saucers. Jude's warm expression completely changed at my hesitation, as his eyebrows pulled together in concern. 

"I mean, yeah, it would be fun, plus you can get to know Harry and Sadie a little better," He said with an uneasy tone, his head cocked to the side as he eyed me curiously. "Is that what's the problem? Ever since you met them you've been acting so weird..." His voice trailed off as his eyes shot down to the floor. I deeply sighed, shaking my head back and forth.

"No, no that's not it, I-I just, it's fine, it'll be fun, you're right," I smiled brightly at him, leaning in closer to him to wrap my arms around him, my hands entwining behind his neck. He returned the smile with a smirk, his hands grabbing me at my waist, and pulling me even closer to him. He leaned down towards my height, sweetly kissing me as our lips flowed together. I could still feel the sense of nausea in the pit of my stomach but I tried to shake it off as much as I can. I needed to get over this, or else this feeling was never going to go away. 

"We can leave around 9 o'clock if that sounds good," Jude pulled away swiftly, pecking me on the cheek as he grabbed my hand to lead me into his bedroom. I smiled in response, hoping this night wouldn't turn out so bad after all. 

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"Are we meeting them there?" I turned my head and asked Jude as I buckled into his passenger seat. He nodded his head with a smile, his eyes shooting over to me, as they grew in awe at my appearance.