Hard Boy ✔️

39

- Enchanted (Taylor's Version); Taylor Swift -
- Lie To Me; 5 Seconds of Summer ft. Julia Michaels -
- Ghost; Halsey -

Aurora Holland

It had been a few days since the date with Carter, and I had thought everything was fine. The date was wonderful, he walked me to the door and even took the painting I made for him home. He texted me later on that night, not talking to me on the phone like he usually did since I had Katherine staying the night.

I'd never been on a date until that night, so I wasn't sure what went wrong. At least, it feels like something went wrong. Carter's barely talked to me, leaving me here to wonder what I did. He's distant, but then sometimes he talks to me like everything's okay.

Is this how it usually goes after dates? Or am I missing something?

I can't say that I'm not the type of person to sit up all night wondering what I did wrong, but I am. I've been up since he started acting differently, wondering what it was I said or did to make him uninterested. Unless he was, and I'm just overthinking it.

This is my problem.

Maybe there's someone else? Maybe he realized that it was getting too personal and so instead of being up and honest with me, he's avoiding me.

My eyes trailed over to my journal, which I'd brought with me to school today. I was currently sitting in the public library, though, as the school day had gotten out a good couple of hours ago and I had nothing else to do.

Katherine and Elijah were hanging out today, Paige and I still weren't on talking terms, and I just simply had nobody else willing or wanting to hang out. I'm not offended, but it definitely got my mind thinking about things I probably shouldn't.

Mostly Carter, if you couldn't tell.

Seeing something move in the distance caught my attention, and my mind completely forgot about the negative thoughts from only moments ago. I looked to see someone I'd been waiting to see for weeks now - the boy who had tried to help stick up for me to James Hanneman.

His name was Miles, as I gathered from Carter. He was the one that attempted to help me despite knowing he was no match for the much more athletic boy, and I couldn't have been more grateful. I hate that I haven't seen him up until now - weeks after the incident.

Without a second thought, I pulled myself out of the library seat, racing my way to the bookshelf he disappeared behind. I had no idea he came to the public library, as it was rare I actually saw students here unless there was a big assignment throughout certain grades.

Abruptly turning around the corner, I jumped as Miles was much closer to the edge than I assumed he'd be. He jumped as well, his hand covering his chest as he hadn't expected to come around the corner like that. His brows pushed together in confusion, probably as we hadn't ever spoken up until now.

"Hi," I said softly, looking into his light-colored eyes.

He glanced around me as if expecting to see someone stand behind me before looking behind him, almost as if he were afraid someone else was going to pop out of nowhere. "Hi?" He spoke it as a question, his voice going a higher pitch at the end.

"I'm Rory," I said kindly, holding my hand out. He looked at it for a moment before taking it, his soft hand covering mine entirely.

"I know," He said simply. I let go of his hand, moving to twirl my ring as I spoke to him. "I see you with Carter Jackson all the time," He then added as if to explain himself, and I nodded in response.