Hidden Infatuation

Faith in the Fortune

"There's a better band coming in an hour." Harvey piped, stopping at one of the stands selling vapes, glancing at the merchandise laid out at the table.

"Those things are gonna kill ya." I repeated, the same statement that I had told him countless times before. Like always, he rolled his eyes, but put the pen down, moving away from the tent. 

"What time is it?" Layla asked. 

"5 o'clock." Harvey answered, looking at his phone, before offering a cheeky smile. 

"Layla squealed, clapping her hands together, before dragging me off towards the gazebo on the opposite side of the park. It was on top of a small hill, overlooking Lake Champlain that sat just down the slope of the hill where the shore began. This area was the most vacant at the venue, as preparations for a bonfire were already underway due to the large pile of firewood on the shore beside the lake. 

The only cart currently set up was left unoccupied, filled with unlit glowsticks of all kinds and sparklers. 

"I'm surprised they trust that no one will take anything." Harvey mentioned. Layla and I both gave him a warning look. 

"Don't even think about it." We said in unision. 

"Oh, how dare you. I would never." He snickered, putting his hand to his chest in feigned offense. 

We made our way closer to the gazebo when two tall forms came into view. One of them I recognized as being Jesse, the other tall blonde one, I assumed was Jaimie. You could tell that he wasn't from around here, from his cropped haircut to his prominent features. I couldn't explain it but there was something about him that seemed elegant, a trait most, if not all men around here didn't possess. 

"Layla." Jesse exclaimed, the awkward expression on his face shifting to a gleaming smile. 

"Jesse, you came." Layla's voice was soft as she spoke. I knew that she hadn't voiced it but it was apparent that she had begun to question that he would even show or not. 

"Of course, I came. You asked me to, didn't you." He responded. Layla's face tinted pink as she looked back at him. 

"Hey, Tiger." The blonde man preened, looking to Harvey. His accent a was thick, his cheekbones high, and his eyes a piercing blue. 

"Hey." He answered, putting on what I called his game face. It may have been because of how long and how well I knew him, but even though a smirk was plastered on his face, a mischievous glint in his eyes, I could see that it was all just a show. He hasn't been the same since Percy, at least not romantically. He would jump on whatever chance he got to be with someone, but it wouldn't last past the night. It was his temporary fix to dull whatever pain he was suppressing on the inside. 

He greeted Jaimie with a quick kiss, the glint in his eye staying as he swung an arm over him. With the pair of them, and Layla and Jesse conversing quietly in the corner of the gazebo I definitely felt out of place, the third wheel. 

"This is gonna be a long night." I muttered, pulling out my phone in attempts to occupy myself from the affection in the air. 

The night dragged on, and the feeling didn't get much better. The two of them were trying their best to make me feel included, but as I walked around in between the two couples I couldn't help but feel a little awkward, debating whether or not I should have taken Layla up on her previous offer. 

My mind drifted off back to the car, the horses and carriage, the forest, the dress. So much so, that I almost ran directly into one of the signs of the park. 

"Woah, you, okay?" Harvey asked. 

"Fine." I responded. 

We got something to eat at one of the food vendors, before sitting down at one of the tables. I couldn't find it in myself to eat anything at all.