rubik's cube [l.h]

five

"Well, see you tomorrow night then." Luke spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence. It surprisingly wasn't awkward, it just seemed sort of normal, listening to the noise of the bustling roads, and the feeling on the setting sun's warmth.

"Bye Hemmings." I replied, smiling.

The sound of our footsteps on the concrete sidewalks walking in opposite directions could be heard as we walked away. After today, it was just getting harder and harder to try and ignore him. For some reason, Mrs. Hensen put us together as a pair, the one person I didn't want to work with. His charm and charisma could work wonders against my set hatred towards him.

I could feel myself letting my guard down around him, trusting him. But I can't let myself do that, because in the end I'll just end up hurt. I'll end up going back to the person I was before, and I can never let myself be that fragile, innocent girl again.

Stop being stupid, Oliver. It's just a writing assignment partnership, it's not like you're gonna fall in love with him.

I smacked myself in the forehead lightly, trying to clear my swarming thoughts.

"Why am I over thinking this so much?" I asked myself out loud, forgetting I was in public. confused on why Luke was occupying such a large amount of my thoughts. Most of my thoughts lately always came back to him. It was stupid, I just met him barely a week ago.

This was ridiculous, I have no feelings for him, and that was that.

I heard a cough sounding behind me, and I whipped around quickly, it was an elderly woman.

"Honey, are you okay?" She asked me, a concerned look on her face.

My eyes widened, "Uh-" I paused for a moment, "I'm fine, why?" I asked her, confused on why she was so distressed about my well-being.

"Well, dear, you've been standing in that same spot for a while now, and you seem a bit bothered." She said, giving me a soft smile.

It dawned on me, that while I was deep in thought, I also stopped walking and ended up standing still in front of my car, frozen.

"Oh, yeah, I was just lost in thought, that's all." I replied to her, sending a genuine smile to her. It's not everyday that you stumble across someone who really cares about people, with pure intentions for helping.

She patted my shoulder, "well that's good! I just wanted to check, but have a great rest of your day!"

I replied with a wave goodbye, and unlocked the drivers door. With a swift movement, I slid into the seat and inserted the keys into the ignition, powering up the car. My car wasn't great, but it was pretty good if I say so myself. Black Honda Civic; I got it when I graduated high school, which was actually over a year ago. This is my first year of college, but I took a year off after graduating.

Throughout the whole ride home, my own mix of songs played out of the stereo. I was never really someone who enjoyed the regular pop music from radio stations, though I did like a select few artists. I always made my own CD's or plugged in my phone into the auxilary and listened to my music on shuffle.

Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know, know
I swear it will get easier,
Remember that with every piece of you
And it's the only thing we take with us when we die

Ed Sheeran's voice serenaded me from the speakers. It would be nice if I could really believe what these songs say, that love can make everything better. I say bullshit, love is just a four letter word, blank and meaningless. A word used to fill an empty void. I used to be in love with the thought of love, but things change. The world is a cruel place, and the people living in it can be too.