"Okay mom, I'm going out to go shopping with my friends! I'll be back around 9 or 10, I have my phone if you need me." I shouted from downstairs.
I was finally ready to see Luke, after about two hours of getting ready. I hope my mom doesn't ask any questions. My parents are kind of strict about the whole dating thing, and they wouldn't like the fact that I'm going to see a boy. Especially a boy that's stuck in a mental hospital.
"Okay, see you then! Have fun, don't get into trouble." She shouted back at me.
Yes! I was through the first 'barrier'. The second one was getting through the doctors and nurses. Hopefully they let me in.
I walked by the mirror on the way to the door and surveyed myself. I was wearing my Green Day shirt as promised, along with skinny black jeggings. I had my high-top black chucks on, along with a black Neff beanie. I'd made sure to load up my phone with plenty of music for the whole day, and I was bringing my iHome, because it'll project the music better.
I left the mirror and unlocked the door, walked outside, closed and locked the door, and walked to my car. I didn't have anything special, just a blue Honda civic. I got into my car and sat down the iHome in the passengers seat, where it won't fall. I put my key in the ignition and started it, and pulled up maps on my phone. I copy and pasted the address Luke sent me and found directions to the building. It actually wasn't too far away, maybe about half an hour. That gives me half an hour to think about how I'm going to first approach Luke.
I started to drive and at the same time, started to think about what to greet him with. Do I play it off like we've been life-long friends and go for a hug? Do I act like it's our first time meeting and slightly wave and smile?
Over skype, Luke made most of the conversation. He was really talkative, which leads me to believe that he'll be the same way in real life. So, I'm just going to rely on him to make the conversation, since I'm not that much of a conversationalist myself.
Before I knew it, I was pulling into the parking lot of Canyon Ridge Hospital, where Luke was staying. I could feel my heart beating in my chest faster than before, and my palms were sweaty. I found a great parking spot and pulled into it, managing a great park job. I sat in the car for a while longer, just to gather my thoughts. I felt terrified, but at the same time, ecstatic to be there. It's like the feeling you get when you're on the very top of a drop on a roller coaster. I took a deep breath and looked in the rearview mirror, checking my teeth and face. This was it.
》》》》》
"Hello! What can I do for you?" The lady at the front desk said.
After being scolded at for bringing an iHome with me by security and bringing it all the way back to my car, I finally got let in with my phone only. Apparently I'm 'lucky' because the security guard was letting my phone slip, since they aren't normally allowed. I managed to tell the lady that I was here to see someone, and that I wasn't family. She smiled at me and handed me a form, for me to fill out. She was behind a sort of desk-table thing, and behind her, was a door. It looked like the room behind her was a sort of games room, because I saw people playing checkers and chess. When I took a quick glance, I saw a boy reading a book in the corner. It resembled Luke.
I took another deep breath and went to sit down to fill out the form.
Ward of patient: Juvenile.
Name: Jasmin.
Age: 16.
Relationship to patient: Friend.
I peeled off the sticker that the lady gave me off of its plastic backing, and stuck it to my shirt. I had to wear it the whole time, she told me. Once I was done filling out the form, I had to wait for someone from the ward to walk me to Luke's room. I watched a young looking woman come through one of the doors and motion to me, so I sat up and followed her through the same door she came out of. The hallways were lit up with bright lights, but not bright enough for the hospital to seem normal. This place was supposed to help people with depression but it feels like it would induce it if I were here.
"Luke Hemmings, right?" The young lady said to me.
I nodded and she walked past a couple more doors, and stopped at room 173. Luke's room.
"He's not in here right now, he's scheduled to be in the game room, but I'll go fetch him right now. You can wait in his room, if you'd like." She said, walking off.
I nodded to her and turned to the door. I twisted the door handle and pushed, entering a small white room. On the walls, he had two posters. One was a poster of Sleeping With Sirens, the other was All Time Low. There was a tiny window high enough so that I couldn't reach, and a bright yellow light on the ceiling. His bed was covered in white sheets and had a metal frame, it looked very uncomfortable. There was a small desk in the corner, which I walked over to, to see what was on it. There were piles of papers stacked up, some of them with writing on it. I looked to see what was written, and the top said 'Journal'.
I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
"Don't look at those please!"
My head snapped around to see who was talking, and my heart beat sped up.
Luke was standing in the doorway, with a smile on his face. He was wearing black pants and a black button-up shirt, with black chucks to match mine.
He outstretched his arms, and motioned for me to come over towards him. I walked over to him, smiling, and finally wrapped my arms around him. He was really warm and actually smelt like he'd put on cologne before coming to his room. With him standing in front of me now, he was significantly taller than me. He started to rub my back and I grinned again.
"Nice to meet you, Jasmin." He said, and he sounded like he was still smiling.
"You too." I said back.
I didn't know how much I was smiling at this point. He pulled back from our hug and stepped back, looking at me like I was something special.
"What?" I asked.
He was still staring, and then snapped out of it after a second.
"Nothing.. I like your shirt." He mumbled.
That was weird. I replied with a thanks and he went to sit down on his bed. I followed, sitting next to him.
"So.." He said, smiling.
I took my phone out of my pocket so that I didn't crush it by sitting on it, and held it in my hands. He turned to me and looked at my hands, which were holding my phone.
"They let you bring your phone in?" He asked, surprised.
I nodded and he pointed at it, asking if he could use it. I gave it to him and he unlocked it, going straight to my music. He scrolled down and stopped on A Party Song by All Time Low, playing it. He smiled and gave it back to me.
"Thanks, I haven't listened to good music in forever." He explained.
He started to hum the beginning of the song, while looking at his hands.
"They don't let you listen to music?"
That sounds like hell.
"Nope. It's hell here.." He trailed off.
He slowly reached and grabbed my hand, holding it. It shocked me at first, but after a second, I blushed.
"How long are you gonna be here for?" I asked.
He looked up as if he was thinking, and then turned back to my direction.
"About.. six months. At least. That's if I get better..if I get worse.." He muttered.
He looked back up at me and forced a smile, which broke my heart.
"You'll get better. I promise, you'll get better." I held his hand tighter, emphasizing my words.
He genuinely smiled and squeezed my hand back.
"I'm really glad you came.." He said, looking away from me, towards the ground.
He didn't make much eye contact with me, and rarely talked as loud as he did on skype. This was a whole different Luke that I wasn't used to.
"Me too, Luke. Hey," I said, reaching for his chin.
I lightly turned his head towards me so that he was facing me.
"Look at me, I wanna see you when you talk to me." I whispered.
He nodded and swallowed, he looked nervous. The song that came on next was James Dean and Aubrey Hepburn by Sleeping With Sirens.
"I really like you, Jasmin." He said, making direct eye contact this time.
His cheeks turned a bright red right after and he bit his bottom lip, smiling.
I smiled back and nodded.
"I think I like you too." I replied.
His face lit up, he looked happier than when we first skyped. He was still looking into my eyes, like he was stuck on them. I was watching his eyes as well, until I noticed that he'd started to lean in towards me. I don't know what brought it on, but I found myself being pulled towards him too. We were so close, I could feel his breath on my lips.
"Okay, Jasmin it's- oh," The young lady from before said from the door.
Luke and I leaned away from each other and cleared our throats, I was blushing.
"Well, Jasmin, it's 8 o' clock. Time to go.." She said, awkwardly.
I nodded and looked to Luke, who was smiling to himself. His cheeks were pinkish.
The lady walked out, so that I could say goodbye to Luke. He stood up, and I'd assumed we were going to hug, but he quickly pecked my cheek and hugged me afterwards.
"Bye, see you next time. Please come back soon." He whispered in my ear.
I slid my hands around him, nuzzling my face into his chest.
"I will." I whispered.
I pulled away, grabbing his hand and squeezing, and then letting it fall back to his side. He waved to me, and I waved back. He walked back to his bed and sat down, looking at his hands. That's when the lady shut the door, and Luke was locked away again.
》》》》》
I got home about two hours ago, it's midnight now. I'm in bed. I can't sleep. I'm thinking about Luke.
I'm thinking about his eyes, his nose, his legs, his hands. His lips. Him.
It's official, I do like him. I like him a lot more than I thought I did, and it's kind of scary to me. I told him I did. And he likes me too. I wonder if he thinks about me as much as I think about him. Probably not. But I haven't stopped thinking about our almost-kiss.
And I can't stop thinking about it. Him and his lips are stuck in my head, and I bet you when I finally fall asleep, they'll be in my dreams too.
》》》
omg, almost kiss ahh