It’s already eleven o’clock. The grey clouds float and fade away into the darkness of the night and a steady breeze continues to chill the atmosphere. Fewer and fewer cars pass as time goes on. I trace my hand over the same spot on the concrete. His voice replays in my head.
“Yeah, I’ll be there,”
“Don’t worry baby, I won’t let you down,”
“I promise you won’t be alone this time,”
Okay, but where are you? I check my phone again to see that only a few minutes have passed. “You said you’d be here by 9 Mason!” I sent at nine fifteen. “I know, I’m already on my way,” he replies at nine twenty five. “Any closer?” nine thirty. “Hello?” nine forty.
“You said you’d be here this time...” ten o’clock.
What’s the point? I bury my head in my knees. He’s not coming. I don’t know why I thought this time would be any different.
“Arya?” a familiar voice echoes in the distance.
My head pops up to see a vaguely familiar figure approaching from the shadows, the click of their heels getting closer. I couldn’t recognize who it was until they stepped out into the faint light of the street lamp. I don’t know how I didn't notice before with her tall, thin build and long untamed curls. She wore a red two-piece along with a noodle strap sparkly top and a knee-length skirt, ruffles all the way down.
“Lou?” I look up to meet her gaze. She doesn’t seem to have the worried expression I thought she would. All I see is anger and irritation. “You look amazing,” I force a smile.
“Thanks and.. So do you,” She leans on the pole of the street light. Seconds silently pass until a sigh finally escapes her lips. “He’s a piece of shit, you know that right?” I bury my head deeper into my gut. “I don’t even know why he gets your hopes up if he knows he’s not gonna come. You don’t deserve this...” Tears sting at my eyes and a tightness rises in my chest. The clink of her footsteps gets louder until I can feel her presence next to me. The sting worsens until I can’t force back my tears anymore. In the midst of the chilly night, I feel an abundance of warmth around me.
“I feel like he doesn’t even care...” I force through the sobs. She doesn’t say anything, just continues to comfort me for as long as I need. After a while I wipe my face and smile.
“Feel any better?” she asks. I nod.
“Thanks,”
“No problem, I just wish that he could’ve tried to be better, especially for you... ”
Suddenly, we both hear footsteps in the distance. Both of our attentions linger on the other side of the street, where a hooded figure makes their way toward us.
“It couldn’t be...” I whisper.
“It isn’t,” Lou stands up.
“ARYA!” the figure shouts. It’s another feminine voice, one that I could recognize anywhere.
“AVE!” I shouted back. We ran to hug each other, “What are you doing here? I thought school events like this weren’t your style,” I smirked.
“They weren’t, and they still aren’t. But I know how you are, and I couldn’t just let you sit here at night waiting for that asshole.”
I frowned, “So you apparently know the future too,”
“Yup! And in the near future, I see us at my house eating junk food and watching horror movies with the lights off,” Funny how a few seconds ago I was crying my eyes out, but now I couldn't wipe the grin off my face even if I tried. She always knows exactly what I want to hear, and exactly how to cheer me up. “So...” she starts again, “Are you down?”
Tap. Tap. Tap. The footsteps start up again. “Yeah, of course!” Tap. Tap. Tap. I catch Lou right before she goes in the door and wave her goodbye, right as we start to get going, my phone buzzes. I know who it is, but I’m not answering it. Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! It vibrates in my hand.
“Are you gonna answer?” Ave asks. I look at my phone and stare at the contact photo. I remember the day we took it. We look so happy. Oh, how naive I was to think that he’d always stick by my side. He can’t even come to a damn dance. I silence my phone before catching up with Ave. If he’s gonna waste my time, he shouldn’t mind me not wanting to answer.