Void {h.s. au}

chapter thirteen

I push myself off of the chair and walk outside, taking a deep breath of the fresh air right as it hits me. A young man with brown hair styled in a bun stands a few feet away from me, smoking a cigarette. I glance at him and offer him a small smile, which he quickly returns. 

"You look like you could use a cigarette." He chuckles, and I lightly laugh along with him.

"That's not really my style when I'm sober." I shake my head, and he takes another drag of the cigarette between his fingers.

"You're smart. You were one of the kids who actually followed the contract in high school about not doing drugs."

"I just like to make sure my lungs can work properly." I say, unsure if it's offensive to him, considering he's currently destroying his lungs.

"I could use you as a role model." He flicks the end of the cigarette, and I watch as the ashes fall to the cement sidewalk.

"Trust me, I do not have anything in my life together."

"Join the club. Sometimes I wonder if anyone has actually succeeded in life."

"I think it's safe to say that Beyonce has done that." I smile, and he nods his head.

"You're very right." He holds his hand out towards me, "I'm Marcus."

"Nice to meet you." I shake his hand and smile.

"I don't get to know your name?"

"If you're supposed to know my name, you'll get it somehow." I shrug. The truth is, I just don't know who I can trust. He could be a spy for Louis.

"You're someone who believes everything happens because of fate?" 

"Not really, but I do think that if you're meant to be in my life, it'll happen no matter what."

"Or you could just make this a hell of a lot easier and tell me what your damn name is." He puts the cigarette to his lips and deeply inhales before blowing out the smoke.

"I'm sorry, but I actually have to go. It was nice meeting you, Marcus." I smile and slightly wave then rush to my car.

I sit in the driver's seat and start the car while clicking the seat belt into place. I take a moment to change the radio station then put the car into reverse. When I turn to look behind me, though, I see Marcus standing outside my window.

"What?" I yell, not wanting to roll down the window. Instead of saying anything, he simply holds up a phone, and I realize that it's mine, so I slowly roll the window down.

"This must have fallen out of your pocket." He hands me my phone, and I graciously smile.

"Thanks. I would be lost without this." I put the phone in my lap, "Well, it was nice meeting you. Thanks for getting my phone."

"Have a nice day." He steps away from the car and waves before walking back towards the sidewalk. 

 Once my heart settles down, I pull out of the parking lot and make my way home. Nobody has ever approached me like that. Guys always went to Hailee and talked to her, but it never happened to me. I would just babysit the ones that struck out with her. 

I think back to the times that I would be so stubborn about boys. Everyone thought it was so weird, but I wanted nothing to do with having a relationship. While all the other girls fantasized about the perfect boyfriend, I talked about how I hated couple things. Boys enjoyed that. I was the one to turn to when you needed something done without any strings attached. 

If only Harry had stumbled upon me at one of those parties. He could have gotten what he wanted then left me. Instead, now I'm just like all the other girls, reaching for something I can never have. With a loud sigh, I decide that this is all because of our stupid connection. I didn't have any emotions for Harry until we became deeply involved, and that was when I found out about our connection. If he can be connected to me and not feel anything, though, I can too.