Three

"You’re the reader and I’m the character; you’re reality and I’m fantasy; you’re fire and I’m water; we are two basic elements that are always at odds with each other." A romance story like no other.

(three)

I phone into work before my break finishes and tell them I’m feeling ill as I ate something bad for lunch.  The real reason is I just want to lie in bed and read those books again. The books that I spent many years pretending to a part of. I flop down on the bed and reach for the nearest one. I can’t read it, my mind is somewhere else. Chucking it across the room, I grab another one. I do the same and the same again until about ten of those books have hit the wall and are now on the other side of the room. I rub my forehead before heading for the kitchen, I open the fridge and look inside; nothing. I shut it before getting my things and leaving my flat, heading back to the coffee shop where we first met.
    

Slipping inside, I order the same drink and sit down on the exact chair I did almost two days ago. Once the cup is in front of me, I wrap my hands around the body of it and play my favourite game. Looking at these people, I try and guess stuff just from their looks. I know the quote ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, but it’s not like I’m being mean.
    

Across from me is a lady with crimson hair, brown eyes and a tattoo of the name ‘Harvey’ on her shoulder. They could be a parent, child, lover, friend; anything. She wears leather trousers and a leather jacket with ripped sleeves, which is on top of a white vest. I hover my eyes to the outside of the coffee shop. Just what I thought. There are two motorbikes outside; one of them must belong to her and the other must be the guy in front of hers. He may be Harvey, you never know.
     At the desk there’s a man, he is torn between shouting at his kids to behave and ordering their drinks. I look at his hand where there may be a wedding ring. There’s only the mark of one. There’s two possibilities in this case; they divorced or unfortunately, this guy is a widower. He’s wearing a dark brown coat over a navy blue polo and a light brown, almost beige colour, trousers. His hair is grey and he has a slight stubble and his face is off colour, almost as if someone drank it out of his skin; again, this could be the case of those two possibilities, you never know.
   

I turn my eyes to an old lady in the far corner. She sits alone, but with two coffees in front of her. In her case, I don’t think she’s waiting for a friend in the bathroom. She’s talking to herself, or what she presumes is the person in front of her. The lady’s hair is grey and her face was probably once beautiful, but she’s now sad. However, her eyes hold this kindness, that even after the ageing, is still there. She has quite chubby cheeks, but has a wonderful smile. She’s wearing a flowery pink and purple dress and a brown trench coat over it. I feel sorry for her, sitting on her own, thinking she’s there with someone, but in reality, she’s just sitting in a coffee shop all alone. Or maybe she isn’t, maybe there really is someone sitting in that chair across from her, you never know.
   

 After a while, I stop and start drinking my coffee.
   

“Hayden? Hayden Jones? Boy, has it been a while!” A voice laughs, I look up and see a person with chestnut brown hair, bright green eyes and a perfect face. “It’s me! Riley Gorden! I used to sit next to you in English, you let me copy your notes.” Riley laughs and takes a seat opposite me, a drink in their hand too.
   

“Oh, hi. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I almost didn’t recognize you. You look good.” Riley smiles.
    

“It really has! It’s not hard to forget your face though, you still have your childish looks about you, did you know? And you look good too.” They take a sip of what looks like a Espresso.
   

“Yeah, I did know that, haven’t lost it since I started Secondary School. So, what are you doing these days?”
   

 Riley laughs. “I remember when we first met, I thought you had skipped years five and six and gone straight to seven. Oh and me? Well, you’re looking at a person with the most boring job ever, I work in a call centre. How about you? How’s the Hay-Joney spending their days?”
    

I laugh. “The Hay-Joney? God, I haven’t heard that in ages. It’s good to be reminded of how a loser I was and, well if you think that’s boring, wait till you hear mine; I work in a library.”
    

“You weren’t a total loser, don’t worry. You were very funny half way through, but then you seem to sink into the shadows. I thought you wanted to be an author once you left school? You were writing a novel last time I heard the name Hayden Jones.”
    

“I was writing one, but it just kind of, you know?”
    

Riley nods. “Yeah, I know.”
    

“Well, I wanted to be an author- I still do, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I had more of a chance of becoming one when I was sixteen or seventeen. I lost that chance when I became older.”
    

“How did you lose the chance? Nineteen isn’t old.”
   

I shake my head and take a sip of my coffee, Riley does the same and looks into my eyes.
    

“No, it’s not that. It’s mostly because I have writers block, I’ve had it for almost two years. Can’t get over it, nor can I go another way, so I just need to forget about it. Like my step-dad says though; ‘being an author isn’t practical, but will only lead you to living on the streets.’ I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”
   

 “Why wasn’t it? Just because you haven’t wrote, doesn’t mean you can’t.”
    

“I want to, don’t get me wrong. I want to be a writer, it’s my dream after all. But that’s all it is, a dream.”
   

“But if you think about it, that was the same for all those other writers. I remember when you started becoming a joker, you’d make fun of the supply teacher, and then the next hour at break, and I’d see you sitting alone on a bench reading a book. It just didn’t make sense to me.”
  

I laugh. “Nor did it to me.”
    

“So you work in a library instead of being an author, have I got that right?” Riley asks, taking a sip of their drink, before placing it back on the wooden table and smiling.
  

 I nod, also drinking my coffee; my hands still wrapped around it. “Yeah, that’s about right.”
   

 “Well, I guess that’s close enough.” And with that, Riley takes a final sip of their Espresso before smiling at me.
 



  “So, who is this?” They asks, looking at you and taking a bite out of the brownie they ordered moments before.
    

My stomach sinks and I now know why they came over here, because of you.
  

 “Oh, they’re with me.” Riley punches my shoulder.
    

“I kinda’ guessed that, silly. I mean, do they have a name? It’s a bit weird that they are there. What are they doing?” They ask.
    

“I don’t know it, but they must have one, right?” I look at Riley, before looking up at you. “It’s our instinct to name things.”
   

 “Then why didn’t you?” I look back to them.
    

“Huh?”
   

 “If it’s our instinct to name things, why didn’t you? I mean, you have no idea who this person is, you could at least name them. Might make it easy when people ask you who they are.”
    

“I never thought of it like that before.”
    

“Maybe that’s because you’re an idiot.” Riley laughs. “I’m on joking, but seriously, I thought you were going to be a writer and I’d say in an interview that I used to copy your notes in English, but it never happened.”
   

 “Really?” I ask, laughing.
    

“Really!” They repeat, another bite.
    

“A popular person thought that, dear lord.” I take a final sip of my cold coffee.
    

“A popular person? What? I wasn’t popular!” I laugh and they eat the last part of the brownie, before wiping their hands on the napkin it came with, they scrunch it up in their hand and listen to me.
  

 “Riley, yes you were. You had everyone as your friends, you also had everyone crushing on you.”

“Having a lot of friends doesn’t make you popular, most of them are fake anyway. And no one fancied me in Secondary school! I think you’re getting me mixed up with Jamie.”
    

“No, I’m pretty sure the whole of our class and all of the others liked you more than a friend.”
     

“Really?”
   

 “Oh come on, there must have been certain times when people would give you hints?”
   

 “Now I think about it, Taylor did like to save a seat next to them every lunch time.”
    

I laugh. “But if you think about it, Taylor saved everyone a seat. They’re living the States last time I heard.”
    

“Yeah, I guess. But apart from them, I can’t think of anyone else.” Riley looks at me. “What about you? Did you ever like me more than a friend?”
    

Heat rises to my cheeks.
    

“Did- did- did I ever like you more than a friend?” They nod, a small smile playing on their lips.
    

“I- I guess. I mean, you were very good looking.”
   

“I was?”
    

“You are.” I correct myself.
    

“You’re sweet.”
    

“I admit it, I liked- I mean like you a lot. So I was just wondering, um, maybe- maybe, I don’t know. Maybe you and I we could-” I start.
    

“Could?”
    

“Um, don’t worry. You’d probably say no.”
    

“Are you asking me out on a date, Hayden Jones?”
    

I look down at my hands.
    

“I guess I am.”
    

“Well, I would like that. What do you want to do?” Riley asks me.
   

 I look back up. “Really? You want to go out with me?”
    

They nod.
    

“Wow, my day is getting better.” Riley laughs. “Um, we could go for dinner?”
    

They nod. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll meet you here at nine? Then we can walk there together, you can choose the restaurant.”
    

“Can’t wait.”
    

“Oh, here’s my number.” Riley unfolds the napkin that was in their hand and pulls out a pen out of their pocket, they begin to write an eleven digit number, before handing it to me.

“I’ll call you.” I say.
    

“You’d better. I have to go, I’ve got work in thirty minutes. See you at nine?” I nod and Riley gets up, smiles at me, before saying goodbye and walking off, they turn before leaving.
   

 “Hey, you never told me what you called your friend there!” They call to me.
    

I look at them. “Dee.”
    

“That’s different and not what I was expecting.” Riley says, laughing, I look back.
    

“Well, it is a different scenario in why I’m naming the person in the first place.” I laugh, before slipping Riley’s number napkin into my pocket.
      

“I guess you’re right, anyway; bye. See you later.” They leave and I smile.
     

“Yeah, see you later.” I walk home, the smile still on my face. I look up.
     

“Sorry for choosing a new name for you, your name may not be Dee, it probably isn’t. You don’t have to have it if you don’t want to, it’s just that’s the only one that popped into my head. But don’t worry, it suits you.” I smile.
    

I stare straight ahead, our eyes don’t meet again, until I take a deep sigh and come to a halt.
   

“Oh god, I just asked out Riley Gorden. I can’t go out with Riley! I’m not good enough. Not for them, not for anyone.” I whisper the last part and look at you.
   

 You stare down at me with this look in your eyes that makes me feel like I’m being an idiot, here I am complaining about years ago; I’m no longer the kid from school who liked to be alone. I’m a new person. I smile at you.
   

 “You really do have some beautiful set of eyes.” Laughing, I start to walk again.
    

 I get back home and flop down next to the phone on the sofa, I see the messages button flashing and I press it, before folding my legs under me.
    

 “Hi, Hayden. It’s me- Mr. Diaz, your boss, anyway, I’m just phoning to see if you’re feeling a bit better? But I’m guessing you’re asleep, well I won’t disturb you anymore. Bye.” It beeps, signalling end of message, before moving onto the last one.
    

“Hey, it’s me, Lily. Don’t tell mum I’m calling you, she’ll freak; well anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I overheard mum and your dad talking, I think he’s travelling to London this week. Anyway, thought you’d want a heads up before the silly dude turns up. Bye!” It beeps for the last time.
    

Dad’s coming down? I quickly grab the phone and dial mum, it rings a few times before I hear Billy’s voice on the other end.
    

“Hello?” He says.
    

“Bill? Is mum there? I need to speak to her.” I ask, urgently.
    

“Yeah, let me just get her.” I hear him call out, then there’s silence, before the voice of my mother rings in my ears.
    

“Hayden? I thought you had work?” She sounds curious.
    

“Mum, I don’t have time for that, Lily called and-” I start, but she cuts me off.
    

“Lily called? What in golly gosh did she want? She shouldn’t be wasting our money.”
    

“That isn’t the point mum, the point is she said someth-” I stop again as her words click. “Wait, what? Wasting your money? Are you saying that calling me is a waste of cash?”
    

“No! Of course not! It’s just you aren’t a very good sibling role model, you’re never here and whenever you are, you’re just so angry all the time.”
    

“It’s nice to know that you care about me so much. Do you know what? Don’t worry that I called, I wouldn’t want to waste your time. Oh and don’t bother calling me, I don’t want to waste your cash as well.” I hang up, slamming the phone down.
    

I scream out. “Great, even my mother is turning on me. I can’t believe she actually said that, I know she didn’t mean it in that context, but the way she put it made me so mad with her.”
   

 That’s when I remember the number in my pocket, I pull out the napkin and begin to dial the number.
    

Someone picks up. It’s Riley.
    

“Hi?” They say.
    

“Hi, it’s me, Hayden. Sorry just wanted to check if you gave me the right number, I’ve been given a fake number way too many times.” I laugh and Riley does too.
    

“And why would I want to give you are fake number? I really like you Hayden, I didn’t lie about that.”
    

“People lie to me too often that I seem to not know who to trust or who to not.”
   

 Riley laughs.
     

“What?” I ask, standing up, the phone still pressed against my ear, I begin to wander around the house; before deciding to collapse onto the bed, and I re-position the phone back to my ear.
   

 “Nothing, it’s just I’ve been there before; so don’t worry.” I sit up.
   

 “You have?” I ask.
   

 “Yeah, don’t sound too surprised.”
  

 “Well I never thought someone as perfect as you would have that as a problem. What happened?”
    

 Riley snorts. “Perfect? Far from it. Well, I guess you could say, I didn’t know who would leave and who stay.” I scratch the back of my neck. “So I pushed them all away.” 

Author's Note

Thank you for reading, yours truly, Oswin xoxo