Chapter Eight: Evan

It wasn't long before I started getting used to the bustling life of New York City, but because I reside in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, there wasn't as much ruckus as I anticipated.

It was only when I would step out of my apartment and go to the nearest stores to buy some groceries is when the real mayhem began, and where my original LA roots would start to become visible to certain bystanders as I found it difficult to navigate through the streets without having the occasional curses thrown at me with how slow-paced I was being.

Eventually, I started to get the hang of it without immense frustration getting in the way of my progress. All it takes is a little bit of grit and willpower not to lose my temper and snark back when someone gets on my nerves.

I also started to adjust better to my new home, and although I'm not necessarily bothered with the idea of living alone, it does start to get a little bit dreary when there's not enough company to fill the vastness of the apartment.

Sometimes I catch myself caving into my own boredom and having this inexplicable need to go out clubbing in the dead silence of the night, but I've done that far too many times in the last couple of months that I should at least allow myself some healthier coping mechanisms.

Checking in with my friends back in Los Angeles helps, but it's still not the same as meeting up with them in real life and getting to talk to them face-to-face.

I just have to remind myself that this is only temporary and that eventually, my classes will start soon at NYU and I'll be able to meet as many people as I would like.

The opening of classes is scheduled a week from now, and so far I haven't been able to contain the growing excitement inside of me at the thought of attending college for the first time.

Excited about meeting new people, having something to look forward to in the morning when I wake up, seeing my schedule be filled with tasks and errands that'll stimulate me, exhaust me, but at the same time will make me feel good every time I arrive back at home.

Knowing that this is the type of normalcy that I deserve.

It was liberating to think about, and the more that I keep crossing out the days of my calendar and seeing that I'm getting closer and closer to attending University, the harder it is for me to just sit still and be patient for the momentous day to arrive.

Usually, I'd have someone to celebrate these types of occasions with, but considering I am still yet to meet new people and my friends aren't here with me, I'll probably just end up ordering takeout and dine in with myself, buy a bottle of wine or two.

As I whipped out my phone and dialed the number of the nearest pizza place here in Manhattan that I managed to find online, my eyes roamed freely in the newly added contact I had saved recently, one being under the name of Alyssa.

The ends of my lips tugged up at the memory of her as I wondered how she's getting settled here in NYC after the last time we spoke at the airport, it also made me curious to know if she's managed to meet new people, and knowing her from our brief interactions alone, it wouldn't be unlikely.

But still, the thought knocks at the doors of my subconscious wanting to be found out, and before I could even stop myself, my mind unconsciously lets my fingers drift into calling her number instead of the pizza place I was planning to order from.

The dial tone taking a couple of seconds to ring and I start to question myself if she would even answer, not reconsidering she might end up being busy-

"Hello?"

Dumbfounded, I didn't expect her to pick up the call, thinking I was getting ahead of myself by hoping she would but it turns out that chances aren't always at odds.

"H-Hey," I cleared my throat, finding it hard to speak for some unknown reason when it wasn't that hard at the airport, feeling myself getting tongue-tied all of a sudden.

"Evan? Is that you?" her voice went from perplexed to elated in an instant.

"Um, yeah, it is." I chuckled, rubbing the nape of my neck at how happy she is to hear from me, or at least I think she is "How did you know?"

"I saved your number. Duh." she retorted as I couldn't help but snort at her taunting tone "What did you think I did with your number? That I washed it off my hand and moved on?"

"I didn't wanna set my standards too high only to experience failure just in case you didn't answer back," I professed, and for some reason, I could imagine just her rolling her eyes.

"Well, it's a good thing for you I keep my promises," she mused "You left quite the impression on me plus our quick bonding solidified you as an acquaintance for me."

"Damn, just an acquaintance?" I jested, feigning hurt through my words "I thought we had something good going on,"

She laughed at that as my lips curled at the sound of her voice "Okay, maybe I oversimplified how much our interaction meant to me." she said "It was wonderful, Evan. So much so that I knew I had to get to know you better because you're someone worth getting to know more."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning like an idiot "Yeah? You mean that?"

"Of course," she retorted "But speaking of which, what suddenly compelled you to reach out? Are you done with moving in?"

"I am, actually." I said, "I'm currently residing in Manhattan."

"Awesome."

"On the Upper East Side."

"Ugh, I remember you're a rich kid. Of course, you live in the Upper East Side." she remarked, then abruptly "Is it cool out there, though?"

"Very clean and quiet," I replied "Not what I anticipated, at all."

"God, I wish I could say the same, I live in the Upper West Side and it's loud as hell here," she said "Construction workers drilling into something at 7 AM, not the greatest thing to hear first thing in the morning especially when you're about to attend college."

"Too bad I only have one bedroom because if I had one more I'd offer you a room to crash in," I said to which she snickered at.

"Assuming I'd even be able to pay a quarter of the rent there," she implied "How much is the rent there, anyway?"

"... About two thousand dollars," I revealed as I could hear her practically choking on her breath.

"Two grand?! For a one-bedroom apartment?" she exclaimed "How are you able to pay that much?"

"Again, my parents are financially supporting me. I'll be handling the company soon anyways so it's not like the money they're spending on me to get a good education and proper living conditions are going to waste." I elaborated.

"Damn, that must be nice, I can't even afford to get a new laptop for University," she said, puffing out an exasperated breath "The internship barely compensates me for what I need, with having to pay for food and transportation already, and I need a good functioning laptop to get me through late-night writings."

"You sound tired," I pointed out as she could let out a hum as confirmation.

"Damn right I am. Living in NYC is so expensive and I can't wait until I get a stable job that'll give me a good enough paycheck, then again I also have my student loans to worry about after I graduate." she sighed as I bit my lower lip.

"I am so sorry you have to go through that,"

"Nah, don't be. It's not your fault despite how incredibly rich you are and how my blood boils at the thought of nepotism yet here you are being my friend." she insinuated as I laughed.

"Would you like... I don't know." I trailed off sheepishly "To grab a bite, maybe? Just to get some of the tension off your shoulders?"

There was a brief pause that followed after my invitation "Are you asking me out to brunch?"

"It's whatever you want it to be."

The familiar glee in her tone came back as soon as I said that "Sure, why not? Where would you want to go?" she asked me "Your neighborhood or mine?"

"There's a cafe here nearby that serves good pastry and coffee, we can go there."

"Okay, but you're paying, rich boy." she playfully threatened as I laughed softly.

"I will. Meet you there at 12 PM?"

"12 PM. See you soon."

*  *  *

I waited patiently by the outside tables of the restaurant, waiting to catch a glimpse of dirty blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, and ocean blue eyes.

I arrived here in the cafe in less than 10 minutes considering it was a walking distance from my apartment, and I texted Alyssa the cafe name and the streets nearby in case she gets lost.

She keeps frequently texting me that she's on her way and that she's sorry for taking too long, which I only found adorable and reassured her that she can take her time and I'm not going anywhere.

Plus I'm glad that I ended up meeting with her again and that I have someone to talk to after being isolated in my apartment for almost a week.

It was definitely a complete diversion from my plans but I'm happy I settled with it at the end because if there's gonna be anyone that's gonna make me feel less lonesome, it's Alyssa.

It wasn't soon until I caught a sudden figure sprinting across the road and towards my direction, waving at me in very animated motions and I squinted my eyes to see that it was indeed Alyssa.

She wore a simple white tee, a pair of baggy blue jeans, and a faded denim jacket, her hair was loose as it flowed casually into the wind as she drew closer towards me with each sprint.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," she said, panting heavily as she took a seat in front of me "I usually go from places to places using my car but I don't have that anymore plus cars are apparently not something you should have in NYC, which is pretty fucking stupid in my opinion-"

"So I thought maybe I could use my bike but I didn't think it was gonna be safe peddling my way through the Upper West Side and I'd probably get shouted at, so I settled with just walking from my place to here considering it only takes about 22-minutes but then I realized it would be inconsiderate to have you wait more than 20 minutes for me-" she took a deep breath and quickly exhaled "And so I ran, which made me realize that I should've taken my bike because people still shout at you regardless if you're traveling by foot or not."

Bewildered, I watched as she took a massive gulp of the water I reserved for her in her side of the table as she offered me the most carefree smile she could muster as if she didn't just narrate me a story that had about the same level of intensity as a trailer for a Marvel Movie.

"So," she said after composing herself, "Have you ordered yet?"

We started skimming through the menu as Alyssa ended up ordering a cup of coffee, a plate of apple pie, and an ice cream sundae for dessert, whilst I ordered a glass of ice tea and a bowl of pasta for myself.

We immediately started catching up with each other afterward, asking each other how's it been since the last time we've talked and I wasn't ashamed to tell her how much I missed her presence since we parted ways at the airport.

Which caused her to blush crimson red, as she shyly gazed at her half-empty glass of water "I-Is that so? I kind of find that hard to believe, it's almost impossible not to be preoccupied with new faces here in New York. The day that I moved into my studio apartment an old guy already asked if I want to come over and have dinner with him because he was feeling quite lonesome after he had a divorce with his wife a week ago-"

"Oh no-"

"And well... I obviously couldn't refuse because that would be mean!" she exclaimed "So now I go to his place to eat dinner every night and even feed his cat when he's settling his divorce paper with his wife in the afternoon."

"Oh God, Alyssa." I couldn't help it as I hollered at the hilarity of her story "I have to give you props though because that is super nice of you to do."

"Thank you."

"Plus I can sympathize with the old man, sometimes the urge to invite a stranger over gets to me as well because of how much I miss my friends back in LA. There's still a couple of days left before I attend NYU and I haven't been able to meet new people since so I'm just constantly going through this vicious cycle of wanting to be patient until that day comes and going fucking clubbing in the middle of the night."

"So why don't you?" she asked me "Go clubbing that is?"

"Because I swore not to until I'm sure my life is stable enough for me to go out clubbing without any emotional baggage trailing behind me," I revealed as she raised an eyebrow.

"Emotional baggage?" she asked, perplexed.

I pondered over elaborating on it until I decided to set it aside thinking it'd just ruin the mood "Nah, it's nothing, just some shit I was dealing with back in LA."

She didn't ask me any more follow-up questions after that, clearly not wanting to overstep her boundaries as she simply just sighed "I get you, though, about that whole missing the people back in your hometown situation."

"It's been hard to adjust when you're five hours away from the people you could barely survive not seeing for more than a week and now it's expected of me to go for four years of not seeing them? I had to walk away from a lot of things back in Los Angeles just so that I could gain what I'm striving for here in NYC." she chuckled humorlessly at the last bit of her statement.

"Even putting it in that way is quite an understatement... I thought I'd be able to survive all on my own with the reminder that NYC has so much to offer me so it'd be best if I just wait, but of course, the burden I had to lose in order to swim a little bit better still anchored me down." she confessed "Sometimes I wonder if I made the right call,"

I hesitated to ask her more about what she meant by that, not sure how I'm necessarily gonna approach the situation without seeming intrusive "What was the burden you had to lose?"

She bit her lower lip as she softly grazed the rim of her glass "A relationship. One that I thought I had to let go because if I didn't... I probably wouldn't be as focused on my studies if I had something in my hometown that I constantly kept looking back on."

"I thought I needed to look forward without dwelling on the absence of comfort my relationship provided me, but then I realized it'd be foolish if I latched on because it seemed familiar." she admitted with a pained smile "But there have been nights where I asked myself if only I had been strong enough to fight for what we had, will I still be here grieving or persevering instead?"

Dumbfounded, I couldn't believe that she was bottling this up since she came here to New York. She always seemed so lively that seeing this part of her that showed vulnerability, just made me feel more connected to her in a way that's stronger than the first time we talked.

"... If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone in that." I said "When I told you about the emotional baggage I carried with me, it's the kind that still haunts me even to this day. Sometimes I wonder if I had fought just a little bit better, would she still be here, you know?"

"I actually planned this whole fucking move to NYC because of her, we made a whole plan that we'd share an apartment and go to the same University, but now... it's not like that. She's gone and all those failed promises still nag at the back of my subconscious, asking me if I'm just fooling myself when I'm pursuing a life that still feels a tad bit incomplete without her."

"It sucks," I added, "Being in a place in your life that you planned with someone only to end up at the highest point, but still looking down."

Her eyes softened because of that, reaching over as she took my hand in hers and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"I understand, but you got here at this point of your life without her, and life just doesn't always go the way that you want it, but sometimes it's for the better."

She tilts her head and offers me a soft smile "And who knows," she added, "Maybe once you stop looking down, you'd realize someone new is already up there with you, out in plain sight."

I glanced at her hand that was clutching my own and then back at her eyes that were searching mine, her gaze steady and forward.

I reciprocated her sentiment by squeezing her palm in return "Yeah, maybe they are."