October.

It was nine in the morning on a Thursday, the very busy streets of Manhattan lowering my hopes to find the tall blonde boy that I can't get enough of. There were businessmen and businesswomen, just people walking around, like what I'm doing. I noticed some tourists too, but no sign of Luke. Obviously. This place was crowded.

Maybe he's waiting on the bench at Starbucks. I mean, he's there all the time, anyway. I thought. That was true, but I couldn't take the chance and have Bruce fire me for ditching work, or Michael, getting upset that I ditched him at work. Guess I'll have to take the risk and find him myself. But that would take a miracle.

I passed a woman on the street, playing the ukulele and singing Jason Mraz, trying to earn a few dollars. I stopped and smiled, listening to the beautiful strums and melody she was creating on the instrument. When I was around eleven years old, my dad taught me how to play. It took me around a year-ish to fully learn how to play, considering my ineptness, but nevertheless, I'm still thankful I learned. I miss them. But I'm too ashamed to go back to find them. All I have left are my memories, sadly.

I bend down to the little ukulele case and place a few dollars in, earning a sweet smile from the girl. What a shame, she could've been a real talent, famous, even. I returned the smile, and started my way down the walk once again, to look for that blond quiff with the blue eyes.

Luke.

I walked in haste to find October around the occupied city of New York. This is hopeless. I didn't like being around so many people, glancing at me whenever I walked by. I hated it. I couldn't even stand being in a room of twenty kids, let alone a whole city. Maybe she wasn't even here, probably at home, watching Spongebob marathons on Nickelodeon, or something. I chuckled. No, Luke, that's something you would do. Did she like Spongebob as well?

But something told me that that brunette with the eyes that only seemed to be looking for an adventure was around these hard-at-work streets, probably making someone's day already with that gold smile of hers. I've been seeing her at the café for a month now, and now was the only time I started to take notice in her. I wonder if she took notice in me before.

She was looking for an adventure and she found one: me. And man, I hope October really knows what she's in for when she sees how much of a mess I am.

But I'm not giving up. As I'm walking, I notice a tuneful and harmonious sound of the ukulele. I never learned how to play any instruments. I did try out the guitar, but after my aunt offered me to take lessons from a music shop she's familiar with, I didn't push on with the idea any longer. I did learn some chords, though. I stopped in my tracks when I recognized the brown hair cascading down her back as she wore a grey hoodie, which I noticed was from Harvard? Cool. Then, she turned and gave the woman who was playing a small thumbs up, and I saw that it was her. I didn't waste another minute, rushing over to where she was, a crosswalk away from me. I started to fast walk, jaywalking and getting a few honks and cusses from ongoing taxi drivers.

October.

I bid the girl goodbye with a small wave along with a thumbs-up, which she returned shortly before going back to playing an euphonious melody. I turned a corner to where the street was a little less swamped with rushing people, when I felt someone with rough fingertips, yet smooth palms that felt oddly familiar grab my wrist. I froze, a little frightened but didn't dare turn around. I lived in New York for almost three years now, and with the help of Michael he taught me how to go through obstacles like this. I just never thought it would happen.

This is it, this is the end, I thought to myself when the unknown person spoke. "October." I was overreacting.

I quickly turned around, finding a breathless Luke, looking slightly tired, colour seeping up from the side of his face.

I let out a relieved breath, knowing my "kidnapper" was who I was looking for all along. "Luke," and before I even thought about what I was going to do next, I enveloped him in a hug. After a few seconds he pushed me away looking startled, and slightly... Scared?

I tried to push down the disappointment and embarrassment his rejection gave me, biting my lip and looking down at my boots, when I felt him grab my arm and pull me into hug me again, like he finally knew what I was trying to do.

I held on to him tightly, my arms around his neck, his one arm around my waist and the other around the top of my shoulders, as if I were to let go I'd lose him forever and he was forbidding that. "Hi," he breathed out into my hair, slightly nuzzling into the crook of my neck.

"Hi," I responded, my voice I whispered, taking a whiff of him and had already grown fond of his smell; musky. I chuckled to myself and he noticed, letting me go and furrowing his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side while I admired him. He looked so cute, damn it. "What?"

"N-nothing, you just, uh, smell good." I mumbled, avoiding his gaze and feeling a blush creep up from the side of my face. What was he doing to me? He stared at me for a few seconds before a smile broke onto his face and he laughed, as in barks of laughter actually falling from those pink lips of his. Scratch that, I thought to myself, his laugh is now my absolute favourite sound to hear in the world. I blushed even harder and started to join him. "Sorry."

"Let's go somewhere a little less...busy, yeah?" He asked, looking at me with something I can't decipher in his eyes. He was right, we looked a little strange hugging in the middle of the street, but I pushed it away and beamed at him. "Sure." I giggled, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked, motioning me to follow him. I quickly walked to his side and we made our way down the sidewalk.

~~~

We were sat on a picnic table perched up on the grass, I was sitting on the table and he was on the actual seat, playing the classic game of 20 Questions. I learned that he had two brothers, his favourite colour was blue and he listens to Blink 182, which I have never heard of before. I still had seven questions left, and I was running out of ideas.

"What school did you go to?" I asked nonchalantly. If I was being honest, I was becoming bored. Not that I didn't enjoy Luke's company, but because we could be doing something, anything, right now, other that just asking questions.

I felt Luke stiffen next to me, and I immediately regret asking, though I don't see why it was such a nerve hitting question. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, or anything." I added, sweetly, though I'm not sure why one question had a deep meaning. He scratched the tips of his index fingers with his thumb, which I guess was something he did when he was thinking, or nervous.

"I-I was home-schooled." he muttered, still playing with his fingers. I couldn't help but be curious. "Why?"

"That's none of your fucking business, October. Stop being so nosy, when clearly there are some things people don't need to know." He looked up, eyes bitter. I still wasn't used to his sudden mood changes, and it still surprised me. Why was he like this? And instead of feeling brave and fearless, I cowered. Maybe I was nosy, I thought, and felt even more embarrassed.

"Sorry." I whispered, and got off the picnic table to turn my attention to anything but him. I walked over to the open field of grass and noticed a tiny daisy in the middle of it. I'll pay attention to that. And despite his bipolar mood and closed off-ness it still drew me closer to the tall boy sitting on the picnic table behind me.

Luke.

I watched her back as she moved to the patch of grass that surrounded us, taking a seat and focusing her attention to the little flower in her hands. I was pushing her away like I said I won't. I angrily scolded myself. If you want her to stay, you need to let her in Luke, you idiot. You can't let her go now. So I stood up with one sigh and made my way over to her, and stood next her just in case I scared her and I don't want to scare her any further.

She looked up, her eyes filled with sudden interest and curiosity and she looked so innocent with her brows a little furrowed and her bottom lip slightly stuck out. I wonder what it feels like to kiss those -

"Why?" She asked again, a bit quieter this time.

I snap out of my little trance and sighed, sitting crisscross applesauce on the ground and she rotated herself to face me. "My, uh, parents left me when I was younger. Stayed with my aunt, didn't want to go to school, b-because," I started to play with the grass in front of me. I didn't want to look so vulnerable, but the way she looked so intrigued made me realize that maybe, just maybe, she actually cared. "I'm sick, October."

Her eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows and I grabbed her hand in reassurance. "No, as in, I have like, a d-disorder." Her eyes darted to my hand, which rested on top of hers as my long fingers were squeezing her palm from underneath. I saw a small smile play on her lips as she eyes our hands. I pulled away quickly and flushed, and so did she.

"What disorder?" she asked, tilting her head to the side whenever she was genuinely curious, and I found it sort of cute.

"Avoidant Personality D-disorder." I muttered. She looked at me and nodded slowly, signaling that she was aware of what it was which made me nervous, as she looked away and didn't say anything for a while. She then stood up and dusted the grass that stuck onto her jeans and I grabbed her hand once again. "P-please don't leave." I whispered, looking at her.

She looked down at me and her gaze softened, "I'm not going anywhere," she explained, tugging on my hand gesturing for me to get up, which I did. "Not without you, anyway." She added and my head shot up.

"I'm bored, let's go do something... Exciting." She beamed, scanning the park around her to the streets while I studied her. She was beautiful, and I felt rather shallow when I thought of her as hot this morning. How her pink and plump lips curled into a smile as the ideas flew through her mind, how her orbs were a brown that I used to dislike due to the distasteful tint but now were my favourite colour. Not brown, though, her eyes.

"S-so you're not leaving?" I asked timidly. I might've sounded desperate and weak, but I couldn't help it. October, she was something special.

She turned to me, surprised, as if what I had said shocked her. "Why would I? Geez, Luke, you act like you're some alien or something. Having a disorder doesn't change anything. Don't look at yourself like that." She smiled softly, before grabbing my hand and walking towards the park exit to God knows where.

Things might've been going quick between us, but I didn't care. I was growing attached to this girl.

And that's when I realized that I cared about this October Winters, and I knew she wasn't leaving.

And neither was I.