“Hey, Cal, what’s so important you had to call me out here.” I ask, coming up to him.

He stands by the soccer goal. Even though it’s fall, the air is still heavy with summer heat. Cal waves and I follow his line of sight, finding a pretty brunette at the end of it, walking towards us.

“Hey.” She says, smiling at us.

“Hey, Eileen,” Cal replies, “This is my cousin, Levi. Levi, this is Eileen. She’s in my anatomy class.”

“Hey.” I say, smiling at her.

Cal pulls out his phone and sighs. “Aw man, the girlfriend calls. I’ll leave you two alone, then. Sorry to bail!” Cal winks at me as he turns and jogs away.

I want to smack him. I can’t believe he just did this. I look to Eileen and she’s laughing.

“Wow, well I didn’t see that coming. Does he always do this to you?” She asks me.

“Uh, no.” I say, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry.” She says with a smile. “So uh, why did he? Having trouble finding a girlfriend?”

“Oh, uhm…it’s complicated.”

“Oh, that really sucks. I hate relationships that can’t just be easy.”

“Yea.”

“I just got out of a pretty complicated relationship a couple months ago. Moving on can be a good thing though.” She pauses, looking at me. “Maybe moving on is the best thing for you to do.”

I look at her. I mean, I really look at her. She hasn’t stopped smiling since she met up with us. Her brown hair is long and loose. She’s pretty and so far has been really nice.

Rationally, she’s right. I need to move on. Autumn doesn’t seem to see me like I see her. To her, I’m just a best friend. Someone she kisses on a dare, and says I love you to in a sibling way. I’m someone she’s always been able to rely on, but never saw in that way.

“Maybe.” I mutter, Autumn’s face flashing in my mind.

“Well, I have to get going. This girl’s got a biology test in the morning.” She makes a face. She pulls out a piece of paper and writes on it. “But, here’s my number. If you ever want to talk, just shoot me a text.”

“Thanks.” I say, taking the paper.

“See ya. Good luck with everything.” She smiles and begins to walk off.

“Bye, good luck with your test.” I say, looking down at the paper in my hands.

I sigh and enter it into my phone real quick, then start my way towards my last class of the day. I chew on the inside of my cheek, Eileen’s words echoing through my head. Could I really just move on? I’ve been hung up on Autumn for a while and the only time she’s ever reciprocated my feelings was when she was so drunk she didn’t remember anything the next morning. But she’s Autumn. She’s the most kind and beautiful person I’ve ever met. I can’t give up on that can I? I remember the sight of her kissing Dr. Corban and shudder.

“Mephesto, I’ve gotten her.” I hear a voice whisper as I near an alleyway. It sounds familiar.

“Good. You break her and you break him.” Another voice replies, so cold it gives me chills.

I move quietly to the wall and peak around the corner, looking into the alleyway. Dr. Corban stood there, facing towards me. In front of him stand another man with pale skin. I move back behind the wall before I’m seen and walk quietly away in the opposite direction. I’ll go to class a different way.

Their conversation weighs on my mind as I sit in class. Who were they talking about and was it really my problem? I shake my head and pull out my notebook. He’s…whatever he is to Autumn, so any of his business is my concern. I’ll have to tell her what I saw later.