MICHAELS POV:

I set out this morning, hoping to get away from the usual.

I grabbed breakfast at the nearest donut shop before setting out to go to the mall.

When I arrived at the mall, I noticed that I needed some new flannels.

I went into several different stores but found none that I liked.

Then I stumbled upon a new store that had just opened last week.

They had a whole entire flannel section, filled with men's and women's flannels.

I spotted a familiar face from across the room.

It was Mack's girlfriend, Leslie.

Now knowing that I wasn't bound by Sadie's rules, I could freely go up and talk to her.

"Hey." I said.

"Oh hey, you're Michael." She replied.

"Yeah it's nice to finally get to talk to you!"

"Yeah last time we met, you punched my ex-boyfriend, Mack?"

"Yeah well, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out for a while? Maybe eat lunch? I could make it all up to you."

"Well I mean we're both alone so why not?" She said with a shrug.

"Cool!" I replied.

Leslie had gorgeous eyes.

She had a smooth voice that rolled off her tongue like butter.

Yet there was a mysterious vibe about her that really made me interested in what she had to say.

Also, the fact that she said Mack was her ex boyfriend made me really happy.

We walked to the food court and picked up some Panda Express.

I spotted a table outside and we practically ran over to it so we could sit down.

Finding a chair in this mall is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

{ I know that's an old simile but I used it anyways so get over it :) }

As we ate, we talked about what was going on in our lives.

I talked about the band of course but I also talked about our stay here in town.

I didn't know when we would be leaving.

Probably sometime after Christmas.

She talked about Mack and how they broke up.

She said Mack was a cheater and that she should have known that when he cheated on Sadie with her.

"Michael can I tell you something?" She asked out of the blue.

"Yeah what is it?" I replied.

"You are the first guy I've had an actual conversation with in forever. And by forever I mean not even with Mack, like, it's literally been so long." She said.

I laughed.

"Well that's good?" I said confused but happy.

"I like hanging out with you. We should do this again sometime."

She gave me a slip of paper with her number on it.

I took it and looked back up at her.

She was getting ready to leave, throwing away her food and gathering her bags.

"Do you need help with these?" I said grabbing down out of her hands.

"Oh thank you! I'm so Sorry!" She replied.

"No it fine!"

I helped her carry her bags out to her car.

She drove a blue 1996 Ford Bronco.

Not a car you would usually see driving around but it made her extremely unique.

I loved that.

I waved goodbye to her as she drove off.

She waved back and smiled.

Things for her went back to just the way they were.

But for me,

Oh the feelings came rushing in.

=========================

It was hard not to call Leslie that night.

I told Luke that I had gotten her number and he said not to call her back for a while so she knows your not clingy.

Hannah said that was true.

She said that it kills girls to have to wait but if the guys texts back right away, she usually will think you're clingy.

I replied with a simple "okay" and went on again trying not to hit send on the text message that said "hey."

That night was restless.