Remember I Love You

Izela impatiently stood at the back of the school theatre. It was well-lit, the chairs were scattered and it was dusty; her occasional coughing served as a reminder of that detail, she started to question the reason she chose the place but of course, it was the landmark that was easiest to recognize in the whole school. She never used to come there unless her friends dragged her there once in a while to watch drama shows hosted by theatre arts students.

There were about twenty more students there; some were rehearsing as there was another drama show in a couple of hours, and others were rearranging the hall... except her.

She prayed that her friends wouldn't drag her here again but she was sure that they would spare her this time so that she could finally meet her long-distance "friend" that they had forced details about him from her. Her heart beat faster and she got more nervous than excited.

They had been in contact for six months now and even though she didn't tell him, she had developed feelings for him and even though they acted like they were more than friends.. she couldn't guarantee that he liked her back.

She took in a deep breath and wondered why he was taking longer than he should, he should have arrived at the theatre hall by now as he had called her and told her that he was on his way close to thirty minutes ago. She wanted to call him but still thought to be patient and wait.

She rubbed her palms together folded her arms under her breasts and let out an icy breath. It was January and cold, to worsen the situation.. the air conditioning was on and blasting with high intensity. She could feel her bones freeze and her teeth were almost chattering even though she was wearing a hoodie and only her head and palms were the only uncovered part of her body, she had even packed her hair into a bun so that she could easily cover her head at any time.

Her phone vibrated in her trouser pocket and she hurriedly detached her hands and brought it out, thinking that it was a call from the one she was waiting for but it turned out to be a call from her poke-nosing friends. Her eyes narrowed as she clicked her tongue, she picked up the call and was prepared to give them a lashing as she was sure that the three of them were together.

"What is your problem?" She snarled but her friends only giggled.

"Hey, calm down.." Xavier who was the one who called spoke up but got interrupted.

"We're not stopping you from meeting your boyfriend.." Lisa chipped in and continued giggling and Izela couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I've told you many times before.."

"He is not your boyfriend, we get it," Jake also spoke up and she scoffed.

"You can go now, remember to give us details about everything later on," Lisa teased nore and they hung up.

"Those brats.." she muttered under her breath and returned her phone to her trouser pocket while muttering, not realizing that a presence had just gotten behind her.

She felt someone softly tap her shoulder and swiftly turned around, she thought it was her friends and she was about to scold them.

"You.." she growled as she turned around but the person she saw immediately shut her up; it was the person she had been waiting for.

There he was, looming over her that she seemed like a short person. He looked more handsome than in his pictures and it felt unreal that she was finally seeing him in real life. Her eyes were almost wide open and he also stared at her innocently, she could only focus on his face as it felt like his blue eyes were piercing their way through her soul.

"Are you okay?" Dave inquired and she immediately snapped out of her daze. He had thought she was about to lash out at him for being late but she became quiet all of a sudden.

Izela felt like a fool and she kept scolding herself internally. She couldn't bring herself to speak up and she knew that even if she tried, her words would be jumbled up but she had to try lest he started to think something was wrong with her.

"H-hi..." She drawled, her eyes still fixated on his, she looked lost.

"Hey Emerald." he replied with a smile and Izela had to close her eyes and shake her head to get herself back on track.

"Dave.." she called his name and smiled.

"Izela.." He replied playfully and they both chuckled, he was always playful around her. He was taller than she was so she had to look up to see his face. He was more than handsome; his silky but full jet-black hair was almost reaching his shoulders, and his eyelashes were thick and long that they could make a lady jealous.. even the way he blinked was graceful, his nose was pointy and his cheekbones were perfectly defined. His soft-looking full pink lips accentuated all of these features and even though he was fully clothed, his built body structure was close to impossible to notice.

"How are...." Izela was about to ask but couldn't complete her statement as he suddenly hugged her tight as if he didn't want to let her go.

"I've waited a long time to do this.." he whispered loud enough for her to hear and continued hugging her for a couple of minutes more.

"Shall we take a walk outside?.. you can take me on a little tour too, I'm still new here," He offered and bent his body so their face could be on the same level.

Izela slightly laughed nervously before replying "Sure, I don't have any lectures today,"

They both left the theatre hall afterward, Izela still nervous. Her hands were shaking as they walked out, both from the cold and nervousness. This didn't go unnoticed by Dave as she repeatedly clamped her hands together and also blew warm air from her mouth on her palms.

Dave reached out for Izela's hand which was beside and held it, he squeezed it at intervals too.

"It's alright," he softly said and she found herself slowly calming down as they walked in silence.

"You shouldn't be so silent on our first day of meeting each other though," Dave stated, squeezing Izela's hand tighter and she couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

Izela got to her apartment around seven in the evening. After taking Dave on a little tour around some parts of the university campus, they both left the campus on his bike and went to other different places outside the university. They went for coffee, she showed him the public art museum which she knew he would be deeply interested in as he loved art; she couldn't get over the way his eyes sparkled as he stared at various artifacts and he educated her about each one; like a pro.

Afterward, they ate some street foods which gave Dave a slight stomach ache for a short while. They did a few more things after that before leaving town for their residences near the university which was on the outskirts of the city.

Izela insisted that she could call a taxi that would take her to her place and Dave had no other choice but to listen to her, she wasn't new to the city after all. He make sure that she left before him and kept on texting her all the way till she got hom