Loose Ends of You and Me | Cosmic Love Series

6 - secret friend scavenger hunt

W Y A T T

I had to knock at least three times on the brown door with the number 508 glued on it, in golden plaques, before I could hear the sound of ruffling inside the room, indicating that someone was there.

"Wyatt." Harper sounded surprised when she opened the door and saw me standing before her, leaning against the threshold. "What are you doing here?"

Gone was the wool sweater and jeans she was wearing this morning, and the white sneakers. She stood before me in a light pink sweatshirt with Malibu written on it in a darker shade of pink, a pair of black leggings, and nothing but socks on her feet. Her heartstopping beautiful, strawberry blonde hair looked disheveled, even with some strands tied loosely behind her head, allowing for every feature of her face to show.

"I've got something for you." I untied my hands from behind my back and handed her the framed picture her parents had given me.

"How and why do you have this?"

"I ran into your parents yesterday when they were leaving. They forgot to give you this but they were in a rush to get to the airport, so they told me to give it to you."

"Oh." Her voice sounded different, almost as if it carried sadness. "Thanks."

She was about to close the door on me, but I held my hand against it, and stopped her from doing so.

"So, uh..."

Don't stutter.

"Are you coming tonight?"

"Oh, um... I'm not-"

I cut her off before she could throw an excuse at my face. "'Cause I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

"What's happening tonight?"

"It's an outdoor movie session." I explained, with a wide smile, hoping that would be enough to drag her out of the dorm room.

"What movie are they playing?"

"The Hangover trilogy." She shot me a questioning look. "It's the same every year."

She gave it some thought before answering me. "Wait outside while I get ready."

She closed the door and I stood in the hallway, while waiting for her to get ready so we'd go. In the first five minutes, I could hear muffled cries from inside the room, and I knew it had something to do with that photograph. The sound tugged at my heartstrings, but I had to force myself to ignore the urge to knock on the door again, and comfort her.

I was worried sick about Harper. Making the transition from high school to college is never easy, let alone making that transition almost three thousand miles away from home, on the other side of the country. And it worries me even more when I know how badly she wanted this. To study and move to New York has always been a dream of Harper's, and it pains me to see that she's not entirely happy about how it's turning out to be.

Something was definitely wrong, Harper was clearly going through something and I wished I could help, but I knew I couldn't do it without her opening herself to me first. I wasn't going to push her into telling me what was going on, so being there for her was going to have to suffice.

At least they play a comedy.

* * *

When we got to the main campus where the event was being held, nightfall was upon us, and with the sun slowly disappearing behind the tall, sharp buildings around us, and the moon and stars slowly starting to make their appearance, it was the perfect timing for a movie session that would go on for the rest of the night.