𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀.ᐟ 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀

eleven

The brunette shrugged, hands stuffed into the back pockets of his jeans. "It was like any other party, except this time I didn't end up in some girls bed." His nose wrinkled. "Not that I wanted to anyway. Screwing around with some girl at the start of the year isn't very smart. I'd hate to start stuff."

An amused expression brightened onto Adam's face as he was taken aback. Nevertheless he found it quite funny.

"Why aren't you as miserable as us?" Guy asked. He took a sip from a juice pouch. "Didn't you drink?"

"No." Pierce responded. "I would've had a couple if I didn't have anything to do today, but I'm already beaten up with homework and my mom is on my ass about it."

Satisfied with the answer, Guy slumped back into his bed. "Luckily I don't have anything to do today." He boasted. "I get to stay in bed... all fucking day..." His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes, seconds before falling into sleep.

"What a weirdo." Pierce mumbled, eyeing his roommate teasingly.

Adam smiled as he propped his body up on his elbows. His gaze traveled to his friend, "I have to remind him everyday." A deep chuckle erupted from the back of his throat as he noticed what position Guy was in.

He looked like a burrito.

"By the way," Pierce started, earning back the blonde's attention. "I ran into Vera at the campus convenient store. She'd asked to meet you in the library at one-thirty because she had something to show you." He gave a knowing look, "Well, If you were feeling up to it."

And it was like the headache had suddenly disappeared. He got up quickly, his eyes darting to the alarm clock that was sitting on his dresser.

1:18

'Just enough time.' He thought before springing out of bed.

     VERA SAT IMPATIENTLY at the small, wooden table. A leg was bouncing as she nervously glanced around, some part of her hoping the boy wouldn't show up.

Maybe she's overthought this whole thing. It probably wasn't the best idea to mend his skates, especially since they'd only known each other for seven days.

It was a nice thing to do, but some part of her hoped he'd see it more than 'just a nice thing'.

Ridiculous, she thought.

The girl's eyes dropped down to her watch without even realizing it. It was five minutes over her respective meeting time. Maybe Pierce had forgotten to tell the boy completely.

She could live with that.

But as she came to that conclusion, the doors to the library opened.

Adam stood there, scanning the whole room in every way to spot out the girl. A smile tugged to the corners of his lips as he saw her, and rushed down the steps.

"Hey," He greeted breathlessly.

She returned the smile, more awkwardly so. "Hi."  Inside, she was cursing herself for thinking this was a good idea.

But why? Why was this such a big deal? It's only a small gesture, right?

Then why the hell was she so nervous?

Adam sits across from her slowly, his eyes tracing her face. He could tell something was up, but let it be.

"So," He began, "What's up? Pierce said you wanted to see me."

A small breath released from Vera's lips as she drew a grin to her face. "Yeah, uh-" She paused for a moment, her smile becoming a bit more defined.

She might as well come right out and show him.

"I did something and I have no clue if you're going to be upset about this but," The brunette reached around her chair and unlatched a small tote bag that had been hanging there. She placed it on the table, slowly pushing it towards the boy.

Vera continued to explain as he opened the bag. "Julie told me about what happened to them and I knew it would be an easy fix so I just- did it?"

Adam pulled out the skates. He didn't recognize them at first but when he did, his face dropped to an expression Vera couldn't read.

"Oh God..."

Panic swelled up. Her heart beated rapidly as she inched herself closer in an attempt to reason herself out. "Listen- I know I should've gotten your permission to touch these up but-"

The blonde shot up from his chair. "Are you kidding? Vera you're amazi- holy shit!" So much excitement and happiness at once he didn't know what to do with it. His eyes flew to the girl again, a bright smile pulling tightly to his lips.

He couldn't catch himself as he reached in for a hug, embracing her body as close to him as he could. Vera's breath had caught in her throat, but she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. She stood up then, so both of them could get a steady grip on each other.

Adam let his lips brush against her cheek. His face was cherry red as he pulled it away, not even realizing that his hands had dipped to her waist. "Thank you." His voice was soft; eyes darting between hers. "Seriously, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

She smiled, letting herself admire the boy's face. "I'm happy to help."

It was then when they noticed neither of them had moved. Almost simultaneously they broke apart, looking away from each other instantly, but only for a moment.

The blonde cleared his throat, letting his eyes wander back to the skates that were still in the tote bag. He picked them up, a grin appearing for a second before it dropped to confusion. "Why'd you think I would be upset by this?" He questioned, turning to look at her.

Vera shrugged an arm, leaning herself against the small table. "I thought maybe you'd want to fix them yourself or you didn't want anyone touching them."

"I don't mind if you touch them." He responded. "Hell, wear them for all you'd like."

The girl's eyebrows shot up. "But Julie said that-"

"You're not Julie. You're different." The words surprised himself. He grew worried that might've came out weird. "I mean, you fixed them. You deserve to use them as much as I do."

Vera couldn't contain the smile that was soon brought to her lips. Her teeth were even showing, which was very uncommon for her.

"Well, if you insist..."

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