Loving The Wallflower

Chapter Six : Darian

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(The previous night)

Astra texted Darian first as she was feeling quite bored and she had miss him very much.

"Hey :) r u asleep? Am I disturbing you?"

Astra locked her phone's screen and made herself a cup of coffee while waiting for Darian to reply to her chat. The smell of coffee filled the entire room instantly, which Astra loved very much. She took her coffee to the balcony of the dorm house to avoid disturbing Skye in her sleep. Skye had a continuous row of 3 classes and she was so worn out, she even skipped dinner and just went straight to bed after taking her shower.

Every dorm house had its own shared balcony. A small, round table was placed there, along with 4 chairs that slightly mismatched the height of the table. Astra placed her cup on the table and sat in one of the chairs. The sound of her ringtone made her jump because it was quite a quiet night, the sound alone scared her. The other housemates were in their rooms, either asleep or minding their own businesses.

Astra rubbed her chest softly to calm herself down and saw Darian's name on her phone screen. She answered the call with excitement in her heart. She really missed him.

"Hey Astra, hope you don't mind me calling you this late instead of just chatting. Too many things to say." Astra could feel like she was hundred times better after hearing his voice.

"Hey Darian. It's fine, I'm at the balcony anyways. My roommate is asleep, so I'm all alone having coffee at the balcony now. How are things working out for you there?"

Astra was twisting the hem of her pajamas as she waited for his answer.

Darian on the other side, was having coffee in his room. His roommate informed him that he would be spending his time at the dorm's study room for his group assignment. So Darian had the room all for himself that night.

"Things were pretty hectic in the first week. I had to go for a quick tour around campus to find the basketball court. There are so many athletes here, it's crazy. I still can't believe I'm actually here, as a student in a sport university. I just wish you're here too."

Astra smiled at that. It somehow made her happy and content that she was important to an important person in her life.

"I wish I'm there too. I'm just too far from the sporty material. By the way, I met Jer on the day I arrived, did he tell you? He looked quite different from the last time I saw him. His shoulder was broader than the last time he came home, hahaha. He's quite popular here, you know?"

Darian scoffed.

"He will always be popular everywhere he goes, honestly. I mean, my brother managed to date the prettiest girl in our neighbourhood during his secondary school time. And he was a student at a boy school. Gotta give it to him, he's got the charm. THE CHARM."

Astra's smile left her face for a while.

The prettiest girl in our neighborhood, she thought. She was well aware that even if the prettiest girl in the neighborhood was someone else, it would never be her. But sometimes, she could not ignore the little voice deep inside her heart that was yearning to be seen, to be heard, and to be loved. For once, she wanted to be seen as the prettiest by the boy she had been in love with for almost her entire life.

"Astra...you there?" Darian's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah I'm here. Sorry, got distracted. What were you saying?"

"I was saying, how about hanging out during the term break? I'm talking about a road trip. I'll bring my roommate and you bring yours. We'll take our friends from uni and we'll all hang out for a road trip. I asked my dad and he'll let us use the rest house by the Swirling Lake only if you will be there too. What do you think?"

Astra actually felt excited hearing that. A term break and she got to spend time with Darian.

"That's a great idea, D. I'll tell Skye about this. I hope she'll be able to come. Oh I can't wait for you to meet her, she's such a sweetheart."

"That's great! I can't wait to see you. I'm sure your friend is great too, she's your friend afterall."

And their conversation lasted for about three hours. Astra yawned and she apologized to Darian for being inconsiderate.

"Nonsense. Astra, we've been best friends for 17 years. You can yawn, burp and even fart in front of me, I won't mind. I'd do the same thing too."

Astra laughed at what Darian said, but she was feeling a bit flustered as well. She did all those things back when they were still little children, but she never did those things in front of him anymore. Not ever since they turned 15.

"Sure bro, I'll do that and I do hope my good image will maintain it's good grace infront of you still." Astra tend to bro-zoned Darian in their conversation because she somehow felt like she could manage to mask her real feelings if she did so.

"As long as you're feeling comfortable being with me. Anyways, I better go to sleep now. You sound tired too. We'll talk again next time. Goodnight, Astra. Sweet dreams."

"Thanks, good night and sweet dreams to you too, Darian. Bye."

"Bye."

And that night, Astra went to bed smiling because Darian's familiar, warm voice had once again, filled her mind and she could not be any more happier that they were still the same Astra and Darian. Her heart was at peace knowing that both Darian and herself regarded their friendship at such a high place, that they would always be each other's constant safe place.

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