The Way We Almost Were ✓

02| the corner of first and amistad

to hnyrio for spamming me endlessly about how much she loves my books <3

| Chapter 02 |

| the corner of First and Amistad|

NICK cast his bored eyes around the campus quad, not knowing whether he wanted to strangle the rest of the student body or himself.

He never knew.

He was just a ball of anger, frustration, and crippling pain blending into each other that he no longer knew where the beginning or the end was.

He was just so angry. He was so angry all the damn time.

Nick exhaled loudly and turned right around, walking back towards one of the many archways built into this particular wall that allowed passage into the campus building. There were too many living things in the eating area for him to deal with. And he didn't feel like socialising.

Then again, Nick hadn't felt like socialising ever since he arrived in this godforsaken place.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," an all-too familiar voice reached his ears the second his foot stepped out the cafeteria doors. "Where do you think you're going?"

Nick groaned, not bothering to suppress it.

"Wow," Dale remarked, an unimpressed look on his face as he came into view. "You seem to really like my presence."

"Well now that you've got the message..." Nick shrugged nonchalantly, turning his head back towards the front and carrying on walking to wherever his feet intended to take him.

Dale apparently didn't get the message seeing that he began walking alongside Nick.

Nick shot him a sideways glance. "You know I was being sarcastic, right?" he asked. "I really do want you to go away. Now go."

Dale shot him an incredulous look. "Jesus, Nick! Would it kill you to not be rude? How do you even say that to someone's face?"

"By using my mouth and standing right in front of this particular someone's line of sight."

Dale let out an exasperated breath. "Why were you leaving the canteen?" he asked instead. "You couldn't have finished your lunch already."

"Didn't know you were on babysitting duty," Nick muttered.

"Nick," he said tiredly, "please turn back around. Let's go have lunch, come on."

There was a part of Nick that wanted to give in. For Dale. And he hated it. He didn't want to care.