Her

Cassie

"Oh come on, it's been foreverrrr", he pleaded but Thomas just looked back at him deadpan. He knew it had been a while but there was college and the work at the farm. "Things have changed, Callum, you know this," he retorted but Callum didn't seem to consider it. He just sighed and fell into the classroom on their right.

Thomas headed off campus for his free lesson, but his head was full of 'what ifs'. Maybe if things hadn't have changed since high-school he wouldn't be in this position.

Never had it been harder for a man, handsome enough, jawline patched with rough stubble and thick brown curls atop his head, to get a date. Maybe it was because he read a lot, he pondered but deemed it unnecessary because many girls around campus indulged in such pastimes. His style was next to be questioned, tight dark jeans with a chain across the leg, graphic tees, vans and a hoodie was all he wore, never without the crowning beanie, tattered and falling apart, but loved nonetheless. It was different from what most wore, of course, but Thomas figured it was grab someone's attention. All he needed was to find his someone.

As everyone came flooding back from class, whether it be science or astrophysics, Thomas desperately searched for Callum, as he did after every free lesson. It wasn't uncommon for him to be late, but as crowds of people swarmed him, he got more and more nervous. Finally, he heard Callum call out "HEY! Tom! Over here!", from behind him. When he turned, he saw Callum sat in the park across the road, cigarette hanging from his mouth and a girl sitting opposite, unusual because between him and Callum, Thomas didn't usually attract women. He had never seen her before, but he wasn't scared of her. She could have been anyone; Thomas just wouldn't have cared.

"Just agricultural studies for now, I think" she said, her voice soft against the low noise around them. Cassandra, her name was, Cassie for short, and within half an hour of talking to her, Callum seemed to think her last name would become Thomas' in a decade or so. "That's interesting, I'm just an English major," Thomas replied, keeping his eyes locked on hers, "not very interesting of course." He laughed then, as did she, and for a moment, it felt as if the world outside of their gaze didn't exist. Callum struggled from there forth to get a word in edgeways, the two of them discussing everything from bumble bees to politics.

By the time evening came, the sun dipped below the horizon and the cold set in, Callum, Cassie and Thomas were dawdling home, talking about everything, still, not caring about the wind biting their faces. "This is me," Callum sighed, as they came to the corner of Main Street and St Peters. As he walked down to his house, Thomas and Cassie shared a moment of silence, as if they'd said everything there was to be said, but content in that fact. Tentatively reaching for her hand, Thomas smiled at her and, without warning, lead her, running, down towards the river. He had felt different about her since he saw her; well of course he had. She hadn't run from him yet and studied agriculture, a match made in heaven for Thomas, who earned keep on a farm himself. Since he was young, animals were his passion, unafraid of anything that might bite or scratch or kick, so working amongst them made sense.

Cassie didnt care about his messy hair, rugged face or cracked and cut hands, but only for how he read Bronte and Dickens, cared for the world around him and had a steady job at 17. This being different for him, he felt as if finally he had met the one; but how could he be sure? He was used to girls making fun of every aspect of him and  though he was happy, it was his nature to question, despite the fact he seldom wanted his questions answered. All he knew was that he wanted Cassie, and as far as he was concerned, she wanted him.