I'm finally off the bench and determined to show Coach and the rest of my team that I deserve more game time than I've been getting. Today's match up against Cornell is a tough one, and we've been going back and forth with them, trading off for the lead. There's a little voice inside my head that keeps telling me "don't blow this" but I have to shut it out and focus on the next play, on the things I can control. I have a good rhythm going with one of our running backs and we're steadily finding holes in our opponent's defense.
By the time the buzzer sounds, we've managed to hold them off and put on some extra points, beating them 29-22. Boyle and Cameron rush up to me, elated, and even though there's a smile on my own face, it's one of relief that I didn't stuff it up more so than excitement that we won. I don't have too much time to examine that feeling, though. As we walk back towards the bench, a voice reaches my ears over the noise of the crowd.
"Noah Flynn!!!"
Looking up into the stands, I scan the faces, searching for the one that matches that voice. When I do spot Chloe, my smile grows a little wider. She's standing on her seat, clapping wildly, a massive grin on her face. I give her a wave, then motion for her to come down towards the barricade. Slipping easily through the crowd, she's soon leaning over the railing.
"You made it."
"I did! And you won the game!"
"Well, not me, personally," I chuckle, tucking my helmet under my arm. "But, yeah, we got the win."
"You're too modest. I mean, I know nothing about football, but it looked to me like you did a good job."
I snort with laughter. "That's probably the first time anyone's ever called me modest."
"Well, in this case it's true. So, do you have some caveman ritual to perform together now?" she asks, gesturing towards the rest of the team. "Or can you come for a drink? I brought some friends with me."
"No rituals, no, unless you count showering," I grin. "But we usually all end up at Charlie's."
"Splendid. We'll probably see you there, then."
"Sure," I nod. "Sounds good."
She gives me a small wave and turns to walk back up the stairs, but I find myself calling after her.
"Hey, Chloe?"
She turns at the sound of her name, eyebrows raised in question.
"Thanks. For coming to watch the game, I mean."
Her expression is thoughtful for a second before that warm smile returns.
"You're welcome, Noah."
With a nod, I join the rest of the team and we head up the tunnel to the locker room.
The bar is crowded by the time we all get there, the mood celebratory, and I'm about halfway through my first drink before I manage to track Chloe down, at a table with her friends. Catching her eye, I nod, and she beckons me over.
"Hey," I smile, walking over to where they're gathered around.
"Hey, yourself," she smiles, catching me off-guard as she wraps me in a quick hug before turning to face the group. "So, introductions. Everyone, this is Noah Flynn, the poor sad soul who has the misfortune of being my lab partner in Organic Chem this semester, and the reason I dragged you all to the game today." This description is met with laughter from the group, and Chloe continues. "Noah, this is my roommate Emily, and my sweet, darling, friends Aiden, Caleb, Joseph and Dylan." She makes a face. "Actually, they are neither sweet nor darling, but they are my friends."
After a round of hand-shaking and nice-to-meet-you's, I find out that Caleb is a first-year like me, but the rest are sophomores like Chloe. It seems like all of them want to head down either the law or poli-sci route, apart from Emily, who's keen to study medicine. They soon pick up the conversation I interrupted, and I begin to feel a little awkward. That is, until Chloe asks a question that I find I actually have an opinion on, and suddenly I'm involved in a debate.
It's good-natured, with a lot of trash-talking and laughter involved, but I can tell how seriously they take this stuff. Honestly, it's just nice to be in a group of people who aren't my teammates. As much as I like Boyle, and his buddy Cameron, we don't really have that much in common apart from football. When there's a lull in the conversation, I offer to buy everyone a round of drinks to thank them for coming to the game, and Aiden comes to the bar to give me a hand carrying.
"So," he smiles as we wait to get served. "You mentioned you're doing Politics in Modern American Society this semester, right?"
"Uh huh," I nod.
"Who did you get?" he asks, referring to the professor for the course.
"Pinkman," I frown.
"Ooh," Aiden winces. "Yeah, he's tough. I had him last year. Look, from what some guys told me, he basically sticks to the same formula every year. I've got a heap of notes that you're welcome to, if it would help."
"Actually, that would be amazing. The reading's been kicking my ass."
"I hear ya. First year sucked," he chuckles. "I'd like to tell you it gets easier, but I'd be lying. It's more like you just find another gear you didn't know you had before."
"Well, I look forward to that happening," I smile ruefully.
Aiden gestures to the bartender, indicating that we need a couple of shots. "In the meantime, though," he grins, holding up a glass, "let's drink to your success on the field."
"Sounds good to me," I smile, clinking my shot glass to his before downing the tequila.
When we get back to the table, Chloe grabs a hold of my shoulder, a big smile on her face.
"Thank God you're here! I need someone to back me up on this." Launching into an explanation of the topic currently under fierce debate, her hand leaves my arm so she can use both hands to gesture as she speaks. I'm beginning to notice that she's very touchy-feely with everyone, male and female alike. It appears to be just as much a part of her personality as her smile is. As the night wears on, I notice something else, too. As much as I understand that her frequent contact - a hand landing on my forearm as she says my name, her head bumping against my shoulder when she laughs at something I say - is purely platonic, it seems that people outside our group, particularly female people, don't necessarily interpret it that way.
The reason I notice this is because I don't get hit on at all while I'm standing next to her. Which, I know, sounds incredibly conceited, but it's a marked change from the last time I went to this bar after a game and stood around with a bunch of guys from the team. That was so much like open season it became a pain in the ass. Maybe it's just because Chloe and Emily are at the table that other girls don't approach, but regardless of the reason, I'm glad for it.
The annoyance of having to fend off unwanted advances is one thing, but the fact is, every time I have to tell someone that I have a girlfriend, and explain that she isn't here, it makes me think about Elle. And the fact that she isn't here. That she's about as far away as she could possibly be while still being in the continental US. And that makes my heart hurt. It brings the dull ache that I try to ignore most of the time right back to the surface. Now I've done it to myself, I note wryly.
Just when I was thinking about how I hadn't been forced to think about Elle tonight, I've gone and thought about her of my own volition. I can't win. It's not like I don't want to think of her, I do. It's more that it's hard not to. Ugh. Maybe I've had too much to drink. My mind is getting melancholy and my body's fatigued from the game, all of which seems to be hitting me at the same time. It must show on my face, because Chloe leans into me, her head turned away from the group.
"You okay there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply, my voice unconvincing even to my own ears.
"You're a terrible liar, but if you don't want to talk about it right now, that's fine. I'll get it out of you eventually."
"You're pushy, you know that?"
"Yep," she grins. "It's one of my most endearing qualities."
I snort with laughter. "Right. Okay, sure. I think I'm gonna head off, but thanks."
"For what?" she asks, puzzled.
Shrugging, I reply quietly. "For coming to the game, and inviting me to hang out. It was nice."
It's Chloe's turn to shrug. "What are friends for?"
I don't have a chance to answer, because Chloe turns back to the group then, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "Right. Noah is bailing on us..." This is met with joking boos, before Chloe continues. "Because unlike the rest of us, he actually exerted himself physically today, as part of our winning team!" The boos change to cheers, and I smile, shaking my head. "So, Noah Flynn, thank you for gracing us mere mortals with your presence tonight. Go! Get some sleep, and I'll see you on Monday." With that, she pulls me in for another quick hug, before releasing me, pushing me towards the door.
I wave at everyone else in goodbye, and when I turn away, the smile on my face remains. It lasts the whole walk back to my dorm, in fact. It lasts until I dig my phone out of my pocket and notice that I have three unread texts from Elle, the last of which was a couple of hours ago.
Elle: Hey. How was your game?
Elle: Saw that you guys won, congrats! Call me when you can.
Elle: Guess ur out celebrating, talk tmw.
Shit. I didn't even hear the text alerts over the noise in the bar. Glancing at the time, I see it's a little after 11pm on the west coast, and take the chance that Elle's still up, being a Saturday night and all. It rings and rings but eventually goes to voicemail, and I hang up, rather than leave a message. Guess I'll try her again tomorrow. Or, later today, since it's already the early hours of Sunday morning here. I tap out a quick text before throwing my phone on the bed and heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
Me: Sorry I missed you, we went out after the game. Call me when you wake up. Love you x
I sleep late, having not set my alarm for once, and take my time waking up. I stand under the hot water in the shower for long enough to soothe my aching muscles, before getting dressed and wandering over to the coffee shop near the library to get a decent caffeine fix and some breakfast in the form of a bacon and egg bagel. From there, I head inside the library and find a spot at one of the long tables, spreading out some books and my notes on either side of my laptop and making a start on yet another essay.
I've been at it for about an hour and a half when a call comes through my earbuds - Elle.
"Hey," I say quietly. "There you are."
"Hi. Sorry I missed your call last night."
"That's okay. Just give me a sec, okay?"
"Sure, yeah."
Shoving my stuff into my backpack, I manage to find one of the group study rooms empty, and slip inside, shutting the door behind me.
"Okay," I say a little louder now. "I'm in a place where I can talk without getting kicked out of the library now."
"Learned that one the hard way, huh?" Elle laughs.
"Let's just say there's one librarian who frowns every time she sees me now."
"So, you guys won your game yesterday?"
"Yeah, we did," I grin. "I even managed to get some decent time on the field."
"Aww, I'm so proud of you. I told you you'd be amazing."
"I wouldn't go that far, Elle."
"Whatever," she says and I swear I can hear her eyes rolling all the way from here.
"Did you do anything fun yesterday?"
"Yeah, Lee and I hung out, it was nice."
Something in Elle's tone is off. And she's not babbling details about what they did, which is unusual.
"Okay... That's a good thing, right?"
"Yeah, no, it was. It was good. Anyway, you called pretty late, were you just getting home?"
"Ah, yeah, I'd just got back to my room. The whole team went out to celebrate after the game, and then I caught up with some friends, too. It ended up being a fun night."
"Cool. So what are you doing today?"
"Just some study. No other plans. Are you guys all doing lunch today?"
"Yeah, like usual. It's not the same without you, though."
The wistfulness in Elle's voice hits me hard, and I sigh.
"I wish I could be there, Shell."
Neither of us say anything for a moment, and then we both speak at once, the same three words overlapping each other.
"I miss you."
Elle's giggle warms my heart.
"I still miss you more," I grin.
"No way," she says, the smile still in her voice.
"Yes way," I chuckle. "Don't argue with me, Shelly."
"Fine. Now go and study. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, bossy," I grin. "Love you."
"Love you, too."
Ending the call, I feel the way I always do after talking with Elle now. Happy that I got to speak to her, and sad that I had to stop.
Monday morning I get a text from Chloe, with details on where and when to meet her so we can go over our notes before tomorrow's lab session. I send a quick reply, and then focus on the lecture I'm in, scrambling as usual to keep up with the professor's droning presentation. Come eleven o'clock, I head over to the residential houses by the river, where the upperclassmen live, finding the one Chloe's in. Standing outside in front of the entry, I call her.
"Hey, I'm outside."
"Good, okay. I'll buzz you up. I'm on the third floor, unit 12."
"Cool, see you soon," I say, heading up the front steps as I hear the door unlock.
I jog up the stairs to the third floor, running my eyes over the numbers on the doors along the hallway until I reach 12. I barely get to raise my hand to knock when Chloe reefs open the door, grinning broadly.
"Hi!" she says brightly, pulling me inside. "Thanks for coming to me, I just figured it would be easier, since we can spread out and not have to worry about getting yelled at by librarians."
"Sure, no problem," I grin, glancing around the living room of the suite she shares with Emily.
"I know, it's girly, right?" Chloe laughs, spreading her hands wide.
I mean, it is, there's a lot of pastel-colored furnishings, and more cushions than I've seen since leaving home, but it's not like I would have said anything about it.
Shrugging, I look back at Chloe. "No, it's...nice."
She shakes her head at me. "You really are the worst liar, Noah Flynn. Sit down, make yourself comfortable," she says, gesturing at the couch. "Can I get you a drink? Tea, coffee, juice, water..."
"Water's fine, thanks," I say, putting my backpack on the floor and taking out my notes as I sit.
"Lovely." Chloe fetches two bottle of water from the fridge in the little kitchenette and places them on the coffee table, taking a seat next to me. "So, I guess we should start at the beginning?"
"Yeah, that'd be great," I exhale, looking down at my hands. "Look, I should probably tell you now, I'm kind of drowning in this class, so thanks, for doing this. I really need it."
"Hey," she says brightly, bumping her shoulder against my arm. "No problem. We're partners in this, right? And like I said the other night, what are friends for?"
I give her a half smile. "Well, thanks for that, too. The friend part."
"Anytime. So, let's get cracking. Carbon compounds and organic bonds..."
Two hours later, Chloe stands, stretching. "Ugh. I'm starving and my mind is numb. Have you got time to grab some lunch? When's your next class?"
"Ahh, yeah," I reply, looking at the time on my phone. "I've got just over an hour."
"Great. Let's go. I'll just go find some shoes."
Chloe disappears into what I assume is her bedroom, and I shuffle my notes and textbook back into my bag, standing and stretching, too. My shoulders are stiff and I roll them to loosen up. When Chloe reappears, she's in a completely different outfit, and I raise one eyebrow.
"Yeah, okay, don't start. I couldn't find the shoes that go with those trousers, so I changed them, and then the top didn't work... Just don't start, okay?"
Chuckling, I hold my hands up. "Believe me, I wasn't going to say a word. Between my mother and my girlfriend, I have learned that silence gets me in far less trouble."
Chloe laughs as we head through the door and down the hall towards the stairs. "Well, they both sound like wise women, to have trained you so well."
I nod, thinking about my mom and Elle, a smile spreading across my face as I do so.
"So, tell me all about this girlfriend of yours. I take it she's from LA?"
"Elle? Yeah, she's from LA. She's still there, actually."
"Elle. That's a lovely name."
"Yeah. Her real name's Rochelle, but she hates it. Even her parents never really called her that. She's always been Elle. Or Shelly. But she kind of hates that, too."
"You sound like you've known her for a long time," Chloe says as we step outside.
"Yeah, you could say that," I chuckle.
"Uh-oh, I sense a story here," she laughs. "Tell me everything."
"Everything?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. "We would need way more than an hour for that."
"I'm soo intrigued now," Chloe grins, gripping my forearm with both her hands while we walk towards the square. "Okay, how about this? You can tell it to me in parts, like episodes of a TV show."
"Okay..." I say, a little reluctant to commit to that much talking.
"I need all the context, so start at the beginning. How did you two meet?"
Chuckling, I rub my free hand on the back of my neck. "I know how we met, but I actually don't remember it."
"Noah Flynn!" Chloe says in disgust, releasing my arm to smack me in the chest with the back of one hand. "How could you not remember?"
I laugh, much to her dismay. "Well, to be fair, I was only like one and a half."
Chloe stops dead in her tracks, staring at me in disbelief. "What?"
Shrugging, I give her a sheepish smile. "I met Elle in the hospital on the day she was born."