Third Person POV
The iron gates decorated with flower vines swirling through it's artistic grills, painted in black stood tall on either sides of the huge building,welcoming vast ocean of people from various universities.
Students were scattered around the college for as far as the eyes could see. Few welcoming the others for the grand event set inside the venue, on the other hand groups of girls and boys chatted away while few others stood by the gates with phones pressed to their ears, seemingly waiting for their company for the evening to arrive,watching those who were entering the university building.
Few with friends,few with their partners while there were other few who seemed kinda badass and too cool or more like too anxious to be bothered with anybody walked inside all by themselves.
Apparently our pretty girl belonged to the last category. She passed the girls and boys by the gates with a shy smile who were obviously in the hospitality department which was easy to catch on because of the badge on their ocean blue T-shirts with the university logo printed to their left side of the chest.
Lia, already falling in love with the exterior of the prestigious University of Edinburgh walked slowly ahead soaking in the beauty of the splendid interior. So immersed in absorbing the sight in front of her that she was totally oblivious to the stares coming her way from the other students walking by.
It was when she turned the other side to look at the potraits hanging on the wall that had faces of people from a long period ago, founders of the university maybe,she noticed the stares from the students walking around her.
Startled for a moment she glanced around and concluded that the stares were probably because of her outfit. Because others were all cladded in super stylish outfits,some even seemed like designery fits. While Lia's outfit was a combination of ripped jeans,tank top that was not too deep nor too high,just above her cleavage which sat fittingly on her body and an almost see-through long overcoat. All paired with a four inch strapped heels.
Head to toe covered in complete black as usual. The only few colours on her were the deep pink floral prints on the overcoat and the gold danglings hanging on either side of the ears. Might also add the gold straps of the side bag to the list
She fixed the bag hanging on her right shoulder and took hurried steps towards the spacious quadrangle where the enormous stage was set; accidentally locking eyes with few people who kept staring at her without blinking making her feel even more self conscious.
"Hey Lia! Here! Towards your right!" She looked around,quickly recognising the voice. "Bitch! Stop looking towards all the directions and just turn your beautiful head towards your right." She did as told with a chuckle slightly feeling embarrassed at the loud voice cursing in front of everybody.
"Can you please STFU!" Not even a minute after she spoke, arms wrapped around her pulling into a tight hug. She took in a huge breath being squeezed in the strong hold restricting all her movements, nonetheless she hugged him back with the little freedom of space.
After about a minute, she felt the arms around her loosen a bit, resting comfortably on her back making her breath in relief. Now being able to move around,her arms held him warmly, with closed eyes she relaxed in his hold resting her chin on his shoulder. Thanks to the heels for adding two more inches to her height making them both equal in height, considering she was quite tall already which was five foot seven inches.
After few minutes of soaking in the familiar feeling of each other,both pulled back.
"You are looking so beautiful!" Cyrus exclaimed, about to squeeze her cheeks before noticing how Lia was zoned out looking down at her feet. He shook her slightly making her look up at him, trying to smile a little. "Something wrong?" He saw her eyes flitting towards their surrounding before she muttered in a low voice with a pout "So what if I am not wearing all those fancy fits? Is it a crime to choose comfort over style?"
Honestly the boy was completely clueless not understanding a single thing until he observed the people looking at Lia. "You seriously think they are staring at you because your outfit is looking out of the place?" She just gave him a look that said 'ofcourse yes'.
"Ow" She let out feeling him flick her forehead. "Dumbo. Atleast give your brain a little work and observe their expressions properly."
She tried doing the said thing but to no avail she sighed and sat down in an empty chair by the far pillar, deciding it was best to just hide away from the people. Cyrus shook his head taking a seat next to her as the particular row was being filled slowly with people.
"How can you be so dumb being my bestie? So embarassing." Cyrus snickered for which she just gave a shrug, averting her gaze back to the stage where several people were abruptly moving around,busy doing last minute check.
Open quadrangle was protected with a huge transparent protective sheet, shielding all the people from the possible rain showers.
"You are looking absolutely gorgeous Lia." She looked quizzically at Cyrus as he continued. "I am in love with your whole look for the evening and as far as I have observed, all the gawking stares landing on you screamed "Damn! Beautiful", "Wow! Wish I was lesbian" , "I want to ask her out" and everything along those lines."
"You sure it's not the other way?" Lia was a usually confident girl. She was not that self-belittling to not acknowledge her own beauty and especially her fashion sense that she endearingly held dear to heart but it was the irrational part,the one rocked up with bitterness of anxiety and consciousness that strained her confidence.
Needless to say it had been a long while since she had been to such a huge gathering and all the nerves seemed to work in the wrong way as much as possible which was not helping the situation in the slightest bit.
"Pretty sure dumbass." Another flick delivered to her temple as she sent a glare at him but broke into a smile, more settled because of his words. She did not bother on wanting to look beautiful all the time but necessarily did not want to look awkwardly underdressed either.
A voice booming in the large speakers set in all the diagonal corners interrupted the two friends' conversation who looked upto see that the program had began. It was one hour past the supposed time the event had to begin but well when has any program began on time especially those in educational institutes.
Event being a major focus on dance did not exclude the chance of including few other unharmful entertainments like mimes,short plays which followed soon after the introduction speeches from faculties.
Anchors were doing a great job keeping the crowd engaged, otherwise half of them would have dozed off in the introduction part itself.
Then started the actual event, the one awaited and adored by all the dance enthusiasts.
Being a dancer and holding an immense passion towards the art,Lia absolutely was immersed in each performance that ranged from solos, group dances,duets and all of them in different forms and styles.
After about two hours of enjoying the continuous blast of a visual treat,the event finally wrapped up with a disco pop where Lia danced her heart out,momentarily blocking out the crowd around her and channeled all the pent up energy into her steps.
By the time the music faded away all the students were tired and felt sticky with sweat due to the intense dance time that they all engaged in but apart from that all of their faces were filled with huge smiles that proved a successful event.
Lia waved her hand in the air trying to catch the attention of the tired boy latched onto a chair talking with other guys on the other side of the quadrangle as girls and boys were separated for the disco pop in order to avoid any improper behaviours and scenes from occuring.
Realizing that the boy was not gonna look her way anytime soon she dropped a text saying she was heading to the girls washroom and would be back in a bit.
Lia dabbed her face gently with a tissue after flashing some water and fixed her hair along with the smudged eyeliner,not forgetting to apply some tinted lipgloss to keep her lips soft as she had already wiped away the chapped lipstick from earlier.
If there was one thing everybody around her knew,it was that the girl absolutely despised dry,chappy lips. Just because she had little pigmentation around her lips does not mean it should be unattended. She made sure her lips was always moisturized.
Being satisfied with the swift fixing of her look,she walked out of the washroom. Again getting lost in the beauty of the buliding as it was doubled over in the golden lights lining the corridors,she stalled by taking slow steps.
This was the college she wanted to get in. It has always been her dream but due to her fall in the senior year results she could not make it to this place for honours. But she was determined to change that with her honours grades. That way she could get in for Masters atleast.
Images of her walking around here, attending classes,hunched in a far corner of the university's library flashed through her eyes making them almost sparkle in excitement.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she flinched harshly feeling someone tap her shoulder. After recomposing herself,Lia looked back to see a guy. Her gaze flitting to his eyes instantly,it was her habit.Always observing a person's eyes first that she developed around third grade where she met a math teacher who had blue eyes which 7 year old Lia found absolutely cool.
Hence,decided to look at everybody's eyes to find different shades which she thaught was fun until she grew up and looked at them with different purpose like searching for truth and the reason to trust them.
So now as she looked at the emerald green eyes staring at her with a warm smile adorning the guy's face she could not help but feel hesitant as she returned the same smile. "Hi,I am Chris. Willow Chris."
"Hi,Lia Pearl." She shook the extended hand in greeting, retracting her hand back to her side.
She just stood there awkwardly contemplating if she should say something and walk away or just walk away. Either way walking away was the priority anyhow when the guy just stood there staring at her intensely because one,she wanted to go home and sleep. Very much acceptable reason if you ask her. Apart from that who would just walk up to you, introduce themselves and just stand there looking like a statue?
So it completely took her by surprise when she heard the guy say "You look beautiful." She averted her gaze upto his face letting out a 'thank you' accompanied with a grateful smile for the compliment and she did not miss the tense vibes the boy was radiating.
Chris continued staring at her without any words. Again. She mentally sighed.She let it go and decided to jot down the details about his looks to kill the time to not look rude before she would walk away.
Firstly let's talk about the outfit.Sand brown pants,which outlined the toned legs that was paired with an over sized shirt that matched his eyes having a deep cut in the middle showcasing the collar bones where a silver chain sat.Quite interesting she thaught.Then the silver silky waves sculpting his sharp features caught her eyes,he had all the traits for which any human would desire for.
Lia heard a sigh coming from the boy which sounded almost like it was out of defeat. She could make out that Chris had something to say and that something made him very hesitant too. To make it easier for him she spoke again with a calm voice and to also rush back to Rus as it had already taken more than twenty minutes now.
"I feel that you have something to say or probably ask but are not able to. If it is about my possible reaction being negative or something that's making you worried,then please do not be." She saw him breaking into a relived smile but not relieved enough to say whatever it is.
Chris spoke finally after about a minute. "I.." He paused, heaving in a breath."Can I go on a date.." Lia kind of had already guessed it would be this but still the amount of hesitancy the boy had showed could not have been just because of this. Hence she restrained herself from rejecting the soft guy right away and she was so grateful for it.
Why you might ask,the reason being."..with your friend,Cyrus." She could not help but let out a light-hearted chuckle seeing Chris's cheeks burning red and the boy frantically looking around,avoiding her eyes.
"So you like Rus?" Hearing the question,he turned his eyes towards her, nodding once and mumbling a small 'Yes.I do.'
The poor guy was startled when Lia shook his shoulders, squealing in high pitched voice, letting out 'yes!', 'cute!' and all sorts of words expressing her excitement.
"That is really sweet Chris. But I don't understand why you approached me instead of going to him directly?" She said letting go of his shoulders.
Even before he could say something she added another question eagerly, feeling so excited that her bestfriend was getting asked out on a date. Well not technically,apart from that this whole situation was somehow adorable for her heart. "Are you from this university?"
Her excitement radiated through to the boy making him smile and completely relax in her presence. "I am from this university but a junior to Cyrus. Today I heard from one of my classmates that you are his bestfriend so I needed your help to talk to him. Could you please do me this favour Lia? I have liked him for a long while,I really want to go out with him but I am not getting a chance to."
Although the skeptical feeling did not go away,she could not deny the truthfulness in his words. "I will help you but would you mind if we spoke about this in more detail. Because to be frank I am still skeptical and I do not want to hurt him in any sort of way."
Chris gave her an understanding smile. "I understand your concern completely,I mean I would not want some random person to take my bestfriend on a date either."
They both chuckled at that nodding in agreement. "Okay then,want to exchange number for further contact or meet up somewhere around the university if you feel uncomfortable with exchanging numbers. Anything is fine by me though." It was Chris who spoke this time taking Lia by surprise with his enthusiastic attitude laced with consideration,as he seemed to get more comfortable by the time.
"Let's connect through social media for the starters, we can decide everything else later. Now I need to rush back before he skins me alive for being gone like forever." She rolled her eyes at the end making Chris laugh. They quickly exchanged their insta ID's and parted ways. Melissa had pestered the girl to open an Insta account which came in handy at times like this.
It is safe to say that Lia had to protect her ears with her hands once she made her way back. Thank God they were standing alone by the gates or else it would have been a real life crisis for the helpless girl because of the scoldings coming from the boy who now kept glaring at her after calming down as just very few students were to be found around considering that the whole place was vacated.
It was way past 10 when she finally cooled the golden brown head and they started walking towards his car. It took him the deal of getting plum cakes made by Lia's mother to cool down which was his favourites ever since he tasted them on her birthday when he had visited their place to throw a surprise party for the girl.
Lia leaned back on the seat looking at the passing scenery while her bestfriend sat next to her,focused on driving as he hummed along with the songs playing in a silent voice. She had planned to tell Cyrus about all the things happening in her life and especially the most blessed part to have met the most beautiful, understanding, caring girl and to be blessed enough to fall in love with the said girl.
But they had spent a long day already and the exhaustion hanging on to her eyelids forced her to close them and fall into a short nap. Hence,she decided to meet up with him just to talk about each other's lives and to not have any other distractions.
They hugged each other before she saw the car racing away after which she entered the home. She walked in, seeing that all the lights were turned off meaning that her mother had already fallen asleep. She knocked tiredly onto the door to make sure she would not barge in and once there was no sound from the other side,she entered the room.
The room was lit from the golden light that the bed side lamp was illuminating. Her mom was perched up next to it, against the bed frame as a book layed on her stomach with one arm resting on her forehead and other loosely on the book. She walked around the bed having a small smile on her face, taking the book and placing it on the table.
Slowly pulling her mom down to lay her down comfortably. Her mother stirred awake while she started wrapping the covers over her, instantly trying to sit up but she pushed her back down gently placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
She turned the light off and heard her mother mumbling 'eat something please' as she shut the room without noise and took sleepy steps towards her own room that was in diagonal with her mother's.
On entering the cozy room she quickly texted Leona saying she reached home and huffed looking at the unanswered text messages.She changed into a night suit before grabbing the toothbrush. She let her mind wander while she went through her night routine.
It frustrated her that she could not even call the girl. After taking some time off for herself since two days ago,her mind settled back into the healthy space. She texted the girl who just would not leave her mind as soon as possible and even got a very sweet reply that read "Welcome my baby! Glad to have you back. How are you feeling now?" And that was the only text she received since yesterday morning.
It was not that she was upset because of no replies but it was this bad feeling rising in her heart making her feel utterly frustrated and helpless. She tried so hard to not think about anything but somehow her mind reverted back to the negative thoughts.
She shut the bathroom and the first thaught was to hit the bed but remembering her mother's words, rushed to the kitchen and finished the cooked pasta her mom had kept for her after microwaving the dish.
Finally wrapping up the kitchen she went to bed. The tiredness taking over her as she was pushed into a deep slumber although her heart felt heavier with the thoughts of a certain pair of light brown eyes.
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How are you all doing today? If you are interested to know how am doing then I am quite all over the place,I must say.
Last evening the sky was painted turquoise blue guys,so gorgeous that I am still able to picture it anew.
Do you also enjoy watching the shades of sky? If so which colour?
I feel like I am dragging the chapters because I like slow pace.😶
Comment and share your opinions please.
Lovely day ahead...🤍