Chapter One - Friendships
Faye West's P.O.V.
A woman with jet black hair tied up in a bun that's now messy scrambles to put away her things as I watch her from my seat. Her tortoise shell glasses have slipped to perch on the tip of her nose and if she moves any faster they might just come right off. Her dark brows are furrowed with worry as her hazel eyes hastily look around to see if she's got everything before they settle on me.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Julia frets as she picks up her handbag.
"I'll be fine! Go and enjoy your date night!" I wave off her concern with a reassuring smile.
She hesitates before nodding. "Alright. You have my number so if you need anything text me."
"I will." I chuckle knowing well that I won't pester her while she's out. "Have fun!"
"See you tomorrow Faye!" She waves goodbye and rushes towards the door.
I watch her go with an amused smile. Julia is the head librarian at Hayden Library in Massachusetts Institute of Technology where I study. She hired me to work as a library assistant before I started the first semester. We're currently in the second semester, it being February, and she still worries over me but I find it endearing.
I turn back to the computer screen before glancing down at my notes. I'm trying to get some studying done for a test in a few days. Since I mostly work the late shifts it's quiet enough for me to memorize things successfully but I'm having a hard time with this topic. Why did I choose to study Biology again? I wonder to myself with a frustrated sigh.
Linking my fingers, I rest my chin on top of them as I stare out at the open room. There's rows upon rows of books everywhere with a few tables ahead of me. My heart pangs painfully though when I spot a group of friends laughing quietly and joking around as they leave the library. I haven't made a single friend yet ever since I started college and truthfully I'm beginning to lose hope.
Not getting anyone as my dorm roommate doesn't help either. I had hoped that I would make my first friend that way but apparently the person who was supposed to live with me dropped out before college began. I should've seen it coming when nobody showed up for the first week. When I told my brother, Abel, he exclaimed that I was lucky to have the place all to myself. I didn't feel the same way.
"Excuse me?" A boy interrupts my thoughts and I flinch as a reflex before quickly recovering. "Could you help me with the machine? It won't scan my books."
"Sure!" I reply and make my way around the desk.
After helping him checkout his books I get busy with assisting others and putting back books that were returned. By the time I return to my desk there's only an hour left until my shift ends. I rush forward when I see a girl waiting and greet her with a wide smile. She's a gorgeous redhead with long wavy hair, blue eyes and flawless skin that looks slightly tan because of the warm lighting here.
"Hi! Can I help you with anything?"
"Yeah...do you have this book?" She mumbles as she fishes out a piece of paper with the name scrawled across it.
"It was checked out a lot this week but we should have a copy or two left. Let me check on our system." I hum as I type it into the database.
"That's because Langley failed a few people. Fucking piece of shit!" She rolls her pretty eyes before crossing her arms on the table and leaning in to look at the screen. "If I don't get that book today I'm going to fail the stupid subject!"
"Wait...are you in cellular and molecular neurobiology?"
"The very one! Do you study brain and cognitive sciences? I would've noticed you by now if you were." She narrows her eyes at me and I shake my head.
"I study biology but I have the same subject." I grin before gesturing for her to follow me.
"Did you pass?"
"Yes. I can help you if you want?" I offer and she stops me with a serious look.
"I will love you forever if you do." She states which makes me laugh.
"Sure!" I reply excitedly before calming myself down. I don't want to scare off my first potential friend. "There's a few other books I referenced so we can grab those too."
"I'm Delilah by the way." She nudges me with her elbow as we grab what we need and make our way back to the desks. "But if you call me that I'll kick you in the shin. Call me Lilah."
That makes me giggle as I check out the books in her name. "Okay Lilah. I'm Faye."
"Pleasure to meet you my love!" She winks before sighing heavily as I hand her everything. "Now, I'll make a start on this but are you up for going to a café or something later so I can get this done?"
"Of course! I finish at nine so you go ahead and if you need any help just shout – well, n-not shout. That was just a-an expression but you know what I mean..." I trail off with a blush as I gesture that we're in a library.
"You're a cutie Faye." She chuckles as she walks away to a nearby desk.
My cheeks heat up more as I return to my post. I take a seat and do some more studying in between helping the last few people lingering around before they too leave for the day. I can't help but glance at Lilah a few times just to make sure she's still there. But as the clock strikes nine I find my mood dampening over the thought that she most likely won't stick around. She just needs help passing her assignment that's all, I think to myself.
"Um, I'm ready to go if you are?" I ask as I approach her hesitantly.
"Finally! I'm dying for some coffee!" She gathers her things before pulling me out of the building.
I smile at her antics as we figure out if any café is open at this hour. She remembers one that's been recommended to her a lot because of how late it's open for and I recognise it as the one that mostly caters to sleep deprived or stressed to death students. We head off campus and thankfully it's not that busy when we arrive. I grab a window seat in the corner and take out my things while Lilah orders our drinks.
"So, Faye, tell me about yourself." She asks once she comes back and opens her laptop again. "Have you always lived here?"
"No, I'm from California. But me and my family moved to Florida when I was a teenager." I explain as she angles her laptop towards me so that I can check what she's done so far. "What about you?"
"Born and raised in New York. This is my first time out of that damn place!" She grins which only grows wider once I nod in approval of her work. "Okay so, I wrote about my research like this last time which obviously sucked."
We work away for the next while, drinking a concerning amount of coffee at this hour and scanning through books before trying to structure her assignment correctly. Throughout it all we chat about our courses and where we want to end up in the future. Turns out we have a couple of classes together and she tells me to sit next to her in them from now on which makes me happy.
We glance up at the sound of cheering as a crowd runs past before Lilah faces me again and speaks. "We must've won that soccer game."
"We had a game today?" I frown in confusion.
"Yeah against some other big college." She shrugs before perking up. "I'm not a fan of sports but my boyfriend plays so I have to endure it sometimes."
I chuckle at her overdramatic eyeroll. "Does he go to MIT too?"
"No, he's attending NYU back home."
"So, is my brother! Do you see each other often?" I ask when she seems a little sad at the mention of him.
Lilah shakes her head in response. "Not as often as I would like. He's great though! We do a lot of video calls and stuff like that. We knew our schedules would be busy once we started college so it's fine."
"Well, just remember that it'll all be worth it in the end." I smile and pat her hand which cheers her up.
"What about you?" She wiggles her brows as she submits her assignment.
"M-Me? No, I don't have a boyfriend."
"Girlfriend?" She winks and my eyes widen in surprise.
"No, I don't swing that way. Although some girls on our campus are stunning!" I grin which makes her laugh loudly.
"Says you! You're equally as gorgeous Faye!"
"I am not!" I shake my head vehemently but yelp when she smacks my arm.
"Shut up! You are and you won't argue with me!" She sticks her tongue out and I give in with a chuckle.
My smile falters a little when she's finished packing her things. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then."
"How about we go get dinner?"
"L-Like now?" I stammer with wide eyes.
"Yes now." She snorts unladylike as she pulls me up. "I'm starving! There's a few places I know of that close in an hour or so. What are you feeling like having?"
"Um...anything would do. I'm not picky."
We chat as we walk and I easily slip into a comfortable state around her which is nice. She insists we play twenty questions which turns into more than that as we find a restaurant and order our food. I find out that her favorite color is burgundy, she loves action movies but is also a hopeless romantic. Our conversation then flows from the usual girl talk of clothes, makeup, and skincare before we delve into the most random would you rather scenarios that we can think of.
"I'm so full!" Lilah groans as she sits back with a hand on her belly. "I definitely need to go to the gym."
I meet her gaze at the same time and grin at her. "Tomorrow?"
She bites her lip with a pained look before nodding in defeat. "Tomorrow. If you go to Zesiger do you want to come with?"
"Yeah, I don't mind. It'll be nice to have a gym buddy."
"This is going to be fun!" She claps her hands excitedly before grabbing her bag. "Should we get going? I'd like to make it home before I completely collapse."
"Same." I groan as I slowly stand up. "We shouldn't have had the dessert."
"I'll always have room for dessert!" She states adamantly before dragging me out after we pay.
It's freezing cold as we step outside and I shiver before tugging my scarf tighter around my neck. We walk back towards campus chatting about our schedules tomorrow before Lilah realizes we're going to the same building. I must admit that I'm a little dumbfounded too. How have we never bumped into each other?
"Which floor are you on?" She asks curiously.
"Fourth."
"No way! That's my floor too!" She exclaims excitedly before bouncing on her toes. "Okay don't tell me your dorm number. We'll go in and let's see how far we make it before we need to split."
"Sure!" I laugh as she pulls me inside and into the elevator.
We make our way up and stand facing each other with goofy grins where the floor splits into two hallways. She steps backwards into the left hallway and I pause suspensefully before following her. I chuckle when she squeals happily before making her way to her dorm. Lilah's quite close to me and my smile only widens when I move three doors down to the last dorm in the hallway.
Her jaw drops once I lean against my door. "We're so close! What are the chances?!"
"Unfortunately, I don't have a roommate so you're welcome anytime." I reveal and her expression is comical.
"You lucky bitch!" She whisper shouts which makes me laugh. "I have the messiest and loudest roommate known to mankind!"
"Okay I take that back. I'm very fortunate not to have a roommate!" I tease and she shoots me a playful glare.
"Shoot! My mom's calling so I need to take this." She mumbles as she fishes her phone out of her pocket. "Movie night tomorrow? I can bring snacks."
"Sounds like a plan, I'll see you then." I wave as we turn to step into our dorms.
I slump against the door as soon as I close it and release a big breath. Fishing out my phone I tap the recent contact and wait for them to pick up as I walk into my bedroom. I switch it to speaker as I take off my shoes and start getting ready for bed. The sound of the call connecting and the familiar grumble makes me grin as I run back to the phone.
"Abe! I made a friend!" I squeal excitedly to my brother.
"Fucking hell Fifi! Any louder and you'll burst my eardrums!" He groans which makes me roll my eyes.
"Stop calling me that!"
"Why not Fifi? It's such a lovely name Fifi!" He teases and I wish he was near me right now so that I could smack him like usual.
"I hate you." I whine before rambling about my day.
As usual, he listens patiently but not without his inappropriate remarks here and there. He was especially interested in meeting Lilah until I told him that she's taken. We talk some more before I bid him goodnight and embark on my skincare routine that involves a million steps. I shuffle into the bathroom with my fluffy slippers on and double take at my reflection in the mirror, recalling what Lilah had said to me earlier.
You're equally as gorgeous Faye!
I consider myself average and have never really paid attention to my appearance until I hit the last year or two of high school. My skin is a warm brown, like caramel, thanks to my mother's roots in Nigeria whereas my father was born and raised in America. I look mostly like her with dark brown hair and eyes but unfortunately dad's green eyes crawled their way in and settled themselves as specks in my irises. Usually, I'd just dismiss my features and carry on but tonight I take them in with a hint of confidence after Lilah's words, finding excitement fluttering deep in my belly.
I was never the pretty one but more so the girl boys overlooked before they introduced themselves to my friends and asked them out while I watched with slight longing, trying to brush it off by telling myself that I don't care and who needs a boyfriend anyways.
I finish applying my moisturizer before smiling at myself. Maybe I won't have a boring college experience after all.
Guess who's back my loves?! I hope everyone has been well and I'm incredibly sorry that I was gone for so long. Apart from the shitshow that my life became I thought writing Theo's book was bad but Noah's gave me a run for my money! I appreciate everyone being understanding and patient as always, it means the world to me and I'm so so excited to interact with you all again! I hope you enjoy the final book of this series❤️
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