"Are you sure you have everything?"
"Yes, Niall," I replied for the fifth time, hiking my backpack up onto my shoulders. Today was my first day of university, and yes, I was quite nervous, but I was starting to get the feeling that Niall was becoming more worried than I. "Stop worrying so much, I'll be fine."
"Why won't you just let me drive you?" He questioned, folding his arms over his chest, his flexed muscles under his tight tee-shirt making my heartbeat spike.
Goddamn.
"Because," I explained, rolling my eyes. "Normal university students don't get dropped off on campus by Niall Horan in an Audi R8 ," I looked at him pointedly.
He laughed loudly, stepping forward and grasped the straps of my backpack that were resting on my shoulders, pulling me toward him.
"Sweetheart," he chuckled, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear, "you're anything but normal."
"Shut up," I laughed, pushing his hand away. He took hold of my arms in his large hands and wrapped them around his waist, before bringing his hands up to cup my cheeks.
"Fine," he said, his lips inches from my own. "We can take the Rover instead."
"Niall," I warned impatiently, pulling away from him and bending down to pull my shoes on. "I love you. Really, I do, but you're going to make me late."
"You're no fun," he pouted, leaning his shoulder against the wall next to me. "Are you going to be one of those serious, hardcore students? Because if you are, let me know now."
"Why does it matter?" I laughed. "Isn't that what I should strive for, anyway?"
"Yeah, of course," he reasoned, running a hand through his tousled, blonde hair. "But we only have a couple more weeks together before we can't see each other for a while. I want all the time with you that I can get."
"And you'll get it," I promised, standing up straight again in order to look Niall in the eyes. I sighed, "But Niall, you know that the only reason I came to London was for university. Falling in love with you was... unexpected, to say the least," I explained with a small laugh, realizing just how true that statement was.
Never in a million years would I have expected to have fallen in love with my best friend.
"But... getting into the school of my dreams, for the program I've been working so hard for," I explained, shaking my head as if I myself still couldn't believe it. "This is what I've always wanted. I want to be successful, and finish school and get my Masters degree. Maybe even my PhD. There are so many things that I want to accomplish. And I'll still make time for you; as much as I can, I promise. But I need to focus on my future right now."
"You sound like you're leaving me for good," he admitted, his voice strained. I looked up at him, holding his intense gaze. "Please tell me that's not what we're doing right now."
"I'm not leaving you for good," I chuckled, bringing my hand to the back of his neck to pull him toward me. I pressed a reassuring kiss to his lips, and he held me to him tightly, unwilling to let me go. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he replied lowly, so quiet I almost didn't catch it.
I smiled, pulling myself away from his body one last time and making my way toward the front doors. "Okay, I really have to go now. See you later, Ni!"
"Have a good day, sweetheart," I heard him call just before the door closed. My heart fluttered at the nickname.
Sweetheart.
Damn. Saying goodbye was going to be way harder than I thought.
***
The bus ride to campus took me half an hour.
The boys' flat was a bit further from ICL than I thought it was, but it wouldn't be an issue for long. One way or another, I'd be moving out in a few days and would have to find a new place to live. One that is preferably within walking distance, as I didn't want to be stuck taking the bus forever.
"Victoria and Albert Museum, stop K," the automated voice announced, signalling my stop. I made my way to the front of the bus, noticing there were many other students following my actions. I thanked the bus driver, tapping off my transit card and stepping off the bus.
The bus stop was a few minutes walk from campus, so I started my way over, checking my phone to see that my first class started in thirty minutes.
"You ready for your first day?"
My steps faltered; I'd know that voice anywhere.
"Reece, I'm really not down to deal with you this early in the morning," I drawled, hoping he'd leave me alone.
"Aw, come on now," he laughed, falling into step with me. I groaned, already annoyed and I hadn't even made it onto campus yet. "I'm not that bad."
"Yeah," I replied, putting some distance between us. "You kind of are."
"You know," he sighed with longing, "you used to love me."
"Yeah," I agreed, "key words 'used to'."
"So, I heard about the One Direction tour thing or whatever," he continued as if he hadn't even heard me. I rolled my eyes.
Typical.
"Oh, I didn't know you were a fan," I mocked, trying to suppress a smirk, "did you manage to get tickets?"
"I'm not a fan," he insisted, "I just heard-"
"You heard? Do you keep up daily with the fan pages?" I questioned further. "Follow some fan accounts on Instagram?"
"Katie stop," he laughed, not even showing the slightest bit of annoyance with me. "I heard this group of girls talking about it on the bus," he explained.
"Okay," I replied, trying to be as dry as possible.
"So I was just wondering," he continued anyway, "since they're leaving and everything, where are you gonna live?" He asked, curiosity filling his voice.
"I'm going to move out," I replied curtly, trying to dodge the question.
I wish I knew.
"I know that," he said. "I'm asking where you'll be living."
"It shouldn't concern you."
"Of course it should," he stated, sounding surprised I'd even suggest that. "Just because you're not my girlfriend doesn't mean I don't care about you. I don't want you living on the streets or some shit like that."
"I'll find a place," I answered, keeping my head forward. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone?
"Live with me," he shrugged, and I froze.
What the fuck?
"First of all, no," I started, picking up my pace again.
"Okay, just listen first," he laughed. I didn't find anything amusing. "My roommate and I are living in a pretty nice apartment a couple minutes bus ride from campus. We have an extra room we're trying to fill. Take it."
"No," I repeated immediately. Like hell I'd be living with him after what he did to me. I'd rather sleep in a box.
"Why not?"
"Who the hell moves in with their ex, Reece?!" I questioned, baffled by his stupidity. "Do you realize how stupid that is?"
"It's really not that bad," he replied humorously, the laughter thick in his voice. "You wouldn't even have to talk to me, if you didn't want to. Just take the room; I can guarantee you won't find another place to live by the time you have to move out."
I hated to admit it to myself, but Reece's offer was pretty tempting. If I took it, I wouldn't have to stress myself out trying to find a place to live by the next week. It would lift a major load off of my shoulders, but at what cost?
Living with my ex? Sounded like a prison sentence to me.
"Katie, come on," he pleaded, "take the room. I don't want you to have to worry about finding somewhere safe to sleep."
I crossed my arms, keeping my gaze set in front of me.
"I hate you," I explained, "Why would I ever have the desire to live with you? Every time I see you I just get mad."
"You're still mad at me?" He asked, baffled. I laughed.
"I'll be mad at you until I die, Reece."
"But you said you forgave me," he replied, shoving his big hands into his pockets. I shrugged.
"I forgave you because I'm the better person," I said simply. "That doesn't mean I'll ever forget what you did, or trust you again. And that definitely doesn't mean that we're friends."
"Why not?" He challenged. "I know I messed up, but don't you think people deserve second chances?"
"Sure, some people do, " I agreed, keeping my eyes forward. I could see the campus starting to appear.
Finally.
"Some people?" He repeated with confusion.
I sighed, having had enough conversation to last me the entire day.
"See you around, Reece."
I headed towards my first class, leaving Reece staring after me, dumbfounded.
***
With the help of my map of the campus, I was able to make it to the Chemistry Building with five minutes to spare before class started. The lecture hall was almost completely full, leaving me with only a few options of where to sit. Quickly surveying the crowd, I decided to just sit in the closest seat possible, not wanting to look like an idiot standing in front of the entire class.
"Is this seat taken?" I asked the girl that was sitting next to the empty seat. She smiled, shaking her head.
"Not at all," she answered, shifting her backpack so that I could sit down. "I'm Alice, by the way."
"I'm Katie," I smiled, pulling out my laptop. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," she replied. The professor walked into the lecture hall and started to set up her own laptop, turning on the projector. "What program are you in?"
"Life sci," I responded, "you?"
"Life sci," she smiled again. "We're probably going to have most of our classes together."
"At least we each have a friend in our classes, then," I laughed.
"Alright, then," the professor started, effectively quieting the entire lecture hall. "My name is Professor Laura Bauhn, and I will be your instructor for the course Biochemistry C700. This term, you will examine and analyse the chemical processes within a wide range of living organisms..."
The class lasted fifty minutes, as I soon realized almost all classes did, excluding labs, tutorials, and night classes. Alice and I ended up having four out of five classes together, and by the end of the day, it felt like I had already known her my whole life.
"So, are you living on res this year?" I asked her as we were leaving our last class.
"Nah, I was too late to accept my offer; by the time I did they didn't have anymore rooms available," she explained. "A friend and I are renting an apartment instead."
"I feel you," I laughed, surprised at how similar our situations were. "I'm in the exact same situation. Except I still haven't found a place to live."
"No way!" She exclaimed. "I'll tell you what. If you don't find anything, you're more than welcome to move into my place. We could be flatmates!"
"That would be amazing," I replied, trying to keep the sound of immense relief out of my voice. The fact that Alice and I could be roommates sounded one hundred times better than the thought of having to room with ex boyfriend. And I'm almost certain Niall would feel the same way.
Alice might have just saved my ass.
"Alright, well I have to leave now if I want to make it to the bus on time," she said, pulling out her phone to look at the time. The sky was already getting dark, reminding me that I also had a bus to catch. "I'll see you tomorrow, Katie!"
"See you!" I waved, turning to start making my way to the bus stop. As I walked, the weight of my backpack and the length of the day seemed to make its burden known. All I wanted to do was go home so I could see Niall and then go to bed, preferably cuddled up next to him.
I walked around the corner of Flowers Building, only to be met with the sight of a smiling Niall in an old 2006 Honda civic; his passenger seat window rolled down.
"I thought you said your last class finished at seven thirty?" He questioned with a grin. "It's almost eight."
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, shocked to see him. I looked around to make sure no one else had noticed him there. The last thing I wanted was another swarm of paparazzi.
"I figured this car would be a little more low key than the R8," he smiled, one hand still resting on the steering wheel as he reached over and popped open the passenger door. "Get in loser, we're going shopping."
"Did you actually just say that?" I laughed, nonetheless getting into the car. "Why are you even here?"
"I missed you," he shrugged, making my heart flutter like a little school girl at hearing those words. He took my backpack from me and put it into the back seat. "And since you wouldn't let me drop you off, I wanted to pick you up. Plus the city is creepy at night and I didn't want you taking the bus by yourself."
I smiled softly, watching Niall as he spoke. This man really did care, there was no denying it. I didn't know how it would be like trying to go a year without him in my life.
"I love you," I sighed, watching his bright blue eyes glide over my face. His hand reached for me, pushing my mess of hair away from my face. "You're the best person. I really love you."
He laughed softly, pulling me towards him.
"What am I going to do without you?" He questioned with a sad smile, his thumb rubbing against my cheekbone.
His lips connected with mine, and the burdens of the day melted away, until it was only the two of us.
---------------------------------------------
Hey friends!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm going to start making them a little shorter because honestly having each chapter be 4000 words is way too hard to keep up, and updates will come faster if I shorten them.
As always, thank you to the few who continue to read this story, your patience is astounding! Don't forget to vote and comment! It really makes a difference! Stay safe!
~ Skylar xx
PS. do you guys think Katie should suck it up and take Reece's offer? Or should she continue her search for another place to live? Leave your opinion in the comments, I'll be reading them all!