graphic: oceanwaved
After our psychology lecture, we sought out a study area in one of the central halls. I trailed beside Isobel, feeling extremely sensitive to Isaac's presence. He was tall, much taller than he'd seemed sitting down, and it made me feel strangely intimidated.
We found a nook hidden behind a set of stairs which held a large wooden desk and a low sofa lounge, a hidden little booth which hadn't yet been claimed by the swarms of people around campus.
"So, Aspen, what do you think of everyone?" Isobel asked me as we shuffled into the desk. I was left on the outer edge with barely enough room to squeeze in next to her.
"Hmm," I pondered, my mind struggling to comprehend much with everyone's attention on me. With his attention on me. It had me flustered. "You all seem great."
"Oh, come on," said a boy with a wide grin and styled red hair. "I'm sure Bel and Gia have told you enough stories for you to be weirded out by us. It'd explain why you're so quiet."
I didn't mean to be quiet. I just sucked at finding the right moments to join in on conversations.
"No, you guys are great." I looked towards my two best friends innocently. "And Bel and Gia have said nothing but nice things."
The red head snorted in a very unflattering way before diverting his attention back to the girls. As if my brain had suddenly decided to work again now that I was out of the spotlight, I recalled his name to be Evan.
The time came for me to leave the group to find my way to the chemistry labs for my next class. I gave the group a small smile, clasping Gia's hand beside me in farewell. When I stood up, I wasn't alone.
As if the universe wanted him to notice me, a pencil, which I had shoved into my pocket at some point earlier in the morning, fell from my pocket, slapping onto the tiled ground and rolling in a perfect arc towards his feet. Towards Isaac's feet.
Without hesitating he folded his tall frame, picking it up and holding it out to me, his eyes fixed on mine in a way which I was sure would stop my heart from beating.
"Thanks," I stammered, hoping the others were oblivious to how flustered I was.
"No problem. Where are you heading?" he asked, his thumb running under the strap of his bag.
"Um." I reached into my pocket to retrieve my printed timetable which had been folded over too many times me. "Greenview labs. The west side of campus."
"Me too," he said. "Not the labs, but the west side. Want to walk?"
"Sure," I said, my voice tight and my fingers trembling to put the timetable away.
"I'm Isaac, by the way, if you've forgotten already," he said as we left the group and headed outside of the central building. "I know it can be hard remembering names when you're meeting so many new people at once."
"No, I think I remembered you," I said. Then I realised how weird that sounded and mentally kicked myself.
"It's nice to know I made an impression then," he said, a broad smile lifting onto his lips that was so radiant it made my breath catch in my throat. I risked a look up at him, his hair was brushed out of his face in the breeze and his shoulders were broad under the black shirt he was wearing.
He probably thought I was mousy and strange. Even worse, he was probably walking with me because he felt sorry for how terribly awkward I was. That was the worst thing about being shy. When people sympathised with you about it.
"It must be strange moving here from somewhere so small," he said as we meandered down a hedge framed pathway. Our pace wasn't rushed, nor was it too slow either. It was nice, as if we were enjoying each other's company and getting somewhere at the same time.
"It is," I said. I begged my brain to come up with something more to offer him. "But Bel and Gia have been great at helping me adjust. It's so cool living with them."
"You're all living at the college on Church road, right?" he asked, and I nodded. "Me and a few of the guys have an apartment on the other side of the forest."
"Oh, that's cool," I said, not really sure how to elaborate much on that. The heat which had risen to my cheeks on our encounter had started to dissipate, and the more I controlled my breathing the less flustered I was becoming.
"Yeah, it's alright." He ruffled a hand through his hair, and I couldn't help but graze my teeth against my lips to stop my mouth from gaping open in awe. "Anyway, I'm in here. I have an anthropology lecture. See you around, yeah?"
"Yeah," I said, a little too enthusiastically. I decided that my crush on him was definitely not leaving anytime soon.
That evening I rejoined the girls in our room and we ordered pizza to celebrate our first day. I hadn't expected to find many friends in any of my classes, and that expectation had been proven correct today. Thanks to my frustrating shyness, I failed to sit next to anybody, and there seemed to be some kind of transparent, repulsive bubble fixated around me, making me seem unapproachable. Making me seem invisible.
But, that didn't mean I wasn't creating friends in general. I triumphed over my interaction with Isaac, and the small group of friends Bel and Gia had that I was slowly warming up to.
Our routine developed quicker than I'd imagined. We had psychology lectures together three times a week, and we spent our breaks gathering around the hidden desk with the rest of the group. When I was alone, I got by by going through the motions of taking notes in class and daydreaming about Isaac.
We had started to make a habit of walking to class together. We had anthropology and chemistry at the same time, meaning we headed in the same direction almost every day. I was still struggling to keep my cool around him, and it helped if I didn't meet his eyes and tried to focus on my surroundings instead.
But, the visual contact which I lacked with him was easily made up when my thoughts drifted to him during class or I snuck looks at him when we were all together as a group. I was sure I'd never seen anyone so handsome.
It was Friday afternoon by the time someone caught on. I was with Gia and Bel, drinking iced tea and talking about our week at the on-campus cafe by our building.
"So everyone's taking a liking to you, Aspen," Bel said in between taking sips from her straw. Her hair was swept out of her face in a high ponytail, her porcelain skin looking extremely delicate in the afternoon sun.
"Really?" I asked, struggling to believe that. I was paranoid that my quietness was coming across as rude and snobby. As I'd proven with Isaac, I was much better at getting along with new people one-on-one rather than in a group.
"Yeah, they all seem to think you're great," she said.
"Especially someone in particular," Gia said, her eyes not leaving her phone screen which she had been scrolling on. Her lips had responded though, lifting into a little grin.
"Who do you mean?" I asked, my heart thudding loudly in my ears.
She waggled her eyebrows, finally putting her phone on the table and lacing her fingers together underneath her chin. "Isaac Mikhailov."
The sip of tea I had taken made its way out of my lips before I could stop it. "W-what?"
Gia's laugh was musical as it erupted loudly, enough to cause the people around us to turn their heads in our direction. "Isaac's been asking about you."
I gaped. "Asking what?"
"You didn't tell me this!" Isobel said with an offended expression on her face. "Tell us everything."
"Well, I wasn't supposed to say anything," Gia said, feigning guilt dramatically as she held a hand to her chest, which today was decorated in a thick lacy black top which only went as far as to the top of her bellybutton. "But he did ask if you had anyone, you know, back at home."
This time I knew better than to take a mouthful of my drink. "Are you serious?"
"So you like him then?" Gia asked devilishly.
"Well... maybe, I guess?" I felt my face turning a bright red.
"That's definitely a yes," Bel confirmed.
"I can see this going well then," Gia said mischievously.
"Guys," I pleaded, "I haven't even had a boyfriend before!"
"There's a first time for everything, right?" Gia's smile had only grown. "Look, he's a good guy, as far as first boyfriends go. I mean, he's dated around before..."
I followed her gaze to where she was looking at Isobel, who scoffed. "Oh, please, it was when we were thirteen."
Gia's attention returned to me, her expression harbouring a knowing smile. "Anyway, he's experienced, but he's not a dick. In fact, I think he'll be perfect for you. I can't believe we didn't think of this earlier!"
I let out a groan. Not because I didn't like Isaac, but because Gia and Isobel's input on things would only make them complicated, and most likely embarrassing.
"He's going to the start of semester party tomorrow, right?" Isobel asked Gia, who nodded in response. "Perfect."
I gave them my best pleading look, but it was to no avail. If I was being honest with myself, having them helping me would probably be a good thing when it came to my chances of dating Isaac, but it would also mean pushing my comfort zone to its limits, that would be for sure.
Our conversation soon tired of boys and made its way back to our classes.
"I have this awful math teacher," Isobel said. "His accent is so thick I can't make out a word, I'm spending my time trying to work out what he's saying instead of understanding the content. It's German or something."
"That's frustrating," Gia said. "I think I got lucky with my lecturers, they all seem pretty good so far."
"Especially psychology," Isobel said, a dreamy tone taking over her voice.
"Especially psychology," Gia agreed.
I was confused, I couldn't remember anything particularly significant about our psychology lecturer at all. "What about psychology?"
Isobel looked at me, a frown knitting her brows. "Haven't you noticed? How could you not notice? The lecturer, he's so good looking. And young. He must be like, twenty something?"
"Definitely mid-twenties," Gia concurred. "It's like he stepped off of a movie set or something, those jaw bones..."
"I can't even focus on what he's saying, I'm too busy watching his eyes," Isobel groaned.
I couldn't even place a face to my psychology lecturer. Not an age, not an appearance or anything he possibly said in class. I started to panic, how could I not remember anything? Had I slept through class, or completely zoned out? I was able to form a clear picture of every other class, now I thought about it.
All I could remember was entering the theatre and leaving the theatre. That was it. It was like someone had cut out the whole period of time between then, leaving a gaping hole in my memory.
The only thing I could associate with that time at all was a voice. Or, more like, the tone of a voice, because I couldn't form any words with it at all. It was a man's voice. That was all I could recall about it.
There was only one conclusion I could make, and that was that there was something terribly wrong with my mind.
AN: Just a note to say thank you SO much for reading! I know these first few chapters are a little slow and a little on the lovey-dovey side but they'll be picking up very soon! This will all be important as the story progresses. What do you think so far? Do you like the characters? Thanks again for your support ♡