I crossed the street, turning right in a hurry, almost getting run over by a car as he aggressively trumped at me for my so called reckless behaviour. Turning my head over my shoulder I scowled at the grumpy person in the car as he drove past me. I almost flung my hand up in the air, but as my mind caught up with my actions I held tighter onto my steering wheel realising that would've been an awful mistake. He could easily drive me over if he wanted to.
People were always testing my patience and getting on my nerves.
I sighed in annoyance as I received a red light at every interception resulting in having to step off my bike every time since I was too short to touch the concrete while being sat on the saddle. Arriving to class on time was becoming a challenge, the one I would have skipped if I had gone for lunch with Maximus. Not looking forward to it, I still had chosen to go, feeling as if the day would've gone to waste other wise since I wasn't feeling productive at all.
I plopped down into a seat in the back of the aula. Undressing myself out of my coat, I draped it over the chair next to me as René, whom was sat to my left gazing up at me in anticipation. "I thought you were avoiding me?" He said after I hoisted my chemistry book out of my purse. It was always a burden to carry it around as it gave me the feeling I was walking around with a brick hanging from my shoulder.
"Why would I avoid you? In fact I was in chemistry this morning as well, you slept in." I whispered as my eyes fell onto the professor that just walked in as chatter had begun to die down. "Because of yesterday." I felt his protruding stare on me, one I didn't want to meet, making me look ahead of me.
"René it's not a big deal."
Turning my head, I met his gaze sensing there's something else. I raised an eyebrow at him, as my eyes lingered over the shaky hands in front of him, in expectance of a reply that didn't come. "Do you like me?" There was a slight pause in our merely one sided conversation which was interrupted by his laugh as soon as my words were registered. His blue eyes grew big as they stared back at me.
"Of course I like you, you're like my dog." I rolled my eyes, smiling at his stupid remark. I fairly well remembered the first time he referred to me as his dog when we were waiting for the metro to Kensington to visit one of his friends. An elderly lady caught the name and was scolding him similar to how a grandmother would educate her grandson.
It was quite amusing, seeing him so astounded while I played the role of the victim when in fact I could care any less about it."But not like that though." He added as his eyes were fixated on the projector screen hanging from the ceiling in front.
"But you still want to fuck me." I added calmly while René almost choked on his spit. "Why do you have to be so bold all the time, to be honest there's many people here I wouldn't mind to have fun with for a night, though that means nothing and you're my best friend."
The satisfaction his answer gave me made me feel at ease, more or less, so I left the conversation for what it was. René and I knew each other fairly well, but on the contrary did he still remain hard to read at times. It was actually what let me to be surprised by his attitude lately, regardless of the fact that he was rather known amongst his friends to be that guy to always fool around.
Even if he was known by his friends as that guy, it wouldn't necessarily exclude the fact that he could be serious about someone, meaning there could be more behind his actions, which was what I needed to be certain of.
I would want to avoid any complications at all costs, the possibility of René having a thing for me being one of them, especially since we were becoming housemates.
"Have you spoken with your dad about moving in?"
"Can you shut up? I'm trying to pay attention." I scolded him while staring at the empty sheet in front of me which made René chuckle in response.
"I'll be talking with my father tonight. Stop being annoying." I exclaimed, as soon chemistry ended. It was surprising to myself and even René that I had found focus and made notes the remainder of the lecture. Even though René found if amusing to distract me and not pay attention, it didn't work which of course did not stop him from continuing to pester me.
"You need to relieve yourself." The smirk on René's face had me rolling my eyes in return. "You are literally someone I would call a fuckboy." He shook his head in amusement, pushing my shoulder as we walked out of the main building towards the student parking lot.
"Hey Amelia, wie geth es dir?" My father entered the kitchen, his black overall littered with specks of paint. I was positive the piece of clothing had become impossible to get clean, mostly because I had never seen it completely paint free before. "I'm good father, how are you?" A sigh escaped his lips and his posture slackened before he seated himself in front of me. (a/n: hey Amelia, how are you?)
He seemed tired, signifying his perhaps long day at work. "It was quite busy out today, I could use some sleep." He smiled at me, despite it not reaching his eyes. I knew he was very passionate about what he did, but I had always thought that he worked too much. Even though I admired his work attic, a trait I must've inherited from him, there was a part of me that disliked how it made him have less time to spend with me.
"I actually wanted to ask you something." For some reason unknown to me did I feel slightly nervous to have this conversation. It could be that I was nervous for his reaction, seeing as I didn't know how well he would take it.
He had been a little apprehensive towards me whenever I correlated to the opposite gender in any way, which presumably, or so I thought, had to do with the fact that I was the daughter to a single father household. Even though René had stuck around for a while, and was known for being my best friend, I didn't know if that would necessarily help this case when it involved moving in.
"Of course little one, what is it?" I stand up from the barstool as I made us a cup of tea, I was aware of the fact that I was stalling the time as long as possible. Pouring the hot water into two mugs, I added an infuser holding blueberry-rosehip herbs before handing one over to father. My eyes were focused on the liquid in my cup, distracting me as tea herbs taint the water a beautiful deep pink colour.
"I had this one conversation with René... You know that I live quite far from campus, right?" He listened attentively as he blew his steaming hot beverage, nodding but letting me speak until I was completely finished. "He made a proposition to move into his flat. He has a spare bedroom, I'd wanted to ask if you're okay with that?" I grabbed my mug in between my hands, almost burning myself in the process. I hissed quietly which my father noticed, chuckling slightly as it was nothing new to us.
"You're twenty-one so who am I to hold you here with this old man. I do want to know more about the finances around you staying there. I don't want you to be taking advantage of anyone." He rubbed his large hands over his bald head that always looked polished as light reflected against it. Sipping from his mug, I waited for him to continue. "You're lucky I like the guy. It's been awhile since he's been here. How is he doing?"
"He's been good, typical René. His parents and little sister are actually flying in this weekend."
My father and I indulged into a conversation about how the past days had been which I found was an excellent way to end the day. The fact that he was always so busy or tired when we got home made me appreciate the moments when we did sit around the table and enjoyed our steaming mugs of blueberry-rosehip tea, our favourite, with some chocolate biscuits we both loved dearly.
Those moments were scarce and had been for as long I remember, but I was okay with it. He was there for me when I needed him and that was what mattered to me the most. Time flew by in a haste after we ordered pizza and watched the heated match between Manchester City and Chelsea with a can of beer. Sure, it wasn't the most feminine thing to do but clearly did living alone with my father for the past years wear off on me.
...
Picking up the box, tagged bathroom I dumped it in René's trunk. I felt slightly ridiculous packing my stuff as if I was moving away to another country when that was the last thing from happening. An exasperate groan left my throat when a bag filled with clothes got stuck to my coat, almost tearing the bag's fabric, I found a way to successfully untangle it, placing it next to the other boxers I had loaded into the boot.
I leant against the back of the vehicle as my eyes scanned the area. It was rather quiet outside which wouldn't be much longer, seeing as the hour where kids finished school and went home was approaching. My father and René seemed to be in deep conversation, discussing over whatever they seemed fit. As they stood a little further from me near the front door, I observed them, not able to understand what they were saying. It seemed serious, though my worry was completely dismissed as my father laughed loudly, patting his shoulder.
An annoying buzz made me fish my phone out of my back pocket, a smile seeping its way through as Maximus fleshed across the screen. It had been two days since I had last seen him, when our lunch date got canceled.
"Hey sweetheart." His voice seeped through the phone, catching me slightly off guard.
"Hey Maximus, what is it with you and calling at random times?" My tone was playful, awaiting his answer. I looked down as I ruffled my foot in circular motions through the leaves beneath, making that typical scrunchy sound that put me at ease.
"Calling is just easier, no? Besides, that way I get to hear your beautiful voice." I genuinely began to laugh at Maximus' charming ways, which made him erupt in giggles as well, something I found rather adorable. There wasn't any trace of smugness lingered in between his words. His charm was something that came so natural to him, since I knew that he wasn't really trying.
Before I got a word in, he continued speaking, "Since we didn't have any proper time together last time, I was wondering whether you would have time for me today? I'm sorry, I am so impulsive when it comes to you. I just think of you and I want to see you—Oh." I didn't know Maximus well enough yet, though I was fairly certain it was a confession that wasn't meant to come out. It made me feel warm inside, a happy feeling I would say, though I couldn't really tell exactly how I felt.
I took a deep breath before replying, trying to tame the nerves that seemed the emerge regularly lately, especially anything that involved the green-eyed chap.
"Well, I've got some things to do today. I'm going to be René's roommate, so I have to move things to his apartment." It remained quiet on the other line, which made me assume he had hung up on me. As I lifted the phone from my ear to see if he was still on, I heard his voice through the speaker.
"Okay Amelia, no problem. Be careful with those boxes and tell René I said hi." He said calmly, there wasn't any hint of disappointment evident,which told me he had already considered the possible outcome of his impulsive phone call.
I had this internal debate, thorn between whether I should invite him over not. I glanced up towards René whom right that moment made eye contact with me. Upon noticing me, did he put his thumb in the air, a sign he always seemed to be doing. It was then that I thought it would be slightly inappropriate to be inviting dates over when we hadn't really established any rules between one another.
I hustled my mind for any last minute ideas that wouldn't put any pressure on us, on whatever was evolving between us. "Do you want to grab a coffee around 7pm? You know the one that makes a mean cappuccino."
A breathy laugh invaded my ear from the other side of the line, as he recognised the reference to his own words. "A coffee at 7pm, that can't be healthy, right miss. Science?" Amused, I shook my head in disbelief upon hearing his remark.
"So you're going to pass on my offer then, Maximus?"
"Absolutely not, do I meet you there? It appears to me, it is something you prefer."
"Perfect. 7pm."
Hanging up the phone, my father and René met me at his car. "I've got full trust in this one." René's smug expression almost made me roll my eyes, though I was kept from doing so since my father would remind me of my manners. He really did still think of me as his little girl.
"Lia, I have another client in about an hour, so I'll leave you guys be. I suppose you'll be spending your days there till Friday. Correct?" I shrugged, nodding my head despite not having really thought about it. My dad engulfed me into a hug before we both departed, mumbling things in German I barely caught onto. Something between the lines of me needing to behave, is what I was able to make out of it.
"Alright, all settled." René said, as he pretended to wipe imaginary sweat of his forehead when he put the last box down in the entrance. I closed the door behind me after retrieving the keys from its lock as I pushed myself against it, holding onto the box that was still in my hand.
"I literally stuffed everything in two boxes and a bag, idiot." He looked at me, as he exasperatedly put his hand on his chest whilst his mouth fell open pretending to be offended.
"That key is yours by the way. I've got a spare one." I set the box down, following his line off vision as he seemed to be in search of something when he suddenly fished a key out of a vase I never noticed stood there before, on a small table next to the door.
"Why do you keep a spare key in a vase?" He shrugged, dismissing me as he left me standing alone in the entrance. "Don't we need to establish some rules or something? So we won't annoy each other." I wondered out loud trailing behind him.
"You mean, so I don't annoy you?" He laughed.
It was different coming here, knowing that I would spend my weeks here from then on. I had come here regularly for the past year ever since he moved out of his dorm when his parents moved him over to a two bedroom apartment.
I found his place perfectly balanced between spacious, yet still discrete. I always seemed to forget the wealth his family held, considering he really did keep his feet on the ground without it getting to his head.
"Lia, do whatever you please. I don't care. If you feel like having a party just tell me beforehand. If you're gonna have Maximus over to fück, don't hesitate to invite me in on the fun."
"You're disgusting."
...
A/n kind of a filler! Sorry if it was kinda boring guys! Almost 1k reads. Thank you loads!