“Well, well, well, how do we know each other over here?” Her tone is pure curiosity, no signs of territorial girl syndrome. I had already decided I liked Leah when I met her and her parents a mere thirty minutes ago, but this makes me love her even more. Someone who I could actually enjoy getting to know.
“Vix is my best friend; we go way back. We grew up together back in Draveport. There’s not a single childhood story of mine that doesn’t have the two of us in it, stirring shit up.”
I smirk at the memories flooding my mind like a warm blanket wrapping me up, making me feel whole again.
Vix is my best friend.He had said.Is, notwas, and my heart sings.
“This is Mavix? I’ve heard so much about you. When was the last time you guys saw each other?”
“Just Vix now,” I clarify. “Five years or so.” Austin chuckles.
“It’s been a long time. We have a lot of lost time to make up for. How weird is it that we both ended up at HHU?”
Weird? Very.
“I mean, it’s a great school choice,” I smirk.
He smiles, a sparkle lighting up his eyes. I may have imagined it, but for a fraction of a second, I think I saw relief.
I help Aus and Leah unpack the rest of her belongings, and we decide to order takeout to scope out which place will be our go-to fast food place for the year. The three of us are sitting in the middle of the room, chatting, chowing down, and talking about what Leah and I are excited about for our first year as freshmen. Now and then, my gaze fixates on Austin. There’s so much I want to know, so much I’ve wanted to say to him. A part of me feels the hurt and anger from the time I spent mourning our friendship that I can never get back. But the other part of me? Could sit here all night long staring at the face I never thought I’d see again.
I’m having a great time, listening to Austin tell us about life on campus. It all feels so easy, the way the conversations flow, we laugh, we tease one another, and it’s like we’ve beendoing this our whole lives. Well, we have… just not with Leah.
AUSTIN
Of all the dorm rooms, Vix ended up rooming with Leah? I don’t think that’s a coincidence; it’s fate. I kept tabs on Vix, and when I heard last year from one of Draveport’s busy bodies that she was taking a gap year, I enrolled anyway, knowing that she would eventually make her way here, to me.
I knew she would be here this year, I knew I would find her—hoped I would, but I never thought she would be rooming with the girl I’ve been hooking up with.
Is it weird that I ended up attending HHU at the same time that Vix is now a freshman? No, not at all. This school is all Mavix talked about when we were kids. She wanted to get away; she wanted to run from our small town and itscaptive curse, as she used to say, that kept people stuck there in their comfortable misery.
I knew she would do it. I knew she would get out, and she did. Now she’s here and so am I. So is Leah.
I can’t help but stare at her as she sits with her legs crossed, listening intently to Lee tell her all about her drive up to Halgrove. Her face animates with expressions I no longer recognize. After five years of not seeing my best friend, having been separated by the actions of selfish people who didn’t care that they were stripping me away from half of my soul, it bothers me that I no longer know her face.
She’s a grown woman, with hair as black as an onyx storm and eyes that used to be so blue—now grey with the weight of what the world has made her endure. She’s covered in art from head to toe, some of the pieces standing out andmaking me smile, knowing she has marked her skin with the parts of who she used to be, who she always was.
The moth on her shoulder—because moths are just as beautiful as butterflies.The ivy vines wrapped around her arm, the same ivy that trailed along the side of my childhood home, which she would use as a boost to help her climb through my bedroom window. The number thirteen in Roman numerals. A silent promise between the two of us. I place my hand over my heart, feeling the invisible pull towards her, and she has no idea I bear the same number.
“So, Aussy, are you going to tell me what you’ve been up to all these years? How did you end up in Halgrove?” My eyes meet Vix’s, snapping me out of my thoughts of our past life.
Aussy, the only girl in the world allowed to call me by that nickname. Austin isn’t a name that has a typical nickname. When we were ten, Vix decided that didn’t sit well with her. Aussy, aka Aus, became my new name, just for her.
Clearing my throat, I shrug my shoulders,
“HHU is one of the highest recommended universities in the country. Don’t you know?” I say it like it’s the obvious answer as to why I would end up at the same school at the same time as the girl I’ve been head over heels for my whole life.
She purses her lips and folds her arms across her chest, and I can’t help but smirk at how unsatisfied she is with my response. I owe her a lot more than that, and she knows I’m brushing it off. But damn if she doesn’t look cute when she’s annoyed with me. Seeing her smile after so many years of wondering about her awakens something within me I thought was forever locked away.
I stick out my tongue, catching her by surprise, and shecracks a smile, unable to resist my immaturity. My God, she’s beautiful.
A knock sounds at the door, breaking our eye contact, and I look over at Leah, who’s staring at me in question. She squints her eyes like she’s trying to figure me out. Trying to figure out who I am around Vix. Feeling vulnerable and exposed, I jump to my feet.
“Are we going to leave them hanging outside the door? Would you like me to sit back down so you can both continue to stare at my pretty face?”
Eye rolls all around.
“I see how it is.”
