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2) this is ridiculous because who the hell writes a fic about an unpopular netflix original..for whoever clicks on this, my explanation is that it's a writing prompt 3) the "12 days of christmas" run 11 days after christmas so it's still christmas yeah ———————————— Celia
Hey there, reading into our lives again, aren't you? I figured you'd have something better to do after so long, but fine. Here's the update.
Over the last few months, Brooks and I obviously busied ourselves with a bunch of schoolwork and such. The fall after the last summer, I was pretty bummed out because, admittedly, the "perfect date" was much more perfect than I could have ever expected. All of that coming to an end, and having to go back to school was like slamming into a sidewalk coming from a hundred stories up.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't that bad. They aren't wrong when they say that there's a lot more freedom in college. There's no cliques, and mostly everybody gets straight to business. There's no parents hanging over your shoulder, forcing you into their sweet, high-heel-wearing, spring-fling-attending debutante mold. And HOCO wasn't mandatory from so far away.
It being freshman year, Brooks and I spent just about two days total each week studying for our core classes. Also not too bad. Today is December 15th, and Brooks is in his last final for government. So far, he's about aced every posted grade. I'd almost say that were surprising, with him being such an idiotic dunce sometimes, but the guy could study, and it's been that way since high school. I didn't do too poorly myself, but I've kind of been over talking about exams since a couple days ago. I'm just done.
My watch read 3:32PM. I was sitting inside the [Commons] with my closed textbooks before me. I don't usually zone out, but I was then. On one hand, I was absolutely relieved that the semester was over. But on the other, I wasn't sure I was away long enough to really miss home yet. Even with UConn being in the middle of nowhere, it was still a lot more exciting here. I honestly kind of hoped that Brooks would have another surprise plan to share with me when he got here.
After closing my eyes for about a second, I opened them with a start when I sensed that someone was sitting across from me. Yep, there he was in all his glory, face raw from the wind outside. "You tracked snow in with the bike," I greeted him. "Well, it's understandably too cold for me to fiddle around with a lock outside," He still sounded slightly out of breath, so maybe he didn't get in very long ago...and did not get to spend much time watching me meditate in the Commons. He propped the bike with the kickstand. "You're just sleeping out in the open like this? Textbooks cost enough to steal, you know." "I wasn't sleeping," I protested, but sure enough, checking my watch again, it'd been about 40 minutes past the last time. I un-slouched myself and gave him a smile. "So...how'd it go?" Brooks grinned, as expected, and pulled off his beanie which was now wet from melted snow. "I hate to brag, but I think it went swimmingly...To change the subject, though, hey! It's over! Let's go home!" He whooped. I stifled an instinctive wince upon hearing the echo throughout the hall, but had to laugh. "I'd tell you to shut up and stop disrupting studies, but you're totally right. It's over. Mmkay, let's get out of here. Hey, put these in your bike basket..."
As I was sleeping, fresh snow had piled up, covering the unsightly muddy slush that threatened to soak between the laces of my shoes. We were now both on bikes, icy wind biting at our faces, and we headed towards [Residence Hall] to talk further there.
By now, you're probably thinking: Wow, the main characters of The Perfect Date are terrifyingly bland in their day to day endeavors. I can't promise that it'll get more interesting, but since you've gotten this far, I won't keep questioning why you're still here.
I kept focus on my books bouncing in the basket of Brook's bicycle, hoping they wouldn't fall out. He seems to sense my look and suddenly turns around to meet my eyes and give me a dorky thumbs-up. My heart is stopped mid-flutter because he predictably yelps a half-second later and has to catch himself from swerving. "Nice," I call to him, but my voice is probably taken away by the wind.
We make a final turn and brake as we near the bike racks. We click the locks into place, then walk as fast as we can inside. A few days ago, the plan after finals was to finish packing and be ready for either of our parents to come up and help drive it all back. Brooks hums assorted Christmas tunes as we ride the elevator up to my room. "Um..." I finally make a noise. He raises his eyebrows in response. "...Do you have a plan?"
Brooks
"Because...while I'd love to spend a bit of time back in my good old room," Celia continued, "...or at one of the many obligated Christmas gatherings— courtesy of my dad...I dunno, I just feel like break would be better spent doing more, other...stuff." She trailed off, clearly not having a direction with that. I absentmindedly snickered as we exited the elevator, but she gave me a jab to the ribs. "Hey, I'm being serious!"
I cleared my throat, stopping myself. "So you're saying, you need a date to your many Christmas gatherings?" I suggested.
"Not that again," Celia muttered, opening the door with a tap of her card.
"Come on...if I recall correctly, you were all about me making plans for myself in spring. Now, it's your turn, even if it's just for how you want to spend winter break. Like, ask me on a date or something."
I watched the idea settle in her face and that gets her. She smiles slowly and then nods, "Yeah...maybe it is my move. Let me think about it."
It seems out of character that I'd have to prompt her to take charge, you know, the whole strong independent woman thing after all, but I figured she was just out of it after a disorienting first semester.
Coming into the sitting space of the dorm, I notice that her roommate has indeed already moved out, and the remaining boxes set on the floor belong to Celia. I put her stack of textbooks on the coffee table, then proceed to nudge the full boxes into order.
Three days later, on Saturday, my dad comes with a pickup, and we're home at about 1PM after loading the truck bed and completing the 2 hour drive.
