One Last... Call

Acquaintance

- Dale -

By the time lunch came about, I was waiting for Connor inside the library. He said that we should get our IDs done first before going for lunch. So I decided to call Mum, so we can catch up a bit.

"Hi Mum, how are you?"

"Dale, honey! I'm glad you called. I was starting to worry about you already." She said concerned in her voice.

I laughed a little. "I'm fine Mum, don't worry. Just wanted to call to check on you. Make sure Keri is not skipping class again." Keri visited our apartment last week and decided to stay there the entire day. She said she didn't want to deal with some hoes in her year. I, the loving brother that she has, told her off to man up and slap the bitch that was flirting with her boy. 

"Don't remind me that again, Dale. She's been skipping constantly for the last three weeks and I already got a call from the principal. She needs to stay out of trouble or I'll have a good talk with that boy she's seeing. She's too young for that kind of stuff." She huffed. I can hear some utensils clashing in the background.

"That's what you told me when I told you I was in relationship a couple years ago. I'm still surprised up to this day that you knew I am dating Connor." The thoughtful memory of me finally coming out to my parents lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I needed that one.

"As long as you're happy, who are we to stop you right?" She said. Connor was in sight already as he jogged to my table. He kissed my forehead then sat down next to me.

"Yeah I'm really happy with Connor, right now." I smiled at him. He mouthed 'who's that?', then I replied  'Mum'. He acknowledged by nodding.

"Anyways Mum, I'm going for lunch. I'll make sure to call you later. We might be home this weekend. I still got some stuff left that I need to bring here. Love you, Mum."

"Love you too Dale. Tell Connor I said hi." Then she hang up. I covered Connor's phone with my hand, distracting him from whatever he was doing.

"So how are your lectures?" I asked Connor, reaching for his hand. He gripped his on mine tightly, securely. I bit my lip, glancing at him. "More like hell. First lecture was actually first practical. Proctor said it was to measure our resistance."

"Well that's pretty intense." I fixed my glasses before it fell off my face. He grabbed the frame and helped me put it back on, my phone still on my hand.

"You should watch yourself before you drop your phone." He stood up, pulling me with him. We headed to the Student Services area and got out IDs done, and got a Students Manual.

"You look more of a dork than I do!" I laughed at the photo on his ID.

"Ha, at least I don't have a messed up hair. Mine's perfectly fine." He ruffled my hair even more, making it look like I just woke up.

"No thanks to you dummy." I rolled my eyes and slapped his ID back to his chest. We went to a nearby cafe and ordered food there. He got us some pasta and a sandwich that we can share.

"So how was your class, Dale?" He asked, then took a bite off his half of the sandwich.

"Eh, the usual. It's pretty lame. But I made a new friend already." I gleefully said. It's not that usual that I make friends back in high school. I am not that social, but people just know me because of Connor.

"Oh yeah, what's the person's name?" Still focused on his food like a hungry hobo.

"His name is Jace. I don't know his last name though." He suddenly choked on the food that he was consuming. I grabbed a bottle of water and pat his back. "Are you okay, Connor?"

He pounded his chest a few times and took the water from me. he took a few gulps and exhaled. "Y-yeah I'm fine. That was close."

I glared at him. "Yeah so close cuz you eat like I did not feed you at all." I handed him a napkin and he wiped some of the water off the side of his lips.

"What was the name again? I didn't catch that." He asked again, as if paying attention.

"His name is Jace and he's a Chemistry major. I don't know his last name though."

He flinched again, somehow. "Are you sure you're okay?" I continued to run my hand on his back. He then cleared his throat. "Yeah I'm fine. Probably just exhausted."

"We can go back to our apartment so you can rest, I don't mind skipping my next class. We'll have a recording for that anyways." This time it was my turn to pull him up. He looked like he'd seen a ghost from a far.

"That's okay Dale, I'm really fine." He said, regaining his composure. His hands were wrapped on mine as we walked back inside the library. "I have one more class today, so I'll wait for you outside of your room."

"Then I can just sit in your class then. It'll be fun for sure." I said, happily swinging our hands together.