𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄 AWSTEN KNIGHT ✓

trois

CHAPTER THREE: LESSONS IN TIME TRAVEL FROM A BUNCH OF COLLEGE KIDS

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VALERIE AND AWSTEN GOT OUT of the car and walked towards the porch in silence. They'd been silent with each other for most of the night, and yet, neither of them really cared too much. The silence was comforting, even though they'd only met this evening, they both felt as if they'd been friends for a long while. Maybe they really had been put together for a reason; Maybe they were meant to be friends, maybe more.

  The house they'd arrived at looked like one straight out of a college frat party from a movie. Blankets on the roof, a couch in the front yard, dead plants near the door. As she walked, Valerie wondered if she'd been transported into a shitty rom-com. That would make sense, she thought, looking over at Awsten, he was pretty cute, after all.

  "So...you're friends with the host?" she asked once they reached the front steps.

  The front door was wide open, and you could hear the music from the street. "Baby, you're like lighting in a bottle / I can't let you go now that I got it / I can't let you go now that I got it / And all I need is to be struck / By your electric love"

  Awsten shrugged. "We're acquaintances. Never been super close with him, we probably won't see him tonight, not sure."

  "No offense, but then what's the point of coming?" They stepped in the house and weaved through — very drunk — college aged kids. Awsten was friends with a student? He didn't look that young....

  "What do you do at parties, Valerie?" He took her hand so she wouldn't get lost in the sea of people. He was practically yelling, and her stomach was doing somersaults.

  "I hang out with my friends," she yelled back.

  "Do you dance?"

  "Well...yeah...why?"

  He spun around, a big, goofy, grin on his face. "Then let's dance."

  They were a bit overdressed for this party to say the least. What, with him in a suit, and her dress. Everyone around them was — obviously — dressed very casually, they stuck out like a sore thumb.

  But they didn't seem to mind. Popular songs rang through the house, drunk college kids lazily moved around them, and the whole time, Valerie and Awsten felt as if they were the center of the universe.

  Every feature they had was accented by the shitty party lights. The bend of Awsten's jaw, the curve of Valerie's nose; The way they smiled, dimples, freckles. All of it romanticized while an artist sang about who knows what. Neither of them could tell, the music had been muted over the sounds of each other. The way Awsten breathed, the way Valerie laughed when he spun her around, the way their hearts pounded in their chest. Everything about this exact moment was utterly and absolutely perfect.

  She shouldn't have been thinking about this, not now, but Valerie wondered if Awsten was going to kiss her. With the way he looked at her, through hooded eyes, the corners of his mouth quirking up every few moments, she thought it was obvious what his intentions were.

  "Thank you!" he yelled over the music, bringing her back to reality.

  "For what?" she yelled back.

  "For this! This is fun! Thank you!"

  "You brought me here though!"

  "Yeah, but it wouldn't be as fun if you hadn't come with!" He was telling the truth. If he hadn't met Valerie, he wouldn't have come out tonight. He would've gone back to his hotel room and gone to bed early.

  The previous song ended, and a new one started. This one was slow, and the kids around them let out a mix of boos and cheers. "What is this, a high school dance?" Awsten laughed. "Valerie," he bowed, holding out a hand, "may I have this dance."

  She took his hand, pulling him back up, and his other fell to her waist. The lyrics were foggy as neither of them knew the words, but they swayed back and forth, Valerie's free hand on his shoulder, as the lights turned to purple and the song continued.

  "God, this is a high school dance," he grinned.

  She almost let a joke slip out. So does this mean you rented out a hotel room for later, she almost said, but thankfully, she caught herself. They weren't that close yet, she couldn't make those kinds of jokes yet.

  "And before you ask,—" His grin grew wider. "—no, I didn't rent out a shitty motel room for tonight. Sorry, I'm on a budget." This man was reading her mind, that was the only explanation.

  She looked down at their shoes and laughed. "Shut up."

  The hand on her waist moved to turn her chin up so he could look at her. He looked like he was gonna say something, or maybe kiss her. But before he could, the song ended, and a more upbeat one started, causing a roar from the sea of students around them.

  "Truth or dare!" someone yelled from one end of the room.

  Awsten's eyes went wide, his grin coming back.

  "No," Valerie said.

  "Please."

  "No, we don't know these kids. Truth or dare with college kids isn't ever fun, trust me."

  "Well, I wouldn't know." They broke away from the slow dance position they were previously in. "Never graduated."

  She wanted to comment, but didn't know what to say. So instead, "C'mon, let's get out of here."

  She took his hand and pulled him towards the door. "Where are we gonna go?" He trailed after her, trying not to trip and fall over his own feet.

  She shrugged. "Not sure, but I'm hungry."

  "I know the perfect place."

help there's a bit of this that was originally supposed to be for my harry fic that i never wrote