𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 [ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 ]

home

"This...this is my address," you cleared your throat, handing over a piece of paper to Sasha. All your bags were packed to go home, only a remainder of things left in the dorm until you'd come back for next semester.

"I know I don't live near you guys, but if you ever want to visit, feel free to come over," you gave her your best attempt at a smile, taking a breath and blinking the tears away. This was a lot harder than you thought it'd be.

After the party, Niccolo had taken you to the dorm. You didn't remember very much of what had happened after that, but all you could feel was this heavy yearning sensation. You knew exactly who it was for, but maybe if you went home and stayed away for a month, it'd start to disappear.

"You know I will," Sasha took a deep breath too, her eyes glossy as she pulled you into a hug, tightly.

"Will you be okay?" She murmured, the thick coat you wore muffling the sound of her voice.

"Once I'm home, I will be," you shut your eyes, taking another deep breath before letting her go. Sasha wasn't leaving until later, but you had to hit the road before the storm hit.

Your phone vibrated and you pulled it out of your pocket.

I'm here :)

"My dad just pulled up...so, I guess I'll be heading out now," you shoved your phone back into your pocket, giving Sasha one more smile.

You went to open the door but hesitated, turning around to face her. "Thank you," was all you could manage to squeeze out, your throat tightening. She nodded her head, giving you a small wave. And then you shut the door, and her friendly face was gone.

You walked down the hallway and entered the elevator, your mind going back to that one night you and Connie had raced to his car. You'd been so happy then, so excited to be around him.

"We've been at war since day one," Connie looked at you and your mind went through all of the first encounters you had with Connie.

"Well, yeah, but then we started to tolerate one another," you spoke up and Connie looked ahead, the realization coming across his face too.

"Huh...I guess you're right," he grinned and took his arm off to press the button to the elevator, the doors opening at the sound of the ding.

You and Connie stepped inside, but when the doors started to close, Connie suddenly pushed you out and you tripped, the doors closing before you could rush back in, Connie's loud laugh cutting off abruptly.

You muttered curse words under your breath as you raced to the stairs, running down them as fast as you could, trying to beat the elevator out. But when you came to the bottom, Connie had beaten you, his lopsided grin more antagonizing now than cute.

"You bi-"

"Ah, ah, ah, language!" He called out and you lunged after him, his body reacting and racing out the doors.

The elevator chimed and the doors opened. But you didn't step off.

"Uh, hey, you getting off?" Someone snapped you out of it and you blinked for a moment before getting off. You briskly walked through the lobby and out the front doors, looking for your dad's car.

And there he was, standing by it with his arms crossed and a big smile on his face. You hurried over to him and dropped your things, hugging him as hard as you could.