"There's only so many times I can put my heart back together"
"Why are you so sure I'll break it again?"
🖤🤍🖤
Andrew had a perfect life. Or so others would think.
Living under his father's control was a nightmare. Having his dreams ignored and bei...
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The campus dorm rooms were, for many, their home away from home. Finding comfort in a strange place, far from their family, was hard. Although, with time, they got used to it, to their new friends and routines. Not Giovanni, though.
His goal was to not lose his scholarship. He had worked hard for it, knowing his family didn't believe he could do it. Now he needed to keep it, to prove them all wrong. He was the first of his family to go to university, and he wouldn't jeopardise that.
At night, as his roommate slept quietly, he sat by the window, watching the courageous ones walk into the dark. They looked happy. Screaming and laughing as they left to wherever their adventure would take them. Sometimes he wished he was one of them. Someone without a care in the world.
Now he realised maybe his wishes weren't so rational. He was out of his comfort zone, glancing at Alice every five seconds. She was sitting on Jaime's bed, tapping her pencil against her pursed lips as she stared at some exercise she was trying to solve.
"You know, it's hardly a study date if you're not studying," she noted, her eyes locking with his. Her hair was falling off her bun, which made her look messier.
Blood rushed to his cheeks, and his eyes went back to the textbook on his lap. It was the first time he had a girl in his room, the first time he had made a friend besides Jaime. Technically, Alice had been the one to invite him for friendly activities, but he liked to think he could have befriended her even if she hadn't.
The silence was bothering him. He knew it was a study date, but he just couldn't concentrate. She was just a few steps away, leaning against the wall, at ease. It was foreign to him how she was so relaxed when he was aware of everything around him. Jaime's sweater falling from a chair, his noisy breathing, the ray of sunshine piercing through the window against her face, and so on.
His friendship with Alice had been purely selfish. He wanted her to make him step outside and force him to live the life of the ones on the other side of the window. Yet he was still inside, and he was already uncomfortable.
"S-So, did you solve your issues with the waitress?" He needed to break the silence, and he didn't know what else to ask.
Alice sighed, realising she wouldn't study after all. She didn't mind it, as she only wanted to hang out with him, yet she was realising he was very nervous. It wasn't her intention, but she couldn't deny how cute he was like that.
"I haven't talked to Nicole in a while. She's been busy," she said. "But we're good now. I was hurt, but I realised I can't lose a friendship because of a boy."
A boy who has zero chances with her, she thought. Nicole didn't date since her heart had been broken. Yet, men seemed blind to it.
Giovanni's lips parted. He didn't know what had happened between them, so that information made little sense. "A boy? Witty?"
