Captivated

2.

The first few days on the campus were exhausting but, at the same time, exciting. I love how it is situated, and I also learned that football is taken very seriously here. When I found out about this, the only thing that came to my mind was my dad and Nathan, my older brother. They were telling me about football and this university, but I couldn't remember what because I was also reading my book at that time.

The first days I was just getting used to all the changes, so this morning I decided to go shopping because the dorm felt cold, and I wanted to do it in a more homie style. So I bought a blanket for myself, one for my roommate that I will give her as a welcome gift (I hope she will like it), and some candles because it stinks. Also, I am delighted we have an en suite bathroom because I will probably have slight problems showering with other people.

I was making my way to my dorm, which I had just for myself because my roommate hadn't arrived yet. With my drink from a local coffee shop, I was skipping my way to the dorm building when suddenly someone bumped into me, and the bag with blankets fell on the ground. Thankfully, the one with candles was in my other hand, where the drink sits too.

"I am so sorry I didn't see you." a soft voice spoke to me. I looked up and met pair of green eyes and a heart-shaped face. I smiled.

"Oh, it's no big deal; it was just a bag with blankets for my roommate and me. It's all good." I reassure her and lift the bag off the ground.

"Are you sure you are okay? I will never forgive myself if I harm someone on my first day here." She puffs out the breath she was holding and looks at me with wide eyes.

"I am completely okay; you can forgive yourself." I chuckle.

"Thank god." She smiled at me and made her way to her car. So I had the chance to look at her more closely. She had green eyes and black hair and was around 5'7, maybe even more. She seemed nice, so I was hoping that this bumping into each other could be a start of a friendship.

"Hey, shorty! What's your room number?" she shouts at me even though she is not that far away. Some students that looked like they had just rolled out of their beds looked at us with uninteresting looks.

"I am 58F, you?" I look at the keys from the dorm that the lady at the entrance gave me.

"No way, I am 57F; seems like we will be neighbors." She laughs. I smiled at her, then asked her if she needed help, and she just handed me one of three boxes with the label "clothes." I forgot that I had two bags and my drink, so I balanced that on one arm and the box on the other.

"What's your name?" I asked her because I was curious.

"I'm Amelia, you?" she smiled and opened the door to the dorm. "Man, this is worse than when my mom cooks." I guess she was referring to the bad smell.

"Nice to meet you; I'm Nova." I smiled back and held my breath because I hate bad smells and get dizzy. "Hey, it looks like we have a shared bathroom between my room and yours." I pinpoint when I saw my shampoo on the counter in the bathroom.

"Ooh, this will be so cool. I can't wait for the others to come. I am even more excited to be your friend Nova." She was looking at me, all smiley faces, and I felt overwhelmed. It was not because I didn't want to be her friend, but because she just told me she wanted to be mine.

"You want to be my friend?" I asked slowly.

"Of course, silly, why wouldn't I want to?" she asked with a slight frown on her forehead.

"Cause nobody ever wanted to be my friend; it's new for me." I chuckled and averted my eyes from her. I was feeling happy.

"Well, there is a first time for everything, and don't worry, this one will last." She hugs me sideways, and I can't help but hug her back as we stare at the empty dorm room.

After some time, when we unpacked all the clothes that Amelia had brought, I gave her one of the candles I bought and the blanket because I felt it was the right thing to do. Then, just when we were talking about high school, and I was telling her that it was a hell hole, hers and mine door on the dorm opened.

Two girls, twins. For a minute, I thought I was hallucinating again, but when they stood beside each other, I noticed their differences. For starters, my roommate Zoey has almost platinum blonde hair, and Amelia's roommate, Brooklyn, has dirty blonde hair, and their eyes have different colors.

We introduced ourselves, came to the rescue because Zoey couldn't carry all the boxes alone, and then helped each other with decorating the dorm. It was 5 PM when we finished, and I was laying down on the floor in Amelia's dorm.

"I am hungry as hell," I told them and rolled myself on my back. I didn't eat anything today, but I didn't have time because of all the events that happened.

"Me too." the twins said in unison, and I chuckled. I never saw that in reality, just in the movies.

"Come on; we can grab dinner in the dinner across from the campus," Amelia stated, and I got up just to go and grab my hoodie. I didn't plan to change my clothes, so I stayed in sweatpants and a hoodie. I am comfortable; that is the only important thing.

We arrived at the dinner and ordered our food. I was getting hangry, which was not good, so I stayed silent until the waiter brought out the food. I was getting side glances from the girls because of the silent treatment, but as soon as I saw my waffles, I was back to my happy self.

"I am sorry, girls, but sometimes when I get hangry, I try to stay silent because when I speak, it seems like I am snapping at you," I explained and ate the fruits from my plate.

"Oooh, I was kind of getting scared about what happened, but if it is only this, then we make sure that you are not hungry, like never." Zoey smiled at me, and I mentally thanked her.

Halfway through my plate, I noticed the girls whispering and kept looking to a table across from us. I glanced that way and counted seven guys laughing and talking with each other.

"Who are they?" I asked and proceeded to eat my waffles.

"I don't know, probably students or athletes, but they look like snacks." Amelia chuckled, and I smiled. I looked their way and smiled for myself; they looked like fun. Then, as I was getting back to my waffles and finishing them, one of the boys glanced my way and smiled.

He saw me eyeing them, and now he must think I am some creep.

He smiled; he does not think you are a creep, my god Nova.

Okay, okay, everything is alright. I finished my waffles and paid for them. We make our way to the dinner entrance, and I felt someone grab my arm. I looked up and saw the guy that was looking at me, or I was looking at him, standing beside me with my arm in his hand. I looked at him quizzically.

"Can I help you?" I asked him.

"Uh-oh, no, everything's fine; I just wanted to ask all of you," he mentioned to our group," if you don't want to eat with us." He said and asked at the same time and gave me the most handsome smile I have ever seen.

"Umm... well, we just finished our dinner, so not really now, but maybe some other time." I smiled at him.

"Oh, okay, well then, maybe some other time." He smiled again. I can say that I never saw anyone, especially a boy looking at me like that and smiling.

He let go of my arm, which he was still holding, and then turned around, saying a soft "bye" on his way back to his friends who watched our conversation. I didn't know where I found the courage to talk to him in the first place, so now I am smiling at all his friends and waving them goodbye.

"Wait! Shorty! What's your name?" So I heard when I was opening the doors of the dinner.

"I'm not a shorty, and my name is Nova," I shouted back so he could hear me. "What's yours?" I smiled.

"Hudson." He shouted at me, and I nodded, letting him know that I heard him, and waved bye to him.

Hudson.