Contrast

10

Stepping out of the shower, I wrap my favorite fluffy white towel against my shivering body. As I walk into my room, I start scanning possibilities for what to wear to dinner tonight.

I decide on a basic pair of grey mom jeans paired with a black halter top that is slightly cropped. 

Checking the weather to see that it might get a little chilly,  I grab the black leather jacket from my closet that I barely ever wear. Since I'm already dressed in both grey and black, might as well add a little more.

Except for my socks of course. 

No matter how boring or trendy one of my outfits is, I always try and pick a funky pair of socks to go with it, even though nobody can see them. I love collecting all sorts of different designs and colors. 

As silly as it might sound, wearing crazy and colorful socks is almost like a subtle reminder to myself to never change for anyone, to never let anyone dim my light.

Today, I picked out a pair of socks that has a bunch of cartoon cats on them, which my mom got me for Christmas a few years ago. I think yesterday I wore some with a bunch of mini pizzas on them or something.

I close my colorful sock drawer and step back, fully viewing myself in my body mirror. I smooth my hands down my pants, deciding I am happy with my outfit. 

Pulling out my phone to text Olivia that I'm leaving, I grab my purse and keys and put on a pair of black boots.

The ride to the restaurant is a quick one as everything in this college town is pretty close together. It makes drunk trips at midnight to Taco Bell with Olivia very convenient. 

I pull into the familiar parking lot at The Grill. 

Olivia and I have been here multiple times, as well as half the Ohio State campus. If no parties are going on or it's just a chill sort of night, people will come to The Grill with their friends to hang out, play pool, drink, and eat. 

On weekends they have live music so that always attracts people in too.

The actual name of the restaurant isn't actually The Grill either, but for some reason, that's how everyone refers to it. Even the staff say "welcome to The Grill" instead of the real name. 

It's been so long now that nobody remembers what it even was. 

I scan the parking lot looking for Olivia's car, but I don't see it. She usually runs late so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

I make my way into the restaurant, smiling at the familiar ambiance of the place. It's decently busy here, I look over to the pool tables to see some guys from the football team playing.

"Table for two please," I say to the smiling hostess. 

Grabbing two menus, she leads me over to a booth and sets them down.

"I assume the second member of your party will be here soon?" she asks kindly, glancing over to the empty spot across from me. 

I nod, sending her a quick smile as I pull out my phone to see if Olivia has texted me any updates about her location. I have two messages.

Liv, 6:05 pm - Leaving in a sec, see you in a few minutes

Liv, 6:07 pm - Hold on, Noah is bugging me

Another message suddenly pops up below the last two I was reading.

Liv, 6:21 pm - Here. You're not allowed to be mad at me

Mad at her? 

My fingers type rapidly to text back, wondering why she thinks I might be mad at her.