Instigator

The Sound of Silence

Two weeks.

Two weeks passed with no communication.

Classes alone were bad enough, but having to see Jake at the studio was like having someone wring out her heart every time she saw him.

She couldn't decide if it was better or worse seeing Josh standing in the aisles of the library, occasionally glancing over at her while she was studying. If she wasn't already looking at him, she could feel his stare.

There were nights when all she wanted was to call one of them up, apologize for the argument, beg to see her best friend again, spend another night wrapped in Josh's arms. Sometimes all she wants to do is punch Josh in the face, or tell off Jake for acting like an ass.

She had decided to avoid the library, choosing instead to study in a park near the campus. It was sunny enough to provide some warmth to combat the cool breeze.

"Your fingers are gonna freeze if you don't put on some gloves."

Her head lifted from the laptop on the ground in front of her, looking up to see Danny standing a few feet ahead of her.

"Hi Danny. Right? It's been a minute."

"That's me! Saw you sitting alone and thought you might benefit from seeing a friendly face."

"I appreciate it. So, how have you been?"

"Good! School work has been kicking my ass a bit, but that's to be expected I think."

"Sure, so what exactly is your major? I don't remember hearing much other than how you're Sam's best friend."

"I'm a kinesiology major."

"That's like, bones and muscles right?"

"Yeah kind of, it's the study of body movement."

"Oh, sick! Um, so school's treating you good?"

"Yeah! Besides the homework, everything is awesome. Sam is dead set on us getting into that frat, it's one of the few things he can talk endlessly about that isn't space related."

"Seems like he only knows about dwarf galaxies to me." Y/n said looking back at her work with a laugh.

"Give him the chance and he'll tell you all about black holes."

"I'm sure that just sucks you right in." She said, chuckling at her own statement.

Danny let out a breathy laugh.

"It's getting cold out here, do you wanna go to the library or something?" He asked, watching as she rubbed her hands together for warmth.

"Um, could we go to the café? I'm kind of growing tired of the smell and dullness of the library."

"Yeah, of course!" He replied.

Y/n gathered all of her stuff back into her bag, looking up to see Danny had his hand out to help her up.

"Thanks." She said, grabbing his hand.

He lifted her from the grass, and she pulled her bag over her shoulder as they began to walk back towards the campus.

"So how long have you been friends with Jake?" Danny asked as they walked along the sidewalk.

She choked on her breath at the mention of his name.

"Oh— uh— since first year, we met at the studio when we both went to apply."

"Oh shit, that's quite a while, huh?"

"Three years as of this year, it has been a while."

"You two seem about as close as Sam and I are. Best friends?"