Comforting Souls

Chapter Six.

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor beside me caught my attention. I peered over my shoulder just as the culprit sat down at the other side of me. My smile faulted as my eyes gazed upon Toby. Great.

Toby's face mirrored my own, looking equally as thrilled as I was. "You've got to be kidding me." He muttered under his breath, placing his face in his hands.

"You're not the only one that's disappointed!" I quietly snapped. I was careful not to be as loud as Rich began to start the class.

I felt bad for ignoring Grayson as he kept asking if I was okay and I would respond with nothing but silence. It aggravated me even more when Toby kept telling him to shut his trap. It was the longest hour in that class. Soon as Rich wrapped it up for the day, I quickly shoved my belongings into my bag and escaped the classroom before anyone else got the chance to get out. I wanted to be as far away from Toby as possible.

"Sca', wait!" I slowed my pace to a stop and turned to face Grayson who came running towards me. "I'm sorry about that in there, I was only ju-"

"I know, Grayson." I cut him off with a sigh. "And please don't apologise, I should be the one saying sorry." I pulled my bag further up my shoulder since it began to slip. "Toby is just. . .Ugh, I have no words."

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me." He smiled warmly causing me to instantly smile back. "Do you have anymore classes?"

"Actually, that was my last class of the day. Monday is my shortest day for classes."

Grayson and myself would walk side by side as we headed outside onto the Uni grounds. "Same here, do you fancy going for a coffee?" He casually asked just as we stepped into the fresh air.

Coffee. I guess that answered that then. "Sure, coffee sounds great right about now."

I found out that Grayson is a year older than myself. Twenty Four. This is his final year here at Harvard. He's originally from South Carolina which would explain his slight difference in accent, but he moved to Boston with his mother at Fifteen for a fresh new start due to his father running out on them. Apparently, his mother got fed up of the pity stares and small town rumours, so they upped sticks. You could tell he adored his mother more than anything with the way his eyes lit up when he spoke about her.

As for myself, I kept it minimal. I told him I was born and raised in a Yorkshire city and that I attended University back home before getting the opportunity to come over here. Our conversation seemed to be never ending, but soon as the skies started to get darker, we both said our goodbyes before parting ways with a surprising hug from Grayson.

Turning on my heel, I stopped before I could even move as I saw Toby heading straight towards me. "First day, and hooking up?" Toby crossed his arms coming to a halt in front of me. "Classy." He commented.

My jaw nearly fell slack. The absolute cheek of it. "I was not hooking up!" I exclaimed shoving past him. Toby took it upon himself to follow me.

"You seemed quite cosy in the café." He cooed, mocking me with a laugh.

I stopped, spinning on my heal to face him, Toby's eyes widened in surprise as he suddenly had to catch himself before almost slamming into me. "You're an actually creep, you know that?" I narrowed my eyes in on him. "How long were you watching us? Why do you even care who I 'cosy' up with?"

Toby's smug look soon reappeared as a cocky grin adorned his face. "You could only wish I was jealous, if that's what you're indicating petal." He winked taking a close step me. I took one step back.

"Just leave me alone Toby." I faulted, suddenly feeling like prey caged in a corner over his tall predator presence.

Rolling his eyes, Toby shoved his hands in his pockets. "Look, as much as I enjoy talking to you like you do me, Lana already headed to the bar we're all meeting at." He goes on to tell me. "She's asked me to give you a ride, and before you ask, everyone else is already there."