Ride or Die | Sam Fender AU

002

You had few joys in life. Reading was one of them, a hobby you had taken up when you were a young girl after your mother had passed away. She used to read to you before she died, which is what sparked your love of books, so after she died, you took it upon yourself to continue her legacy. It helped that she left you her broad collection of books but even then, you finished them all by the time you were thirteen, begging your dad to let you buy more.

Your love of reading helped make your degree all the more bearable and even that little bit enjoyable from time to time. You were always the top of your classes, spending hours outside of lectures studying and almost all of your time in the library. It was your safe place and it meant escaping Stella.

It was how you found yourself in the library after your last lecture, delaying having to go back to your accommodation. You had stopped in a small coffee shop on the way to grab an Americano and perched yourself at a desk surrounded by your books and laptop.

"Hiya," a soft voice called, snapping you from your trance. You looked up, meeting a pair of friendly, blue eyes. Her brunette hair was naturally curvy and she wore a kind smile as she took a seat opposite you. "I don't mean to interrupt like but you're in my lit class, reet?"

Now she had said it, she did look rather familiar and you swore you remembered her answering one of Professor Walter's questions earlier that day. "Yeah!" you agreed. "Oh, sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Y/N."

"Heidi," she smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Heidi," you muttered softly as you reached for your Americano, holding it in your hands as a comfort.

"God, I sound like a reet weirdo," she snorted.

"It's alright," you assured her, though you did wonder why, of all people, she had chosen to sit by you. It's not like you were the poster girl for popularity.

"Sorry, I've just been meaning to ask, yer wouldn't mind lending me your notes from Friday's lectures, would yer?" she asked hopefully. "It's just I missed 'em after a family emergency, so I'm a bit lost like."

"Uh, of course," you replied, blinking at her awkwardly.

"Cheers, pet!" she sighed in relief. "You're a lifesaver!"

"You're welcome," you smiled shyly as you passed her over your books. "They're all in there. We didn't go through much, so you should be able to catch up pretty quickly."

"You're a gem," she grinned, carefully putting away the books into her bag. "I'll have 'em back to you ASAP."

"There's no rush, I've got plenty of other notebooks," you assured her. "Did you... did you need anything else?"

"Nah, that's everything, cheers, pet," she beamed, standing up ready to leave. "Actually..."

"Yeah?" you asked nervously.

"Me and my mates are off oot tonight, I was wondering if yer wanted to join wor?" she questioned with a hopeful smile.

"On a Monday?" you frowned.

Her grin faltered and she stared at you with confusion, cocking her head to the side. "It's student night," she told you. "Every Monday."

"Oh," you muttered, your cheeks heating up with embarrassment. "Um, I'd better not. I was gonna get a head start on Professor Hartley's assignment. Besides, I've got a nine o'clock start tomorrow morning."

You watched as Heidi stifled a laugh, biting down hard on her bottom lip to repress herself. "Sorry, it's just you're so cute," she cooed. "Uni's not all work, no play. You've gotta enjoy yourself an' all like. I've had my fair share of hungover lectures. So 'as probably half o' campus."