I place my guitar on my lap and set the camera up on my desk. I tilt the mic towards me and smooth out my hair, hoping I look decent. I press record and lean back, beginning to pick at the strings.
"Packing while you're asleep
You were the catalyst
I don't know what it is about how you breathe
About how you breathe
I want to be alone
Hate it that no one knows
You're good to everyone
All them but me
All them but me
And if you hear me
Leaving in the morning
Could you just pretend that
It was only wind?
'Cause I can't love you
Even if I want to
Got a lot to work through
You don't know where I've been
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long time coming
Say something sweet to me
It never meant a thing
Used to the turbulence
I wore long sleeves
I wore long sleeves
I fought 'til you tethered me
Swept under surfaces
Never enough of it
You didn't think
You didn't think
If you hear me
Leaving in the morning
Could you please pretend that
It was only wind?
'Cause I can't love you
Even if I want to
Got a lot to work through
You don't know where I've been
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long time coming
I'm coming down, I'm coming down, I'm coming down
I'm coming down, I'm coming down, I'm coming down
I'm coming down, I'm coming down, I'm coming down
I'm coming down, I'm coming down, I'm coming down."
I look back up at the camera and turn it off. After a million tries, I finally have a take that I like. I immediately upload it to my computer, cringing at how I look, but I'm not taking another video. I clip out the silent parts at the beginning and end before uploading it on YouTube, titled Long Sleeves - original. I shut my laptop off and open my phone, checking any notifications.
Blair: Hey :) I'll be there in like fifteen minutes
Me: Okayyy cool
She sent that about five minutes ago, so I quickly get up. I don't change out of my baggy camo shirt and jeans, but pull my hair out of its bun and brush it out. I put on a bit of makeup, tie on some shoes, and slip my lip balm into my pocket right as there's a knock.
"Hi," I grin at her, opening the door and stepping out. "What's up?"
"Not much," Blair looks up at me, biting her lip. She's just a bit shorter than me, which I don't mind. She looks good; wearing a black baby tee and low waisted jeans.
I haven't seen her since yesterday but we've been texting non-stop. Blair has been insanely flirty, and Sofia says it's a little suspicious, but I enjoy it. I don't get flirted with a lot, especially by hot people.
"Blair?"
We both turn and see William standing by his door, locking it.
"Oh God," She mutters, rolling her eyes and grabbing my hand. "Let's go."
Without looking back at him, she rushes us down the stairs and out of the building. "How does he know you?" I ask, worried that my neighbor is her ex.
"I dated his friend and it didn't end well."
"Oh," I say. "He has friends?"
Blair laughs and keeps her hand locked with mine as we walk down the street. She was planning on taking me to an NYU party tonight, but she said she'd rather just grab some food and chill at my place. Of course, I said I'm down with whatever.
"Are you fucking serious?" She gasps.
I look at the building we're stopped in front of, the windows boarded and a closed sign on the door. "This is your favorite place to eat?"
"Yes!" Blair groans, peeking in the window. "They were just open a week ago!"
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"This is, like, the worst thing to ever happen to me." She throws her head back with a groan, then looks over at me. "Are you okay to go to the party?"
"If you are,"
"Okay. Just a warning, since it's summer semester, not a lot of cool people are here. Besides me, obviously."
"Obviously," I repeat, letting her lead us to the campus. It's a bit of a long walk, but I enjoy talking with her on the way. Of course, I'm not familiar with college life, but I'm surprised that there's a party in the dorm building. I figured that's a hard thing to not get in trouble with, especially since nearly every room on the floor is involved, all of them having some sort of drink selection.
Blair pulls me into one of the larger rooms, making two of the same drink and handing me one. I'm not a fan of alcohol since I can't handle it at all, but I might as well since I don't feel like staying sober and I don't trust any weed from strangers.
"Are any of your friends here?" I ask, sitting down on an empty couch with her.
She shakes her head, placing her cup on the floor after taking just a sip. "Nah, they're all back home for the summer. When they come back, though, you'll really like them."
"Cool," I smile, downing the rest of my drink before setting the cup aside. Blair hasn't really mentioned any of her friends, which is strange since I've talked plenty about my only friend. "Sofia is coming up visit on Monday. You'll have to meet her."
Blair leans forward and, once again, kisses me with no warning. I place my hand on her face as she moves to my lap, straddling me. I feel a bit nervous with how fast this relationship is moving, considering we just met yesterday, but I've really missed having someone to make out with.
Even though we just got here, I really don't like the amount of people around, possibly watching us, so I pull away. "Can we go back to my place?"
Sex isn't my intention, but the way her eyes light up tells me it's hers. Hopefully, she's fine with just making out and watching movies. "Yeah, let's go."
It takes an extra few minutes for us to get back with how much I'm laughing and stumbling around. Like I said, I can't handle alcohol well. I trip multiple times as we head upstairs, but somehow, I reach my place alive. I unlock the door and we step in, Blair immediately backing me up to my couch once the door is shut.
"Slow down," I giggle as she lies on the couch and pulls me on top of her. I keep myself up with my hands on each side of her head. I swipe my tongue over her bottom lip as I stare down at her with a grin.
Right as Blair kisses me again, there's a loud, harsh knock at the door. It's obviously William, so we ignore it, hoping he'll go away. Of course, he doesn't. Instead, he just starts banging on the door until I finally open it.
"What?"
William's eyes glance at Blair before back at me and he suddenly grabs my arm and pulls me out, shutting the door behind me. "You can't go out with her."
"Excuse me?" I scoff, pulling my arm out of his grasp.
"She's a piece of shit." He mutters, leaning down to my eye level. I really hate how attractive he is. His eyes seem so kind, yet he's such the opposite. "I seriously could not care less about what you do, but I'm not gonna have her date my neighbor. I can't stand to be in the same building as her that often, especially not next door."
I stare back at him, confused. "Why not?"
"She dated one of my friends and basically ruined him. She got rid of all of his friends and isolated him so she could control and manipulate him. You already have no friends, so she's already a few steps ahead."
"Why would I trust you?" I ask, rolling my eyes. I'm sure he's completely lying, or at least heavily dramatizing whatever her past relationship was. "In the few days I've been here, you haven't been the least bit nice."
"Maybe now I'm trying to be nice and trying to protect you."
I can't help but laugh at him. "Yeah, okay, William."
He tries to stop me as I open the door again and step back in, but instead, he gets a door in his face. It feels nice to be the one slamming it.
