𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑 | 𝘑𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘯

✰ 1 ✰

Maeve Verhoeven loved Amsterdam.
The city had its own unique charm. As much as she enjoyed her hometown Dublin, where she was born and raised, exploring her Dutch roots felt refreshing. Moving away was a new beginning for her.

She embodied the unique blend of her heritages. She cherished the cultural richness of both countries. Her green eyes, framed by sprinkled freckles and her hair, thick and wavy with a tint of auburn, were gifts from her Irish ancestry. Her features were a rather unusual sight in her mother's childhood home. The Dutch side made an appearance in her directness and humor, highly praised by her loving family.

Her love for photography originated with her father's passion for it. The Irishman constantly carried a camera with him and introduced his offspring to the device early in her life. She was fascinated by how it could capture points in time with a simple click, her infatuation was born.

While he specialised in architecture, Maeve enjoyed catching the little moments of people's lives. It could be a person at the canal invested in a book, or during quality time with her friends. She wanted to be able to trap a fraction of enjoyment in a picture. The girl adored humans, spending hours people watching.

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June 2020.

"The usual?", Jeroen questioned as Maeve entered his workplace. It was her elixir of life to dip into the café every morning before class.

Jeroen had established himself to be one of her best friends and a therapist in the past three years. His bubbly personality and empathic nature hit off with her easily. Maeve is more on the introverted side, shying away from any avoidable conversations. With him, she felt the reassurance to match his energy and be herself.

"You know me so well", Maeve commented with a toothy smile and took a seat at one of the tables near the window. It had the perfect view of the canal splitting the city and the street tracing along.

Jeroen prepared her coffee and brought it to the table, flopping onto the chair opposite her. His shift was almost over so he took the chance to talk to his friend: "Any plans for the weekend? Perhaps with Nathan?"
His aggressive tone made Maeve cringe internally.

Nathan Vandergunst had been in a complicated situationship with the girl for a few weeks, if you could even call it that. More friends with benefits, except she had actually found a liking in him. He was a well-known Belgian youtuber and reflected it with his charisma and adventurous spirit. It was what initially attracted Maeve. But they had never been more. He enjoyed the fun and not having a label, while Maeve hated the unsteadiness of their relationship.

"Not really", she sighed,"He's probably at some festival again."

The festival season had started in late May, occupying him for most of the weekends. Though Maeve loved events like these, he had never once invited her. Nathan's internet presence provided him with access to artists and concerts, for free. He was conscious about her love for it. However, not a single time acted on it.

Jeroen groaned. He had been losing sympathy for the Belgian man with every move he made. Nathan's lack of effort to make time for his best friend annoyed him, especially because he knew about Maeve's interest in Nathan.
"What is Alanis up to then?"

Maeve thought for a moment, her best friend, as well as roommate, had mentioned something.
"I think she has a meeting regarding... you know, that label she got offered to work for?" The barista hummed.

They continued their conversation in the corner of the café. June switched the weather in Amsterdam drastically. It still rained almost every day, but the sun made an appearance after months of grey skies. The flowers bloomed and the citizens whipped out their bikes instantly. It was warm and the alleys were crowded. Maeve loved the community in general, she felt at home.

°˖✧✿✧˖°

University did not indicate a relaxing time, the complete contrary actually. The professors felt the need to push assignment after assignment, like their students didn't have other classes and a life with problems as well. Being in her penultimate semester did not alleviate her stress, not even close.

Maeve was engrossed in another pile of homework, what else was there to do when it poured outside. Besides the task to create a series of photos to represent the power of rich lightning, she had to write an essay about color psychology. Not necessarily her favourite subject to write about, yet she had no choice. After all, she only had a few more pages to fill.

Her dorm room entrance flew open, startling Maeve at her desk. Alanis stepped in and let her bag fall onto the wooden floor panels. Her dark-brown curls were dripping from the rain, her blue sweater drenched and clinging onto her skin.

"Guess who has a fucking job now!", she grinned widely. Maeve squealed and jumped into her best friend's arms, showering her in congratulatory terms.

Alanis had been searching for a way to work on her portfolio. Her cinematography skills were hard to beat. When she got offered to work with this Dutch music label, she was ready to flip.

The younger girl in her arms had been waiting for a similar opportunity. She wanted to try something new, change the scenery of her photos. Would following her father's footsteps into architecture or perhaps fashion be a good start? Maeve wasn't too sure herself.

"Wait", she broke away,"What was the name again? Of the label, I mean?"
Alanis raised her eyebrows: "Evie, I love you but I've told you this multiple times. It's Albino Sports. Your memory is worse than Dory's."
Maeve pressed her lips into a tight smile and nodded as she tried to carve the name into her brain. "Not my fault, they do not sound like they're responsible for music."

Alanis disregarded her friend's words and dove into her curiosity in her love life.
"Have you heard from Nathan today?"
She collapsed onto Maeve's sheets who exhaled sharply in response, shaking her head. Knowing Ali, she was digging for more reasons to compel Evie to end things.

Though Alanis wasn't the most significant supporter of Nathan and his actions, she sustained her and wished her the best, even if it's with someone like him. As long as he wouldn't hurt her, they would all be fine. Alanis wouldn't end up in jail and he wouldn't end up in the hospital.

"I strongly dislike men, why are they so complicated?", Alanis rolled her eyes. Maeve chuckled, turning her attention back to her homework: "Tell me about it."

°˖✧✿✧˖°

author's note!

first chapter oooooo
i hope you got a little idea of who they are !!
feel free to critise me whenever you want, feedback is always appreciated xx
for the sake of my writing, covid does not exist
love youuuu