To Be With You : Beneath Your Paradise

Chapter Four

                          Anastasia
                         🍋 𓍯𓂃𓏧

The Freshers’ Fair is buzzing with life. Stands line every inch of the grassy campus grounds, each one manned by enthusiastic students eager to recruit new members. Colorful banners advertise a myriad of clubs and societies: rugby, dance, drama, book club, and even a few niche ones like the “Dungeons and Dragons Society.” The air is filled with the scent of fried food from nearby food trucks, the murmur of excited chatter, and the occasional outburst of laughter. Everywhere I look, people are milling around, clutching leaflets, free snacks, and random freebies.

Emily and Paige are still buzzing with energy, though, dragging us from one stand to the next. But as the afternoon sun begins to dip lower in the sky, the group slowly starts to disperse.

Kelly, always the practical one, checks her watch and sighs. "I’ve got to run—meeting my course advisor in a bit. Catch you all later?"

Paige waves her off with a smile. "Text us when you're free, Kel."

Dammy chimes in next. "Same, I’ve got a gym session booked soon." She slings her duffel bag over her shoulder and gives us a casual nod before heading off. One by one, they all peel away, until it’s just me and Emily left standing in the middle of the busy fair.

Emily stretches her arms overhead, looking around at the thinning crowd. “Guess it’s just us two now, huh?” she says, her usual grin plastered across her face.

I manage a small smile. “Yeah, looks like it.”

For a few minutes, we wander together, Emily pausing every few steps to greet someone she knows. She seems to know everyone on campus already, which means that every few minutes, I’m awkwardly introduced to a new face, muttering my name under my breath and trying not to look too uncomfortable.

At one point, Emily stops to chat with a tall guy wearing a rugby jersey, their conversation lively and full of inside jokes I don’t understand. I stand off to the side, nodding politely when they glance at me, trying not to look like I’m fading into the background.

Suddenly, Emily turns to me, biting her lip. “Hey, An, do you mind if I go hang with them for a bit?”

I force a smile, trying to ignore the wave of anxiety that hits me at the thought of being left alone. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be fine.”

Emily hesitates, her brow furrowed. “You sure? I can stay if you’re not feeling up to it—”

“I’ll be fine,” I repeat, waving her off. “Really, don’t worry about me.”

She gives me a long look before nodding. “Okay, but text me if you need anything, yeah?”

I nod, watching as she jogs off with her rugby friend, leaving me alone in the middle of the fair. The sounds of laughter and chatter seem to grow louder as I stand there, clutching my bag tighter against my chest. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to start walking, trying to seem as though I have a purpose.

As I wander aimlessly, I try to focus on anything but the growing discomfort bubbling in my chest. That’s when it happens.

I’m minding my own business, passing by a stand giving out energy drinks, when someone slams into my shoulder, hard. The impact sends me stumbling backward, and before I can even register what’s happened, cans of juice go tumbling to the ground, along with a stack of leaflets. I barely manage to keep myself upright as I stagger to the side.

"Oh, shit," comes a deep, husky voice from behind me. I feel a hand grab my arm, steadying me before I can fall completely.

"You okay?" the voice asks.