Author's pov:-
After Anna had to hang up when her cousin sister who shared room with her came in to sleep, Davis slipped back into the club, where his friends spotted him, curiosity lighting their faces. "Where'd you disappear to?" they asked, eyes gleaming with excitement as they proposed a night out in the city. It was Friday, after all, and none of them wanted to return to the quiet of their rooms.
Davis, however, shook his head, a hint of reluctance in his voice. "Think I'll just head back to the room tonight."
Ryan groaned, "Seriously? You're no fun, dude!"
"Yeah, whatever. You guys enjoy," he said, giving them a wry chuckle.
As he headed for the door, Kayden caught up with him, and after a quiet exchange, the group decided to skip the night out and head back to the hostel together. Late into the night, they sneaked in past curfew, to avoid the guard- but to their tough luck, they got caught and he demanded penalty.
Jade, grinning, took a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to the guard, a silent bribe to let them off the hook and shut his mouth. With a smirk, the guard waved them through, and they headed up to their floor, taking the lift with muffled laughter.
As the night rolled in, Davis's and Ryan's room became the go-to spot for the group. They had come over to keep Davis company, thinking he might be down, but ended up being more of an annoyance than comfort. The room was alive with RGB lights and loud music as Jade and Ryan played games on the computer while Kayden rolled a joint.
"You guys are chainsmokers or what?" Davis groaned, watching the smoke swirl through the room.
"Exactly, you got it right," Jade smirked.
Davis rolled his eyes, falling back on the bed and retreating to a corner. "Can you all just lower the music, my head hurts!" he snapped, he had enough of loud music since the club.
Ryan, already high, laughed. "Then get out of the room, don't mess the vibe."
"This is my room too, asshole."
Realizing he couldn't change their minds, Davis settled into the bed and opened his phone, texting Anna. Their conversation quickly drew him in, and soon he was silently laughing at a meme she'd sent. It didn't take long for the guys to notice.
"Didn't he just break up last week?" Ryan muttered, eyeing him with curiosity.
"Who's he texting? Did he get back with his ex?" Jade mused.
"Nah, probably that girl from the restaurant," Kayden snickered, raising his brows.
Davis tried to ignore them until they brought Anna into their jokes. "She's my best friend," he said, defending himself.
"Sure, best friend!" Ryan mocked, followed by Jade adding in, "Yeah, just like Ashley is Ryan's 'best friend.'" The three of them burst into laughter.
Davis shot them a glare. "I'll kick you all out if you don't shut up."
They let up and soon switched to teasing Ryan about Ashley. He'd had a thing for her for ages but couldn't bring himself to say anything. The guys joked that he did not have the balls and if he didn't step up, someone else would, and he'd end up alone. Amidst the smoke and laughter, Davis found himself drawn back to his messages with Anna, feeling like that was the only sane part of his night.
...
Anna's POV;
I was having one of those days where everything felt off, haunted by the dream I'd woken up to that morning. I decided to stay home and ended up watching a couple of movies with my younger cousins, Alice and Rowan. Alice, in her usual way, put on a brave face, claiming she was fine with horror movies, only to later cling to me, insisting I walk with her to the washroom. It brought some lightness to my mood, a small distraction from the tangled mess of emotions I'd been carrying.
Then Davis called to tell me his ex had reached out to him. We ended up talking about it for a while, though it felt a bit like opening wounds I'd been trying to ignore. He mentioned he was out with friends at a club, and we wrapped up our call when my cousin Shelly came into the room.
About half an hour later, as I lay on my bed scrolling through TikTok, his messages started coming in. I laughed to myself at his antics, realizing how different our lives seemed. Davis's world always felt so...eventful. Sometimes, I envied it, especially on days when everything felt quiet and monotonous on my end.
But I was also grateful that I didn't have quite so much chaos to manage. I mostly hung out with Addy during classes and sometimes Davis, but still, through his stories, I felt like I knew his friends, their quirks, their drama. And even if we lived in separate versions of college life, it was kind of nice-like I had a window into his world. Soon I was muffling my laughter, trying not to wake Shelly, as Davis sent me a snap of his friends smoking pot and rolling on the floor.
"Let's hang out tomorrow," Davis suggested. "Make the best of the weekend."
"Where?" I asked, curious yet unsure.
"I don't know-anywhere you want. I just need to clear my head from all the mess."
I knew exactly what "mess" he was talking about. But the idea of going out over the weekend felt a bit daunting; I hadn't explored much of the city beyond college and a few nearby restaurants. Plus, I'd have to explain to my aunt why I was heading out on a Saturday with no college plans. She can get a little nosy.
"I'm not sure about the weekend... I haven't really been out much in the city," I replied.
He shrugged. "We could just explore."
"Maybe," I typed, still in dilemma.
"What about a weekday, then?" he suggested.
"Yeah, that could work-right after college." I replied, feeling a bit more at ease with that idea.
...
Davis's POV:-
The guys were fast asleep, and Anna and I were still texting each other late into the night, as usual. An idea popped into my mind, and I couldn't contain my excitement when she agreed to hang out. I had this wild thought that maybe we could even ditch classes for a day, but knowing Anna, I wasn't sure she'd be on board with it. I figured I'd work on convincing her next week.
While we texted, I got lost in my own plans and started googling spots to check out in Atlanta. One link caught my eye: "10 Best Places to Go Out on a Date with Your Girlfriend." I scoffed. First, my friends-now even Google was mocking me.
_____
(General trivia: Ryan, Kayden and Jade are Davis's friends from college who he went to hangout in the club with. They are the same guys he was seated with in the restaurant when Anna saw him first time since she came to Atlanta. Ryan, is Davis's roommate and the other guys live in other rooms of the hostel but they hang out together. They also have Sasha and Ashley in their group. These characters will later come to play as the story moves forward.)
So, how are y'all liking the story? Please suggest a title for this chapter as I don't have anything in mind. Do drop your reviews and vote.
YOU ARE READING
Invisible String.
Romance"She built a fortress around her shattered heart, each stone laid with ache of love lost. But someone knew her before the walls were raised, he knew her far beyond than anyone else. Even though, she always kept him at arm's length, he danced with h...
