Our Time Is Here | a Lauren/You Short Story

2 • Friendly

Lauren ended up showing me as much of the campus as she could possibly fit into forty minutes, claiming that she wanted to take me to one of her favourite places before I left for my next lecture. The campus was huge and we didn't get to see it all, but what I did see was amazing. And the fact that Lauren showed me made it even better.

Now, we were walking into some arcade that the campus had. Lauren told me it was her favourite place to come to when she felt stressed out from too much work, or even if she wanted to relax. It was pretty cool because it had loads of modern arcade video games as well as the originals such as Pacman. Lauren was still as competitive as I remembered her to be and it only made my heart flutter because her concentration face was one of the most adorable things I'd seen in a while.

"I won that game, right?" Her lips twitched into a playful smile and she studied me as we both walked to the conjoined bar in the arcade.

I sat down on the creaky stool and she sat beside me, resting her hands on the counter. I raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? You know you won, Laur."

She grinned like a child who just received a Christmas present, nodding her head. " I know, but it's fun to hear other people say it."

I rolled my eyes and she laughed, watching me sigh playfully. Before our conversation could further, the bartender gained our attention, asking us what we would like.

"A Guinness beer, please," Lauren nodded in the man's direction.

He nodded and looked to me. "And for you, Miss?"

I licked my dry lips and spoke. "Just a water, please. Thanks."

He nodded and moved away, probably to get our drinks. Meanwhile, I felt Lauren's gaze piercing through me, so met her curious stare to see what she wanted.

"What?"

"Nothing, really..," she shook her head, but I could tell she wanted to say something. I raised an eyebrow and she finally gave in. "Okay, I'm just wondering, but do you not drink? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."

How could I explain this one to her? I stayed quiet for a moment, trying to think of a good, reasonable excuse. The real reason couldn't be said because she wouldn't understand. It linked to something else completely, and it might scare her. Cause her to leave and run away again. And for some reason, I didn't want that.

Eventually, I decided on, "I don't really like alcohol." Yeah, that's valid. Right?

She nodded just as the bartender returned with our order. "Oh, okay."

"Thanks," I smiled at the man, pulling my drink closer to me and sipping it. Lauren did the same and we both stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

"I'm glad we met again," she finally spoke, taking me by surprise. I looked up at her and she was smiling shyly at me, which I found unusual. She was always so confident and driven, so why was she acting shy and nervous now?

"Me too," I replied honestly. "Thanks for showing me around today. I think I just might make it on time to my next lecture tomorrow."

She chuckled at my failed attempt at a joke and I couldn't help but smile. I loved watching her laugh because she looked genuinely happy and her eyes would squint together, sparkling with happiness.

When she stopped laughing, however, I could sense her nervousness. She was fumbling with her fingers on top of the bar, and I wondered what she was having an internal conflict about.

"Hey, do you want my number?" I asked, hoping to calm her down and change the topic altogether.

She looked up and smiled awkwardly. "Is it the same as last time?"