Prove It (H.S)

Chapter Forty Six

Claire's POV~

I push the key into the lock, turning it and walking into my dorm. It's small, with low ceilings and one big window looking out onto the small campus square. I set my suitcase down, wiping my forehead with my palm. "Are you Claire?" I jump with a small scream when I hear the voice. I turn around to see a girl sitting on the other bed, her legs crossed and a half eaten banana in her hand. How did I not notice her?

"My goodness, I'm sorry. You startled me," I say, placing my hand on my chest. The girl laughs. "But yes, I'm Claire, you must be...," I trail off, fumbling to look at my room assignment for a name. "I'm Jasmine. You're here for the philosophy class too, yeah?" I nod.

Jasmine has clear, glowing brown skin and thick black hair that curls out into one big ringleted mass. Her big eyes search mine for a moment and then she asks,"So where are you studying back in the states?" I sit on my bed and answer,"University of California, Los Angeles, you?"

She finishes her banana and tosses the peel in the waste basket beside her bed. "University of Washington." I nod again, feeling sort of out of place. It's also very hot, like, very hot. "So, there's like a get together tonight with all of the study abroad students, we could go, unless you're too jet lagged," Jasmine says, twisting her big curls into a bun on the top of her head. "Uh, I think I'll pass. I need some time to get settled in."

"I get it." She gets up and walks to her closet. She takes out a fistful of hangers and plops them on my bed. "Here, those are yours. I split them up even."
"Thanks," I mutter.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some fresh air. See ya later, Claire." I wave at her as she leaves the room. I throw my hair into a ponytail to get it off may neck and sigh, throwing myself back onto the bed. Here we go.

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Harry's POV~

"Double word score," I say as I lay down my tiles on the board to form the word 'lamp'. Andy scribbles down my score on her pad of paper and Louis begins to take his turn, his fingers rubbing his chin in concentration.

"Ha! Double word and double letter with 'appear'," he says, lifting his arms in the air in victory. Andy laughs and picks up the pen. "Wow, Lou. You're actually beating me," I say in surprise. "I know, I'm just as shocked as you are." Andy scoots closer to the board and cracks her knuckles.

"Alright boys, prepare to lose." Louis and I raise our eyebrows at her confidence. Her fingers lay down the tiles to form 'petite' with a triple letter score. "Okay, not yet, but I will beat both of you." We all laugh.

This is a good distraction. Playing scrabble with two good friends, relaxing, not overthinking, well, perhaps that's what I'm doing right now.

"Maybe I should get a job," I say. "Like on the weekends or something." Louis and Andy look at me strangely. "Really? You'd be up for that?" Louis asks. "Yeah, maybe. To keep me busy." I try to ignore the doubtful looks on my friends' faces and continue to play the board game.

"Well, I think you should look into something, if you really want to," Andy says. I nod. 'Leak'. Triple letter score. Andy scribbles it down.

As Louis takes his turn, I begin to think about if calling Claire, just to see how she's settling in, would be a good idea. Just a friendly call, to check in. It's not like I'll be calling everyday. I pull my phone out of my pocket and turn it on. I decide on a text, instead.

'Hey, how are you doin down there?"

Surprisingly, she responds quickly.

'Um...what?'

I stare at her message confused as to what she's asking. Then it hits me and I quickly type a response.

'Oh goodness! Not what I meant! I only mean how's Mexico, nothing concerning your personal hygiene.'

I mentally smack myself, my face turning red out of embarrassment. Suddenly Andy springs up with a cheer and says,"HA! I'm beating you!" I look at the board in disbelief. "Andy, that's a triple letter, not a triple word. You're still losing," I say with a chuckle. "What?" The disappointment on her face causes Louis and I to burst into laughter. Then, Claire replies.

'Haha. It's hot, as in warm.'

I smile to myself. I could get used to this. This friendly contact, with joking messages back and forth, a light sort of feeling. "Harry, mate, it's your turn." My head snaps up and I clear my throat. "Sorry."

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Claire's POV~

It's about 10:45 when Jasmine gets back from the party or whatever, and I'm exhausted. I've been watching Netflix while struggling to maintain a relationship with the wifi signal. When she comes in, she immediately starts to take off her clothes, and at first I'm shocked, and then I remember that I've been in a single dorm my whole time at college and that this is probably a normal thing, either that or she doesn't give a fuck.

"Why are you still awake? Aren't you tired from traveling?" She asks as she puts on her pajamas. "Yeah, I'll go to sleep in a few. Uh, how was the party, thing?" She shrugs. "Pretty lame." I nod.

Jasmine climbs into her bed, the creaking of the springs irritating me. I roll over to face the wall and cuddle into the covers of my newly made bed. I can feel myself drifting off into sleep, and as I do, I can feel the warmth of an imaginary body pressed up against me, strong arms cradling my body and warm breath against my neck. There's only one person that ever touched me like this, held me.

The fact that I can feel him as I'm falling asleep in this new place scares me. It makes me worried that I'll miss him. I mean, of course I'll miss him, but I'm worried that I'll really, really miss him. If I miss him too much, I fear I'll never get through this trip.

Again, his strong arms hug me and I forget whatever I was thinking about. My eyes flutter closed and soon, my mind is at ease. Goodnight.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello! This update is super late, as usual and I'm so sorry about that. I'll try to update more often. I'm the worst. But I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please leave comments! Love you all!
Lila