Gravity

Chapter One

Here's a new story I'm working on! Hope you like it, thank you for reading!

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Chris restlessly sat at his desk in the big university classroom, a quick look around confirmed that he was not the only one wishing for the Professor to finish his seemingly endless lecture. He was generally quite interested in Ancient Greek History, but it was Friday evening and he was tired and anxious for the weekend to come. However, he also had another reason to want to rush home. During a break between lectures, he had been playing his guitar and God knows how this tune appeared out of nowhere and then some lyrics made their way into his brain and in a matter of a few minutes he was well on his way to a new song. It was wonderfully unusual when things like that happened and the young lad from Devon could not contain his excitement. He would have forgotten all about his lecture and headed to the flat he shared with his dear friend Jonny and another friend called Tim to continue working on this piece of music, but his mid-term test was only a week away and he could not afford to fail. He did not want to spend more time than necessary at university and having to re-attend a course was not on his plans. Therefore, he dutifully, albeit impatiently sat through the class, taking a few notes here and there and giving his insight when required. He could not forget about his melody, though. He'd had this song in mind the whole afternoon, he'd been itching to go home and show it to Jonny, he would surely wave his magic and the song would become ten times better, Chris thought with a smile.

He’d met Jonny a year and a half ago during their first week at UCL. Although Jonny was studying Maths and Astronomy, a completely different course from his, they were both living in the same Residential Hall and, upon almost accidentally discovering the quiet green-eyed boy from Wales was also a keen musician, they had bonded and they were now really close friends.  He had made other friends, but Jonny was special, Chris could not deny the instant connection that had developed between the two of them. Despite their different personalities, they complemented each other amazingly well and he regarded Jonny not only as his best friend, but also as his musical soul mate; no one had ever made his songs sound so good. They had recently moved in together with Tim  to a little flat in Camden and Chris could not be happier.

“Well if none of you have any other question, the class is dismissed. See you next time,” the professor said. Chris collected his backpack and his guitar and hurried out of the University campus. During the twenty-minute bus ride home he mentally played the song again and again and envisioned himself and Jonny writing the best song ever and playing it in front of a fervent audience. He smiled, that would be his ultimate dream: making a living creating and performing music and being able to move people with it, alongside his best friend.

Chris was so immersed in his fantasy that he almost missed his stop. Luckily, he realised just on time and quickly made it to the doors and then bolted down the road towards the narrow building on the 268 Camden Road. He fumbled with the keys to the front door and finally made it into the hall and virtually ran up the stairs to their flat. Upon entering the small common room there was no one on sight. "Fellas?"

"Jon?"

"Here," Jonny's soft voice came from his bedroom.

Chris enthusiastically headed there but his happy pace came to a sudden halt upon seeing his friend.

Jonny was wearing his newest pair of jeans and his favourite shirt, he smelled of aftershave and seemed ready to go out.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm meeting someone," Jonny calmly stated, he was a really reserved person.

"Someone?" Chris asked, trying to mask his disappointment. 

"Dan," the younger man explained.

Dan was on most of Jonny's classes and they sometimes went for a pint after lessons or bumped into each other at some party but, at least to Chris' knowledge, they weren't close friends or anything and Jonny had certainly never made an effort to look so good for Dan.

"So you're all dolled up for Dan?" he taunted, he always enjoyed teasing his easily embarrassed friend.

"I'm not ‘dolled up’ I'm not a girl. Besides, I'm just wearing something better than my regular clothes and no, of course it's not for Dan! I just want to look good."

"Then for whom, Jonny Boy?" Chris uttered in an inquisitive tone, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Dan's got a date and she's got a friend and so I'm going and well, you know how it works," he quietly explained, his cheeks pink.

"Oh, so you have a date!" Chris concluded, a strange feeling setting inside of him.       

"You could call it that, I guess," Jonny said awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

"Well done, man!" he told his friend, punching him on the shoulder with forged enthusiasm.

"Yeah."

Chris suddenly felt terrible. What kind of friend was he? Here was Jonny, his best mate, telling him he finally had a date after a long time and he could not be genuinely glad for his friend? He attributed this to his failed plans for the evening, but there was also some other feeling creeping in the background, was it envy cause his friend had got himself a date and he was still pretty much struggling to speak a coherent sentence to a girl? He wasn’t sure. Chris knew he was not doing well in that department but Jonny deserved better from him, so he acted as he thought any other bloke would when confronted with the same situation and he asked,

"So, is she hot?"

"Yeah, I guess, she's pretty. I've only seen her once at that party we've been to before moving in, remember?"

He remembered the party, and remembered Dan being there, and there were many girls but he could not recall any specific one, except for Connie, the one who had rejected him for apparently, not being cool enough.

“I’ve got no idea who she is, I guess she must not be my type then or I’d remember her,” Chirs said.

“Yeah, well,” Jonny said looking around and then at his watch “I need to go, don’t want to be late,” he said checking he had everything he needed in his wallet.

“OK, have fun!”

 “Thanks,” he quietly uttered and headed out.

 His plans for the evening ruined, Chris shuffled miserably through the empty flat, he could think of nothing fun or entertaining to do, at least not without Jonny. He considered getting ahead with his classwork, but that would only make his evening more depressing. He flicked through the TV channels, but there was nothing interesting on. What a waste of time! Finally, he fetched his guitar and let the music flow from his fingers freely. As time rolled by, laughter and music could be heard from the outside as group of friends wandered around the North London streets, already in quite an intoxicated state. He wondered what Jonny was doing. He surely must be drinking and flirting with that girl. Everyone seemed to be having an amazing time. Everyone but him.  He realised he was sulking, but he did not mind, there was no one there to watch anyways.