"Why does it take so long?" I groan, my eyebrows furrowing.
"Because you never brush your damn hair," Jackie yells, my eyes rolling. She finishes one of the braids and starts the second, my eyes squeezing shut as she pulls my hair.
"You need to learn to take care of your hair," she complains, tightening the strands. "Seriously, Carly, this is just...a mess," she groans, continuing to runs her fingers through the knots.
"Yeah, well, whenever I brush my hair, it frizzes up and it's not fun. Plus it gets staticy and just..." I shiver, hating the thought of my naturally frizzy hair.
"Well, I'm so happy I finally tamed the beast," she says, tying the knot on my hair. It's complete and I grin, thanking her. We grab our bags and start the walk to class, her eyes searching the crowd. Then I roll my eyes when her boyfriend runs to her, basically sucking face. I just keep walking and look around, seeing a boy sitting under a tree alone. He's reading and I just keep walking, but glance back. His chocolate curls blow in the wind and he scatters to grab a paper that floats in the wind. I smirk, finding it amusing how skittish he is.
I keep on pace and venture into the lecture hall, my eyes closing as I sit back in my seat. I sit in the back and open my laptop, getting somewhat prepared for class. The seats fill up and I get myself distracted with a news story, my lower lip taken between my teeth.
The professor walks in and I'm distracted when someone behind me scurries in. I glance back and see it was the same boy as in the courtyard, my eyes looking up at him. I wave and point to the seat beside me, his head nodding. He rushes and gets set up, then shakes his leg and starts looking for something. I assume it's a pen and I hand one out to him, his eyes looking into mine. The green color is unique and he takes it, whispering a 'thank you'. I just nod and pay attention to the lecture, writing notes and highlighting what I want to know.
My hands type what I want and then I highlight some things in the book, then I see the boy beside me rush to write things. He seems to have anxiety of some sort, his actions always rushed.
The lecture finishes and I start to pack up, getting ready to go back to my dorm. But the boy stops me and hands me my pen.
"Thanks," he says, my head nodding. I notice the book in his hand, my eyes looking back up at him.
"Is it any good?" I ask, his head quickly looking down to see his book.
"Oh. uh, yeah. It's good," he says, my lips curving.
"I saw you reading earlier. Must be good because you just made it in time," I say, his head nodding. He's very shy; awkward. But I don't mind. I've never been one to judge behavior.
"I like it," he says, and I start walking. I signal for him to follow, and his hesitancy is pushed through when he takes a step with me.
"What's it about?" I wonder, wanting to see if talking about books makes talking easier.
"It's just a classic. Read it a million times," he says, holding out the tattered book. Wuthering Heights is displayed and I nod, his hand tight around it.
"Catherine and Heathcliff, what a story," I grin, his eyes looking into mine as we walk down the hall.
"You...you've read it?" he asks, my head nodding.
"I'm an English and journalism major. I've read classics to a point to quotation. They're timeless literature," I beam, his lips parting. I can tell he's never had anyone to talk to about books, and it's kind of shocking. There are a lot of bookworms in college, but he seemed to have isolated himself.
"What's your name?" I ask, his jaw clenched but he doesn't seem angry. Perhaps his jawline is just that defined.
"I'm Harry. And...you?" he asks, my body stepping in front of him.
"I'm Carly," I grin, holding out my hand. He observes my action and I wait, knowing it'd take a little before he'd react. So he moves his hand to mine and I shake it gently, his hand warm but callused.
"Now you have a friend to talk to about books," I grin, his lips quirking into a small smile. He nods and I say goodbye, his small nod the last thing I see before I go up to the dorm.
I see Jackie and her boyfriend on her bed and I groan. "Seriously? You can't go more than a few hours without fucking."
They laugh and I put my stuff down, grabbing a book and reading through it for the essay I have to write. They keep their hands to themselves for a while and then I get up to go to the library, wanting to get a few books to use as sources. I walk down and go out, looking through the aisles of books before stumbling upon a stack of them at the end. I frown and peer around the corner, my eyes taking in the sight.
Harry has created book towers around him and I find it amusing, my knees crouching to look at him. He doesn't even notice me and I smile, reaching and taking the beanie off his head. He jolts and frantically looks around before looking at me.
"You really love your books," I say, handing him the beanie back. He takes it and runs his hand through his hair before setting it back on, my eyes taking in all the books.
"I have a paper to write," he rushes, my hand setting on his shoulder.
"So do I. Just relax," I tell him, his breathing calming down.
"It's on theme and just pick a few books to use. Don't surround yourself with thirty titles. It'll stress you out and worry you more," I say, his eyes looking at me in awe. I pick out three books and tell him to just use those three, his hand holding them. He looks skeptical and I nod, his reluctance present but he gives me a small nod.
"Good. I'll see you there," I say, his eyes watching as I wave. He gives me a small wave and I go sit up on the balcony to work, always concentrating better. After finalizing the paper, I get back to the dorm and submit the paper.
~~~
New story!!!
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