Possibility

Chapter 14 - The key

As the day progressed, I found myself on yet another hike in the woods. This time though, we were just girls; a result of some friendly banter within the group. 

It all started when the subject of another hike had been brought up during our tea. The support for the proposal had been great, also among the boys. Andy though, had made a joke about how lucky we girls were to have the boys with us. He claimed that if they weren't there, we would end up getting lost in the woods. Sophia, who along with Eleanor had brought the subject up, was quick to disagree and after a bit of a banter, the boys were banned from coming along with us.

As we started out, I soon realised just how well the two other girls knew each other. Despite that though, they were quick to include me. The topic of conversation quickly turned to us; where we were from, what our current situation was and other subjects along those lines. They got to learn more about me, and in exchange I got to know more about them. 

"So, you two went to the same school, right?" Sophia asked, looking from me to Eleanor. I stayed quiet, giving a small nod as I let Eleanor take the word.

"Yes, we did." Eleanor replied, then turned to me and smiled. "We've actually met a few times earlier as well."

I smiled at the thought of the first time we met. She had been very kind and helpful towards me then, and also ever since. Not that we had met often; we had been merely acquaintances. 

"Wait, so Niall and Payson met through you then?" Sophia asked, somewhat eagerly, seeming to think another piece of information had just fallen in place.

"No, they managed to do that all by themselves." Eleanor replied, then turned to look at me as a slightly mischievous smile spread across her face, and waited a few seconds before she continued. «I would really like to hear your version of that meeting.» 

"My version?" I repeated, somewhat dumbfounded at the sudden and unexpected request.

 "Your version." Eleanor confirmed. "I've already heard Niall's."

I stared at her in silence for a couple of seconds, wondering what Niall's version had been like. I assumed she had got his version the day I had passed them in the hallway. I wondered what he could have said about me back then. I wondered how much of it he had told her.

"What exactly did he tell you?" I inquired cautiously.

"That he met you in the hall outside of the cafeteria, and worried he had been rude to you for no reason." Eleanor replied. "That's pretty much all the information he gave me."

"We literally ran into each other." I added, smiling at the thought of the memory. "My version is pretty much the same though." I explained, though there were several details about the meeting I could have added.

"What I want to know, is what your first impression of him was." Sophia cut in, to my delight; it stopped me from having to lay out everything about the sequence of events from that day.

Eleanor's eyes landed on me then. Her eyebrows were raised and her lips slightly pressed together; it was clear that she too was curious about the matter.

"Well..." I replied hesitantly, unsure of how detailed they wanted it explained. I had liked him very well at first. He had intrigued me, especially when I discovered who he was. That part though, wasn't one I was particularly proud of. Sure, the interest had been momentarily deadened when he abruptly left me standing in the hallway, but it hadn't vanished completely. I still wasn't sure whether my interest in him the first few days, had been based mostly on the fact that he was a celebrity, or the fact that he kept showing up, which was something that most certainly kept me intrigued.