Intersecting Paths

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

VARUN

Varun yawned as he walked with his friends. He hardly got any sleep after partying last night and he had to pay the price for it now. If it wasn't the first day of university, he probably would've been sleeping in right now.

At least I'm not hungover.

Varun observed the environment he was in. A slight smirk creeped on to his face as he noticed that most of the girls that were present on campus were peering over at him and his friends. It was the five of them; Jason, Marcus, Liam, Jay and Varun himself. Varun was the only boy that wasn't white within the group, bring him am advantage to his game and also that extra boost of confidence. He felt a light slap on his back.

"Dude, you look fucked. Seems like you could use some coffee right now." Jason was probably the only guy that Varun could relate to and he had a feeling that Jason understood him too. It was sort of hard to find true friends within guys.

"Hell yeah." Varun high-fived his friend. "But you lost the bet last time so you're paying for it." Varun and Jason made a bet to see who could drink the most beers within three minutes and it was no surprise that Varun won the bet. Partying, drinking, flirting and wasting time. Those were the only things he was good at.

However there was a time when Varun was extremely competitive and actually tried to be intelligent. That's how he got his scholarship to attend university in Chicago. People would ask him what made him change his work habits and he would reply with the same answer every time.

Life happened.

"Yo Varun! Look ahead!" Liam was pointing towards a familiar figure. It was probably the girl he was flirting with last night. He was trying to match the correct name with her face.

Natalie? Rose? Catherine?

"Varun!" The girl yelled with her white washed accent, making him cringe. He missed hearing his name with a desi accent. The nameless girl hugged Varun that was a bit forced. He could see that his friends were smirking and chuckling at them so he rolled his eyes as a reaction, making their chuckles louder.

"What's good..um.." Varun paused, trying to find the correct name for the girl. Her oversized lips formed into a frown as he continued to think. "...Heather..?" She rolled her eyes and exhaled with anger.

"My name is Jess!" Varun raised his brows. By looking at what she had been wearing and her overly caked face of makeup, he knew it wasn't worth it. Varun peered over to Jason, who understood his call for help.

"Yo! You coming with us or not?" Varun faced Jess. "Sorry got to go!" And with that he headed off towards the coffee shop with his friends. For a second, he wished he was back in India but the thought went away as the smell of coffee was approaching closer. Varun and his friends went inside Starbucks, making a few heads turn.

He hasn't been here that much recently. The place was once his second home, but that was only because him and Alia would study there. But after they lost touch with each other, he avoided going there.

Am I guilty? Yes. But it's not all my fault. If she really wanted to stay friends she would've made the effort.

The thought made Varun feel a bit immature. It was stupid. He often thought about patching up with Alia but she seemed so absorbed with her own life. Almost like as if she had erased him out for good. Varun exhaled. He didn't want to think much about the friendship he lost. His friends were talking about some talk show.

How boring.

Varun glanced around the coffee shop and his eyes froze on a familiar figure. It was Alia. She was staring at the floor as her friend was talking. Varun unconsciously took the time to analyze her. Her hair was in its natural state and it seemed like she had no makeup on. She was exactly the same. Varun tried to get a glimpse of her eyes. He had always been amazed by the twinkle that always existed in her eyes. But then it hit him.

When did she get glasses?

He took his eyes off of her for a few moments, remembering that his friends were also present and if they had caught him staring at her, they would try to hook the two of them up. However he failed and when he glanced over to her direction, she was gone. Varun's eyes wandered until he noticed that Alia had left the coffee shop and she cycled off.

Well crap.

There was a small wave of disappointment that hit Varun. He felt stupid for not striking a conversation with her. He knew he had to take it like a man and be the one to speak

to her first, but he didn't. Varun exhaled at the thought. He never will understand how he is always so nervous to talk to the girl he spent half his life with. However that wasn't the only thing that bothered Varun. From the way Alia left Starbucks without glancing at Varun once made him conclude one thing.

She really doesn't care anymore.

*****

this one is boring! I'm sorry, I've never wrote for a guy's perspective before so be patient with me lol