Found it! [ girlxgirl ]

|SIX|

So...are you a law student?

I finally got tired of waiting. I've spent the whole Sunday talking to my parents and friends over Skype, but always looking for a Facebook notification. I was starting to worry about myself so I decided to stop the agony and just send Avery a message. I reckon it was probably not the best message, but maybe she thinks it's funny? I didn't want to overthink it and the first thing that came to mind was that.

It's almost midnight and I'm sitting on my desk by the window. My bed is behind me and it seems to be calling my name for a while now. On Sundays, I normally wake up early to do some chores and to start my Skype calls. My parents normally call me before lunch and my friends call me later when it's already nigh time in Italy. It's always the same conversation. They ask me what's new and I ask them the same. Although we talk only once a week, there's not much to talk about. Sometimes the calls last 15 min, sometimes they last hours. With my friends, they last longer because there are at least three people in the conversation. The gossip is also much bigger when talking to my friends than it is when talking with my parents. I don't really care what happened to the dog of the neighbour of the work buddy of my father's boss. But I do care about the pregnant girl who used to be in our class in high school (I don't even remember her name right now). Sometimes it pains me a little to ear my two best friends talking about their fun days at some awesome event attended by everyone we know. I usually end up smiling about it because I remember the good times we shared. I'm used to these feelings now...yearning, homesickness. They don't necessarily make me sad, but sometimes they make my day a little darker. Especially Sundays. Luckily, I don't usually have plans on Sundays so, it's fine.

I'm browsing Netflix to find a new tv show to binge watch when (finally!) Avery replies to my message and we end up talking for a while.

Avery: I am, how did who know!? Have you been stalking me?

Emma: Really? No, I'm not a stalker. Just a lucky guess :p

Avery: Not a thief and not a stalker. Gottcha ;) No, not really. I'm an arts student

The conversation went on for about 20 more minutes, until she told me she had to sleep because her classes start early in the morning (unlike mine). I found out that she's in her third year of her bachelor of Arts, Design and Theatre Technology; she shares an apartment with some friends and her parents live 15 minutes from her campus. I told her a little bit more about me. What I'm studying, where I came from and why I decided to come here. Yes, I told her about my dilemma of missing something in my life and trying to find it here. I hope that 'existential crisis' didn't scare her already.

During the next two weeks, we exchanged a couple more messages. She mostly asked about Italy and how she would love to go there. Apparently, she loves photography and would like to travel to Europe with her camera. She didn't talk much about her and I'm not one to make a lot of questions, either. I did ask her why she chose arts and she told me she loves the aesthetic work in the theatre. She took some acting classes, but she prefers to work on the scenic and costume design. I also asked if she goes to Fitzold often, since she was there last Friday. Unfortunately, she doesn't. She usually goes to a bar near her apartment, but every now and then she and her friends crave for a change of scenery and go to different places. Oh, and she even told me she might go there more frequently now, knowing that's my usual place every Friday. I confess! I blushed when I read that and I was sitting in front of Sarah during lunch. She didn't stop asking me what was going on until I told her about the ongoing conversation with Avery. I guess she and Richard now have something to tease me about, which means I can also get back to the Greg/Kaylah talk with both of them.

__

Today it's Saturday. Last night we didn't go to Fitzold like we normally do. Instead, we watched a horror movie at my place and after that we geeked out a little about the new Marvel and DC movies coming this year. After that, both Sarah and Richard went home and stayed on my couch watching another movie.

My phone alerts me of a new Facebook message and I see it's from Avery.

Avery: I'm sooo mad at you!

Oh god, what did I do now? Maybe she found out I saw her photo albums and some of her friends' photos where she was tagged! *gasps* Maybe I accidently liked one of those photos and now she thinks I really am a stalker. *gasps twice as hard* Maybe I liked EVERY photo! ... That can't be possible, you're overthinking again. *sights* Calm down, Emma. I swear, one day we're gonna die of a heart attack.

By this time, you probably noticed that I speak to myself a lot, like there's a different me inside my own head. There is a calmer, more patient and more chilled Emma inside this stressed body and mind. I often start stressing a lot with the most random thoughts. That's Emma 1. Then, I try to calm myself using my Emma 2 voice. It really works! That's what truly matters. I'm calm again now. I'm lying on my back, holding my phone with my two hands. If I had three hands, I would hold it with three hands. You know why? Because the stupid phone falls onto my nose too often when I'm in this position. I put it down over my stomach as a look at the ceiling for a couple more seconds, letting my inner voice to calm me down and thinking of a good answer. I don't want to just ask "why?" like it doesn't matter, but I also don't want to ask "oh my god, what did I do...please tell me, please, please" like it matters wayyy too much. I pick my phone up again, I take a deep breath and type "Why is that? And exactly how mad is sooo mad?". A little bit of humor might help the situation.

Avery: You mean, on a scale from -I'm joking- to -I don't even wanna talk to you again-?

Shit! She didn't like my attempt to light up the mood.

Emma: That works...

Avery: okay, well...I'm not entirely joking here, I'm a little upset.

Emma: Is it safe to say you want to talk to me again?

Avery: You're not even asking why am I mad? x)

Emma: Why are you mad at me Avery?

Avery: I went to Fitzold yesterday. I convinced my friends to go there hoping I might bump into you (bumped into you, get it? Because you bumped into me that night at the diner!).

Aaand I'm blushing again. I'm also laughing about the whole bump thing. Here I was, trying to keep my replies short and simple.

I teased her a little saying that I was there and she probably didn't see me. Fitzold is usually crowded on Friday nights. She believed me and I finally admitted that I stayed at home, watching a movie instead of getting drunk once again. After that I found myself overthinking, once again. I hoped she didn't think I have a drinking problem. I ended up apologizing and telling her that she could've asked me first before convincing her friends to go to a bar they don't usually go to. With this, she took the opportunity to ask for my phone number saying I'm not online all the time and I could miss her message on Facebook. At least I'll be warned next time, if there's a next time. I can't imagine how I would react if I was sitting with my friends and a beautiful girl, with long dark blond hair and light brown eyes approached me. Oh, not to mention the smile! She is probably smiling all the time. God! I blush with a simple message. I would probably crawl under the table in that situation. If she warns me first, I can plan things, like I usually do. I can see her coming and I can plan what I'll say to her. Or I can run home and avoid it altogether.

After that, she asked me about the movie and we ended up talking about our favorites.

During the next two weeks, we talked a lot. It's not like we talked non-stop every day, but each time the conversation got longer. I even had to force myself to put the phone away every now and then, in silence mode, so I wouldn't get distracted from my assignments. Luckily, she also had a lot of stuff to work on and we ended up talking mostly at night.

I'm really enjoying getting to know her better. We mostly talk about random stuff, nothing really personal, except when we mention a family member or a friend. We talk about favorite places to eat, classes that we attend, our friends, New Hampshire and Florence...

The conversation flows effortlessly and I'm amazed at how easily she can make me smile.