Mimeomia

10 | winsome

CHAPTER TEN

WINSOME

( — attractive or appealing in appearance or character. )

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

2009

          "ANYWAY, HERE'S WONDERWALL."

          Michaela wishes those were the first words Lincoln ever said to her. Instead, they were introduced to each other by mutual friends, including her college roommate, and it happened somewhere mid-October, when the trees slowly lost their leaves, but the rain hadn't yet arrived.

          He was lying on the grass, with his guitar's strap swung across his chest and the instrument lying over him as well, and, while she greeted him with a simple 'hi', he placed his fingers over the strings, seemingly lost in thought. Her roommate, Jillian, simply sighed, as if she was already used to it, but Michaela waited to see what was going to happen and sincerely hoped she wouldn't regret it.

          He simply played a chord or two before singing Mickey by Toni Basil. Everyone around them exchanged a nervous look and Michaela glanced at Jillian for support.

          "Ha-ha," she muttered, wishing Jillian had defended her, but she merely threw her dark hair over her shoulder and stared down at Lincoln as he kept playing without singing. His voice was soothing and captivating, but Michaela wasn't willing to admit it out loud, not when she felt like he was making fun of her and her name by quoting that God-awful song.

          She almost forgot who she was—a rich, spoiled eighteen-year-old girl from the Upper East Side whose Miu Miu boots were sinking into the humid soil beneath the grass. She and her superiority complex were far too good to be dealing with something like that, so she raised her chin, hoping he could see he wasn't getting to her head.

          Still, there was something strangely alluring about him, especially in the way he burst into laughter or how he let the gentle breeze caress his face and blow his hair to the side—he already wore it long by then, having let it grow down to his jaw, much like he keeps it now. She was seconds away from leaving him, Jillian and the rest of the group, but still stayed there, choosing to ruin her denim jacket to avoid doing it to her skirt.

          Jillian did most of the talking, even though Michaela has never been shy, but she also didn't really know what to say or how to act around these people. Jillian was her polar opposite in many ways, being the one who introduced her to everyone else instead of doing it by herself and simply being a social butterfly, but Michaela genuinely liked the girl and all her quirks.

          Michaela wanted a fresh start and Yale could give her just that. 

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

2009

          THE GROUP WASN'T BIG. It was the three of them—Lincoln, Michaela and Jillian—Jillian's cousin, who was Lincoln's roommate, two other seniors, and a junior. Nevertheless, they were tight, despite the age differences and the constant tension between one of the seniors—Opal—and the junior—Dane—and, somehow, made it work, even with their clashing schedules.

          Lincoln didn't scare her. It wasn't like that. Michaela rarely ever lets anyone intimidate her, but Lincoln felt like a breath of fresh air when compared to most New Yorkers she had met until then. They were the only New Yorkers in the group, with Jillian and her cousin Quentin being from California, Opal having traveled from Georgia, Dane being from North Carolina, and Willa, the other senior, being from D.C.. He was humble and kind, despite his fondness for bad songs, cheesy puns, and inopportune laughter explosions.