That Person Would Be You

Chapter 15 - Lily

Lunch was a success. And by success I mean I managed not to punch any family member. Now I only had to deal with my homicidal tendencies for dinner and after. I could do this. I could deal with the fact that Liv had already told me some people from my class were going out as well. I could do that. I could be in the same club as them. I'd just text James the whole time. 

Speaking of James... my family had kind of caught me texting all the time and smiling at the phone and was asking who it was. I said it was Jane but I think they had their suspicions, me and Jane texted but not that much... study schedules didn't allow it and they knew it.

I was obviously not embarrassed by James (I mean there was nothing to be embarrassed about! Have you talked to him? Have you seen him?) but I also didn't want to deal with all the questions that came with saying that I was texting Drew's mate, most of which I wouldn't even know how to answer. Most of the things none of us brought up because we were on different continents and there was nothing we could do about it. So we texted and flirted and we talked about nothing and everything and I liked him more than any crush or boyfriend I ever had and there was nothing I could do about it. Joy. 

When all of Liv's friends started arriving I was glad I had had a bit to drink before they even got there. It all looked a bit too much like high school with the stupid gossip and comments and parties I never really was invited to unless they were planning on making fun of me, and some of them looked a bit too much like their sisters I knew a bit too well. I was happy that I had made mojito's for everyone and that I had tasted all the while making them and had a glass before they got there and that I was on my second.

"So, you're like, studying at Oxford, yeah?" Rita's little sister was asking. I nodded as I took another sip of my drink. "So you're like a genius, yeah?" I laughed at that.

"No, I just study a lot," I explained, it was frustrating when people said I was a genius, no I didn't get into Oxford because I was a genius, no I wasn't some of the best in my class because I was genius, I did it because I studied and because I was determined to get better and because I tried really hard. It wasn't something I was born with, it was something I worked really hard for and they were trying to take that all away so they didn't have to feel bad about the fact that they could have done it and didn't.

"Hum..." She was nodding and taking a sip of her drink. "Are there like cute guys there? Cuz I figured they'd be like a good catch, thinking long term." I nearly spit what I was drinking when she said that. That would have given them something to talk about. Yet, I managed to hold my laughter.

"That's not really my focus there." I laughed, maybe I couldn't. "But there must be some cute guy in there." She nodded, she was interested in this now. "Maybe go for a tour of the uni and try and meet someone," I said and I could barely keep from laughing.

"That is such a good idea!" She said surprised. "I have to talk to Chrissy about this. You are a genius! This is why you go to Oxford." She said with a smile as she walked away, possibly to start making plans with Chrissy (whoever she was). Yes, this is why I go to Oxford. It was the standardized entrance test "Name the best ways to meet a good catch, thinking long term". I chuckled and walked towards my sister.

"Your friends need a lesson in feminism," I whispered to her hear.

"Could you maybe do that not tonight?" She asked me with a laugh.

"Oh no! Just keep in mind that Oxford is more than a factory of good catches, of guys who will probably have a nice job," I explained and she looked confused. "Ask Rita jr. over there. Anyway, I'm gonna make some more sangria and mojitos because your friends seem to be enjoying that!"

"Thank you!" She yelled as I walked to the kitchen. I hadn't even finished grabbing everything I'd be needing when my phone started ringing in my pocket. I quickly put everything down and grabbed it, smiling widely as I saw who was calling.

"Hey there!" I said looking at my phone screen to see James' smiling face.

"Hey! So, congratulations on the self-restraint. I'm both proud and disappointed that you didn't punch anyone."

"Well, don't celebrate too soon because it ain't over till it's over." I chuckled.

"How's it going with Liv's friends so far?" He asked not smiling anymore. But I kept smiling and before I started talking he was reciprocating it too. 

"Well, turns out I have been missing Oxford's true value, I've been using it to learn and make something of myself when I should be using it to meet a good catch. You can thank that enlightening thought to Rita's lil' sister." I explained.

"That's ridiculous, I'm sure that there are some great catches right there next to you." He argued with a laugh.

"Yes, a friend of my sister's just tried to explain to me- someone who studied Law at Oxford and is now studying International Relations- what the Schengen Area is and what Brexit could mean to us. I think he gets some kind of mansplainer award." I chuckle.

"Oh thank God," James said with a relieved sigh and an amused smile.

"Thank God? That he's getting an award? Or that someone explained to me what the Schengen area is?" I asked confused but amused nonetheless.

"No, it's just..." He started scratching the back of his neck. He always did that when he was nervous. "It's just I was a bit nervous about you meeting someone tonight, you know an old flame or something... It's kind of reassuring to know they're dicks and you're way too smart for them. Doesn't make me any less concerned about day to day life in Oxford, but it calms me for now." He said as a joke... I think. I hoped that it wasn't completely a joke. 

"You were afraid I'd meet an old flame? Have we talked about my high-school years? The closest thing I had to a boyfriend broke up with me for getting into a better uni. That was the best option available at that wretched school." I said with a laugh. He laughed but he still looked nervous.I think. "Look, no one in this party, in that school or even in this city has anything on you. I don't think anyone has anything on you. Period." He relaxed at that and he smiled, that smile where his eyes softened and he just looked so... so...fond. Cute. Undescribably handsome. Undescribable.

"Yeah, but they're in the same country." He said with a tinge of sadness in his eyes. I smiled nonetheless.

"Well, I'll wait. And if I had to choose between you in another country and them in here, or anyone anywhere, I'd still choose you." I said with a confidence and nonchalant'ness I didn't really have. I was a nerve rack saying that. I was never really a person for big declarations of love, or whatever but now I felt like I had to say them, to tell him.

"One and a half months." He said with that smile.

"One and a half months," I repeated. "I should go, I have some sangria to make so I'm boozed up enough to put up with these people," I said and he laughed.

"Yeah, I need to call my parents and my friend, Harry." He called me first. "Keep texting."

"I will. Goodbye!"