Moon Rise (Ryan Magee)

two

merry fuckin' christmas here's a new (short oops lol) chapter

Once I get to the building where I'll have my astronomy lab, I find a spot in the back of the auditorium. I root around in my bag and pull out a thin sweatshirt that had been forced down to the bottom. I slip it over my head and cringe as the now ice-cold, tea-soaked fabric presses against my chest. The building is probably 50 degrees, and I silently thank my mother for passing down her "prepare for anything" tendencies.

I realize I've made a mistake by sitting in the back, so I move closer to the front. A guy with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair is sitting a few seats down. He smiles at me before returning to his sketchbook. There are a couple other people in the class. By the time the professor strolls in, there are only about 15 students in the small auditorium. Some of them have large cardboard boxes with pictures of telescopes on them. I lean over to the guy with the hair.

"Were we supposed to bring our telescope?" I ask, my voice no louder than a whisper. He looks over at me, then around at everyone else. Almost everyone has a box with them.

"Looks like maybe we were," he says. "So I guess I'm not the only one who didn't read the syllabus ahead of time." He smirks over at me. "Oops."

"Oops," I reply.

"I bought mine, I just didn't bring it," I say, shrugging through a laugh.

"I just haven't gotten mine yet..." He looks down, feigning disappointment. "I'm Tucker," he says, extending a hand. I can't quite reach him, so he stands up and moves his stuff over to the seat next to mine.

"I'm y/n," I reply.

"Nice to meet you." He nods. I see someone come in the room, but I'm too focused on Tucker's pretty eyes to notice who it is.

"Likewise," I reply. The figure from the doorway approaches the two of us.

"Hey, Tucker." He says. Then our eyes lock together. Last time I saw this guy, he was crashing into me, sending hot tea onto my boobs.

"Oh, hey," I say. I feel bad for being rude to him earlier, so I offer him a smile. He smiles back.

"Hi... look, I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't watching where I was going and... sorry." He sets down his telescope next to Tucker.

"You guys know each other?" Tucker asks, looking back and forth between us.

"Uh, kinda. He bumped into me at the coffee shop earlier."

"Yeah, more like I almost tackled you," he chuckles. I laugh too, and there's a moment of awkward silence.

"So... uh, you guys know each other too?" I ask, needing to break it somehow.

"Yeah, we had a class together last semester," Tucker says. I nod.

"I'm Ryan." He offers a small wave, which I return.

"Y/n."

A guy walks into the auditorium and closes the door behind him. He's clearly the professor, so the three of us settle into our seats and take out our notebooks.

"Hi, everyone," he says. He's a tall man, probably mid-40s with greying hair and thin-rimmed glasses. He pulls down the projector screen and takes out his laptop. He pulls up the syllabus for all of us to look at on the screen. Tucker and I chuckle at each other.

"We're already catching up and class just started," he whispers.

"So, most of you, I see, have already gotten your telescopes." The professor glances around the room before his gaze lands on me and Tucker. "Luckily, there's still time to purchase one. I've ordered some to be kept in the bookstore, so if you have time today, I would suggest going over there to buy one. The ones in the bookstore have been discounted significantly." He drones on from there about the syllabus. Tucker and I could not be less interested, so we turn pass notes back and forth on my notebook.

Tucker

Wanna go with me to the bookstore to buy my telescope?

y/n

Sure, I need to grab the textbook for this class anyway.

Tucker

I'm hanging out with Ryan after class, so could he tag along?

y/n

Yeah, that's fine.

The class dismisses way before it's supposed to end, which is typical for a first day. The three of us walk across campus to the bookstore. I gesture to Ryan to let me carry the heavy telescope box he's got in his arms.

"Don't worry about it, we've got it. We're almost there anyway," Tucker says in response. He takes the box from Tucker and carries it until we reach the bookstore.

Once we get to the bookstore, Tucker buys his telescope and I buy my book. When we get outside, Tucker is struggling to keep it in his arms.

"We should have just driven over here," Ryan says. I laugh.

"Yeah, my car is parked right outside the building," Tucker adds. Ryan and I both scoff.

"That would have been useful information," I say, struggling to keep my telescope off the ground.

We trudge all the way back to the building.

"So when's your next class?" Ryan asks. We're leaning up against Tucker's car.

"Not for another hour."

"What's your major?" He asks, scooting closer to me.

"Photojournalism. What about you guys?"

"Art," Tucker says.

"Computer science. What year are you?"

"I'm a senior."

"Oh, shit, really? Why are you taking a gen-ed then?"

"I put it off for too long. Science isn't something I'm good at," I look at my shoes, examining the chipping nail polish on my toes.

"Same here. We're both seniors too, actually." The three of us laugh.

"We're probably older than all the other people in the class," Tucker says, making me laugh.

"Well, my next class is in like 10 minutes, so I'm gonna dip. I'll see y'all Wednesday," Tucker says. He picks up his telescope and puts it in his car. He locks it back and jogs away, towards another building. Ryan and I are left standing by his truck.

"My next class isn't until 4," he says after a while. "Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

I smile and realize I'm blushing. I haven't had many guy friends in my life, especially guy friends this attractive. I nod, picking up my backpack which has been sitting in the back of Tucker's truck. We walk together after deciding on a small cafe a few blocks over.