Come Back Home

Chapter Eight

-Liv's POV-

Despite doing my best to mask it, I had been nervous to go to university. There was something both terrifying and exhilarating about finally being able to reach a goal that you had strived for for so long. There was always that risk that it wouldn't live up to your expectations, and the disappointment following it would be bone-crushing.

Luckily for me, though, it had turned out that I had nothing to worry about. For one, the campus was beautiful. Whenever I needed a breather, I could slip outside and take in the fresh air and the scenery. It still hadn't quite set in that this was where I lived now – It was such a sharp contrast to the crowded streets and sirens of Wirral. As a general rule, I wasn't the biggest fan of people, but Coral and I had just clicked. Within a day, it was almost as if I had known her forever, or like we were two parts of one piece that had finally found their way to each other.

The hardest part was missing the boys, but even that wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Moving out of the flat had almost been like a trial run, preparing me for now. If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend that they were still in England, that I would wake up one morning to see Mikey sitting on my desk chair. He would smile, say "I'd been waiting for you to wake up, sleepyhead," and when I asked him what he was doing here, he'd shrug and say that he missed me and couldn't help himself before leaning over and kissing my forehead.

From what I'd heard, though, they were enjoying their time in America. I got almost hourly updates from Mikey, documenting nearly everything that they saw – Even average things that we had here, with excited captions like "How cool is this!" and "First time going to an American McDonald's!" I reached for my phone to see if he had messaged me again, only to find my pockets empty – I twisted around to check and double-check them, but, no, I must've somehow forgotten it in my room.

"Everything okay?" Coral asked, noting my disarray.

"Yeah, just forgot my phone," I mumbled, trying to swallow down the slight anxiety that came with the realization. Maybe it was stupid, but I liked to have it on me at all times. It was my connection to Mikey and Andy, or my music if I ever felt a wave of panic coming on. While I had managed to make it through the first week without any major incidents, I still held onto it like a sort of security blanket – Especially in a crowded cafeteria, where I was now. It was the one part of university that I didn't like. The constant clamor of a few hundred students grated on my nerves, and I felt more self-conscious knowing that others were watching me eat. If it had been up to me, I would've just squirrel myself away in our dorm room, but Coral had insisted on me coming to dinner with her and pushing out of my comfort zone.

"I think you can survive without speaking to your boyfriend for a few minutes," She snorted, taking a bit of her burger. I huffed, mixing up my salad with a fork.

"Spoken by a single person."

"Yes! Exactly. I should know, a life without a boy present in it is a perfectly livable one."

"Don't tell Jack that," I teased, knowing that he would kill me if he had been there to hear me trying to play matchmaker.

"I do not like Jack." Her cheeks turned a blotchy pink as she denied my claim.

"Mmmhmm. Then why are you blushing?"

"I'm blushing 'cuz you're attacking me!" She exclaimed, maybe a little too defensive about it.

"I'm just saying, you two would be cute together."

"Speaking of cute...There's a boy approaching our table at 2 o'clock."

"What?" But before I could figure out what her code meant, the seat between me and Coral was taken, occupied by a lad who looked vaguely familiar to me.

"Mind if I sit here?" He asked, despite already having sat down.

"Uh-" I started, but Coral spoke over me with a loud "Yes, of course," and a swift jab at my ankles under the table.

"Ow." I shot her a glare as she ignored me and spoke to him instead.

"So, what's your name?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm Josh, Josh Taylor."

"Nice to meet you, Josh Josh Taylor." She smirked, poking fun at him. "I'm Coral, and this is Liv." He blushed, fiddling with his hair.

"Uh, I know. We have English together?" He smiled at me shyly, and I was finally able to place where I'd seen him before – He sat in the row across from me. "I just, well, this is kinda embarrassing, but it's only my first year and I don't know very many people here yet, so when I saw a familiar face, I just kinda..." He shrugged in explanation. I grinned at him.

"Us too. You can sit with us any time."

"Yeah, we won't bite. Except for maybe in the mornings. Liv isn't very much of a morning person."

"Shut up." I reached across the table to fake-push her. She simply laughed and mock-whispered to Josh, "Seriously, though. I would avoid Liv any time before noon."

And, despite the teasing, I felt a wave of happiness wash over me – I could almost see the three of us sticking together throughout the remainder of the school year. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but I was proud of myself for adjusting to the new scene so quickly. I could only hope that life would continue to feel as great as it did right now.