"I feel like it's going to happen this semester," she whispers with a knowing smirk, playing around with her pen.
"Huh? What?"
Shawn looks up from his textbook, cheek resting on his hand, a curl falling into his face.
She leans over the huge wooden library table. Even though they are sitting tucked away in a corner of the room, she lowers her voice to a whisper.
"Nate and I."
Shawn frowns, rubbing his tired eyes before taking a sip from his coffee. Even though there were no drinks allowed in the library he would always bring his caffeine fix.
"Nate and you what?"
She sighs. "Oh come on, Shawn... you know what I'm talking about." She raises her eyebrows.
He avoids her gaze, looking out of the window. The trees on campus have turned into all shades of auburn and gold, leaves starting to fall and it's officially his favorite time of the year.
It could have been perfect. If there wasn't the fact that his best friend was hopelessly falling for a complete douche. And there was nothing he could do about it.
"I don't know, Charlie... do you think he's into you?" he asks in a weak attempt to plant a seed of doubt into her mind.
Charlotte rolls her eyes at him, taking a sip from his coffee to go. "Of course he is! I mean we made out a couple of times."
I know. I've been there. I had to see it.
He sighs, running a hand through his curly hair. "Yeah, well, just try and not get hurt this time, okay?"
His heart aches every time he remembers the terrible heartbreak Charlotte has gone through and he isn't sure if he could do it again. Seeing her like that. It's not that he wouldn't be there for her like he has been last year. But the mere thought of reliving it again, made a shiver run down his spine and his stomach clench in a weird way.
She nibbles on her pen, seemingly deep in thought.
"Promise, okay?"
"Promise what?"
"To be careful," he says under his breath, before looking at his notes again.
She sighs, touching his forearm. "Relax, Shawn. I'm not going to let him hurt me. I can take care of myself. It's cute though... that you're this worried about me."
He narrows his eyes, looking at her, tapping his pen against his rosy lips. "Yeah, yeah, stop it."
She giggles. "I'm gonna find you a cute girlfriend this year. We could go on those double dates and it would be a lot of fun," she says enthusiastically, giving him her sweetest smile. The one with the tilted head. The one that makes her dimples appear.
The one that makes his heart flutter.
She flips a page in her book, jotting down something into her notebook as another thought crosses her mind.
"Shawn?"
"What?"
"Am I annoying you?"
