Vacant Hearts [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Chapter 8 | Don't Know Where I Went Wrong

SONG FOR THE CHAPTER: Nola 1 by PVRIS

      "Is it just me, or is Lip Gallagher hot in a unique way?" Iliana asked.

      "It's not just you. He's so hot," I agreed, leaning over to look at her screen as she watched Shameless on her laptop.

      "I don't see it." Mikayla took a sip of her coffee.

      Lia and I just rolled our eyes, not even bothering to attempt arguing with Mikayla. She was one of the most stubborn people, a trait that never ceased to frustrate us.

      "Don't we have that huge essay due tomorrow?" Mikayla said, raising an eyebrow as if to say, "so, why are you watching a show right now instead of working on that?"

      "Don't remind me," Lia grumbled, dropping her head into her hand. "I've written two hundred words."

      We had all come to the library to work on the various assignments we all had, but Lia had yet to actually do any work. Instead, she was watching Shameless and kept distracting me every now and then. I, however, was actually trying to get some work done.

      "You're screwed," Mikayla said simply.

      "I just won't sleep tonight." Lia sighed. "What question did you guys pick?"

      "The third one," Mikayla and I said in unison.

      Lia sighed again. "I picked the fifth one and I'm so stuck. I can't find any sources whatsoever."

      "Change your question. It's not like you've done much anyway," I suggested with a slight grin.

      She nodded, running her fingers through her dark curls absentmindedly. "I think I might. Ugh, I hate essays."

      I was currently working on said essay and was thankfully almost done. I wasn't one to leave work to the last minute, but I had been a bit slack this time. Lia, on the other hand, always left her work to the last minute. She had terrible procrastination that had hindered in school and had now followed her to college. When she first started, she swore she'd be better. A blatant lie if I ever heard one.

      Hitting a snag in one of my sentences, I glanced up, my eyes darting around the library. Just as I did, my eyes locked with Julian's as he came through the front door with one of his friends, Max. He shot me a tight smile before heading off to another section of the library. I frowned at his odd behaviour, wondering why he hadn't come over and said hi.

      "That was weird," Lia said.

      I shifted my glance to her. "Hmm?"

      "Julian," she continued. "He looked uncomfortable when he saw you. Did something happen?"

       I frowned. "I don't think so. We spent the whole day together on Sunday buying his niece's birthday present and running errands. I don't think we even argued once."

      Mikayla raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "You guys spent the day together? You and Julian?"

      I nodded. "He needed help finding his niece a present."

      "That's plain weird," she commented.

      "It was a little," I agreed. "But still, it wasn't a bad day. He was surprisingly less infuriating than usual."

      I decided to just forget about it and not read too much into it. Julian had always been a mystery to me, so this wasn't anything new. After spending another hour in the library, I managed to finish my essay, just in time to head to my next class. I said goodbye to Lia and Mikayla and exited the library.