A Month In London - A One Direction FanFiction

Chapter 19 - A New Hope

Ch.19

Uni was difficult for me, it became hard to focus on my work since I was always preoccupied by Liam, never not thinking about him. On the second day back from England, Liam called and I spent a solid hour crying into the phone, with Liam's voice consoling me. After a week back in uni, my lecturers had already pulled me up on my lack of focus, warning me to keep my scores up or leave. But I felt lost without an arm around me or a smile to allow me to carry on. So when my Dean called me into her office, I was scared that my marks had fallen too low and I was getting kicked out.

That afternoon, I slowly walked into her small study and knocked. "Come on in." her voice beckoned. I took a seat across from the plump lady and smiled shyly, my heart beating a mile a minute. "Now, Miss Catherine. We have been keeping a close eye on your marks and productivity these past few years and have come to a conclusion, opportunity in fact, for you." What did that mean? Were my marks good? The Dean slid a yellow envelope across the table and urged me to open it. I pulled out the sheets inside and froze with shock.

To Whom It May Concern, you are courtly invited to the University of Charlton in London. You have been handpicked by your own university to carry on your course here for a year because of your outstanding results, if you accept. We look forward to your reply.

Kind regards,

Mrs Stacey Ashdown

I glanced up at the Dean and saw that she had a huge smile. "It's a fantastic opportunity Catherine, and it's not every year we pick an exchange student." I blush and stuff the papers back into the envelope. "You should definitely consider it sweetheart, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Now off you go." She made a shooing gesture with her hands and I stumbled out into the hallway. I could barely believe my luck!

I pulled out my phone and dialled Liam, biting my lip as I stuffed my workbooks into my satchel and headed to the train station. "Hey beautiful." Liam's deep voice made me smile like a maniac and many people threw weird looks in my direction. "Hi. You'll never guess what happened to me!" I spewed out, not leaving room for small talk. "I'm not the best at guessing games. Could you tell me?" I smiled and plonked down on a train seat, a rare luxury on a train running this time of the day.

"Okay, so my Dean calls me into her office and I think it's to like, expel me or something, and she offered me a place in the English sister uni for a year...in London!" I exclaimed, my happiness oozing off my words. "What? Oh my gosh Catherine, that's fantastic! When are you coming?" he laughed. My heart tightened up. "That's just it...I don't know if I can accept. I still need permission from my parents and I don't know if I'm supported financially." I mumbled. "Oh." Was all Liam managed. "No! It's not that I don't want to come, I do! It's just, there is a possibility that I can't make it."

Oh great, now I was going to cry. "Well, if you do decide to come, you can stay with me. And I've got a second car that you can borrow and we can figure it out." he suggested. "Thanks," I smiled, "That would help a lot. Anyway, some creep is trying to hit on me on my train, so I'm going to get off soon." I sighed. "No problem. Call me when you decide and I'll sort things out, love." he replied. "And I love you." I smiled and my eyes welled up. "I love you to Liam."

I hung up and put my phone away, shrinking away from the guy sitting next to me. To take my mind off things, I fiddled with my heart pendant. As I turned it in my fingers, I felt dents in the back.

I quickly turned it over, scared that I had scratched it, and to my surprise I found an interlocked L & C engraved into the surface. I clutched the pendant to my heart and closed my eyes. I was going to make this work, for the both of us.