Lucy and Grace // on hold

three

When Lucy got on the bus the following morning, with the dog-eared copy of Skellig tucked safely in her bag, the girl was sat where she usually sat, her nose buried deep in another book, and her headphones blocking out any noise from the outside world. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she took the book out of her bag and tentatively tapped the girl lightly on the shoulder, causing her head to snap up.

Her eyes were more beautiful up close. When the early morning sun caught them as the bus ambled through the streets, tiny flecks of gold were visible in her deep brown eyes. She pulled an earbud out and raised an eyebrow at Lucy.

"What do you want?" she said icily, her lips drawn in a thin line. Lucy gulped and took another shaky breath. She thrust the book out in front of her.

"Is this yours? It was left on the seat after you got off yesterday- I assumed it was yours- it might not be actually- I'm so sorry if it isn't... I-" Lucy's rambling was cut off by the girl holding her hand up.

"Yeah, it's mine, thanks." She held out her hand expectantly, waiting for Lucy to give her the book. She quickly handed it over.

"I'm Lucy, by the way. We go to the same university, I think. And we get the same bus." The girl raised her eyebrows again at this.

"I can tell that we get the same bus, as believe it or not, we are currently on the same bus. I'm Grace. Thanks for giving me my book back and not keeping it, I guess." she tossed the book into her bag and replaced her headphones, continuing to read the book open in her lap. Lucy sat back down in her usual seat, with her heart racing and her ears pounding. She had finally done it. She had finally spoken to her.

Grace.

Her name was Grace.

It was perfect. Better than anything she imagined. The actual conversation hadn't exactly gone to plan, but then again, the ideal situation for Lucy was for Grace to thank her with kisses and then they would run off together into the sunset, but hey, this would have to do.

Lucy couldn't stop thinking about her interaction with Grace for the rest of the day and it consumed her thoughts. The more Lucy thought about her meeting with Grace, the sadder it made her feel. It was obvious that Grace had little to no interest in ever talking to her again; that much was clear from her bluntness. Lucy was distracted for the rest of the day, barely taking notice of what her professors were saying about quantum physics. It was only when Sabrina nudged her that she realised she was moping.

"Lucy, you need to pay attention if you want to pass this class. Daydreaming about your dream girlfriend isn't going to get you a degree in quantum physics, I'm afraid, pal." Sabrina readjusted her headscarf and smiled at Lucy. "How are things going with her, by the way? Have you actually managed to talk to her yet, or are you still too scared to?" Lucy scrunched her nose in indignation and stuck her tongue out at her.

"For your information, I actually spoke to her this morning. I gave her back her book that she left behind on the bus yesterday." Lucy replied proudly, keeping her voice down to avoid drawing attention to them in the small lecture theatre. Sabrina raised her eyebrow.

"Really? I don't believe you Lucy."

"Hey! I did, I even asked her for her name."

"...Well then? What is it?"

"Grace. Her name is Grace." Lucy said and began to drift off back into her daydream about Grace when the other students seated in the theatre began to get pack up their supplies and slowly file out of the room.

"Come on lover-girl, the lecture is over now. Let's go grab some lunch and you can bore me to death with all the details of your lovey dovey bus crush." Sabrina said and ran up the steps before Lucy could whack her arm.