Phoenix | hs au

6 - Peter

"Oops, sorry to scare you. I was just wondering if you had a pen or pencil I could borrow?"

His warm brown eyes meet mine, and he must see the temporary confusion on my face because he adds, "Oh, are you one of the French exchange students? Erm, un stylo? Pour moi?" He makes a gesture of writing that I can't help but smile at.

I snap out of my daze and respond, "No sorry, I'm American." I can't help but chuckle at his attempt at French, "My brain is still waking up, sorry. Pen or pencil?" I turn back to my little pencil case I got at the dollar store and pull out a new blue pen to loan him.

"Hey, that's okay. I'm usually not awake until noon, either. I was so nervous this morning I forgot to pack any writing utensils." He says as I hand the pen to him. Our fingers brush.

"I was nervous, too. That's why I got here so early. It's been a while since I've been in a classroom." I add sheepishly.

"Me too, this is my first semester back. I'm 26. I know I look like I'm a teenager but I guess my body hasn't caught up with my age yet. Hopefully it will soon." He adds, almost tripping over his words.

"No, you look 26. Do I look 25?" I ask him, squinting my eyes playfully. He scans me for a moment, and I remember my scars. I try to hide my blush by turning back around and pretending to do something with my phone.

"Yeah, I thought you were younger, but now that you say that, yep. It adds up."

I turn back around, "If I may ask, what made you stop coming?"

"Money mostly, didn't really have my parents to rely on, and college is expensive." He says.

"Me too, my parents pretty much left me on my own." I add.

We both look at each other in silence for a moment before he eyes my backpack in the seat next to me and adds, "Are you saving that seat?"

I look to my bag and think for a moment. I think of Harry. I see his electric green eyes. Everything we've ever done together flashes before my eyes in a half a second. Wait, I think, it's not like I'm cheating on him or anything. I'm just making a friend.

I look back to him and say, "No, I'm not. You're welcome to it." I pull my backpack to the ground by my feet.

I gulp as he gathers his things and lifts himself over the row of chairs.

"Probably could've used the aisle." I joke. He smiles as he sets his things down on the ground.

"I'm all about the pizzazz." He makes jazz hands in-between settling down in the chair. I cross my legs, and for some reason, I feel even more nervous now. I've never been the best at making friends, I don't want him to get the wrong idea. I have Harry. I love Harry. I owe my life to Harry, probably. He loves me...

I think of how he left this morning and suddenly a bitter taste enters my mouth.

"I never told you my name. I'm Peter. Please don't call me Pete." He sticks out his hand ceremoniously.

Suddenly, I'm nervous that my hands are sweaty and he'll notice.

"Katie." I shake his hand. There's no visible reading of disgust on his face. My hands must be fine.

"Is that short for something? Katherine?"

"Nope. Just Katie."

---

Class starts promptly on time and ends promptly on time two hours later. During the period, Peter and I had many side conversations and made quick quips about the professor during his lecture. When class is over, we gather our things together and walk out of the classroom together.

"I've never really been great at making friends." Peter admits once we're in the hallway.

Same here.

"And why's that?" Is all I say.

"I move around a lot, makes it hard to create connections." He says.

We make it to the end of the hallway and walk outside into the beautiful courtyard. Tall thin trees line the walkways between buildings. Small cacti sit in brown pots at the end of each building. The gorgeous reds, oranges, and blues of Arizona still infatuate me.

"I actually just moved here not too long ago." I say. We pause in front of the building. I cross my arms and stand across from Peter in the shade. In the sun, he looks nearly as angelic as Harry. This is the first chance I've gotten to really look at him. His warm brown eyes compliment his skin. I'm wondering in my head if it's from the sun, or if its his genes.

His jaw bone cuts across light stubble that flows as he talks.

"Where were you before this?"

"Chicago."

"Gotcha. City girl." He makes a face.

"Hey now, I wasn't originally from there. I just lived there a while." I add.

"Sure thing." He glances around us, "Want to grab a bite to eat with me? I'm not entirely familiar with campus yet and I don't want to look like a loser walking around by myself."

"Are you saying I'm a loser for walking around by myself?"

"Well, not anymore, we're together now. No losers here." He turns on his heel and marches towards the line of food trucks without waiting for my answer.

After a second's hesitation, I follow him. I need to make it evident to him that we can only be friends. I have a boyfriend. I have Harry. I love Harry.

Again, the image of him leaving this morning without saying anything to me comes to mind. I quicken my pace to catch up with Peter's long strides. The sun reflects off his dark curly hair and creates a halo of light brown around his head as we walk together in the sun.

"Where do not-losers eat here? I honestly hadn't thought of staying here for lunch." I mutter the last part. I had fully intended on going home and eating with Harry, but the more I think of this morning, the more I don't want to see him. I haven't checked my phone all day and I don't intend to either.

"You live on campus?"

"No, but in Tempe."

"Yeah, same here, I'm not about that dorm life. I live in Mesa with my older brother. He works full time though so he's not really around. Nice guy though--always looked out for me." He adds the last part with the hint of a smile on his face, "We just moved here a month ago. He's a chef, you see, and got offered a major job at one of the fancy places in the city. I really don't have anyone out here besides him."

We walk in silence after that, but it's not uncomfortable. We stride through sunny sidewalks, collecting food from the food trucks across from the library and coming to sit on the grassy mound on top of the library itself.

"I've never heard of an underground library before. Neat idea." The only visible part of the library from where we sit is a spire-like structure that I assume is a skylight.

"Probably because of the heat. Easier to keep it cool if it's already underground." He takes a bite of his sandwich as I unwrap mine.

"That makes sense. It would be cool if everything was underground."

"Hey listen, I think you're really neat, but I want to tell you straight-up I'm not looking for a girlfriend or anything. I'm off the market, as they say. Just looking for a friend." Peter comes out and says what has been on my mind all day. Too bad my mouth is completely full of food when he says it to coherently answer him back.

"No, same, me too," I swallow a bunch of bread, "I have a boyfriend. It's just nice to have someone with similar life experiences to spend time with. That's all." I say back.

"Alright, then we're gonna be best friends."