A Closer Look

Chapter Two: The Start of Something Different

Two weeks had passed without too much of a hitch. There was one minor incident where Blake and Sam disagreed on their research topic, but they resolved their differences after Jess suggested a compromise. Sam had mostly forgotten it, though she did notice that Blake's comments and demeanour were a little dismissive during their argument. She frowned at the memory of that confrontation.

Regardless, it was unproductive to linger over it as their first submission, the proposal, was due in a few days. Sam had managed to get the majority of the group's work together with enough time for editing. But, of course, the remaining missing part was assigned to Blake and that was nowhere to be seen, despite his vague promise of 'I'll upload my part tonight'.

It was almost midnight when Sam gave up on waiting for Blake to send his work. She shut down her laptop and dialed for Tom on her phone.

He did not pick up on the first attempt; perhaps he was asleep. Not wanting to interrupt him again, Sam started browsing Instagram on her phone. Her feed was the usual: friends posting their latest brunch, travel photos and pet pictures. Boring, boring, boring.

An unexplained curiosity landed her on Blake's profile. The 'Follow' button beckoned to her. Why not? She went ahead and added him. Not long after, Sam received the notification that Blake has returned the follow.

It turned out he was online. Sam hovered over the Direct Message and hesitated. Would it be strange to text him at this time of night? What would she even say to him?

Hey there, she found herself messaging him.

Hey Sam. Is the uni email down? His reply was almost instant. If only he could respond to actually important emails and submit his work with such efficiency

Sam rolled her eyes. Was he trying to be funny? Still works the last time I checked. What are you up to?

Finishing my part of the proposal, he said.

Would be great if you were as quick at finishing your work as you are at texting, she said, adding a smiling emoji to show that she wasn't that annoyed -- yet.

I'll get it out tomorrow morning before our review meeting, he said, goodnight.

Ok. Goodnight.

She put her phone away and turned off her lamp.

It was a strange time, to be going to bed with Blake Hunter's goodnight message instead of Tom when she barely even knew him.

.

"Who's that?" Jordan McKenzie, the flatmate, said over an episode of Game of Thrones, leaning back against the aged sofa in the shared apartment.

Blake scrolled down Sam Rostrevor's Instagram page on his phone. "Some girl in my project. She's up my arse to send in my work." Despite his white lie about what he had been up to when she messaged him, he planned on delivering on his promise and send through his work before their next meeting. It wouldn't take much longer; it was almost done, anyway. He clicked on one of her recent photos, featuring her and some guy, probably her boyfriend.

"She's cute," Jordan said. He had moved closer to take a peek at Blake's phone without him noticing.

Blake leaned away. Sam was pretty, indeed. Long brown hair, hazel eyes and plump lips, and the way she pursed her mouth when she was focused on a task -- "She's taken," he said, and Jordan gave him a look that implied that had never stopped Jordan before. "And she's a bit too intense anyway."

"Intense how?"

Blake told Jordan about their little spat regarding the research topic. She had seemed so frustrated at the time, though he didn't see what the big deal was. Her preferred topic was unrealistic for their resources, he had tried to explain, but it seemed she was set on it. Jessica had offered a solution that they both agreed to -- good enough for Blake, though Sam had appeared more reluctant. He just wanted this to be done.