London [Louis Tomlinson]

3: All Too Well

 A/N: Sorry for the wait, again :/ 

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            Two weeks later, and my uni course was in full swing. The classes I was taking were Geography — since it was my major — and also Sociology and Psychology because they seemed interesting. I had no idea what I was doing when it had come to picking my classes, and with the ones I'd selected I couldn't exactly envision a future career coming out of them, but at least they were somewhat enjoyable. 

            Scarlet and I's friendship had progressed a little further as the days had gone by. A week after our first meeting, she'd invited me to this nearby pub for drinks that evening. Upon arrival I discovered two other figures sitting at what I presumed to be our booth, gathering from the head of uniquely vibrant red hair which nobody else could match peeking over the chair.

            I learned the two people to be Mala, a girl of Indian descent with a passion for abstract painting who happened to be in one of Scarlet's classes and — of all people  — Jasper, the guy from my high school who'd seemed nice at first but turned out to be a complete douchebag in the presence of his mates. It was revealed later in the night that he was actually a keen artist, not the tough looking brute he appeared to be during school hours. When I first approached, he'd somehow remembered me, clicking his fingers while saying 'Wait, I know you! Yes, I'm sure of it, hang on...uh, erm...ice rink girl! That's it!'. It had made things a little awkward, but the uncomfortableness was soon forgotten over a couple of pints, and Mala and Jasper turned out to be nicer than I could've imagined.

            So I was maybe starting to find my own little set of friends at uni, and that made me immensely proud of myself. And also very thankful towards Scarlet.

            There was only one thing I wasn't entirely ecstatic about, however.

            Scarlet was, believe it or not, an avid watcher of The X Factor. Judging from her personality, I thought she'd be safe, and that she'd much rather read books or take photos than delve into the upcoming season of an overhyped reality programme. But it was her guilty pleasure, as she called it, and I lasted about two minutes in our dorm room that first night, organising my nightstand whilst trying to ignore the sound of the live show premiere emitting from Scarlet's cheap TV. I caught sight of Louis' face on screen, and promptly went to the dorm's kitchen to skull a generous glass of milk before popping outside and lighting a cigarette. 

            So far, my habit had reached no more than one a day, sometimes not even any. I wanted to keep it this way, but feared that with the growing demands of university, the whole situation with Louis and simply my anxiety in general, I wouldn’t be able to maintain that infrequency.

            Now, after having just used up my quota of ‘one a day’, I butted out my cigarette and headed back inside. My first destination of choice was the dormitory kitchen, as I was feeling quite peckish and craved nothing more than a biscuit or slice of cake or anything sweet, for that matter, to mask the still foul aftertaste of the cigarette.

            Jammy Dodgers had always been my favourite snack, and I knew they’d be perfect for a time like this. But there were none in the pantry; just crackers, spreads, cans and boxes of microwave meals, as far as I could see. Crackers wouldn’t suffice, and so with my heart completely set on Jammy Dodgers I decided to make a quick trip to Tesco to fulfil my needs. Desperate, yes. However I could justify it by picking up a few other staple items at the supermarket as well.

            Getting there required a bus to be taken, so after conducting a desperate search through Scarlet and I’s dorm, I found my Oyster card and travelled to the nearest stop. The bus seemed to be taking forever to arrive, and I was growing impatient; almost to the point where I was genuinely considering abandoning my awaiting Jammy Dodgers and returning to the dorm.