COMPLETED. A university student. A professional hockey player. They've proved they can be friends. Can they be more?
Although they're both in their early twenties and living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, their lives couldn't be more different. Cami...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You okay with me sitting in the front?" I asked Taylor as he opened the door on the driver's side of the black Jeep.
Franklin the little weasel had beat me to the back seats. I didn't want to join him in the back in fear of offending the car owner or treating him like he was our taxi driver. But, if Taylor had something against someone sitting in the passenger side of the vehicle, well then, who was I to go against that?
He didn't, though.
"Yeah, of course, make yourself at home," Taylor said. He slid into his seat and the sound of the door closing echoed in the quiet parking lot.
I grumbled something that I hoped at least resembled a "thank you" as I maneuvered my body into the vehicle. What did I have against sitting next to Taylor, anyways? It wasn't like he had some contagious disease. At least I hoped he didn't.
Actually, it wasn't just Taylor. Cars always had a way of coaxing out my social anxiety. I attributed the fear to the fact that being cooped up in a relatively small space with hardly any distractions meant that conversation was the only natural thing to do.
Except, most days, it felt like conversation was the thing that came least naturally to me.
"So, Franklin, where am I taking you?" Taylor asked.
His eyes flashed to the rear-view mirror to make eye contact with Franklin, I assumed.
"I live in a basement of a house near campus. It's not too far from here. Go straight and then make a right on Bremnar."
"You got it."
As Taylor pulled out of the theatre's lot, I took off my hat and smoothed my hair back down. Whenever there was a stop sign or a red light, I felt Taylor's eyes on me.
"How are your classes going this semester?" I asked Franklin.
My intention was to take the attention of the vehicle's patrons off myself, and I hoped that Franklin didn't mind getting grilled in the process.
"They're okay, so far. I've been wasting too much time watching anime again, like I always do. And I know I'm going to regret it next week when I have my first midterm."
"I know. Minimizing distractions is always a struggle," I lied.
What else was I supposed to say? That I don't let anything stand in the way of my study schedule? That I have the focus of a fox and the eye of a tiger when it came to school?
Taylor let out a small, strangled sound and my head whipped to look at his face, which I had been trying not to do too much. His expression was a lazy, yet critical, smile. Like he didn't believe me.
