The Game We Play

Chapter One

Her dark wavy hair spread across the pillow as she flopped back on her bed. Ash had just come home from visiting Nigil in the hospital after studying with her friends for their upcoming finals.

 "Hey babe, you doing okay?" Maia asked as she sauntered in. She was always so put together and Ash had no clue how she did it. 

"I'm great!" Ash said smiling widely at her friend. She knew it was wrong to lie to Maia, but she'd rather the girl not worry about her. 

"Alright Ash, I'll be heading to bed then. Have sweet dreams!" she said as she walked out. Ash sighed. It was so hard to be strong but she knew she had to be. If not for herself, then for Maia. Or maybe for Nigil. 

She took out her phone and noticed a new text from Conner. "Hey Ash! It was fun hanging out with you today and I'm really thankful for the detail in your notes. You may just be my saving grace for finals"

Ash smiled as she responded to him. "Glad I could help you Conner! Think I could help more if we went for coffee Saturday?"

She buried her face into her pillow as she sent the text. It wasn't as if she was shooting her shot in the dark- it was actually pretty clear that he liked her. That didn't stop the blush that crept up her cheeks as she watched the text bubble appear showing that he was typing.

"I'd love to. 9 am at Coffee House?"

"I'll see you there."

~~~~~~

Ash leaned over sleepily to her alarm clock, the time reading 8:30. 8:30? Why was it set so early? It was Saturday wasn't it? She turned the clock off then settled back into the warmth of her covers. 

A second later she jolted up, realizing why she had chosen to wake up so early. She hurriedly got dressed and left a note on her bed for Maia, telling her she'd gone out for coffee and that she'd be back soon. She ran out the front door throwing her hair into a messy bun on her head, not having made time enough to actually brush it.

She jogged up to Coffee House and brushed strands of hair out of her face. She walked nonchalantly up to the door as if she hadn't just run half a mile and stepped inside. The air was rich with the smell of various coffee roasts and the morning's pastries lined up in a display beside the counter. She noticed a few people sitting dispersed around the establishment, some looking at their phones or typing away at their keyboards. Then she saw Conner.

His dirty blonde hair seemed to glow in the light of the window he was sitting beside, his icy blue eyes focused on the lock screen of his phone. He looked up and saw her, his anxious expression breaking into a grin.

"Hey Ash! Did you bring your laptop?" he asked her.

She froze, realizing that in her rush that morning, she hadn't brought anything with her but her phone and her wallet.

~~~~~~

Seems a little like a rom-com at the moment, but that won't last too long I promise. What do you think about Conner so far? Stay safe everyone <3