College Crushing

I wake up to my alarm blaring so I go to my phone to turn it off and begin to get ready for class. Thirty minutes later there’s a knock on my door, but it opens before I have a chance to reply. Of course, it’s Alex. Already triggered from the lack of sleep I got last night I roll my eyes, “What’s the point of knocking if you are just going to walk in?”
She ignores my comment and raises her eyebrows with a knowing smirk as she leans against my door, “Someone is here for you.”
“Who?” I put down my mascara and face her, intrigued.
“I probably would have told you if you were nice to me. Now you have to find out for yourself.” She snickers as she walks away.
I huff and grab my backpack and take one last look at my outfit. I never really dress up so my black skinnies with holes on the knees, white high-top converse, an oversized shirt, and my hair in a bun have been my go to in college.
I walk down the stairs and see Harry waiting for me in the foyer with two Starbucks cups in his hands. I laugh, “You’re so sweet.”
“I figured we could both use the caffeine.”
He hands me the cup and I gladly accept it, “You figured right.”
I take a sip and am met with the familiar taste of pumpkin, “yes! I love pumpkin.”
He chuckles and opens the door for me, “I know.”
I look up at him and smile, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” We walk to his car and head to campus. As I get out of his Range Rover, I hear my name called. Harry walks to my side and turns his head to see who shouted for me.
I follow the voice and see Justin walking toward us, “Hey Kennedy! Harry.”
“Hey, Justin.” I smile at him while Harry simply nods.
“Where are you two headed?”
“To class,” Harry answers vaguely.
“Oh, you two share a class?” Justin glances at Harry and me
“No.” I shake my head, “We just rode together.”
“Okay. Cool.” He adjusts his backpack, “I’ll see you later then. Have fun in class.”
“Sounds good! Bye Justin!” I give him a smile and Harry and I turn to walk to class. I glance at him as he’s watching his feet, “You alright?”
He looks at me, “Uh, yeah. Why?”
I laugh, “You get weird around Justin.”
“Nah. I’m good.” He gives me a small smile and I know he’s not telling the truth.
“Harry, why don’t you like him?”
“I never said I didn’t like him, he’s a nice guy.”
I roll my eyes in disbelief, “Harry. It’s okay if you don’t like him.”
“Fine. He’s not my favorite person.” I hum but don’t push him on the subject and he continues, “it’s not important.”
“Whatever you say. Okay, I’ll see you later H. Thanks for the Starbucks.” I wave and walk towards my class before he can say anything else.
As my professor goes on about the blood flow, I open my Messages on my Macbook.
From Justin: want to get lunch?
From Harry: that’s debatable.
From Mom: love you, sweetheart. Have a great day.
I try to stifle my laughter at Harry’s response to a conversation we were having since we’ve said our goodbyes that morning.
To Mom: thanks, mom, love you. Xx
To Harry: haha I’m going to get in trouble from laughing in class! Are we doing lunch?
I get an instant reply from Harry.
From Harry: isn’t that a given? We always do lunch.
To Harry: Okay, just making sure! Also, put on chapstick. Maybe that will help with the smell.
To Justin: want to join Harry and I for lunch?
From Harry: Hmm. That’s smart, thank you. I feel bad, but this guy has to know he smells… right?
From Harry: it’s working… but there’s a girl staring at me now…
To Harry: she probably thinks you’re cute
From Harry: Cute…
To Harry: You know what I mean. You were putting chapstick on and had her attention. Talk to her after class.
From Harry: Nah.
To Harry: And why not?
From Justin: Where are you two eating?
To Justin: Probably the dining hall, or maybe in the campus center. Kinda cravingEinstein’s Turkey Bacon Avocado.
From Justin: Mmm. Einstein’s does sound good. Let me know where you end up going.
To Justin: Will do!
From Harry: She keeps glancing at me.
To Harry: Just. Talk. To. Her. She might be shy.
From Harry: What if I’m shy?
To Harry: Coming from the guy that sat at a stranger’s table in the library.
From Harry: That’s...different.
To Harry: How!?
From Harry: 1. You weren’t staring at me. 2. You seemed nicer
To Harry: HAHA but she may be nice, you never know. Give it a shot?
Class is dismissed and I realized I just missed the last 20 minutes of notes. I look around and see Niall in the back of the room. He makes eye contact and instantly smiles and waves, making his way towards me.
“I didn’t know you had this class!” I say smiling
“Yeah! I’ve never even seen you before. It is a big class though.” I nod in agreement and gather my stuff up.
“Hey, I kind of zoned out for the last twenty minutes or so, can you send me a picture of your notes?”
“Yeah, of course! Here.” He takes out his phone and hands it to me, “Let me have your number, and I’ll text ‘em to you.”
I grab the phone and enter my contact information, “Thank you so much. That would be great.”
“No problem.” Handing him back his phone, he gives me a smile, “Alright, I have another class to get to. See ya later, Kennedy!” He pats my backpack once I say goodbye and he walks down a different hallway.
I feel my phone buzz and read it.
From Harry: she ended up talking to me. Her names Kendall.
I think of a girl named Kendall and type a reply.
To Harry: Kendall Jenner?
From Harry: Yep. You know her?
To Harry: Yeah, I’ve had a class with her. She’s smart and very pretty. She was staring at you?
From Harry: not creepy staring but yeah. And after class, she came up to me.
To Harry: ooh tell me more at lunch.
From Harry: … she’s joining us.
To Harry: oh okay! Let’s get Einstein’s.
I type a quick message to Justin about lunch and make my way to the campus center. I see Harry talking to Kendall and make my way over to them when I see Justin walking through the doors on my left.
I turn his way and greet him with a hug. “Hey, Kennedy. How was class?”
“It was good. I found out Niall was in my class today”
He gives me a skeptical look, “oh really? Big class?”
I nod, “Yeah. And he sits in the back.”
He laughs at this, “Probably because he’s always late.” He puts his arm around my shoulder and we walk to Harry and Kendall.
“Hey, Kendall.” I greet her first since she’s facing us, Harry turns to face us and Justin and I greet him as well. It’s a round table with four chairs surrounding it. I take the seat across from Kendall, with Harry on my right, and Justin takes the seat on my left, across from Harry.
“Kendall! You know Harry here?” Justin gives her a genuine smile and she nods, explaining how they just met and I give Harry a knowing smirk.
“How did you two meet?” Kendall gestures between Justin and me.
I look at Justin and set my elbow on the table and rest my chin in my hand as he tells the story of when we met at lunch. I take a glance at Kendall and she seems to be enjoying the simple story. Once Justin finishes, she comments on how that was cute and then turns to me, “How did you and Harry meet?”
I decide to tell this story since I know Harry tends to take too long when he tells a story. I give Harry a smile and look back at Kendall, “Um. I was just studying in the library one day and then some random stranger decided that I needed company and sat across from me.”
Harry scoffs, “That’s not what happened. The library was packed.”
I roll my eyes and chuckle, “Sure it was. But he waited for me to finish up and we ended up eating dinner together.”
“Been friends ever since,” Harry adds in
“You make it seem like it’s been a long time.” I turn to Kendall, “We’ve only known each other for around two weeks”
“Oh wow! You two seem so close, I would never have guessed.” Kendall looks to Justin and jokingly says, “I’ve known you longer than they’ve known each other. How are they better friends than us?”
Justin shrugs nonchalantly and folds a napkin, “Guess they just clicked.”
I give Justin a small smile which he returns, “I’ve only known you for a few days too.”
Kendall giggles, “Wow. Meeting people left and right, are we Kennedy?”
“Guess so,” I shrug.
Since Harry and Kendall already had Chick Fil A sitting in front of them, Justin and I excuse ourselves to get our own food, both choosing Einstein’s. We continue small talk throughout lunch until Kendall and Justin have to get to their next class. We exchange goodbyes and once they’re out of sight Harry busts out laughing.
I observe him with a smile on my face. His laugh was always so contagious. He leans forward with his eyes pinched and mouth open, his perfect teeth on display. He’s holding his chest and I can’t help but release a small laugh of my own, “What’s so funny?”
Once he catches his breath, he wipes a tear, “That was the most awkward situation of my life.”
“What? Why?” I ask confused
“I don’t even know Kendall. Sure, she seems like a lovely girl, but she was acting like this was a double date. And when she asked how you and Justin met, and how you and I met. I was dying.”
I hit his arm playfully, “Harry. She was just making small talk and understanding the friendships.”
He shakes his head, “Yeah. It was bloody awful. Felt like I was in an interview. I like real conversations better. When we first met, we got to know each other.”
I ponder this for a moment and think about how much I learned about Harry in that one dinner. “That’s true.”
“Exactly. That was so different.” He shakes his shoulders as if trying to rid that moment of himself.
“It wasn’t that bad. What, you don’t want to go on double dates with Justin and me?” He stops moving and stares at me intently with an emotion I can’t read. “What?”
“Nothing. You ready?”
“Um. I guess.” I reply and we throw away our trash and begin to walk to Harry’s car.
“How are you doing, by the way?” I shrug, but it wasn’t enough. “Kennedy?” Harry scolds me.
“I had a nightmare last night, but it’s fine.”
“A nightmare?” I nod and he continues, “About what happened or something different?”
“Um. Both I guess.” He gives me a questioning look and I kick a small rock on the sidewalk. “It was that night again, but you didn’t come. And I heard my sister-”
“What? Your sister?” He’s confused, and he should be. I never mention my sister.
“Yeah. She passed away a couple years ago.” I breathe out but continue. “But she was screaming my name trying to wake me up. I woke up eventually crying in the middle of the night, but I wasn’t able to go back to sleep. I just played some music.”
He nods, “You can always call me. I’m here. Always. Whether you just want to talk or if you need me to come to you. Okay?”
I look up at him and he stops in front of me. I give him a small smile and he returns it with a hug and a kiss on the top of my head. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I'm here.” I chuckle once he releases me and we continue walking to the parking lot

Notes

Really craving a Turkey Bacon Avocado sandwhich rn....