Chapter 1
ellie always hated waking up for her nine-am class. she couldn’t help but to silently curse herself for it every time her alarm rang, and her roommate/best-friend, dina, would fuss at her to cut it out. ellie rose with a groan, her auburn hair spread messily about her head. she dragged a calloused hand down her face to wake herself up, a frown etched into her features.
she threw her blanket from her body, a shudder over taking her, she hated how cold the dorm could get. she also hated how dina would never let her turn on the heater, something about her being hot-natured or whatever. ellie never really cared to dress up for her classes, not seeing the point. she would much rather be comfortable in a hoodie and loose-fitting jeans, than actually put effort into a decent outfit.
“i’m out,” ellie huffed towards dina’s still form, slinging her tattered book bag from her youth over her shoulder. only getting a half-hearted hum from dina, ellie locked up the dorm room and made her way across campus for class.
the cool air around ellie nipped at her, the january breeze brutal and unforgiving. she couldn’t help but to walk a bit faster, ready to get out of the cool environment, and warm herself up. she entered the building that held her class with an appreciated sigh, the warm air immediately bringing life back into her. she pulled off her hood, revealing her auburn hair, now tied back into a messy half-bun, her pale cheeks, now a bright pink from the cold outdoors.
she couldn’t help but to shudder at the temperature difference, letting out a soft curse. ellie never seen a lot of people while walking to class, or maybe she didn’t care enough to pay attention. for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to get up last minute like others and rush. she’d rather endure waking up early and being on time, than waking up late and missing something important.
she opened the door to her class, her eyes scanning the room, the teaching assistant sat at their own desk in the back of the room, while the professor stood writing something on the white board. the class was bare, only about five people in the room including ellie, her eyes then trailed to her seat, where someone sat on their phone, someone ellie had never seen before.
ellie couldn’t help but to internally groan, of course you didn’t have assigned seats in college, but ellie had been sitting in that specific seat since the start of the semester, and ellie didn’t take too kindly to change. she also didn’t like confrontation, so she didn’t know how she would go about getting the stranger from her seat.
ellie slowly but surely strolled her way across the class, her steps light and tense, god, was it really that hard to tell someone that’s your seat? she was steps away, as she admired the stranger, the january sun gleamed beautifully through the window behind her, illuminating the girl in a lovely glow.
you, the stranger, sat with your head down, you had just transferred from another school, and this was your first day at jackson university. you wanted to keep a low profile, and not make too much fuss. though you couldn’t help but to furrow your eye brows as you felt as if someone were staring at you, and someone was, that someone was ellie.
you met ellie’s hazel eyes, your face screwed in confusion, you remove one of your earphones as you speak.
“am i in your seat?”
ellie couldn’t help the pink tint that rose to her cheeks, firstly, she had been caught staring at you, and secondly, you were much more pretty up close. your hair was neatly pulled back, long black knotless-braids going down your back, your outfit was cute and simple, black leggings with a sweatshirt from your old school, a vest thrown on top, with your uggs. as ellie’s eyes traveled from each part of you, they finally made it back to your pretty face, still screwed in confusion. damn, she kind of wishes she did dress up today.
“i-uhm…yea…” she muttered awkwardly, raising her hand to scratch behind her neck, a nervous tick she often did.
“oh…sorry,” you respond right back, grabbing your canvas bag, quickly standing up.
“n-no one sits in the seat beside mines,”ellie quickly added, not wanting you to think she was dismissing your presence, when it was quite the opposite. you smile sweetly at the girl, giving her a soft thanks, before moving one seat over. ellie thinks she felt her knees buckle when you smiled, your chubby cheeks raising, making it seem as if your eyes were squinting.
ellie quickly shook away her thoughts, sitting in her seat, not able to stop the glance she shoots your way, watching as you scrolled through your phone, a bored expression on your face. she wanted to speak to you, though she didn’t know what to say, every conversation starter dying on her tongue.
before she knew it class was starting, if she wanted to talk to you, she certainly couldn’t now. she sighed softly, propping her arm up on table to lean on it, her thoughts never leaving the pretty girl beside her.
~
it had been a whole month since you’ve first arrived in ellie’s nine-am, and stirred up her mind. you inhabited her waking thoughts, and her dream-filled nights. she actually sat thinking about you right now, watching you from across the cafeteria while dina chatted her ear off.
“ellie williams!?” dina softly shouted, causing ellie to jump and perk up, taking her gaze off of you and looking at dina confusedly.
“what?”
dina's face scrunched up, she was kind of offended that ellie hadn’t been listening to her non-sensical rambling. dina turned around to see what held her best-friends attention, her eyes spotting you, sitting all by yourself, your lunch tray sitting beside the laptop you worked on.
“ohhhhh…” she nodded, turning back around to ellie with a sly smirk, softly laughing seeing ellie’s embarrassed expression. “she’s cute,” she commented, a shit-eating grin on her face as ellie rolled her eyes.
“yea…i know…” ellie agreed, turning her gaze towards her picked through tray, her lunch long forgotten. dina hummed, a look of thought crossing her features, before a light-bulb clicked in her mind.
“let’s talk to her!” she exclaimed, ready to jump from her seat, though ellie quickly grabbed her forearm, squeezing her tightly to prevent her from moving, a horrified look on her face.
“no! absolutely not!” ellie muttered breathlessly, not in the mood to embarrass herself in front of you. dina pouted and sat back down, lightly removing ellie’s grip from her arm.
”why not?”
“why would we?”
dina rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. “you’ll never get anywhere being scared,” she hummed, turning her head over her shoulder to look at you once more. ellie sighed and shook her head, pretty girls unfortunately made her nervous, and you happened to be very pretty to her.
“i can’t talk to her…” ellie whined, though she really, really, wanted too. she wanted to get to know you, know everything there was to know, know your backstory, where you came from, how many siblings you had, she wanted to know it all.
dina scoffed and shook her head. “yes, staring at her like a creep is better than speaking,”
ellie couldn’t help but to groan and flip dina off, raking a hand through her short auburn hair. “ok whatever. i’ll talk to her,” she huffed, hyping herself up mentally to go to your table. dina had an amused look on her face, waiting patiently for her best-friend to make the first move.
before ellie could even stand up, you walked past their table, making eye-contact with the pale girl, giving her a soft smile as you passed. ellie mentally cursed, the words she was planning to speak dying on her tongue.
“hey! wait!” dina called after you before you could get too far, her voice causing you to pause and turn around, a confused but inviting smile on your face.
“what’s up?” you asked with the quirk of your head, making your way towards their table, that award-winning grin that made ellie swoon never once leaving or faltering.
“you’re new here right? never seen you around,” dina spoke casually, propping her elbows onto the table in front of her, her gaze never once leaving yours, ellie couldn’t help the burn that inhabited her cheeks. for one, she was jealous that dina could talk to you so easily, her words spoken towards you coming out smooth and collected.
ellie couldn’t help but to take her gaze from the table in front of her to take you in, you were always dressed nice, no matter the temperature outside. you wore a pair of baggy jeans, with a cropped t-shirt that showed off the pudge in your stomach, with a pair of converses to match, a plain black jacket to tie it off.
“yea i am…just transferred like a month ago,” you shrugged softly, adjusting your canvas bag over your shoulder. your eyes then trailed to ellie, who still sat staring at you, once you made eye-contact with those big green eyes, they skittered away quickly, embarrassed at being caught.
“that’s cool. i’m dina, and this is my bestie ellie,” dina coolly introduced, sitting back to lean against her chair. you nod, already knowing ellie from your nine-am.
“oh yeah. i know ellie, she sits beside me in my nine-am,” you hum, remembering your first interaction with the nervous girl. ellie felt breathless as you acknowledged her, acknowledged that you actually knew of her.
”oh does she know?” dina hummed, narrowing her brown eyes at ellie, this detail not being brung up in their previous conversation. ellie swallowed and nodded shyly, clearing her throat, casting her gaze anywhere but you and dina. dina had then asked you your name with a smile, you grin back and introduce yourself.
“beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” dina complimented, getting you to bashfully giggle, shooting a wink at ellie, who glared at her softly. ellie hated how dina was everything she couldn’t be, how she causally talked to you, casually flirted with you, even getting you to giggle.
“so…are you like busy this weekend? there’s a party at the frat house by east hall if you wanted to show up?” dina shrugged, taking her eyes from ellie to look at you expectantly.
you immediately shook your head, not really a party person. “oh uh… i don’t know, i don’t really know anybody,”. dina shrugged, not taking that for an answer.
“you know me and ellie, we’re gonna be there,” ellie's eyes immediately widened, she herself hadn’t agreed to this party, hell, she didn’t even know there was a party going on this weekend.
dina looked towards her friend, a knowing smirk on her face. “isn’t that right els?” you then trailed your gaze from dina to ellie, a small but hopeful look on your face.
“i—uh…yea,” she stuttered, her cheeks a bright pink as her green eyes stared into your own brown ones.
“oh ok then…sounds like a plan,” you hum, your mind already racking your outfit for the weekend. you then pulled out your phone, pulling up instagram, handing it to ellie first.
“what’s your instagram? so i can know when to be there?” ellie couldn’t help but to gulp, shakily reaching out for your phone, her cold fingers grazing your own warm ones.
she then puts in her handle, handing your phone back, you smile, immediately following the other girl, before turning towards dina for hers. ellie let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, a pretty girl had asked for her instagram, and followed her. she felt as if she could pass out.
“well, i have to get going. gonna be late for my class. see you guys at the party,” you smile, offering a soft wave, before turning and leaving the two best-friends, one with a knowing smirk, the other left gaping and shaky.