“Well, I’m not a boring person. Trust me.” I press my hand to my chest. “I’m actually pretty fabulous and fun, but I’ve been kind of a dud the last week. I think it might be the combo of school and summer. The two are like socks and sandals—they’re never supposed to go together.”
Her gaze flicks across my black jeans and grey t-shirt topped by a plaid button-up before she wraps her arms around herself, like she’s suddenly embarrassed of her clothes. “Well, it was nice talking to you, but I have to go.” She starts out the doorway.
“Hey, you want to go get some coffee?” I stroll down the hallway beside her. “I’ve been dying to try out this little café on the corner.”
She swiftly shakes her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m busy.”
“With your homework?” I ask with a hint of amusement.
“Yes, with my homework.” She doesn’t sound angry, just nervous.
When we reach the end of the hall, she pushes open the exit doors and we step outside into the sunlight and the fairly mellow campus yard. She immediately veers left and makes a beeline for the tree area to the side of the main entrance.
“Come on. Just one cup of coffee.” I follow after her. “I’m super bored and I really don’t want to go back to my dorm yet. My roommate likes to leave half-eaten bags of chips and soda cans everywhere, along with his dirty underwear. Plus, the room reeks of cheese.”
She scrunches up her nose. “Why cheese?”
I shrug. “I have no idea where the smell is coming from, and that’s part of the problem.”
Her face twists in disgust, but a spark of a smile touches her lips.
“So, what do you say?” I smile. “Will you help me escape the mysteriously smelling room for an hour?”
She halts on the sidewalk and looks at me for the first time since we started talking. “Just for coffee, right?”
I shrug. “Maybe. Although, I have to warn you that when I get bored, I can get really spastic. And I’ve been bored for about a week now.”
She shifts her weight. “Okay…” She bites her lip nervously. “But it’s not like a… date, right?”
I snort a laugh and quickly cover my mouth with my hand. When her expression plummets and her cheeks turn pink, I realize how bad that must have came off.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I quickly say. “Under all those God-awful clothes, I can tell you’re a beautiful girl.” I wonder how far I should go with this. I haven’t really opened up to anyone since the incident, but it’ll come out sooner or later if we’re going to be friends. “But you’re not really my type, seeing as how you’re not a guy.”
It takes her a moment to catch up with me. “Oh.” Her stiff posture suddenly relaxes. “That’s good. I mean, that you like guys.” She stumbles over her words then rolls her eyes at herself. “Sorry, I’m just really glad you weren’t hitting on me.” She smiles at me. “We can go get coffee.”
“Fantastic.” I smile, hoping to figure out more of what the hell is behind her squirrely behavior. “Can I ask, though, why you were so wigged out when you thought I was hitting on you?”
She lifts her shoulder and gives a half-shrug, her lips remaining fastened.
Okaaaay. This friendship might be more difficult than I thought. Good thing I love a good challenge.
“So Callie, other than running away from potential dates, what do you like to do for fun?” I ask as we hike down the sidewalk toward the café on the corner.
“Nothing, really.” She slides the strap of the bag higher on her shoulder. “Other than write. What about you?”
“Well, I love a lot of things, like dancing, partying, going to the movies. But my real passion is clothes, which is pretty obvious.”
She casts a self-conscious glance at her outfit. “It sounds like we’re pretty much opposites.”
“Which can make for a fabulous friendship,” I say. When she gives me a wary glance, I add, “Ever heard the saying that opposites attract?” I stop at the corner of the street and hammer my thumb against the crosswalk button. “But because I’m, well me, I have to ask. What’s up with the baggy clothes?”
She stares at the quaint café just across the street. “I just don’t like standing out.”
“Okay…I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but while your look would have totally rocked the nineties, we’re way past the grunge and baggy pants fad, so it kind of makes you stand out like a disco ball in a Goth club.”
She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and glances at me. “I’ve been wearing this same look since forever… for my own reasons.” She hugs her arms around herself. “It’s all I’m comfortable in, and I’m too afraid if I start wearing other stuff, I’ll feel unsafe.”
The word unsafe sends off warning bells in my head. I remember how safe I felt with my ex-boyfriend Braiden until he snatched it away. I’ve been trying my best to keep going, keep being me, and fight to get the feeling of comfort and security back, but sometimes it gets hard, especially at night when I have to close my eyes and dream.
“Why would you feel unsafe?” I ask, leaning against the street post.
Her jaw clenches. “For a lot of reasons.”
I wonder if those reasons played into her panic when she thought I was asking her out.
I stare down at the bright blue, doodle-covered cast on my arm. “Sometimes, I feel unsafe walking around in my own skin, too, but then I think about how unfair it is for me to pretend to be someone else and honestly, how fucking boring it is not being me.” I flash her a grin.
A soft giggle escapes her lips. She’s so shocked by the sound that I question how long it’s been since she’s laughed.
“You know what?” she asks as we start across the street. “I think you were right about the opposites attract thing. I think…” She considers her words. “I think you could be a good friend for me.”
“Oh, honey, I’m going to be the most amazing friend you’ve ever had,” I say as I hop onto the curb.
“I have to warn you, I haven’t had many friends.” She steps onto the curb with me. “So Most Amazing Friend is a pretty easy title to win.”
“Honestly, I haven’t had that many, either,” I tell her as we cross the parking lot. “And I pretty much lost all of them when I…” I glance down at my arm as my thoughts drift back to my past.
“What happened?” she asks, pulling open the door to the café.
“It’s a long, painful story,” I reply as I step inside. The scent of fresh coffee and baked goods fills my nostrils and I breathe it in.
“Mine, too,” she says as we move for the counter. “I mean, the story of why I wear these clothes is.”
I glance up at the menu to figure out what to order, but quickly look back at her when an idea pops into my head.
“How about this,” I say. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
Her head angles to the side as she considers my offer. “It might take some time for me to tell you everything, but if you’re willing to be patient, then you have yourself a deal.”
Patience has never been my strong suit, but I like the idea of having someone to share my story with. I just hope I can trust her.
I stick out my hand and she hesitantly takes it. “All right, Callie. You have yourself a deal. And a brand new best friend.”
Chapter 2
Three Months later…
Seth
“God, it’s like spazzville around here today,” I remark to Callie while scrunching my nose at the freshmen scrambling around the campus yard. I wait for her to join in on the fun of mocking our student body, but, as usual, Callie has dazed off. “Are you spacing off on me again?”
She blinks her attention to me and playfully nudges me in the shoulder. “Now don’t be arrogant. Just because we both decided to do the summer semester and we know where everything is, doesn’t make us better than them.”
“Uh, yeah, it kind of does.” I roll my eyes at her absurd logic. “We’re like upper class freshmen.”