Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Ten.

It was midnight when Jane arrived back home. It was a fun evening at Marcus', she enjoyed it a lot. She got to know Marcus better; they had a lot of things in common. The trip to Naples was tomorrow, but she probably still would be at Marcus now if that wasn't planned.

Jane squeezed her eyebrows together when the lights were still on in the living room. A moment later, she heard a laugh coming from the roof. So Luna wasn't asleep as well... Jane threw her bag on the table and made her way to the roof terrace.

"Look who we have there!" It was Michael.

A smile curved on Jane's lips. "Yep, it's me," she chuckled and stood in front of her friends. The night was cold. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Cosy."

Luna, Bastian and Michael were lying on the outdoor sofa, eating some snacks and drinking beers.

"How was it?" Luna sat up and looked questionable at Jane; she showed happiness, so it had to be good.

"It was fun," Jane smiled and nodded. "We talked a lot, had dinner, laughed..."

"Cute," Luna whispered.

Bastian looked with a satisfied look on his face at Jane; Jane had been through a lot. It made him happy for his friend to know and see, she could find her happiness again. "The same guy from a couple of days ago, right? Who called you?"

"Yes," Jane replied and sat down on the last free spot available; an uncomfortable plastic chair. "And from the restaurant when Leonardo didn't show up."

"Ah, the man you couldn't shut up about. Noted." Michael dramatically took a sip from his beer, but smirked about his own behaviour. "No, kidding. I'm glad you found each other again."

Jane just politely smiled, being stuck in her own thoughts; she had questions and doubts. However, she managed to push those thoughts away. "Anyway," she broke the silence. "Marcus gave me this 'What To Do in Naples' guide," she started and gave it to Luna. "Maybe we should be the absolute tourist and follow this book."

Luna's eyebrow raised. "Marcus gave you this?" A soft smile grew on her face, there was something about Marcus that made Jane feel happy. "How adorable," she muttered and scanned the mini-guide. "Ah, the secret spots, we love that." She flipped through the pages.

"Yeah. I told him last week we are going to Naples, and when I was about to leave, he was like, 'oh, I have something for you'," Jane shyly smiled. It was a small gesture, but it meant a lot to her.

"Boyfriend material," Bastian confirmed.

"Anyway," Jane breathed. "Did you get your results back yet?"

Michael looked away, saying enough. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I passed the Italian part," Bastian nodded impressed, he thought he failed badly. "And don't have the other results back. They are so slow." He groaned, annoyed.

Luna closed the guide and gave it back to Jane. "I failed the last one, passed the rest with the minimum score. You?"

Jane nodded. "It's one exam, and you have a resit exam," she mentioned and looked at Luna. "We have easier resit exams, no worries," she said to the others to comfort them. "Passed all the exams, just have to wait for the essays." She made a bun in her hair. "The Big Santa Claus books."

"I'm living for the resit exams. If I didn't have those, uni would've sent me away by now." Michael took a sip from his beer. "I'm so close to dropping everything and just travel around the world."

"Same," Jane agreed. "I don't know what to do with this study, so I might just stop. It will give me the same result at the end anyway."

"Just one more semester," Luna tried to cheer them up.