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Xael Wright
"I am curious, what happened on the call with your brother in which Sven joined?" Orion asked while sipping his drink for today, a black coffee.
Taking a sip of my drink, which was a berry milkshake, I answered Orion, "You should have seen my brother's face, it was priceless. While I was talking about something, Sven just popped in from behind and Zach's face was like Joey's from the final episode of Friends."
"The face when Joey found out about the twins?" Orion was laughing at this point.
"That one."
"Damn. So what happened next?"
Taking another sip, I noticed that the milkshake was almost over. "My brother doesn't get surprised easily, I can easily count the number of times he got surprised with my fingers but this topped everything. He saw his boyfriend hang out with his sister as if they were old friends."
"It is like you made a reality show in a matter of a few minutes," Orion said while bending down to tie his shoelace.
"I think so."
It was the weekend after Halloween, more specifically it was a Saturday. Orion and I decided to go on a run together and have coffee later. We silently ran together sharing the same playlist that we created a few days ago. The playlist had songs that both of us liked and wanted each other to try.
After finishing our run, we decided to go to Vira. Being earlier than usual, we found a table to sit and relax. It felt good to wake up early in the morning, have a great run and drink coffee with someone you liked.
These past few days after looking at Cleo and Xion, it made me really happy and kind of envious of their relationship. Having deep conversations, listening to each other's problems, and experiencing fun adventures was what I was looking for.
I wanted to confess to Orion about my feelings, I did not know whether he would return them or just see me as a friend. If he did not want me to be in life after the confession, I was ready to walk away.
I remembered seeing Orion on his morning runs from freshman year but I think it was this year that I started developing a crush on him. Initially, I was drawn to his looks, but I learned that there was much more to Orion than his green eyes, black hair, and fit physique.
Orion was the kind of person who seemed anti-social but once you got to know him, you will see that he was an amazing friend who had a heart of gold. On a few occasions when I went to his dorm for movie night, we had debates about movie characters that eventually made us laugh together.
Deep in my thoughts, I did not realise that Orion was moving his hand up and down my face. I think I spaced out again.
"You just spaced out," declared Orion.
"Yep."
As I looked around the coffee shop, I noticed that it was getting crowded, the rush of customers about to begin. "Should we go back?"
I learned recently that Orion did not like crowds, he tried his best to avoid crowds and unknown people which will lead to his anxiety flaring. Orion tried his best every day to overcome it which was pretty admirable.
Getting up from his chair, Orion said, "Let's go."
We walked through Vira making sure we did not dash with anyone, maintaining a few centimetres distance between us. I saw a few familiar faces from my classes and a few from the clubs I attend.
The minute we walked out the door, nostalgia hit me. It just felt like yesterday itself I introduced myself to Orion. I think that memory would be something that I would remember throughout my life.
While walking to our dorms, I was looking at the different things happening on campus. Few people were going to class, few were hanging out, few were walking towards Vira for a morning drink I guess.
Orion took out his AirPods, put both of them in his ear and motioned me also to do the same. From the pocket of my jacket, I took out my pair also and plugged it in my ear.
From the playlist, we both shared on Spotify, Orion played one of the songs. After listening to it for a few seconds, I instantly guessed it. "The Night We Met by Lord Huron and Phoebe Bridgers."
Smiling in appreciation with both of his dimples showing, Orion said, "I think you have become Shazam."
It felt good to walk in the morning with the light breeze and not much chaos. In college, I started valuing the mornings because I was a night owl in high school. The high school me would probably be gawking at me as if I grew two heads.
The walk from Vira to my hall was approximately fifteen minutes and a few minutes less for Orion as B Hall is closer.
As we walked, the song that was playing ended so I played a song from the playlist this time hoping that Orion would guess it. A fact: Orion relates the songs he listens to the events and memories from the day he first heard the song. When he mentioned it once, I also started linking my memories with the songs I listen to which makes it more sentimental.
Around ten minutes later, we arrived in front of Orion's hall. Both of us took our AirPods and were staring at each other, waiting for one of us to say something. The staring left me to look at Orion properly.
Orion had a few inches on me, the few times I stood next to him, I saw the height difference. It was not much, just a few inches which made me reach up to his face. Green eyes captivated me but were not noticeable until I saw him up close. With the way he worked out, Orion had toned and powerful muscles.
Orion was I think the only one that I had the strongest attraction among all the crushes I had till now. At this moment, I knew that I wanted to kiss him badly. But someone beat me to it.
"Can I kiss you?" ------------------------
So the chapter took a bit of delay, but here it is.
A cliffhanger!!!!
But here it is, the moment you have been waiting for.
