• Chris •
Chris was late, which was not a surprise to anyone that met him, but this time it mattered more than the other times. This time, he missed his train to Boston. He missed his chance to talk to Mae again. It was the last train for the next few hours, and while he could wait and come back, it would mean that he would arrive much later than he wanted and his friends probably wouldn't be too keen on the idea of waiting up for him to let him into the apartment.
He decided that he would take one of the earlier trains out in the morning, not only for Mae. Okay mostly for Mae, but he also did want to spend some time with his friends. He'd gotten used to his routine, school during the week, and Boston on the weekends. It was a major surprise when his report card came and he was passing all of his classes due to the small amount of time he spent at home. He began the walk home, wearing a different jacket than he normally would have worn due to the fact that he had left it on the train last week. It was actually an accident this time, and he had only noticed when he was walking home and shivering the whole way.
It was strange in a way, how excited he had become about the train ride, all because of Mae, and her smiles, and her jokes, and of course the endless pictures of Chubs. Even if they didn't last long, they were a highlight of the past month. How had it taken him so long to talk to her?
When he walked back into his house, Nick and Matt were sitting in the kitchen. "Miss the train Lover Boy?" Matt laughed at his own joke.
"Stop trying to pass Lover Boy off onto me. That's all you, man." He swatted his shoulder as he passed. "And yes, I did, so now I have to go another few days without my jacket."
"Oh, we know that it's the jacket you're missing." This time it was Nick that spoke up, he winked at his brother before going back to the food that he was eating.
Chris rolled his eyes, making his way down the hall and into his room. He closed the door behind him, but not before he heard Nick coming after him. "Ooohhh Lover Boy!" His voice was sing-songy, and not what Chris wanted to hear right now.
He loved his brothers but good lord they could be annoying. He made a mental note to not talk about a girl with his brothers unless it was a real thing, because he didn't think he could handle a replay of their jokes about Mae.
He texted his friends in Boston, apologizing for the delay but letting them know that he would be coming in the morning, before shutting his phone off and preparing to take a shower. That's exactly what he needed right now, it would relax him after the stressful hour that he had just had, as well as keep Nick and his singing away from him for a little bit.
~~~
Chris was awoken the next day by Nick, once again singing. "Duh duh duh dunnn... Wake up Lover Boy! You're chariot awaits!"
Chris threw a pillow at Nick and buried himself deeper into the covers, knowing that as soon as his brother left he would get up.
"Oww dude. I'm just trying to make sure that you can see your Lover Girl!" Chris flipped him off, preparing the throw another pillow, and Nick left the room.
While he was excited for the weekend and to see Mae again, he did not appreciate being "serenaded" first thing in the morning.
He quickly got dressed and grabbed his phone, not wanting to miss the train two times in a row. Upon sitting down in his usual car, he sat where he and Mae had been sitting even though she wasn't there, he went through his notifications from the night before and that morning.
When he checked Instagram, he noticed a DM request that seemed too good to be true.
MaisieEvans: miss the train or did you just stand me up?
He smiled to himself, both confused as to how Mae had gotten his Insta, and amused by the fact that she knew that he had missed the train.
He quickly followed her and responded back to her DM.
ChristopherSturniolo: Love that you have confidence in my time management skills :)
ChristopherSturniolo: I did miss it tho, coming into Boston now
When the train finally stopped in Boston, he wasted no time getting off and making his way to his friends apartment. Jake graduated a year ahead of him and now went to Boston University, and he was lucky enough to have an apartment that his family used for weekend trips in Boston that he stayed with instead of staying in a dorm his freshman year, so Chris and his brothers would come visit, Chris more often than Matt and Nick.
When he finally arrived, he knocked on the door, which was opened a minute later by his friend, who had very obviously just woken up.
"Why are you so chipper dude? It's like 8am."
"I met a girl, and she's literally the coolest." He smiled, letting himself fall back onto the small couch in front of the door.
