It's Not Like I Like You!

Chapter 2

When Yasmin woke up the next day, a knock on her bedroom door echoed throughout the entire flat. She sat up in her bed, still dressed in her pyjamas: a hoodie and a a pair of joggers, and rubbed her eyes with a low groan. Her legs swung over the side of the bed and she stood up, stretching her arms above her head and yawning loudly before walking over to the door and cracking it open slightly. 

"Oh. Morning." Jack was standing in her doorway, already dressed with his gym bag in his hands. He smiled a little as he looked the young woman over. "Sorry. Did I wake you up?" He asked, checking the time on his phone, offering an apologetic look. Yasmin opened the door a little more and leaned on her doorframe. 

"It's fine. I was waking up soon anyway." She reassured. Jack nodded and propped up his sports bag on his shoulder. "Do you need something?" Yasmin questioned, her tone curious but her voice still groggy from sleep. 

Jack shook his head at the question. "No, no. Everything's fine. I just wanted to let you know that one of the guys wants to show you around the campus." He spoke as he pointed to one of the bedroom doors. Yasmin tilted her head and nodded slowly. She was unsure of what to make of this situation. It wasn't as though she was close with any of the guys. 

Before Yasmin could ask who offered to give her a tour around the university, Jack waved and smiled a little as he left the flat, heading to his own classes. Yasmin waved back as she watched him leave silently, before disappearing back into her bedroom in order to get changed for her first day of classes and the 'tour' she was about receive from one of her flatmates. 

Once Yasmin finished getting dressed, and mentally preparing herself for the long day ahead, she opened her door and swung her bag over her shoulder. She looked around and noticed Austin in the living room, scrolling through his phone silently as he ate his breakfast. Yasmin walked in and looked over at the young man, not sure if she felt comfortable enough to say something. Before she could decide, however, Austin turned and noticed the young woman in the doorway. 

"Oh. Good. You're up." He grinned as he walked past her, walking into the kitchen and washing off his plate and glass. For someone who looked like a delinquent, he was quite clean and neat. It made Yasmin wonder what type of person Austin really was. "You ready for your tour day?". Yasmin looked at him and watched him for a moment. 

"Uh... yes. Who's giving me the tour?" She asked curiously, fidgeting with her bag strap nervously. She wished it was Jack giving her the tour around the campus, since he seemed the friendliest of the bunch, but one thing she knew for sure that she didn't want the other, untalkative, pair. Austin turned to look at the young woman, his cheesy grin pointed directly at her. 

"Me." He replied simply, shrugging as he wiped his hands and winked at the girl. He grabbed his bag and looked over at the girl, noticing her somewhat disappointed expression and raised an eyebrow. "What? You don't want me to?" He asked, crossing his arms. Yasmin couldn't help but think that, at that moment, Austin much resembled one of her younger siblings whenever they didn't get what they wanted and threw a tantrum. She almost laughed out loud at the young man's behaviour. 

"I didn't say anything." She said calmly while she made her way to the front door, glancing behind her and hurrying the man behind her with one simple gaze. He sighed and walked towards the woman. 

The pair left their flat and walked outside. They were greeted by a mass of people walking in and out of their flats and houses, taking their trash out or simply chatting to their friends. The sun was bright in the sky and the trees were slightly swaying in the light breeze. Austin looked over at the girl and looked around as well. 

"It's warm today." He looked at the girl again and glanced at her thick jumper. "Should've worn something lighter." He commented as he began to walk. Yasmin frowned a little at the comment about her clothes and followed the man. 

"I'm from Spain." She replied as she walked beside the man, still looking around at the campus. It was just as clean and tidy as it was the day before. "It's cold for me here. Even now." She continued as she took her bag off and rested it on a nearby bench. Austin stopped in his tracks to watch the girl, curiosity glinting in his eyes. 

Yasmin dug her camera out of her bag and snapped a quick photo of the blooming flowerbed next to the bench and looked over the photograph. Austin looked over her shoulder and glanced at the photo she just took. "Good eye." He muttered. "You do photography?" He asked. Yasmin nodded, still staring at the photo before flicking through her camera roll quickly and smiling at some of her previous photographs that were taken in Spain, with her whole family. 

"I'm studying French and Photography." She explained as she gently placed her camera back in her bag and looked over at the man who was waiting for her to finish. As she glanced at him, the sun hit his face perfectly. His hair was flowing in the breeze and his eyes reflected the sunlight, leaving the young man's eyes a brighter colour. She stared at him for a moment and looked him over. "What do you study? Sports?" She grinned as she began to walk again. Austin followed the girl and had to jog a little to catch up with her, rolling his eyes. 

"Ha. Ha. Hilarious." He fixed his bag on his shoulder as he spoke sarcastically. Yasmin grinned at his reaction and kept walking. "I'm studying the same course as you." He finished, watching the girl's reaction. To his surprise, she only hummed. She didn't seem surprised by this information at all, unlike most people. 

"I was kidding. I knew that." She replied as she kept looking around the campus, enjoying the sun hitting her face and the soft summer breeze running through her hair. Austin looked at the young woman, confused at the reply. 

"What do you mean? I didn't tell you what I study before." He frowned a little. Yasmin looked at the man and stopped in front of him, looking him over again. 

"You're kidding." She grinned. Austin stared at her, even more confused. "You look like a model. Of course you're doing something with art." She rolled her eyes. Austin's eyes widened a little at the comment and he grinned. 

"Wow, Yaz. Didn't know you had it in you to flirt." He smirked slightly. Yasmin frowned at the nickname and tilted her head, unsure of what he meant by 'flirting'. She's never heard this word before but she assumed it was something negative from his facial expression. She could tell that the man was teasing her. 

"Don't call me that." She said simply as she began to walk again. As time passed, the pair walked in silence for a while, enjoying the views and the nice weather.  

"Look at that... The Campus Player has another toy." Yasmin heard a girl say. She turned towards the voice and frowned, confused by the words. 

"Ignore them." Austin sighed, walking a little faster. Yasmin jogged a little, catching up to the man and looked at him. 

"What did that mean?" She asked, curious and worried. By Austin's reaction, she figured that it wasn't a positive thing they were saying. "Tell me." She demanded. Austin rolled his eyes and kept walking, ignoring the woman's demands. 

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He spoke, trying to keep his voice calm. He gripped his bag strap and hung his head as he walked. He hated being called that. No one understood what he was going through. No one knew that what he did, was to stop feeling lonely. No one could know. 

"Tell me." Yasmin stopped in front of the young man with a deep frown in her brow. Austin groaned and clenched his fists, looking up at the girl. His eyes were angry and gave off a bitter glint. "Please." She said calmly. Austin's eyes relaxed at her voice and he looked away. 

"Later. I'll tell you later." He rubbed his hand across his face and ran his fingers through his hair. "Let's go. We'll be late for class."