Fate's Playbook

Chapter 11 - Best Friend

"A best friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you." - Elbert Hubbard

Nora walked into her dorm room and saw that Lily was lying on the couch, engrossed in a TV show. As soon as she saw Nora, she quickly got up and hugged her.

"Hey, what's up? What happened to your face?" Lily asked, noticing the bruise on Nora's cheek.

Nora sighed and recounted the incident with Luca Grey. She explained how she was reading her book under the tree and Luca accidentally threw the football at her face. Lily's expression turned into one of anger.

"What? That Luca Grey guy did this to you? I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind!" Lily fumed.

"No, no, it's okay. He apologized and even walked me to the infirmary," Nora said, trying to calm her friend down. "It was an accident."

Lily still looked skeptical, but she decided to trust Nora's judgment. "Okay, fine. But if he does anything else to you, I'm going to make him regret it," Lily warned.

Nora rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile at her friend's protectiveness. "I'm sure that won't be necessary. But thanks for having my back, Lily," she said, giving her friend a grateful smile.

Lily reminded Nora that they were going to the football game the next day.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot," Nora said, suddenly remembering. "Are you sure you want to go? After what happened?"

Lily shrugged. "I'm curious to see what this Luca guy is all about. Plus, William said he'll be there, and I kinda want to see him again," she admitted, blushing slightly.

Nora laughed. "Ah, so that's the real reason," she teased. "Well, it's settled then. We'll go to the game tomorrow and see what all the fuss is about."

Lily stood up and told Nora that she is going to start making food.

As Lily started cooking, the aroma of spices filled the dorm room. Nora watched as her friend expertly chopped vegetables and seasoned the chicken. Despite her bruised cheek, Nora couldn't help but feel grateful for having such a caring friend like Lily.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Nora asked, even though she knew Lily wouldn't let her do anything.

"No way," Lily replied, shaking her head. "You need to rest and let that bruise heal. Besides, I got this under control."

Nora smiled, feeling lucky to have such a thoughtful friend. She leaned back against the couch, watching Lily work her magic in the kitchen.

After a while, Lily turned around, holding a steaming plate of food. "Voila!" she said, grinning. "One chicken alfredo pasta, extra creamy, just the way you like it."

Nora's mouth watered as she reached for the plate. "It looks amazing, Lily. Thank you so much."

Lily shrugged, looking pleased with herself. "It's no big deal. I just wanted to make you feel better."

As Nora took a bite of the pasta, she couldn't help but let out a moan of pleasure. "This is incredible," she said, her eyes closed.

Lily beamed. "I'm glad you like it. You know, cooking is kind of my thing."

Nora nodded, feeling grateful to have such a talented friend. "You're amazing at it," she said.

Lily blushed and thanked me. We continued chit chatting.

As we were talking, Lily brought up the topic of Luca again. "You know, Nora, maybe you should give him a chance. He seemed really apologetic about what happened earlier and he did walk you to the infirmary and back to the dorms. That's something, right?"

I sighed, "I don't know, Lily. I just don't want to get hurt again. You know how things have been in the past."

Lily looked at me with understanding eyes, "I know, but not everyone is the same. And who knows, maybe Luca is different. You won't know until you give him a chance."

I thought about what she said for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I'll think about it."

Lily smiled, "That's all I ask. Now, let's watch a movie and forget about all of this drama."

We spent the rest of the night watching a romantic comedy and laughing. It was nice to forget about everything for a while and just enjoy each other's company.

The next day, I woke up feeling sore but better than yesterday. I got dressed and went to my first class.