"When do your results come out?" I ask Alex as I drop onto my bed and snuggle beneath the covers.
"Another two weeks I think." She mumbles as he finger slides across her Ipad.
Her last exam was today, and after actually managing to sit them all, she came back to the dorm and has been sat on her bed searching something online.
"How'd you think you did?"
"Probably shit, but I'm keeping my hopes up." I smile slightly into my pillow.
"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you." She faces me and offers a thoughtful smile before turning back to her Ipad screen. "What are you doing?"
"Looking for a job."
"Don't you think that's a little too soon? I mean you don't know whether you've passed or not."
"What happened to you optimism for two seconds ago?" I press my lips together and hold back a laugh. She's stressing, but I can't blame her. If I were in her place, I'd have made sure I had my résumé handed in to as many places as possible, to beat the influx of competition later. That, and I'd want to make sure I had a steady income to pay off my debt.
I'm brought back from my thoughts as Alex sighs dramatically and stands from her bed.
"I need a breather, I'm going out."
"Where to?"
"Levy said they were going to the bar just off campus." By they I assumed she meant, Zayn, Josh and Ky and perhaps maybe a few others I hadn't met. "I'd invite you, but you always turn me down." She puts on a jacket and toes into her shoes.
"I'd rather stay in." I shift in bed and watch as she gathers a few thing and shoves them into her bag before turning to the door.
"I'll be back later."
"See ya." She closes the door and I sigh, taking in the silence of the dorm and the last rays of dusk streaming through the window.
Getting onto my knees, I lean up and rest my arms on the window sill as I stare out at the grey parking lot, littered with a few cars here and there, illuminated by the single lamp at the corner of the foot path.
To the side of the parking lot is a small corner of over grow grass and tangled hedges, but what catches my attention is the scatter hints of white and yellow of roses hidden by the excessive foliage.
Instantly my smile perks up, triggered by the memory of mum's back garden, enclosed with flowers of all sorts and wafting an earthy aroma through the patio and into the back room.
I find my self standing and pulling on a cardigan and flats and grabbing my keys from my desk before heading out the door. I stroll through the corridor and out to the parking lot, before skewing away from the footpath and onto the grass. The green blades tickle at the exposed part of my feet and brush against my ankles as I head further and further away from campus and closer to the roses. I can already smell the dirt and musky scent of the petals.
Most of the area is shaded by a tree, not one as big as the one on the central lawns, but still quite big. Staring at the space, a smile tugs at my lips. This is the perfect place to just sit and relax, reading a book or talking to mom on the phone.
The smile vanishes off my face in a matter of seconds, and I jolt with a sudden gasp when a feel a hand rest on my lower back.
Heart beating frantically and eyes wide open, I whip around my tensed body only to find Zayn standing behind, with the hand formerly on my back now shoved into his pocket.
I let out a deep shaky breath and close my eyes as I regain my composure. He doesn't say anything as I stand there and get myself together.
"If that was your idea of a prank, it wasn't funny." I step away from him and cross my arms around my body.
"It wasn't meant to be." He shrugs and runs a hand through his hair, his t-shirt rising slightly above his waist as he does so. I look away instantly.
I stem further towards the roses, and try my best to ignore Zayn's abrupt presence, but when he calls out my name I find it hard to focus on being alone.
"Harper." I turn around to find Zayn staring at me, his face poker. I wonder how long it took him to master being so good at that. There's barely a hint of emotion there.
"Were you looking for something? Someone?" I ask, hoping seeing him was a pure coincidence and that he was heading off. Thinking of that though reminds me of Alex and the bar with their friends and for some odd reason, I'd rather his business, whatever it be, remain on campus.
"You actually." Shocked, I turn back and gaze at him curiously. The hint of a smirk he's trying to fight off doesn't go unnoticed.
I blush. I try so hard to keep my composure and maintain a poker face like his, but it's practically impossible. I can't help what I feel.
Hurriedly, I let my gaze drop to my hidden feet in the grass, and I bite the corner of my lip. In my hazy state I hear Zayn chuckle as he rubs a palm against his stubble and suddenly I clock out of it.
"Very funny." I roll my eyes and exhale loudly, hoping he'd get the hint that I'm not in the slightest, interested to be talking with him.
"I'm serious. I left something with Alex and she said you were in your dorm."
"Well I'm not."
"No shit."
"I'm going for a walk, you can get the keys off of Alex." I give him my final word and saunter off, perhaps a little too defiantly than necessary, but for some reason he has this unnerving capability to get under my skin. I just wanted to stop and pick a few roses fro my bedside table.
"Technically the car park is the end of campus." He speaks up, not picking up at all on my eager dismissal of him. " Where were standing now is private property, so technically you're trespassing Harper." I halt, just as I was about to reach for a rose.
"And I'm supposed to believe you?" I brush a few strands of hair away from my face and cross my arms. Zayn just shrugs, but nonetheless, he walks further into the green space, towards the unkempt flower bed.
"Zayn, stop, you just said we're trespassing." He stops, but not because of what I said. He's pulling at the stems of the thorny bushes, making a gap. "Zayn, what are you doing!? Trespassing is one thing, but vandalizing is another." He breaks at the twig, disregarding my comments.
Zayn breaks away a final twig, tossing it to the side and walks through the gap he has made. "Are you coming?"
"I'd rather not do something illegal." I stay firmly put as Zayn combs through his messy hair.
"Suit yourself."
"I will." I tap my foot as Zayn stands unmoving with a hint of a smile forming on his lips. He continues to stare at me a little while longer before speaking.
"Your stubbornness is pretty impressive Harper." I huff and nod towards his make shift gap.
"Go on then."
"Come with me."
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Fanfiction"Harper-" "It's Bre, Zayn. Bre." "Whatever." ~*~ She was a change he needed, but didn't want. He was a challenge she wanted, but didn't need.
