Twitter ∞ Dan Howell

156

1 year later

I was spread out on the couch, legs up, laptop nestled in my lap. My toes poked up over the edge. I was wearing these obnoxiously yellow socks Meg had bought me a while back, which she'd purchased on the belief I would absolutely hate them. Which I did. But because it was her who had bought them, they were a little hard to hate.

I glanced up as the front door swung open, glimpsing a brown head muffled in a red beanie, before the door shut and she was already into the kitchen. Muted rustling sounds ensued, and so I stood, wandering over to the kitchen.

'Hello my love,' I yawned, stretching. I rested up against the doorframe, Meg bent over, rummaging through the fridge.

'Hi,' she replied, frowning as she pulled out a carrot. She gave it an experimental bend. 'How bendy is too bendy for a carrot?'

She looked up at me, and I shrugged, so she took a bite anyway, closing the fridge door with here socked foot. She moved over to the cupboards, rustling through them until she found a pack of chocolate chips Phil hadn't gotten into yet. 

'Hungry, I see,' I observed, watching amusedly. 'I thought you brought a whole pack of Doritos to your lecture this morning?'

'Yes, well, that was seven hours ago,' she grumbled, heaving herself up onto a stool. She collapsed onto her arms, folded in front of her, taking a miserable bite of the carrot. 

'Tired?' I asked, walking over to her. I ran a hand over her bowed head and she nodded, letting out a huff of air. 

'Tired doesn't begin to describe it.'

'You're working crazy hard.'

'Well, it's my last semester. Ever. It's the last chance I have to do well, and be proud of myself.' She rolled the carrot around slowly in her fingers, eyeing the opposite wall, her hair over her face.

'It'll pay off,' I said softly. 

'I don't know. I'm so fucked for my final exam,' she said quietly, cheek pressed up against the marble countertop. 'Like, really fucked. The kind of fucked that happens in all orifices of the body, all at once.'

'Okay, maybe let's stopped with the fucked analogies?'

Meg didn't say anything, just sighed again. I trailed my hand down her lower back, letting them rest on her hips. 'I know you'll be great. Really. And whatever happens, you know that I'll be proud of you, right?' I made a slight scoffing sound, her waist warm beneath my hands. 'I mean, I couldn't even get through first year uni.'

A glimpse of a laugh trickled out from her. I lent in, whispering excitedly to her, 'and look at you! Soon you'll be out there designing buildings for rich people. You'll be even more famous than me!'

Another hint at a laugh, but not much more. I hated seeing her like this - quiet, down-trodden. I wished I could just make it all better. I gave her hips a little squeeze. 'Hey. I've got a deal for you.'

'Yeah?' She said gloomily, her voice muffled by her arms. 

'If you help me with the grocery shopping, I'll buy you a bubble tea, make you dinner, and help you study. Deal?'

Meg glanced up at me through her hair, one single eye poking out through her hair. It creased with a slight smile. 'Deal.'

'Don't forget pasta,' Meg reminded me, pointing a finger at the grubby post-it note we'd been writing our groceries down on each week. 'And get extra. You know how Phil gets into those leftovers.'