The Writer | #4✓

Chapter 9

On Saturday, after kissing and taunting me with the blindfold tied around my eyes, Maxwell had undone the knot, letting it fall off. He'd looked at me with a grin on his face, as well as with an expression I couldn't quite describe before he shuffled away from me and picked up the books he'd taken out of his drawer to show me.

I'd stayed the night in his room after that, and he soon became a chatterbox, talking to me about everything and anything, and not giving me space to reflect on what had happened just minutes before. I'd slept beside him that night — well, not really. I had just stared at him as he slept since my heart wouldn't stay still the whole night.

On Sunday morning I'd headed back up to my room to find Ollie sleeping in bed. I spent most of Sunday in my room, doing nothing but reading and responding to Maxwell's texts Maxwell sent me. I read a bit and did some assignments, but most of my day had been me just smiling like a fool.

Now it was Monday, and I still felt like the whole weekend had been a surreal experience that never really happened, and I had maybe just dreamt everything up. I got down from bed after a while of just staring at the ceiling when my alarm went off. I headed over to Ollie, shaking him by the shoulder until he was awake. We both had morning classes on Monday, and we had to hurry. From the few days Ollie had been my roommate, it was obvious nothing, but direct human contact woke him up. So, I was technically his alarm clock.

On my way to class, I received a couple more texts from Maxwell, making me smile. He seemed bubbly and happy this morning, which made me happy as well.

Maxwell:

Good Morning Xanny.

Have a nice day. X.

10:01 AM.

I found myself staring down at my phone as I took the elevator in the humanities building to my English class. I wondered where Maxwell was at the moment. Was he still in the hostel? Or was he heading for a class in the music building?

Thinking about the music building, I realized I haven't heard Maxwell play anything since high school. I smiled to myself, thinking it would be great to get him to play something for me later.

When I got to my English class I put my phone away, focusing on the lecture instead. It was about an hour-long, and When it was done I headed to my next lecture. In between classes, I'd reply to Maxwell's texts. They made me smile, but they also got me wondering about what our relationship was at the moment. We weren't dating. Well, that's for sure, but it didn't seem we were friends with benefits or anything of that sort. Maxwell had just kissed me, and after that night he didn't mention what happened again, and neither did I. Our conversations had just been more focused on what we were reading, and what I was writing.

This is confusing. I thought, sighing as I made my way to the student union building for lunch. Ollie was already waiting for me in the cafeteria upstairs, and when I got into the building and I made my way to the crowded food court I soon found Ollie sitting as a two-person table at the far end. I waved in his direction, and he waved back when he saw me. After standing in a line and getting my food I headed to sit with him.

"Hey," he said with a smile as he looked up from his phone when I got to the table. I just smiled at him, placing my tray of food in front of the seat I was going to sit in before settling down. I let out a sigh, watching his fingers move on his screen as he typed.

"Who are you talking to?" I asked, moving my food around my plate with a fork. I'd promised my mums that I'd try and eat healthier, but anytime I got healthy food I just played with it until I tossed most of it away.

"What?" Ollie asked, dropping his phone on the table's surface before looking over at me with wide eyes.

"Who are you talking to?" I asked again, watching as he let out an oh before he looked out the window beside our table.

"Someone. It doesn't really matter who," he said before picking up his phone and typing away. I rose a brow in confusion, but I didn't say anything and just focused on turning the food on my plate. I haven't known Ollie for too long, and maybe it wasn't wise to be poking into his business.

The table was quiet as I ate and as Ollie took a bite of his food from time to time. The cafeteria was noisy as usual, and the noise from surrounding tables sounded like a background buzz.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. How was the party?" Ollie asked, making me look up from my food. He's put his phone away and was now staring directly at me. "I was already in bed when you came back, how was it?"

"Fine," I muttered, feeling my face grow warm when I realized my voice was shaky and obvious. Ollie smiled, resting his head on the table.

"What happened?" he asked, making me look at anything but him. I hadn't told him about my crush on Maxwell yet, and I was contemplating whether it was a good idea to tell him at all.

"Nothing."

"Your face is bright red. Come on, you can't even lie properly," he laughed, letting the pads of his fingers drum on the table's wooden surface. I bit my bottom lip, holding on to my face in embarrassment before sighing. Was I that obvious? Maybe.

"You know that Maxwell invited me over to the party, right?" I said, watching as Ollie nodded. "Do you know that I like him?"

Ollie shrugged, looking up at the ceiling for a bit. "I kind of figured you did."

I smiled, before looking down at my plate of food again. "We kissed — I mean, we made out on Saturday," I finally said, looking up to find Ollie staring at me with wide blue eyes. I found myself blushing, so I looked away from him as the memory of that night flooded my mind.

"Oh," Ollie finally said, making me look back at him. He smiled at me before running a hand through his hair. "So, now what?"

I sighed. "I don't know. That's what has been bothering me. We haven't talked about what happened much. Well, we haven't really talked about it a lot."

"Does he feel the same way? I mean, do you know if he does?" Ollie asked, making me think a bit. The sound of the people sitting around us was making it hard to focus, and I eventually just let out a sigh before looking over to Ollie again. Ollie gave me an encouraging smile, making me smile back at him before I attempted to explain myself.

"Maxwell told me he liked me," I said, pausing. "But when Maxwell said that he liked me I wasn't quite sure what he meant. I mean, I'm not sure if it meant I like you like a pal I can kiss, or I like you romantically, and us not talking about it after that night just kind of made me more confused," I told Ollie before watching him sigh.

"You could just ask him." he shrugged, picking up his can of soda to take a sip.

"I should just ask him?" I repeated with a frown, wondering if he'd heard himself.

"Yup," Ollie said, popping the P before filling his mouth with a forkful of pasta.

I shook my head, resting back on my chair. "I can't do that. That's weird," I said, playing with my fingers as I watched Ollie eat.

"If it's so weird, why do you want him to spell everything out for you? If you prefer waiting then better get comfortable, you'll be waiting for a very long time," Ollie said, before taking out his phone again to talk to whoever it was.

"I guess you're right," I said before sighing. Although I'd agreed I still wasn't too keen on just walking up to Maxwell and asking him what he meant by liking me. It would be embarrassing, and sort of weird, but if I had to be honest with myself, nothing would be more embarrassing than him reading my journal. So, what was I afraid of?

"Ask him out on a date, be the first to start a conversation. He doesn't always have to make the first move, you know," Ollie said suddenly, making me look over at him. He hadn't taken his eyes off his phone and was still texting away on it.

"Thanks," I said anyway, smiling before returning my attention to my food.

I should keep that in mind. Maybe I could ask Maxwell out on a date later. That is if I don't die before getting all the words out. I chuckled to myself, picking about the vegetable-filled dish. I could even ask Caleb for help. I concluded in my mind with a smile before I continued eating.