Our Corner of the Universe

fifteen.

☾☆

Melanie.

I walked up the three flights of stairs to my dorm, unable to remove the giant smile that was still plastered on my face. When I arrived at my room at the end of the hall I stop for a moment, taking a breath before I go in and get bombarded with questions from Alana.

The past 24 hours have without a doubt been the craziest that I have had since arriving at college. Yes, the events of last night were painful and brought up visions of the past I had worked so hard to forget, but this morning with Hunter almost made up for it.

I turned my key and opened the door quietly, unsure if Alana would still be sleeping after her night out. I walked in to find her sitting upright on her bed frantically texting on her phone, and when she noticed my arrival home she promptly stood up and ran to me engulfing me in a hug.

"Are you okay? What happened? The party got shut down and some frat boys kicked everyone out but then some guy named Jack found me and said you were okay and you were with Hunter and you were okay and I didn't know what to do and you weren't answering your phone."

"Okay okay, please take a breath. I think that was the longest sentence I have ever heard." I chuckled at her excitement. "I will tell you the whole story, just promise not to freak out. Well, freak out any more than you are now."

She took a deep breath and sat down on her bed waiting expectantly to hear the events of the last night. I walked across the room and sat down on my bed facing Alana and tried to figure out where to start.

"Okay well, I guess I should start with last weekend when I met Hunter in the library." I began, but was quickly interrupted by my eager roommate "Wait you met the Hunter Woods and you didn't feel the need to share?"

Okay, fair question. "I didn't know who he was. You know I'm not really involved in the social life at this school so when he started talking to me in the library I was oblivious to the fact that he was campus royalty. He just seemed like a nice guy who wanted to talk and then he offered to walk me home and we actually kind kissed."

At this news Alana began to bounce up and down on her bed, "You kissed Hunter Woods!" I laughed at her again and added, "I actually kissed him twice. He came back the next night and walked me home again."

"I can't believe you kept this all a secret! Keep going, I need to know more." If that was the reaction I got from last week I knew she was going to really lose it over last night. "I will tell you the rest but you have to promise not to stop me every five seconds and wait until I am completely done to react."

She nodded her head agreeing to stay silent, something that was always hard for her, and let me begin the telling of the last 12 hours. I started with the encounter with Hunter and the bitch, then I reluctantly told her about the creeper who tried to feel me up and left me with a bruise on my side. She seemed to want to say something at that part but kept her promise to stay quiet until the end. I continued to tell her about how Hunter came and saved me and took me back to his house where he cleared out the party and took care of me, giving me his clothes and sleeping next to me. I finished by telling her about the talk we had this morning and how I thought it was best for us to stay friends.

"Okay I am done now, you can talk. I know you are over there dying to."

"I have so many things to say but most importantly, are you okay? I can't believe you were attacked like that." The concern in her eyes was genuine, telling me that she really was worried about me. "I am okay now actually. I mean if Hunter wasn't there I don't know what would have happened," I shudder at the thought but then push it out of my mind, "but he was there and he took care of me and made me feel safe, so yes I am surprisingly okay.

It was the truth too, this wasn't just another lie I was conditioned to say as it had been in the past. Hunter truly made everything feel okay and all the anxiety wash away.

"Good I am glad. He seems like an amazing guy, despite him being kinda a player. It sounds like he truly cares about you. Which leads me to ask, why the hell did you tell him you just want to be friends?"

I knew she wouldn't understand that part, why I would friend zone such a popular and attractive guy. "Because just like you said, he is a player. And even if he really does care more about me, I don't belong with a guy like him. He is surrounded by athletes and sorority girls who all worship him. Just the thought of being at parties all the time and being around all those people makes me want to curl up in a ball. I belong at the library, not with him."

"Listen Melanie, I love you but you are so wrong. You are bright and funny and beautiful and any guy, even Hunter Woods, would be lucky to have a girl like you. You need to stop telling yourself you aren't good enough for him, or anyone for that matter. As for the anxiety part, I have a feeling he would do just about anything to make you feel comfortable."

I had a pretty good idea that she was right about the last part, he would do anything to make sure I was comfortable. That was all he had done since we met.

"Thanks Alana, I love you too."

She smiled at me and then hopped up again, "Let's go get some lunch, I am starved." I stood up too and slid my shoes back on to head out. "Oh and don't think I didn't notice you are wearing Hunter's football sweatshirt. You know those sweatshirts are a big deal, players tend to only give them to girlfriends." Alana smirked at me.

I looked down at the sweatshirt that fell to my knees and smiled, I knew it was a bigger deal than he made it seem. I contemplated taking it off before heading to the dining hall in an effort to avoid the stares that were sure to come, but it felt too right for me to part with it just yet.

Instead, I rolled my eyes at Alana and said, "Oh shut up and just go."