"You people should visit the city often, I mean I have a studio there, I have a year more for the lease left to expire. But I am moving to the college hostel, it's tiring to travel every day, so am planning to stay in the studio only during the weekends. So you people can come visit me and use it." Miranda told her mother and Tristen's mother while she packed her bag, she only had a couple more days for the semester to begin.
"That would be great for us to visit then sometimes, we need not worry returning early," Tristen's mother said.
"Yes yes of course," her mother opinioned. She was handing out some homemade snack and pickle jars Miranda used to love. Miranda didn't deny them, she packed it along with few books. Tristen had promised to drop her back at her studio directly while going to pick up some tools for his farm in the city.
Tristen brought his car and took Miranda's luggage. She came with one bag and going with three all packed by her mother and Tristen's. She hugged her parents and got in the car. She waved them until they disappeared in the distance. She was never homesick but she was beginning to feel it now.
"You rarely came home, why? Were you that busy? I remember your parents visiting you there instead," he said.
"Yeah I kind of love living there, it is fun really and maybe because we were brought in the farms half our lives that I liked the change,"
"That's bad. Nothing beats the countryside,"
"Maybe, yes, but different," she didn't want to answer anything much back.
"How are you so, really?"
"Am fine, why?"
"Nothing just, you know you looked terribly upset when I caught you in the orchard, is everything okay?"
"Yes of course yes, am just, you know worried about going to back to college after a long break," she explained. He knew something was troubling her but he didn't want to interrogate her soon after he rekindled his friendship with her.
He played all her favorites from home till they reached the city. "Oh my god, where did you get these collections from?" she was so surprised that he still remembered her favorite artists. They were singing aloud the songs as they traveled. One Direction, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber were all on the list. "I have got new favorites now," she told him as she enjoyed all the old hits.
"I searched the MP3 player you gave me last night," Tristen said smiling. "And am sure something is wrong, so let this be a way to calm you down,"
"Oh my! Aren't you the cutest," she was happy she couldn't believe he did that for her and ignored the second part of his speech. She wasn't in the mood to tell him at all.
"What's the plan?"
"Go to the room, pack a few important stuff, and move to college, they would have allotted me a room. It would be a dorm of 3 I guess, and then come back. Then go to college and come on weekends here at home," she told him everything. "You can drop me off and leave," she added soon.
"Are you kidding me?"
"You have got work to do and get back,"
"I can get back whenever. I came to spend some time with you I would be glad if you let me be useful for you, let's grab something to eat too am starving," he said very strongly that she couldn't deny. She could use a company she thought and decided to let him stay.
He pulled over in front of McDonald's and they went in. She ordered favorite McChicken 2 large with coffee and ordered cheese sticks for him. She saw someone familiar sitting next to her table, she recalled. 'Oh my god, him,' she thought and he saw her. He walked over as she took her seat.
"Hey Miranda, good to see you in one piece," Miranda flushed.
"Hey, cutie I mean Niall, good to see you too," she said embarrassed looking at him smiling, she remembered a long lost memory from college when she was in the freshmen year. "Oh my God, it's you." She suddenly recalled who exactly he was. "Niall it's you, I am sorry I didn't recognize you.
"Of course it's me, Took you this long to recognize me huh," he asked her while Tristen looked puzzled looking at them both.
"Join us," Tristen invited him. And Niall took a seat next to Tristen.
"Niall, this is my best friend Tristen, and Tristen this is Niall my senior in college,"
"Everyone gather around," a tall nerdy looking guy announced as we reached the football ground at midnight, being dragged from our dorm by the department seniors. It was said they are being taken away for the freshmen ritual and welcome party. The whole ground was decorated in a masquerade theme. And every senior present there were wearing masks. They called the first years in the order and gave them tasks to do. Drinking 5 mugs of beer, standing upside down for boys, stripping, pole dancing, some competition, and lots. Miranda on the other hand was given a task to choose a handsome guy she thinks is her crush from the lot and kiss him without taking his mask off. Apparently there only very few guys in their department. She hesitated but forcefully walked towards a guy who was wearing a black jacket and a turtle neck white t-shirt. He was wearing an eye mask tied with a black ribbon. She gave him a quick kiss. To her surprise he did respond kissing her back, and shocked, she walked back. That was her first-ever kiss but with a total stranger that she never considered it as a kiss. The moment she kissed, everyone one went silent and the atmosphere became super weird. Apparently, she had kissed their department beauty's boyfriend, the star-crossed lovers in the college. Miranda felt crushed.
Clara walked out of the party and Miranda earned an enemy the first day and for the next three years since Clara joined for post-graduation in the same college. She tried hard to see his face that night but she couldn't. She heard them argue a lot that night,
"You could have stopped her or told her you have girlfriend," Clara was screaming on the other side of the court.
"Relax Clara, it's just a fresher's party besides I don't even think I will even remember her, and you invited me when I didn't want to come, so just relax ok,"
"But you are her first crush,"
"Should that mean something to our relationship? She doesn't even know who I am and she didn't even know how to kiss,"
"Oh my god! You felt that, didn't you? Then go teach her how to,"
Miranda hearing all this felt too embarrassed and told her classmates, "Stripping would have been better."
"God what a possessive bitch is she!" Miranda heard a senior girl comment about Clara as they passed by. The news went viral in college how Niall the chemistry star was kissed by a fresher and Clara losing her temper over it. And she saw him a month later in his lab coats. Her heart did flutter. He was super cute and well-dressed that she really did crush on him for a second. She smiled at him and so he did back at her, then never showed up in front of them both. And he left college but kept dating Clara.
"Her first love," Tristen shook his hand with Niall.
"Oh shut up Tris," Miranda warned him.
"Her first potential crush in college and first," Niall snapped back but stopped as Miranda kept asking him to shut up.
"Unbelievable, are you both kidding me," and the waitress came with their orders, she must have heard the guys, that she was trying so hard not to laugh and looked at Miranda. "What a great reunion!" she exclaimed as she took a bite of her burger. Niall and Tristen seemed to get along quickly checking on each other.
"Farming is great for a guy to choose, I mean it takes a lot of guts to make that decision," Niall opinioned.
"How did you two meet so?" He asked Miranda.
"We grew up together, childhood best friends, his father has a farm, my father has an orchard, we have a long history since our birth," Miranda told Niall.
"By the way, how are you now? Eating okay?"
"What happened?" Tristen asked. And he saw Miranda asking Niall to not say it. "Am not leaving it until you say it,"
"I found her on the highway side once, she was about to collapse, so I took her to the hospital. Christmas eve,"
"What?"
"It's nothing I was too tired," she assured Tristen. "Am fine, I went home the next day and Tristen came to drop me off. I am heading to college hostel," she told Niall.
"Welcome back," Niall wished her.
They finished their meals and Niall took off in a hurry. "See you around,"
"What was that?"
"What was what?" she asked back.
"Finding you on the road at night time, were you trying to jump off or something, are you depressed, is everything okay?" Tristen sounded worried.
"I was so upset about losing the job and confused if I could get back on track going to college so I just got tired over it and accidentally Niall found me took me the hospital," she told him.
"You lost the job?"
"Long story I promise I will tell you about it all later, I don't wanna think or talk about it now! Please."
"OK It's fine. Relax. Let's go, you got to move today," he said and they went directly to her place.
They pulled in front of her apartment and went upstairs.
"Wow this place looks good," Tristen was surprised as he entered her studio.
"I have a year more of lease pending, you can use it when you come here, but no Girls!" she warned him in advance.
"No girls got it,"
"No boys and party too, just for our families and when you are alone,"
"That's tough. Okay, deal. Silly I have got no many friends here in the city," and they laughed. She packed a few necessary stuff and they loaded it in his car.
"That would be all," she said and she locked her the door taking one good look around the studio, tears slowly filled her eyes. She rubbed it off and took the elevator down. It hurts but not as she thought it would. She thanked God for Tristen's company for not thinking about her shit feelings.