Athena
This is it.
It's really happening.
My first official day as a college freshman.
I could really start getting used to calling myself a college girl now that I actually get to wear whatever I want, take classes in those big ass lecture rooms that could fill a hundred people and go to nearby bars to drink?
Oh yes, please.
For today's agenda, we only have our orientations and opening exercises (to be done in our very own residence chapel) which I find absolutely exciting.
Weirdly, Owen thinks otherwise.
"I don't want to be in a room full of random people. I want to sleep." he kept saying over and over like a broken record.
I shot him a watchful look as I swatted a finger at him as I shoved my sketchpads and pens inside a small canvas bag I'd be bringing.
"And I just want to graduate." I answered back as I slung my bag over my shoulder.
From my peripheral vision, the corners of Owen's mouth twitched upward as he tied his shoelaces.
"Can I bring a book at least?" he asked.
I turned to him as I tied my hair low with a scrunchie since it was kinda short and I can't really tie it up the same way Maya does. I kinda wonder if she has extensions my hair color.
"If that'll make you feel less anxious then sure. Give it a go. I did bring my sketchpads."
Owen finally finished tying up his shoelaces and with a final swing of his old navy blue Jansport over the handles of his chair, he pushed his way up to me and I couldn't help but grin and sit on his lap like the queen that I certainly am.
He smiled back.
I sat gingerly on his knees, making sure my sage green dress didn't get too crumpled. I spent long minutes trying to iron it down to what it already is now.
Owen had his fingerless gloves on now and as his arms enveloped my waist, I couldn't resist the urge to be ticklish to the gloves' velcro.
I chuckled and stared at him.
"So Mr. I-Hate-People-I'm-Married-to-my-Bed, I noticed you haven't picked up a book to bring." I said breathily as I leaned into his ear to whisper.
Owen's mouth curled into a slight smirk and he shook his head, letting more of his dark, wavy hair fall over his eyes.
"Ebooks are invented for boring college orientations, love. Though physical books are rather striking, they can get pretty heavy if you have a rotation of more than three books."
I laughed as I then wrapped my arms over his neck and cocked my head to the side.
"What a total Rory Gilmore/Jess Mariano thing to do. Are you sure you didn't come from a television show?"
Owen sighed and shrugged. He had a confused look in his icy blue eyes and still, I found them mesmerizing.
"I still don't understand your references. To answer your question, yes, I was born with a scowl permanently etched on my face whenever people approach me and no, I didn't come from the TV."
"Correction: it's not called a permanent scowl if you have certain conditions that are only appropriate for people-hating. You don't scowl when I go with you to the bookstore." I said with a slight roll of the eye.
Owen smiled largely before he let himself plant a soft kiss on my forehead. How I love those kinds of things.
It was rare for him to actually do those since he's on his chair most of the time. Well, we do sometimes stay on either one of our beds to watch random things on Netflix but no forehead kisses were done there. Just watching.
I'm not actually sure though since I do fall asleep pretty early into movies he picked out that mostly involve sighing a lot, dark scenes, deep voices, and anything with too much guns.
Owen had his bright eyes on me the whole time and he had this light expression plastered all over his angel-like face.
"I sometimes forget you're quite intelligent. And yes, how can you actually scowl when you're surrounded by multitudes of worlds printed onto paper?" he said with a smug smile.
I shot him an amused look and sighed.
"And I sometimes forget you're actually married to an old man who owns a bookstore."
Owen let out a sarcastic laugh and proceeded to push his chair backwards slowly, giving me enough time to get off his lap.
I stood and brushed down my dress that I dyed green myself. Honestly, my favorite color varies depending on which aesthetic I'm currently into.
The dress itself was cut above my knees and it was roughly textured over by the chest area and flowed perfectly down, thankfully.
I paired the dress with a random denim jacket I painted sunflowers on the back and of course, what look wouldn't be complete without a pair of Doc Martens?
I turned to glance at Owen and like always, he had on his older brothers' hand me downs. It wasn't a real problem since his brothers do have style and I wasn't worried he'd be stopped for dressing weirdly.
He had a dark checkered flannel with sleeves cut up until his elbows over a white shirt. His straight-cut pants were black and of course, his usual look wouldn't be completed without his ever so clean black Converses.
If having a certain pair of shoes we always wear isn't goals, I dont know what is.
Owen quickly spun over to his shelf and picked up two books along with his Ipad.
I stood by the door ready with my keys and waited patiently for him to stuff his books and tablet into his bag.
As he finished, he looked so contented with himself I actually had the audacity to narrow my eyes a bit at him paired with a smirk.
"Two books and an Ipad. Good thinking."
Owen looked up at me with those blue eyes he always had. A slight smile was plastered on his face.
"Better safe than sorry. People are just so tiring." he said.
"People are nice." I encouraged.
He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Not all of them."
Somehow taken aback, I put up a hand to my chest and shot him a look.
"I am."
Grinning widely now, he stared at me with those huge puppy eyes as he stopped fixing the contents of his bag that was conveniently placed on his lap.
"Fine. Except you."
I shot him my winning smile and raised my chin as I let myself open the door.
"At least even in book form I know I'm interesting."
Pushing himself right up to me, he had this soft smile on his face as he kept staring at me lovingly. His bouncy, dark brown hair kept making its way in front of his eyes and he swept them upward so he could look directly at me.
"Of course you are."
------------
Orientation was a blast.
I met some of the other freshmen taking up the same major as mine and I actually think I might be one of those annoying kids who enjoy school.
It's kinda rare but whatever. By the end of college, I'll most likely be alive and breathing, unlike those who were unfortunately devoured by student loans and the heavy workload of college.
It was some time after lunch now and I was walking around campus with my phone in hand. I'm going to check up on Owen.
Opening my messages and clicking his contact, I started tapping away on my screen as I continued walking straight in whatever path I was on.
Orientation's done for the day! Hbu? Where are u? Meet me back at the dorm?
With a quick proofreading done, I instantly sent the message to Owen's phone and waited for him to reply.
I was a little anxious to learn about how his day went. Owen was all jumpy and scared these past few days about starting school and I wanted to make sure he's okay. I know he always reassures me that he can handle himself perfectly despite his restrictions but deep inside, I sense a little insecurity going on with him.
He's scared of judgement.
People can be pretty mean. Well, most have their own ways of showing kindness but there are those who just are plain toxic. I don't want Owen around people who would put him into a box so small even he couldn't let himself breathe for a while.
I kept staring into our conversation as I walked and I felt myself bump into someone really tall and just as jumpy as I was.
As a result, I accidentally dropped my phone from the impact and looked up at who I bumped into.
He had a black backpack slung over his chest and it was slightly open to the sight of a Nintendo. His shoes were Nike. He had big, wonky glasses hanging over his nose. His hair was short and curly.
It was Fitz.
The great and awkward Fitzgerald Mohan.
He looked at me wide-eyed and as he looked down, he quickly stooped toward the pavement and picked up my phone. Fitz dusted it off a little before he eventually handed it back to me with a tight lipped smile on his face.
"You should watch where you're going next time. Another drop of that phone and it's a goner." he said with a shrug.
I smiled and looked down on my phone. It was still fine except the tempered glass protection I had installed a few years ago was slightly cracked.
I shoved my phone down into the pocket of my green dress and looked back at Fitz who now had both his hands inside his pockets.
"So what, should I bubble wrap it and store it inside a vault this time?" I answered back sarcastically.
Fitz's corner of the mouth curled up in one side and he shook his head slowly.
"I was thinking cling wrap but that's good too." he said with a nod.
"Or maybe we could try putting it in rice overnight and see if it grows?"
Fitz scoffed as he turned his head to the side and as he looked back at me, he grinned.
"I want to see you try."
I smiled at him hugely and we started to slowly walk together toward the direction of the dorm.
"Sorry 'bout your phone. It could be about time for an upgrade." he suggested.
I pulled out my phone again and looked at it.
It actually was kinda outdated now since it was an old iPhone my Aunt used to own and she just passed it down to me a few years ago.
It was that old.
"It still works. It's fine." I said, brushing him off as I tested opening the apps and like I said, it still functions.
"Suit yourself. By the way, have you seen Owen after orientation? I haven't seen him since this morning. I'm kinda scared." he admitted as we were nearer in proximity to the dorm.
"Slow down, grasshopper. I had just texted him actually. He's probably reading up in our room or something." I assured him although part of me tells me he's somewhere else.
"He should be. If I were him, I'd shit my pants if I got lost around campus."
"He has a map. He's fine."
Please let him be fine.
"How about the crowds? He's probably cramped around so many people by now." Fitz asked as soon as we stepped into the dormitory grounds.
"Orientation's finished. Most freshmen probably ran off drinking or something."
Oh god, please make sure Owen's still in one piece when I see him.
"Uhm, how about stairs? Some elevators don't work. What if he got stuck?" he asked worriedly.
To be honest, because of his questions, I was starting to worry too.
I looked back at my phone and checked for any messages.
Owen hasn't answered.
Shit.
"The ODS already fixed everything. He said so."
"Well he better tell the truth. He said we'll play DOOM over at my room once this was over."
As soon as we reached the long winding hallways of our rooms, I turned to Fitz and looked at him.
"I'll go check if he's around. If he's not there, I could probably make a good substitute for him in video games. He sucks." I said before heading towsrd the direction of my shared room with Owen.
"Sure thing. I'll be around." Fitz said with a chuckle.
I walked briskly towards our room and as I finished fumbling for keys inside my bag, I unlocked the door and as expected,
he wasn't here.
I felt my chest go heavy and I quickly left my bag on my bed before going back out to Fitz who was patiently waiting for me at the end of the hall.
"No Owen?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"No Owen." I answered.
Fitz looked down as well and sighed.
"Well, I guess we could drown our worries in video games. Now, do you prefer Nintendo, PlayStation or Xbox?" he asked, trying to brighten up the mood.
"Nintendo's good. We might as well order some pizza while we wait for Owen." I said as soon as Fitz and I went into the other hallway opposite of the one where Owen and I were staying.
"I don't do well with phone calls. Could you like---?" Fitz said open-ended, obviously hinting that I make the call.
I couldn't help but smile at him.
"Fine. I'll call. You really are friends with the guy. Your conversation skills are pretty much on the same level."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
It was not too long before Fitz and I reached his room.
It was a mess but like, the organized kind of messy.
Things were in their right places but how they were organized were just plain wrong. Books were stacked randomly, dismissing the proper arrangement of either by height or by author. The sheets were crumpled though his blanket and pillows were decent and his desk was cluttered with game cartridges.
The only thing that looked normal was his medium-sized TV that hung in front of his bed.
"I don't have a roommate to share this place with so that explains the TV." Fitz clarified as he dug around his drawers for Nintendo games.
"It kinda spoke for itself already, Fitz." I said as I looked around more.
I sat on the corner of his bed as I waited and as he came back with controllers and sat beside me, he raised his brows in surprise.
"Owen sat there the first time he came around. Kinda weird since I got to see him out of his chair for a while." Fitz said.
I sighed and took one of the controllers off his hands and adjusted my grip.
"He's probably your height standing up. Kinda miss him." I admitted as Fitz fixed up DOOM on his console and we were quickly directed to the Start.
"Is he? That's surprising. Okay, before we officially start, hasn't he replied yet? To your text?" he asked.
I fumbled for my phone inside my pocket. As soon as I opened it, I felt instant disappointment.
"Nothing." I muttered as I stared into my blank lockscreen of Owen hugging Maxie with a huge smile on his face.
How adorable.
If only he didn't make me so worried for him. Even Fitz was scared something must've happened.
"He's gonna come up soon. He's probably busy. You want to be Player One or Player Two?"
With a final look on my lockscreen, I shut down my phone and shoved it back in my pocket. I inhaled sharply and exhaled, letting myself cool off a little over Owen's unannounced absence over post-First day activities.
He's okay. Owen's fine.
"One, obviously. Now, don't get too cocky. You won't be the same once you lose to a girl."
Looking less tense now, Fitz exhaled and turned to me with a crooked smile as he pushed up his glasses.
"Let's see if I end up crying to my mom after this, Athena. Loser gets to pay for pizza. Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."