The loud sound of the alarm clock blasts through the bedroom. Grayson let's out a groan from underneath my warm body. The sunlight is creeping through the closed curtains, which is the first thing my tired eyes latch onto. I'm already squinting.
"It's too early." I mumble, my head ultimately landing back onto Grayson's bare chest.
"I told you not to take an eight am, baby." His morning voice is my favorite sound. It's low, deep, and raspy.
"Five more minutes." I close my eyes.
"No, you can't be late for your first class." He sits up, allowing me to roll over on my side.
"First day of college." I mumble.
"It's going to be a great day." Grayson stretches his arms over his head.
"I want to go back to Europe, not fair." I say into my pillow. "It's already been a year since we left."
"We can plan a summer trip." He leans over and kisses the top of my head. "But for right now, you need to get ready. This is an exciting day."
"It is." I rub my eyes and fully sit up, looking around our bedroom.
Grayson and I have an apartment together in New Jersey. After traveling around Europe, our relationship grew stronger than ever. He seriously became my best friend. We've seen amazing things together, and have a bond that nobody can break.
After our three month vacation, we went back to New Jersey. Sean and Lisa graciously allowed me to live with them until Grayson and I were on our feet.
I got a job at the local supermarket, and Grayson started out as a busboy at a popular restaurant in town. He now worked his way up to being everyone's favorite waiter.
I reconnected with my love of ballet dancing, and started taking beginner lessons at the studio. It's baby steps, but I'm slowly gaining my confidence back.
Grayson and I decided to move into our first apartment together a few months ago. I had a blast decorating it, which amused him. It's close to his parents home and Ethan's university.
We both applied for the fall semester at the community college. Grayson is planning on transferring to the same university as his brother next semester, but I'm starting from scratch.
I decided to major in psychology, with a future career goal as a therapist or school counselor. Therapy helped me tremendously, and I want to be that change for other kids and young adults.
"I'll make you some breakfast." Grayson says, throwing on a t-shirt that was lying on our bedroom floor.
"You're the best." I smile, before heading to the bathroom to wash my face and proceed to do my morning routine.
The cold water hitting my face is refreshing, and suddenly butterflies swarm my stomach. I'm nervous yet excited to start college.
Technically I should be a sophomore, but due to my gap year and zero college experience, I'm a freshman. At first the thought worried me, but I decided to embrace it.
The gap year I took away from school was the best decision I ever made. I fell in love with the world again. Most importantly, I fell in love with myself again. It was the most exciting feeling in the world.
I head back to the bedroom and change into a yellow sundress. I keep my makeup light, considering it's still summer. I refuse to let go of the beautiful sunshine.
Once sandals are on my feet, and I put the infamous sunflower in my hair, I gather my backpack and head into the kitchen. Grayson is placing chocolate chip pancakes in front of me, which are my favorite
"My little college girl, you look beautiful." He grins when he sees me sit down at the island.
"I can't wait to see you later. Are we still meeting in the library?" I ask before biting into my delicious breakfast.
"Yeah, my first class isn't until twelve, so I'll hang out with you in between your gap." He says with a happy smile.
"I can't believe the day has finally arrived." I bounce my leg up and down.
"H, you have nothing to worry about. Everyone is going to love you, why wouldn't they?"
"It's a whole new world. I mean, everyone gets excited to start college. It's all anyone dreams about since the first day of high school."
"It's way better, you'll see." He laughs.
After finishing up my food, I look back at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to leave early, I know the parking will be insane."
"You remember where to go, right?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Yes, you showed me everything at orientation."
"Just making sure." He nods.
I rise to my feet, holding my finished plate. Grayson immediately takes it out of my hand and encourages me to brush my teeth and hit the road. I send him a smile and go into the bathroom.
I inhale a deep breath, and after looking at my reflection in the mirror, I feel ready to start my day.
"Okay, I'm off to college." I smile and head for the door.
"Have an amazing morning, H. I'll see you later." Grayson comes up to me, planting a sweet kiss on my lips.
"See you, baby. I love you." I smile brightly.
"I love you more." He sweetly whispers.
Exiting our apartment, I head down to the parking garage. For my birthday, Sean and Lisa surprised me with my very own car. It's a cute Toyota Camry, and I love it so much. I've gotten extremely close to them, and Ethan. It's nice to have them as my second family.
Once I'm in my car, I embark on my twenty minute drive to campus. My head is spinning, trying to play out how this day will go. Will I make any friends? Will my professors be nice? So many questions circle my brain.
The campus is crowded once I arrive, but I still find a spot next to my building. The smile I've been sporting breaks through my face as I make my way inside.
My first class of the day is psychology 101, a class I have been anticipating all summer. I'm excited to finally dive deep into my major.
The building must have been built recently, because it looks brand new. The architecture is stunning, with tall glass windows taking up most of it. I easily find my classroom and walk inside. A woman in her mid-forties sends me a smile, and I can already feel her warmth radiating the room.
I take a seat in the third row and pull out a pen from my backpack. I'm sure she'll hand out the syllabus once more people come into the room.
"Excuse me? Do you have an extra pen I could burrow?" A deep voice vibrates through my ear.
Chills suddenly take over my body as I slowly lift my head up. My eyes widen at the boy sitting in the seat next to me.
I can't stop staring at his face. Dark hair, brown eyes, bright smile. Dimples that indent his cheeks. He looks exactly like my brother.
There are some differences, like the fact that this boy has more freckles and his chin is slightly more pointed. But the resemblance is scary.
"Uh, yes." I stutter, quickly giving him the one in my hand.
"Thanks, my dumb ass actually forgot to bring one on the first day." He shakes his head in disappointment.
"It happens to the best of us." I continue to stare.
He furrows his eyebrows and looks back at me. "Uh, are you a psych major, too? Or are you just taking this class as a requirement?"
"Oh, uh, I'm a psych major. I'm Hope." I introduce myself to the stranger.
"I'm Hudson, it's nice to meet you. Are you a freshman?"
His name is Hudson? How weird is that. It has to be a coincidence, right?
"Yeah, you?" I mutter.
"I'm a sophomore. I failed this class last semester, so they stuck me back in here. Total bullshit." He rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, I bet." I whisper, not being able to get the uncanny resemblance of Hunter out of my head. They could be twins.
"Are you okay?" The boy laughs. I realize how creepy I must seem, staring at him like some freak.
"I'm sorry, you just look exactly like somebody I used to know. You even act like him, too." I blurt out.
"Well, there are supposedly seven people in the world who look just like you." He chuckles, and Hunter's identical smile flashes in my mind.
"Yeah." I nod, before turning my body to face the front. I can't get over the fact that his name is Hudson and he looks and acts just like my brother.
"I like the sunflower, by the way." The boy randomly states.
"Huh?" I look back at him.
"In your hair, it's cool. My younger sister claims they're really underrated. I usually buy my girlfriend roses, but she insists sunflowers are way better."
"They're my favorite." I can't help but smile.
He slowly nods, before twirling the pen around his fingers. "I have a feeling we're going to be great friends, Hope." His bright teeth are in full view.
A feeling of comfort floods my entire body. I suddenly feel at peace, I feel at home. I know I'm right where I'm supposed to be.
"Yeah, Hudson. So do I."
-
the end â¤ï¸
GUYS, can you believe I have completed 9 wattpad stories?! how insane is that! thank you all sooo much for the love and support on spaces. this story was an idea i've had for awhile, and was so happy to finally share it with you all. i've written plenty of romance books, but I love diving into different genres. with you're next, it was mystery. with drag me down, it was action. with this story, it was supernatural. of course romance is my favorite, but it's so cool and refreshing to write something different.
honestly, I didn't know how you guys would like this story. because it's so different and not like my typical stories, I thought maybe it would get a bad reaction. i'm glad you all fell in love with the storyline and characters as much as I did! as you guys know, writing is my passion. I am so blessed to share my stories on this platform and create new friends because of it!
my next story is a romantic comedy that will have you guys laughing out loud. seriously, it's the cousin of more than this and little white lies. updates on that will be coming soon!
follow me on my instagram @/dolansheartxo for updates regarding my stories.I post a lot of cool edits and polls about them!
I love you guys, thank you for everything! talk to you in my next story xoxo