Michael

Cole is surprisingly good at controlling my wheelchair. It's a pleasant change from Alyssa, who seems blind to every crack and bump in the sidewalk. He quickly gets me back into his passenger seat as well. He's easily twice as strong as Alyssa. I keep my mouth shut however, his ego doesn't need any more bolstering.

"So what did the doctor say?" he asks once we've both gotten back in the car.

I shrug. "Not much, it was just a checkup on my arm and leg after getting the splints off last week." Everything is fine, there's not much more to share. Even if there was, I wouldn't share it anyways.

Getting some of my independence back has been a huge relief. I can hobble around on one leg, but the doctor advised against it. Something about risking falling and injuring myself again.

Cole nods. "I was surprised you asked me to help you out this weekend." He gives me a wry grin. "I'm quite flattered, in fact."

I groan. "You're better than Alyssa, but that's not saying much."

We've always had at least one other member of our group stay on campus for Thanksgiving. It just had to be this year when all of my friends happened to be going away for the weekend. With Carmen gone as well, Cole is the closest thing Alyssa and I have to a mutual friend.

"Don't be so harsh," he scolds. "Alyssa is really sweet."

"Wow, who would've thought that you could actually see past a girl's looks," I mock.

Cole scoffs. "Do you know how many guys would kill to be in your position? You're being taken care of by Alyssa Aria."

"Don't remind me," I mutter.

Cole just chuckles. "Come on, she's hot - you can't deny that."

"So is the sun but that doesn't mean I want to get closer."

He bursts out laughing. "You're a weird guy, Michael. This is going to be a fun weekend."

-----

"It's a long weekend and this is what you choose to do?" Cole whines.

I glance at him from above my laptop. He's slouching in his seat across from me at the meeting table.

"I'm trying to enjoy the silence," I say dryly. Despite normally staying in the library until late at night, it's rarely this quiet. With most people gone for the holiday, only a handful of people occupy the giant building. The meeting room's walls further muffle any noise.

"But look outside!" Cole dramatically gestures out the room's wide windows. It's oddly sunny and bright for an October afternoon.

"Good point, please close the blinds." I squint at the window. "The sun is hurting my eyes."

"Unbelievable," he mutters, slowly getting up and trudging over to the windows. "What are you even doing?"

"Making the final edits to the article." I turn my laptop around for Cole to read.

He sits back down with a heavy sigh and leans towards my laptop. I watch his bright blue eyes slowly go back and forth across the screen. His furrowed brows gradually relax and the corners of his lips curl up into a smile.

Greek Life: University of Markham's Philanthropic Backbone.

He leans back into his chair and chuckles once he's finished reading. "Wow, I wasn't expecting you to be so... nice."

"I'm a good journalist," I say, very matter of factly. As much as I would've loved to share my personal thoughts on everything I saw that weekend, I knew I needed to be objective. I visited all twelve sororities and fraternities, and for a group of rich kids, they were surprisingly generous and altruistic. The rest of their personalities weren't great, but the dean is expecting something positive – and he decides whether or not we continue to get funding. I'll swallow my pride when necessary. "I'm dreading Alyssa's reaction though."

He rolls his eyes. "Alyssa was smart to get away from you," he snorts. "I don't know how she's put up with you for an entire month now."

The smug voice in my head argues with the annoyed one. I can't decide how much I actually care about this to share. "She invited me to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family."

I thought she was joking at first, but there's this indescribable bright look she gets in her eyes when she's being genuine and thoughtful. It makes you feel seen, like you're the most important person to her at that very moment.

As it turns out, those aren't contact lenses, her eyes just somehow look like that. It's simultaneously annoying and mesmerizing.

It caught me off guard when I realized how serious she was being. I suppose it was nice of her to ask, but I don't celebrate holidays anymore. Plus, I've heard more than enough about her family to know that we'd never get along.

"She did what?" he gasps before launching an elastic band at my face. "What the actual hell, dude. Do you know what that would've done for your reputation?"

Have I met the male version of Alyssa? "What is it with you people and your obsession with social ladders?" I scoff. "The way you judge each other is unbelievably shallow."

I met enough of them to realize how they all had these perfectly crafted, almost fake, personalities. It was like speaking to the same person dozens of times. Anyone even remotely out of line was ostracized. Bad haircuts, clothes from last season, underweight, overweight, players – it was asinine how much gossip they shared within a couple minutes of meeting me.

Why the fuck should I care so much about what others think about me? If I walk past someone on the street and they think I'm a jerk for frowning in their direction, boohoo. That's their problem.

"Get off your high horse. You're just as shallow." Cole sighs and lets his head tilt back, staring up at the ceiling. "You're lying if you say you don't dismiss Alyssa because of how she looks."

I remain silent. The words I've used to describe Alyssa haven't exactly been nice per se. She just makes it unbelievably difficult sometimes to take her seriously. She showed up the other day in a pink dress embroidered with strawberries on it. If you want to be respected, don't dress like a child.

"I don't think you realize how much she cares about you, dude. The least you can do is be appreciative," he mutters.

My stomach twists into a guilty knot. Despite how much I long for the day where we're no longer obligated to see each other, I might be taking Alyssa for granted. Sure, she's the one who put me in this fucking chair in the first place, but she's also done a shit ton of stuff to help me out.

Cole begins counting on his fingers. "She buys your groceries, cooks your food, keeps track of your medicine, dresses you, does your laundry, and brings you everywhere you need to go." He pauses and gives me an unimpressed frown. "Am I forgetting anything?"

He's forgetting a handful of things, but I keep my mouth shut. Maybe Alyssa does deserve a little better.

"I can't believe how highly she thinks of you," he sighs and shakes his head.

"She... what?" I stare at him blankly. "What did she say?"

He looks at me awkwardly. "She, uh, might've told me all of this in confidence and made me promise to never repeat it."

"You're out of your mind," I say. "Just tell me."

A notification suddenly pops up on my screen and the ringtone plays.

"It's Alyssa isn't it," Cole says with a giant, shit eating grin. "Answer it you moron."

I flip Cole the finger before answering the call.

"Hi Michael!" Alyssa greets me cheerfully. She's in what I assume is her bedroom – it looks like it came straight out of an interior design magazine. "I wanted to check up on you! How was the doctor's appointment?"

"Hi. It went fine." I look up as Cole waves his hands to get my attention. Keep going, he mouths. "How uh, how have you been?"

Alyssa looks taken aback for a moment. "It's going great! It feels like I haven't seen my family in forever," she quickly says. I notice a pack of kids running past her room and a woman chasing after them, shouting something inaudible. She chuckles sheepishly. "It's a little crazy when my whole family gets together though."

"How fun." I muster up as much enthusiasm as I can, but my words end up coming out sounding sarcastic anyways.

I notice an elderly man slowly walking by Alyssa's room. "Oh, this is my grandpa!" She peeks around over her shoulder and waves him in. "Grandpa, this is my friend Michael."

He walks into the room. Despite slightly hunching over to use a cane, he looks surprisingly tall – even taller than I am. His hair is an icy white, and his purple plaid shirt matches Alyssa's purple plaid sweater. Knowing Alyssa, I'm sure she organized their colour coordination.

He gives us a slight, crooked smile. "Oh hello, you must be the Michael we've all been hearing so much about."

Alyssa's face turns bright red. "Grandpa!" she gasps before turning back to us. "It's not what it sounds like, I swear."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what she's told them about me. Same goes with whatever the hell she said to Cole. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"You better be treating my favourite granddaughter with respect, young man," he says sternly, but an amused grin tugs at his lips.

Cole snickers and I flip him the finger again.

"With all due respect sir, Alyssa is probably the last person who needs someone to protect her," I snort. This wasn't quite what I was expecting when Alyssa said her family was overprotective and overbearing, but it's quite amusing nonetheless.

Whether she's willing to admit it or not, Alyssa is clearly capable of taking care of herself. I've seen how protective she gets over others – definitely not someone you'd want to mess with.

His laugh is deep and gruff. "I'm kidding, you're definitely right. Alyssa is my toughest grandchild by far."

"If anything, people need to watch out for her," I add.

Alyssa giggles and gives me a small smile. "Thanks."

I faintly hear someone in the background shout, "Dinner time!"

"Looks like it's time to head downstairs," her grandpa says. "We know better than to make your grandma wait." He pretends to shudder, and Alyssa bursts out laughing.

My hand suddenly grips the fabric of my pants and I focus on keeping my expression steady. I can't help but feel somber. I haven't seen my grandma in over a decade, but I still have the most vivid memories of her. Mom's side of the family might be small, but grandma definitely didn't let that stop her from preparing giant feasts for family get-togethers. Her homemade soba noodles were always my favourite. I'm sure her cooking would have blown Alyssa's grandma's cooking out of the water.

I understand why she stopped, and I don't blame her. The accident definitely hit her the hardest, no matter how much we tried to convince her that it wasn't her fault. It didn't make the situation any less shitty though.

"All right, well... I hope you have a good dinner," I say awkwardly.

"Thanks Michael! I know it's only been like one day since we've seen each other but it feels kinda weird, right?" she laughs. "I got so used to seeing you every day! Thanks for talking!"

"Yeah, no problem." I shrug. I'll admit that it felt strange not being abruptly woken up by Alyssa yesterday and this morning. Is that a bad thing? I can't tell. "It was uh, nice... to get to talk to you again. I'll see you soon."

After I've hung up, I can already see Cole's wide, obnoxious grin spreading across his face.

"Not one word," I say dryly. 

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A/N:

Ohoho what do we have here 😏

Thanks for reading!