🎶 My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea

You touch me once and it's something 🎶

- Sparks Fly, Taylor Swift

━━━━━━━ •♬• ━━━━━━━

Nathan stood stunned in his doorway. What had just happened?

He stared down the hallway where the Candy girl had run off. He blinked a few times, still wrapping his head around the fact that the girl he'd met in the parking lot a few hours ago was now at his door. Was she stalking him?

Why did she run away? And why stick a sticky note to his stomach? Weird.

He removed the note from his body and was about to shut the door when he noticed a box lying on the floor. With a frown marring his face, he picked it up and turned it in his hands. The number 406 was scrawled in bold, black strokes on one side of it.

How did she get it?

He stared at the empty hallway again before turning around and shutting the door behind him. Walking over to his desk, he placed the box on the tabletop and then unfurled the sticky note he had accidentally crumpled on top of it.

The sticky note was of the same yellow color she had slapped in his hand in the parking lot just a size bigger. Familiar cursive writing stared at him.

One of your boxes got mixed with mine. I just wanted to drop it off in case you were worried it was lost. Sorry for the inconvenience.

There was a doodle of the emoji bowing its head after the last line which Nathan found cute. Smiling, he fished out the previous note she'd given him from his pocket and smoothened it on the desk.

She had pretty handwriting, he noted.

Suddenly an idea struck him and he began rummaging through his stationery. While he wasn't the 'different color pens and highlighters' kind of guy, he liked to keep one of all essentials.

"Aha!" he exclaimed in victory when he got a singular paper clip from his case. Holding the clip and the two sticky notes together, he carefully attached them and placed them in his drawer. He wondered how many more sticky notes he could collect. A stupid smile graced his lips at the thought.

Then he realized he still didn't know her name. Or what her major was. The only thing he knew was that she lived in Kensington Hall too.

The door to his room opened behind him and a long whistle resounded in the room. Nathan turned around to see William standing at the door with his mouth open and blue eyes wide.

"Damn!" Will exclaimed. "Man, you are ripped! Is that real?" He scuttled forward and poked Nathan's abs.

Nathan swatted his hand away. "Of course it's real."

"Damn!" Will repeated, nodding his head.

Nathan rolled his eyes and went to his bed, lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. It had been a long day. He had hoped to go on a run to make up for missing his morning workout but now that he was on the bed, he didn't have the willpower to do anything. Besides, moving all those boxes proved to be a workout in itself. Maybe he could just take a nap instead. Yeah, that sounded really great.

Just as he shut his eyes, Will broke the peaceful silence with his question. "So... What major are you?"

Nathan groaned internally. He really wasn't in the mood to talk about academics right now. But he knew he would be getting that question a lot.

"I haven't decided yet," Nathan replied. When silence followed his answer, Nathan opened one eye to see Will staring at him expectantly. He sighed. He wasn't going to get to nap, was he?

"You?" Nathan asked, pushing himself into a half-sitting position.

Will grinned now that he had Nathan's full attention. "I'm pre-med." Nathan's eyes widened, causing Will to chuckle. "I don't look the type, do I? I know. I get that a lot."

Nathan shook his head. "That's really cool. Good luck, man."

"Thanks," Will said as he plopped on his bed as well. Nathan followed his lead and resumed his previous position, both of them staring up at the ceiling. "My brother's friend was pre-med here and he said it was grueling but also extremely helpful. To be honest, I'm a little scared already."

"Understandable," Nathan said even though he didn't really understand. He was pretty much aimless when it came to his career.

He knew he had to go to college and make his parents proud. And everyone around him said that going to college was necessary to have a career but that was all he knew. He figured he'd find his path eventually. Maybe seeing what other kids his age were doing would give him some idea of what to do. So that was his plan for now. Observe and learn.

"What brought you to North Castle?" Will asked.

"Basketball scholarship," Nathan replied. And also because it's far away from home.

He didn't say the last part, however. No one needed to know that.

"You play basketball? You're kidding?" Will exclaimed, shooting up from his bed. "Damn! No wonder you are so ripped."

Nathan couldn't help but chuckle. "It's not a big deal."

"It is man! Do you have any idea how popular the basketball team is around here?" Will asked, incredulous. "You're gonna be pulling chicks left, right, and center." He sighed and fell back on the bed. "You have to, have to become my wingman. I bet you'll have a girlfriend within the first month of college."

Nathan didn't know what to say to that. It wasn't like he hadn't been with girls before. He had. Two to be specific. But the situation he was in right now... that didn't seem like a good idea.

He had all these issues and all these things he needed to look out for, dating just didn't seem right. He needed to focus more on getting his life back on track and staying out of trouble.

"Let's exchange numbers," Will said suddenly, snapping Nathan out of his thoughts. "If you ever bring a girl over, I'd very much like a heads up so I don't witness anything I'd rather not see."

And so they exchanged numbers even though Nathan knew he wasn't going to text something like that to Will ever. They continued to chat about mundane things then. Hometown, family, college life expectations.

Mostly Will talked and Nathan listened. And before he knew it, Nathan had dozed off to sleep, dreaming about colorful sticky notes and candies.

When he woke up hours later, the room was plunged into darkness. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and noticed the bed opposite to his was empty. With a groan he rolled over, staring at the ceiling as he got his bearings back.

Nathan reached out for his phone to check the time, the brightness of the screen nearly blinding him. It was ten past eight. He also had a series of texts and three calls from Will.

Will: Wakey wakey roomie

Will: Seriously bro you're gonna miss dinner

Will: I made friends!

Will: Join us in the dining hall whenever you wake up sleeping beauty

He locked his phone and sat up, a sigh leaving his lips. While he contemplated whether to go downstairs or just go back to sleep, his stomach made a grumbling noise. His only meal for the day was the lunch he had with his family. It was hours ago.

Nathan got to his feet begrudgingly, making a note to go shopping tomorrow and stock up on snacks for emergencies. Since he was late anyway, he decided to hit the showers first before going on a hunt for food. When he was done, he went back to his room to keep his toiletries bag and grab his keys and wallet.

Next, he pulled up the list of cafés and diners near him as he made his way out of the dorms. There were several on campus but only three near Kensington Hall. The closest was a minute's walk away. Much to Nathan's dismay, it didn't have a lot of options but it'd have to do now.

His stomach made another angry noise, causing him to quicken his steps. He was halfway across the front lawn when someone yelled his name, stopping him.

"Nathan! Nathan! Yoohoo! Over here!" Nathan whirled around to see Will waving his hands wildly over his head.

A bit of embarrassment crept up Nathan's neck as he received glances from other people around.

"Nathan!" Will called for him again and Nathan lifted his hand, hurrying towards his roommate before he could say or do anything further. "Man, you missed the most delicious dinner. The chicken salad was amazing."

Nathan doubted that. He had quickly realized that Will was very similar to his dad. It wouldn't take much to make the guy happy. So he did what he always did with his dad. Agreed.

"I bet. Sorry, I overslept," he said, trying to give him a sheepish smile. "I was just heading out to the café down the road to get something to eat."

"Oh, where? I didn't know we had a café around," a feminine voice came from behind Will, who immediately stepped aside to reveal the owner of the voice.

In his rush to get to his roommate, Nathan had missed the other three people sitting on the lawn table. A blond woman smiled up at him from beside a bulky guy. The guy had his arm around the blond, crushing her to his side. It didn't take a genius to guess they were together. But that wasn't what had Nathan taking a sharp intake of breath and had his heart thump.

It was the other person sitting across from the blond. The candy girl.

"Let me do the introductions. This is Carly and Matt," Will said, gesturing towards the couple.

"Hey," the guy said while the blond woman lifted her left hand where a gold band sat snuggly on her ring finger.

"We are married," she said, grinning wide.

"Babe, you don't have to announce it every time," Matt said, turning to his wife. He tried to sound reprimanding but there was no mistaking the upward tilt of his lips.

"Why? It's so fun to watch the shock on their faces."

"Uh... Congratulations?" Nathan said awkwardly as the couple began to bicker and then kiss each other.

"They are so in love!" Will exclaimed, sighing wistfully.

However, Nathan's eyes were stuck on the Candy girl. She kept averting her eyes while playing with her hair. Nathan found it amusing how they kept running into each other. This was the third time in a single day.

He had to get her name this time.

"Oh, and this is Melody," Will finally said, getting to the point.

At the mention of her name, she looked up and lifted her hand in a tiny wave, a shy smile on her lips. Nathan felt his own lips tug into a grin at that.

She was so adorable! And pretty. And cute. And she has a pretty name. And Oh My God!

Nathan silenced the voice in his head and managed to plaster a cool smile on his face. "We meet again," he said.

"You two know each other?" Will asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"In a way. Yeah," Nathan replied and she looked away again, a flush working up her cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Carly.

"So are we going to the café? I'm kinda hungry again," Carly said as she parted from Matt.

"Me too," Will agreed, patting his stomach for emphasis. "I worked up an appetite today with all the heavy lifting."

Just like that, Nathan's solo trip turned into a group activity. For the short walk to the café, the girls walked ahead while the guys trailed after them. Will and Matt got into a heated conversation about which football team was going to win the Super Bowl next. Nathan didn't have much to add to it as his eyes were trained on the girls ahead where Carly talked animatedly while Melody just nodded along.

A part of him was warning him to stay away. To not get involved with this girl or anyone for that matter. But he just couldn't help himself. It was as if his eyes had their own will and always went to her.

Once they reached the café, everyone placed their orders and sat at the table. He got himself a club sandwich while others got themselves desserts. A smile formed on his lips when he saw Melody's face light up as her huge glass of strawberry milkshake arrived. She was so easily readable with all her feelings showing right on her face. For some reason, Nathan found that extremely endearing.

"So... Do you guys have any plans for the week? Classes don't start until next Monday," Carly said after taking a bite of her chocolate pastry.

"Don't know. Go downtown maybe?" Will said, looking at Nathan for his opinion.

Nathan shrugged. "Local mart to get snacks."

There was a chorus of agreement at that and soon a plan was made to go shopping. As a group. Again.

Nathan got the feeling that he had been involuntarily signed up as a group member and there was no coming out of it now. Honestly, he hadn't thought of having many friends at college. Least of all on the very first day. But he was surprisingly okay with it.

It was decided they would go downtown tomorrow morning and then to the mart to get groceries in the evening. Will and Carly enthusiastically looked up places to see and made an elaborate plan on how to get there, where they'd stop, and where they'd get lunch. Matt nodded along with whatever Carly said.

Melody had her phone out as well, probably looking up places to visit too. Nathan watched as she tried to get Carly's attention to something only to be ignored. She stopped and kept her phone aside. Her lips turned downward, a sad look appearing on her face only for a minute before she plastered a smile on her lips again.

But it wasn't the same pretty smile as before. And that didn't sit well with Nathan.

"Where do you want to go?" Nathan asked, interrupting the discussion as he directed the question to Melody.

Silence fell on the table, all eyes turning to Melody as if just realizing she was there too. Melody's eyes widened, a flush working up her cheeks at the sudden attention on her. Nathan looked at her expectantly but that seemed to fluster her even more.

"Oh, she can't speak from birth," Carly said, taking Nathan by surprise. His eyes flitted back and forth between her and Melody as he tried to make sense of it. "Poor thing."

She can't speak?

He replayed his past encounters with her in his head. The sticky notes, only nodding to give her consent, gesturing with her hands but not speaking. Never speaking.

When he looked back at Melody, he noticed how she held her head down and gripped her dress tightly in her hands as if embarrassed. Nathan felt bad for not knowing this before, for putting her in a spot. He wanted to apologize but didn't know if it would make things better.

"But Melody, can you still attend regular classes? Wouldn't you much rather attend a special school or something?" Carly asked much to Nathan's annoyance. Couldn't she see how uncomfortable Melody already to was already?

Melody shook her head and began typing something on her phone. Once she was done, she pressed a button and a woman's voice came from her phone's speakers.

"I don't have any learning disabilities so I can attend normal classes. I'll probably just have to sit out on presentations if we got any."

An awkward silence followed after that, making things worse. Nathan was about to speak up but Will beat him to it.

"Well, those are a pain in the ass anyway. Good for you honestly," he said, giving her a warm smile. "Also, you can always check prior if the coursework includes presentation and not take those."

She smiled back at him and typed something in her phone. However, instead of having the device speak for her again, she just showed her screen to Will. Something that made Will smile and reach over to ruffle her hair. Nathan wanted to know what it was but didn't get to see it.

The conversation resumed to where it had been cut off and once everyone was done with their food and drinks, they decided to head back to the dorms. The early fall air felt nice after the sweltering day they'd had.

When they reached the dorm, the girls decided to head back in while the guys wanted to stay outside a little longer. Will asked Nathan if he'd like to go on a walk around the dorm building and he agreed immediately. He needed to digest the food before going to bed anyway.

Just as he was about to join Will and Matt, he felt a tug on the sleeves of his sweatshirt. When he turned around, he saw Melody smiling up at him. His breath nearly got stuck in his throat from how close she was standing.

She grabbed his hand and dropped another sticky note in it before rushing inside the building. He stared after her until she disappeared from sight and then looked at the note in his hand.

Thanks for trying to involve me in the discussion as well. It meant a lot :)

He looked back at the dorm entrance, a huge grin taking over his face. He was glad she didn't hate him for putting her in a spot. And also for receiving another sticky note.

"What are you grinning at?" Will asked, coming to stand beside him.

Nathan immediately closed his palm and put his hand in his pocket. "Nothing. Let's go."

This was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. He'd be a fool to ignore the warnings of his brain. And yet, for once, he wanted to be foolish.

Author's Note

Look who's back. Never thought it'd take me three months to post the second chapter but it is what it is. With the final chapters of The Hookup Pact submitted, I have some free time and I'll try to write a chunk of chapters ahead of time but I won't make any promises. Because life always gets in my plans and I don't want to disappoint y'all after giving you my word.

So, all I'm saying is that I'll try my best to get you faster updates.

Usually searching for a song that fits takes much longer than writing does with this one. I should have done my music research before deciding on the concept but oh, well 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also, also, a new Taylor Swift album drops tomorrow. Ahhhh!!! Who's excited? The album title has my expectations reaching sky-high. Maybe a new song will be featured in the next chapter. Who knows?

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you liked the update. Please vote and comment your thoughts<3

See you next time. Byee~

18th April 2024