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monday, 8am. your first day of senior year is here and you couldn’t be less excited. you suppose you’re excited for all of the fun that will come along with your senior year of college… but you’re NOT excited to be sitting in an 8am college psychology lecture that you have to attend twice a week for the next four months. it was the only time slot that was left when you made your schedule and all you wanted to do right now was slump your head against the desk and sigh as loud as you possibly could. you woke up just early enough to take the fastest shower of your entire life and throw on whatever clothes were within arms’ reach, not to mention you were super hungover from last night’s ‘end of summer’ party. you ran to class in your old ratty t-shirt, your hair quickly and messily tied up and out of your face, and made it just in time to plop into one of the only seats left available in the lecture hall. sat next to you was a pale looking boy with fading blue hair. you reached into your bag, retrieving your laptop and promptly dropping it on the floor in front of you. you groan and briefly wipe your hands over your face before bending down and reaching out your hand, only for you to realize that the boy sitting next to you was already holding out your laptop in front of you. your eyes traveled north, catching him with a small, polite smile on his face.
“thanks.” you grab your laptop as the boy closes his eyes and gently bows his head, his own way of saying ‘you’re welcome’.
“i, uh, like what you’re doing with your… shoes. looks nice.” what the hell was that supposed to mean? you look down and realize you’re wearing two different shoes, one grey sneaker and one red. you groan again.
“thanks for pointing it out, dude.” he frowned at that, and it made you feel guilty. he looked like a puppy that had just been scolded. you thought he was trying to be a dick but it turns out he was just awkwardly trying to compliment you. you felt bad for taking your frustration out on him but chose not to say anything more, so as to not make the situation worse than it already was. you just opened your laptop and tuned in to the lecture as it began.
friday, 10am. you had just failed your first psychology pop quiz and you were pissed. honestly, you were less angry and more sad. disappointed. other negative emotions. the pale boy with blue hair was sat next to you again today and when you peered over at him, it looked like he aced the quiz. that made you even more upset. how could you flunk it when the person right next to you knocked it out of the park? you both took the same exam! you put your head in your hands and silently beat yourself up mentally. not long after, you could hear murmuring coming from the person to your right. it sounded like “blah, blah, blah” in your ears and it was NOT helping the massive headache and sour mood you had. you looked up at the blue haired boy.
“listen, the last thing i wanna do right now is chit chat. i just absolutely flunked this exam and i wanna get the hell out of here and go back to my dorm room and sulk. please take the hint that i just… don’t want to talk.”
“i could, um, help? i could tutor you… if you want.”
“dude. no. i don’t want your pity. please just leave me be, okay?” you shot out of your seat, grabbing your bag and quickly rushing towards the exit, hearing the boy try to stutter out an apology behind you.
wednesday, 10am. some weeks had gone by and you were starting to get the hang of this psychology class. halloween was here and you couldn’t wait to be finished with classes so you could get drunk dressed in a slutty little costume. as your professor dismissed the class, you watched out of the corner of your eye as a hershey’s kiss slid in front of you on the desk. you look in the direction where it came from and you find the now blonde haired boy sitting there, looking everywhere except for you.
“what is this? are you still feeling bad about upsetting me like, last month? is this apology candy or something?”
“no! no… i’m just… giving you… a kiss?” you watched as he sputtered out each broken fragment of the sentence, his face getting more red with every word.
“ohh, that’s uh… flattering?” you let out a small laugh and he appears to fold into himself slightly out of embarrassment.
“i’m not trying to laugh at you, sorry. um, thanks for the kiss.” the boy’s face turns impossibly red until he looks like he’s about to pop, bashful like a little kid would be.
monday, 7:53am. you arrive to class slightly early, like you had been recently. there’s still quite a few seats open… and yet, you choose to sit next to the blonde haired boy. you take out your laptop and open it up, logging in and setting up your notes for the day.
“KAI.” he loudly blurts it out, immediately putting his hand over his face to hide his shame.
“excuse me?”
“ah, i’m sorry, i’m so dumb… my name, it’s kai. i realized i never told you. and i wanted to tell you since we sit next to each other a lot. and… yeah, that’s it.”
you tell him your own name in response and he shyly smiles from ear to ear, clearly feeling very proud of himself for initiating the interaction.
and, when he finds a note tucked into the crack in the desk with your phone number scribbled on it, you don’t miss how red his face turns, resembling the red ‘EXIT’ sign above your head.