Chapter 45
Arthur
One Month Later
I couldn’t believe I made it. First year was officially done.
When I was growing up, I always thought the final day before summer would be like the opening scene in High School Musical 2, you know, the one where everyone eagerly waits for the clock to strike, and when it finally does, they all lob their coursework into the air and burst into song with zero repercussions. Before you ask, Libby went through a massive High School Musical phase, and we only had one TV in the house, meaning I was more often than not subjected to this kind of madness from an early age. My last day of sixth form wasn’t like that, and it’s safe to say, my final day of first year at uni, definitely wasn’t like that. As soon as my lecturer dismissed us, everyone trudged out of the hall, half already rolling a joint and heading straight for the smoking area, the other half legging it to the canteen to avoid the queues, like it was just your average Wednesday. Maybe it was because we weren’t in a Disney movie, or maybe it’s just because we’re British. There was one thing though that got everyone wiggling their toes in excitement.
The end of year summer ball.
If you’d had asked me at the beginning of the year whether I would go to something like that, I would probably have laughed in your face. The thought of hundreds of boozed up students cramped on a soggy field in formal wear would have been enough to make me shudder more than any horror movie. But today was different, I was in a completely different place, both body and mind. I’m surprised we even managed to get tickets. Poppy was distraught a few weeks ago when she went to order them for all of us online, only to discover that they’d all sold out. Sam, being the secret sap he is, then made it his mission to locate 5 tickets just to make her happy. I didn’t think he’d manage it at first, but then he came back to the flat later that day, fanning himself with 5 crisp tickets and the smuggest grin imaginable on his face. Apparently, he’d made a friend at the SU gym whose girlfriend just happened to be on the summer ball committee. He’d pulled some strings and used the gift of the gab, and viola. Whizz a few weeks forward to today, and now I was currently on my third attempt at trying to tie a tie, growing more infuriated by the second.
“Just watch a YouTube video,” Sam snorts from the door.
He’s wearing the same suit he did on the day that my parents came to visit. But this time, he’d let his cropped ginger hair grow out, with slight curls beginning to form. He also reeked of aftershave, almost to the point that my nostrils were burning.
“Or, you could just help me tie it, seeing as you’ve done yours?,” I deadpan.
Sam laughs, “well I was going to at least let you ask first. Didn’t want to just prance on you and you get the wrong idea. I’m a taken man you know.”
Rolling my eyes, I smile, “you’ll be pleased to know that the feeling is very much mutual.” “Plus,” I say, as Sam stands in front of me and does some weird origami with the tie, “I’m a taken man too.”
That felt so good to finally say aloud. Things were souring between Ember and I, it felt so easy, like we just fit. It’s strange, as much as I prayed that she felt the same way, a small part of me was still harbouring the fear that when we got together, we’d lose the friendship that we once had. However, absolutely nothing had changed. If anything, it was everything we once had, just better, and tonight, I was going to take her to the summer ball as my girlfriend. Don’t get me wrong, my chest still contracts thinking about the amount of people that are going to be there tonight, but I know that with her by my side, holding my hand, I can conquer anything.
“Done,” Sam said, stepping away from me.
I took a final glance at myself in the mirror in my Navy suit, White shirt and Black tie and for once, I smiled at what I saw. I was enough.
“Alright, stop loving yourself,” Sam smirked, “I told Pops we’d get them at 7:00.”
I check the time displayed on my phone, 6:55, shove it in my pocket and we both practically bolt out the door.
◆◆◆
When we make it to Charlton court, we both bend over and wince, panting for air.
“The bus is delayed, it’s not arriving for another 10 minutes now”, Poppy laughs, pointing to the neon orange sign above the bus stop, which currently displayed U5 Now Expected at 19:10pm. Clearly didn’t need to give myself as asthma attack over it then. I eventually catch my breath when it’s immediately taken again by the woman standing in front of me.
Ember’s dressed in a floor length gown. It’s Black, sleeveless and silk, covered in tiny shimmering stars of silver, with a cheeky thigh-slit and paired with some shiny black heels that are peeking out under the fabric. When my body is done heating at the sight of her bare skin, I gaze my eyes upwards and draw in another breath as I notice her usual long wild curls have been straightened and cut shorter by quite a few inches, now sitting softly on her shoulders in a sleek and shiny long bob. The golden flecks of her eyes are made more mesmerising by the glitter illuminating over her eyelids and the sharp black cat-eye that I love so much. I can hardly find the words as she smiles shyly in my direction, obviously eager to know my thoughts, but also analysing me at the same time.
“She looks hot, doesn’t she Loverboy?,” Amy grins.
Ember smacks her on the shoulder at her comment, making me snort.
I edge closer to her. “Whoa,” I smile, twirling a strand of her hair around my fingers.
“Do I look okay?,” she asks innocently.
“Well considering that I’ve had to catch and re-catch my breath about five times since looking at you already,” I laugh, my eyes boring into her. “You look perfect.”
Her beam reaches her eyes as she interlaces our fingers. “You don’t scrub up too badly yourself,” she winks.
“In other words Arthur, she thinks you’re really fit. We’ve always seen her ogling you, even before you became frie-,” Amy doesn’t get to finish before Ember whacks her with the strap of her purse.
“Uh!,” Amy harrumphs, “I don’t take kindly to abuse. Although there is one thing you can do to make it up to me.”
“Oh yeah?,” I ask, dreading to know the answer.
“Just bloody kiss already!,” she shouts.
We both roll our eyes and smile. I cup her face with my palms and bring my mouth to hers, feeling her tug and pull as the kiss deepens.
Amy, Poppy and Sam are all cheering and clapping, and even some random other people at the bus stop are getting in on the action. As much as I’d like nothing more than to pick her up and whisk her away to my bedroom right now, I don’t think we need an audience. So, I slowly pull away from her grasp and plant a brief kiss on her cheek.
Thankfully, I can avoid any potential piss-taking from the others, as it’s then that the bus decides to pull up. When I say it’s heaving, I mean heaving. Heaving as in, if I move a centimetre there’s the risk of my ass being against your crotch, heaving. How they could let this many people on at once was beyond me, surely there were some sort of health and safety regulations that this was so clearly breaking. I gulp as we all fight our way to squeeze through the crowds. Everyone on here was heading to the same place as us. Well, if the formal attire was anything to go by. Everywhere you looked, there were blues and greens, reds and purples, yellows and pinks, it was like the cast of bloody sesame street were onboard. That same cramp formed in the pit of my stomach as I realised that this was only a fraction of the amount of people that would be on campus right now. I tried to inwardly count to ten, but it was proving challenging when you were packed like a sardine. I then tried deep breathing, which was made even harder by the fact that every time I inhaled, I could practically taste stale BO. I don’t think a bus was the best place to practice mindfulness in honesty. But just as I was about to succumb to the fear, I felt a firm grip on my hand, followed by a gentle grazing of her thumb on mine, my anchor in the storm. I crane my neck and look down next to me.
“You’ve got this, remember?,” she whispers kindly.
I smile, returning the gentle graze of my thumb over hers. “We do.”