VALERIE POV
I'd seen this man somewhere but I didn't recall where. He had beautiful brown eyes and dark brown hair. Our height difference intimidated me a little.
"Hey, you're okay?", he smiled trying to balance my body.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry I didn't know where I was going", I said almost in a whisper.
"No harm done", he said showing his pearly whites.
There was this awkward silence between us and I couldn't wait for him to leave me alone.
"Do you recognize me?", he asked carefully.
"Do I what?", I asked afraid that I heard him wrong.
"Do you still recognize me? We've met before", so I wasn't the only one who thought that too.
"Sorry. I don't remember", I shrugged. I was never the one who paid attention to people especially when I only met them once.
"You gave me your PB&J sandwich when I got stuck in the rain. We were at the halte bus together?", he said, trying to make me remember.
"Oh, right. You looked cold and hungry at that time so I think it's a polite thing to do" I remembered now. At first, I was scared of the fact that there was a stranger sitting quietly while staring at the pouring rain. I tried to keep my distance from him but I realized he was shivering and looked so pale. I always had this habit of helping people which wasn't always a good thing since he was a total stranger.
"I'm Sean", he offered his hand to shake.
"Valerie", I shook his hand which was bigger than mine making my small hand look smaller.
"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl", wow cheesy much?
"Uh, thanks?" I said, didn't know what to say. He kept staring at me which made me creeped out a little bit.
"Guess I'll see you around?", he finally said.
"Yeah", I said absentmindedly.
I walked quickly since I wasn't in the mood and I didn't want any encounter with this man anymore. I kept walking without taking a glance to my back.
I walked into the apartment and it was empty like I thought. Dani was probably with her boyfriend or something which was fine with me since I wanted to be alone.
I was getting dressed after taking shower when my phone rang. Who could be calling me? My parents rarely called me so I quickly took the phone worrying something happened.
I checked the id and it was Liam, my only guy best friend. We met at freshman orientation and we'd been friends ever since. Many people thought we were dating because we were close but I assured them that we were just friends and he was like my brother.
Liam was a good listener and always there when I needed someone to talk to or when I needed some advice. He had a sister so he really knew what to say or do and I was grateful having him beside Dani.
"Hello?", I answered.
"Val? Are you OK? You just disappeared after the class", he said concerned.
"Nothing", I said nonchalantly.
"Don't lie to me. I've asked what happened to one of your classmates", I sighed. Of course he would do that.
"It's just usual. Nothing new", I tried to assure him.
"Val, you know I'll always be here for you, right?"
"Of course I know. Really it wasn't a big deal. I'm used to it now. I just don't want to talk about it", I said.
"Alright. I just don't want you to keep it all to yourself. Call me if you need anything OK?", he said. That was one of the best things about Liam. He would understand when I didn't want to talk.
"Alright", I said before hanging up. I threw myself on the bed and covered my face with both of my hands. I was so stressed and the thought of what happened at class earlier came back to my mind. Oh my gosh, my friends would think I was an idiot.
I decided to take a nap to make me forget the incident. I grabbed my pillows and the Teddy Bear closed to my body. I just wished there was someone who would want to hold me and tell me that everything would be okay.
When I woke up, I felt better. I looked at the clock and it was almost dinner time. Wow, I really slept that long? I got up on my feet heading toward the kitchen. I spotted Dani and her boyfriend, James were sitting closely on the couch watching TV. She saw me and turned her head to me. So did James.
"Hey", she smiled.
"Hey. I'm going to make dinner. Did you buy the groceries?", I would explode if she didn't buy it this time.
"Yeah. They're all in the kitchen. James helped too", she turned to her boyfriend who just shrugged.
"OK. Thanks", I said before leaving them alone.
I scanned the ingredients she bought and I decided to make spaghetti for dinner since I was craving it. I made some for James too since he was a guest.
I was stirring the sauce when I sensed someone entering the kitchen. I looked up and saw it was only James so I turned my attention back to my cooking. James opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer. I didn't remember we had that drink.
"What are you making?", James asked coming closer to me.
"Spaghetti", I stepped back a little. I turned off the stove and took out some plates.
"You're a great cook", he said out of blue.
"Thanks?", I didn't know why he suddenly said that.
"You know, it's a shame that Dani can't cook. I couldn't stand eating takeouts whenever I'm with her", I just gave a tight smile and didn't know what to respond.
"But you, Val are the best. If I hadn't been with Dani, I'd go crazy for you", he smirked.
"James, what’s taking you so long?", Dani yelled from the living room then I could hear her footsteps coming to the room.
I continued putting the food on the plates pretending like James didn't say anything earlier. James did the same and already took a seat on one of the chairs gulping his beer down.
"It smells good in here", Dani chirped, taking a look at what I made from over my shoulders.
"Thanks", I muttered and set the plates on the table.
"Hmm, this is so good, Val", Dani moaned as she took the first bite.
"Yeah, this is amazing. You really are a great cook even better than my mom makes", James added but I ignored his comment.
I knew he might be joking when he said those words to me earlier. But the way he looked at me when he said those words made me uncomfortable and my inner self told me to stay away from him. I couldn't tell Dani about this. He was her boyfriend and she was happy with him. I couldn't do that to her. I decided to keep my mouth shut and tried to not be home when he was here.
After the dinner, James left. Then me and Dani did the dishes. She told me about her day and I told her mine except the class incident. It was already embarrassing that Liam knew what happened. I didn't want add Dani too. She'd never shut up about it while I wanted to forget it.
We bid goodnights and went to our own rooms like usual. I had a long nap but I was so sleepy. Luckily I didn't have homeworks or class tomorrow so I could sleep until noon. My phone buzzed when I was about to sleep. It was a text from Liam.
Don’t let today’s trouble bring you down, Val. You're the strongest girl I know and I'm so proud of who you are.
***
"Guess who", I felt someone whisper to my ear and a hand covered my eyes. I knew exactly who that was. I grabbed his hand away from my eyes and turned around to face him with my hand still holding his.
"You're no fun", he pouted a little and I grinned.
"So, aren't you supposed to be in class?". I asked.
"Yeah. I was about to when I spotted you sitting alone in here. Is everything OK?", he asked, taking a spot beside me.
"Yeah. My professor ditched us at the last minute and I had nothing to do until my shift began in an hour", I didn't want to go back to the apartment since Dani and James were there as well.
"Oh, okay. So, is there anything I can do?", he asked again.
"Yes. Go to your class. You'll be late", I said slapping his arm playfully.
"Are you sure? I can ditch if you want", he smirked.
"Not gonna happen. Go now before I kick your ass", I threatened. I hated it when he always ditched. I mean, we paid money for it right?
"Fine fine", he chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. "I'll see you later, OK?"
"OK", I waved as he went away to his class.
I sighed then continued my reading which was interrupted by Liam just now. As I read the boring book, I felt my eyes getting heavy. I decided to stop and close the book before I ended up sleeping here. I looked at my watch and realized that my shift would start in 30 minutes. Going now would be perfect. I put the book back in my bag and walked to the front gate of the campus.
I walked slowly to the cafe since it wasn't that far and taking time to watch my surroundings would be great. I never really looked around the city since I came here because I would be busy with homework or work.
I remembered when I went to my first girls night out with some of my friends. We went to different clubs and I had no idea where I was and couldn't find my own way back to the apartment. I had to ask some people who ran into me for directions.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I realized I bumped into someone. Gosh, why was I so clumsy. "Sorry, I didn't know where I was going", I apologized to the person.
"We really should stop meeting like this", I heard a familiar voice. I lifted my head and saw the guy I didn't expect.