~ Zoie's POV ~
The first day of school. Whether it was Zoie's first day of kindergarten or her first day of high school, the first days always felt monumental. Today marked her first day of college and it was a big deal, to say the least.
This morning, Zoie got up super early, took a nice shower, and wore the outfit she prepared the night before. Then she spent the next hour making sure her hair and make up were on point. It was only the first day, but it felt like so much more. Why? Because this was her first day of actual freedom. From here on out, she gets to be whoever she wants to be, she gets to choose what her life will look like for the next four years, and... maybe she'll run into Miles on campus. Hence the perfect hair and make up.
Zoie hadn't seen Miles since the night of the party. He texted her here and there, mostly to make sure that she was OK. That and to confirm their date this coming Saturday. This will be a big week for Zoie and she was determined that nothing will get in her way. Not even Asher.
After that night, Zoie and Asher were on... okay terms. Zoie warmed up to him after he apologized, and she chose to ignore whatever comment he made before he left. You know, the thing about she's all he ever thinks about.
Zoie decided not to take it personally. She didn't want to get in over her head that Asher felt a certain kind of way for her. Instead, she focused herself on school, on her future, and of course, on Miles.
Once she felt that everything was perfect, Zoie grabbed her book bag and exited her room. It was about 10 in the morning and her first class begins at 11. She'll have time for a quick breakfast and she'd be ready to go.
"Morning," Asher greeted her as she stepped into the kitchen.
Zoie was shocked to see Asher there. He was fully dressed, wearing a white V-neck t-shirt and jeans, eating a bowl of cereal.
"Good morning," she said suspiciously, grabbing a fresh bowl from the counter. "What are you doing up so early? I thought you don't have class until tomorrow,"
"Yeah, but you do," he shrugged.
Zoie then noticed the car key sitting on the table.
"I can drive myself," she said.
"I know you can," I replied. "But I wanna drive you,"
"Why?"
"Because I love driving,"
Zoie narrowed her eyes at him, but he just smiled innocently.
"Alright, fine," she said, sitting down and grabbing the cereal box.
Several days had passed since that party and life with Asher had been... manageable. He hadn't brought up the party or anything and neither did she. They just went about their day being cordial to each other, which was what he promised the first time around.
And hopefully he'll keep.
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"Pick you up at 5?" Asher said as he parked the car.
Zoie and Asher arrived on campus a little before 11. Zoie checked her class schedule and nodded her head. How did he know her last class finishes at 5?
Did he memorize my schedule?
"Yup, thanks for driving me," she said as she got off the car.
"Sure thing," he replied with a wave.
Zoie gave him one last look before turning away. Asher waited until she got inside the building before driving away.
Okay, honestly, that wasn't so bad...
To be fair, Asher had been more than cordial since that night. He was helpful around the house. Always fixing dinner and driving her around to get whatever she wants. They weren't best friends or anything. They barely spoke to each other, but being around him wasn't so bad. He was pleasant and thoughtful. Two adjectives Zoie never thought she'd use to describe Asher.
If things continue like this... I guess life with him is quite alright after all!
Zoie was walking through campus with a pep in her step. The Stanford campus was absolutely beautiful, filled with lovely green trees and gorgeous Spanish architecture. The sun was shining and the weather was perfect, putting her in a good mood all day. Even the mountain of homework the professors assigned her didn't wear her down. She felt invincible. On top of the world. She was a college student living her dream college life. Nothing can get better than that.
"Zoie!" A loud yell was heard, causing Zoie to turn around.
She spotted Jo and Karlie sitting by a tree in the quad. They waved at her, gesturing for her to come closer. Zoie smiled and went over to them.
"Jo! Hey!" she beamed excitedly. Then she turned to Karlie and hesitated for a beat before saying, "Karlie, what's up?"
"Nothing much. We haven't seen you since the party, babe," Karlie replied, patting the ground so Zoie would sit next to her.
Zoie smiled awkwardly and sat down. Leaving a small gap in between them.
"Yeah, I've been busy getting stuff together for my classes," Zoie replied. "I've got sooo many reading assignments for this class and it just started,"
"Well, welcome to Stanford," Jo giggled with her arms open wide.
"Speaking of the party," Karlie cut her off. "A little birdie told me you went home with Miles that night?"
"Oooh, do tell!" Jo exclaimed.
"Miles is my neighbor, guys. I just needed a ride home," Zoie shrugged.
"Really? That's it?" Jo asked.
"Aw, you got us all worked up for nothing," Karlie pouted.
Zoie paused for a moment and leaned closer, whispering, "Well... we're also gonna go on a date tomorrow,"
"Oh!" Jo and Karlie squeaked in unison.
"So, we'll see how that goes," Zoie shrugged again.
"Alright, you go girl!" Karlie beamed, offering her hand for a high five. Zoie awkwardly clapped her hand back.
Karlie looked super excited for Zoie, but the same can't be said for Jo. She looked rather... worried.
"Jo?" Zoie asked. "You got something to say?"
"Umm..." Jo hesitated before continuing, "Look, Zoe, Miles is my friend and he's a great guy, but there's something about him that---"
"Oh, Jo, please!" Karlie cut her off sharply. "Look, there's always something about everyone, alright? No one is perfect!"
"Well, I just want her to know-"
"Let her figure it out on her own! This is her and Miles's story. It might be different from the rest,"
Zoie looked back and forth at Jo and Karlie. What were they talking about?
Different from what...?
"Anyway, babe, I gotta ask you something," Karlie spoke again before Zoie could say a word. "How's your brother doing?"
"A-Asher?" Zoie stammered. "He's alright, I guess. He's got classes tomorrow--"
"I'm not talking about school!" Karlie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Did he talk about me? Did he say anything about us hooking up?"
Uh, just that it was stupid and unimportant.
"I don't know, he didn't say anything," Zoie gulped, pretending like this was new to her. "You guys hooked up?"
"Ssh, keep it on the DL, alright? A girl's gotta play the field too," Karlie winked and giggled playfully.
* HONK! * HONK! *
And just like clockwork, they heard a loud honking coming from the parking lot. The girls turned their heads to see a black BMW parked nearby. Asher was in the driver's seat. Looking cool as always, wearing his signature black sunglasses.
"Speak of the devil," Jo muttered.
"I gotta go, see you guys," Zoie said as she got up.
"See ya, Zoe," Jo waved.
"Tell Asher I said hi!" Karlie said, though it sounded like a beg.
"Of course," she said, forcing out a smile before walking away.
Zoie got into the car and as soon as her seatbelt was on, the car jetted away. Zoie took a deep breath and sat back in her seat, taking in the beautiful view in front of her. The sun was setting and the campus looked extra gorgeous. A chill lo-fi song was playing on the stereo and Asher was driving the car rather smoothly. So much so that Zoie could fall asleep right there.
"So, how was your first day?" Asher broke the silence.
"It was great! I made some friends and I like my professors. And I'm really excited to start this writing prompt for creative writing..." Zoie turned to Asher in excitement, but then she paused for a beat and said, "Oh, and Karlie says hi,"
"You like to write, huh?" Asher said, completely ignoring that last part.
"I do," she nodded.
"What do you write about?"
"Anything as long as it's interesting. The what doesn't matter as much as the how for me,"
"Oh?" Asher raised his brows. Intrigued.
"I think writing is like going on a journey. You start off with a blank page and you end up with a story... It's a lot like driving, I guess. Sometimes it's not about the destination, it's about the drive,"
Asher turned to Zoie and he was... mesmerized.
"Wow, that's very deep," he chuckled. "Just one class and your inner writer's coming out already,"
Zoie laughed too. This was the first time he made her laugh in a while. A big smile spread across Asher's face. Zoie caught sight of his gorgeous smile and her chest began to pound. Swallowing hard, Zoie then turned her head away, facing the window. But even as she turned away, her smile never faltered. She kept that smile all the way home. All the way throughout the night.
I guess... driving around town with Asher... is honestly very nice.
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~ Asher's POV ~
God, I need to make her laugh more.
When Asher heard Zoie's laugh in that car, his chest was pounding a million beats a minute. He loved seeing her smile, he loved hearing that laugh. After their fight that night, Zoie had been acting cold towards him. This was the first time she laughed and smiled like that since then. Asher vowed to do whatever it takes to see more of that.
So, every day since, Asher was on a mission. He'd drive her to school every morning and pick her up in the afternoon, even when he had no classes of his own. And of course, he purposefully built his schedule to fit Zoie's. Asher's major was undeclared while Zoie majored in writing. That gave him a lot of freedom in choosing his classes. He purposefully picked ones that were located in or around her building. He didn't care about what he was learning. He just wanted to be close to her.
Hey. I'm the bodyguard. That's part of the job.
With this new routine established, the first week of classes went by in a flash. Before they know it, it was already Saturday. Asher noticed that Zoie got up extra early today. Too early. She didn't even have any classes. And he also noted that she was singing and humming songs while putting fruits into a blender, making a smoothie.
Later that day, Asher was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV, when suddenly, Zoie came out of her room. She was wearing a light pink summer dress, her dark brown hair was neatly curled, and her face was glowing. Asher's mouth fell open when he saw her.
Fúck. She's pretty.
"Oh, hey," she said to him.
"H-hey," he stammered.
Why the hell am I stammering?
"You look... nice," he gulped, trying to act cool still.
"Thanks," she chirped. "Miles and I are gonna hang around town and we'll get dinner,"
Oh. Right.
Asher quickly got up from his seat. Zoie was walking to the kitchen and he followed her.
"Want me to drop you off?" he asked.
"No, he's coming to pick me up,"
"Here?"
"Yeah. Any minute now,"
Zoie nonchalantly went to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. Meanwhile, Asher was looking more nervous than ever.
"And Asher," Zoie said again, pausing for a beat before continuing, "I hope you'll give him a chance,"
* KNOCK * KNOCK *
Before Asher could respond, a knock was heard on the door.
"That's him!" Zoie exclaimed.
She raced over and opened the door excitedly, revealing Miles standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He was wearing a Stanford baseball cap, denim jacket, and black pants.
"Hey!" she beamed.
"Hey!" he beamed back. "I got these for you. I don't know what flowers you like, so it's a mix of everything,"
"They're beautiful, thank you!" Zoie received the flowers and her smile grew wider.
Ugh. Lame.
"Hey, Ash, can you put these in a vase for me?" Zoie said to Asher.
I'll put them in fúcking trash bag.
"Sure," Asher forced out a smile and came closer, taking the bouquet of flowers from her.
"Hey, man. I don't think we've properly met, I'm Miles," Miles said to Asher, stretching out his hand.
"Asher," he shook Miles's hand curtly.
"It's, uh, nice to meet you," Miles added, wanting to sound friendly.
Can't say the same.
Asher didn't feel like lying, so he just gave him another curt smile.
"So! I'll be back late tonight. Don't wait up!" Zoie interjected as she noticed the awkward tension in the air.
"Alright, have fun," Asher said to her.
Not too much fun.
"See you around, bro," Miles nodded at Asher.
Bro? Oh, go fúck yourself.
"Oh, I forgot my purse!" Zoie stepped away quickly to grab her purse from the kitchen counter, leaving Miles alone with Asher at the door.
"Hey bro," Asher whispered lowly and Miles came closer. "If you dare even touch a single strand of her hair, I'mma fúcking end you,"
Miles was taken aback. His mouth fell open and he didn't know how to respond. Asher was smiling brightly now. He patted Miles's shoulder and squeezed it tightly at the end. A firm, warning gesture.
"Okay, bye, Ash!" Zoie said as she ran off, pulling Miles away with her.
"Bye you two!" Asher replied as he closed the door.
With those two gone, Asher turned around and headed towards the couch, but then he stopped in his tracks. He thought hard about something. And then he decided. Not wasting any more time, he grabbed the car key from the kitchen counter and dashed out.
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- - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - - -