Athena
I got my cast off today.
It was about time I got rid of it, and just in time for the beginning of summer vacation. Owen was quick to insist he come with me every time I go. He's been really supportive, even after I had a slight meltdown two weeks back when I was told I had to be in the cast longer since my arm wasn't healing at the pace the doctors expected. Thankfully, it was gone now, and I felt really good.
"It's your day today. What do you want to do?" Owen asked expectantly as soon as we got out of the doctor's office.
He was extremely persistent on coming with me almost every time I go somewhere since that night out by the lake. Elliot was fine with it, and told me it was about time I have a new babysitter, and Fitz kept making kissy noises every time he sees me with Owen. As much as I wanted to sock Fitz's stomach and lock him with someone in a room at night, I couldn't, since I turn red every damn time he brings up Owen.
"I would say home but, we still have a week left before we pack up and leave the dorm." I said with a shrug.
"What do you propose then?" Owen asked, looking up at me as we went straight to his car.
"You know, our usual date." I said, opening the door to his car as soon as we found it in the parking lot. It wasn't that hard to find it though, since he parked it in a handicapped spot.
I still wasn't cleared to drive by myself yet, and Owen drives me everywhere now. I eyed him with a knowing look, and that was enough to send him signs. In response, he tried to withhold a smile, to which he failed. He was smiling like an idiot.
I settled myself in, and waited for Owen to finish storing his now detachable chair behind us. Once he was done and started the car, he turned to me, his soft smile still intact.
"I thought we weren't dating." he said, smiling widely now.
I shrugged and looked out the window for a moment, smiling a bit to myself.
"We aren't." I said, turning back to him, disregarding the huge grin I had now etched on my face. Even the idea of possibly dating him again just makes me feel so otherworldly, like a true goddess worthy of adoration.
He smiled, and it was not soon before he started driving us away from the hospital, and towards our college dorm. I felt myself smiling too much even then, my jaw hurt.
Truth be told, Owen and I aren't back together.
We decided to start over, contrary to his wishes of picking up where we left off. To be frank, where we left off wasn't exactly pretty, so I thought of doing this almost the same way we did back when we were in high school. As friends. Who text a lot. And eat a lot of food on the broke college kid menu. And kiss.
We weren't dating, and in my defense, we're just in the moment a lot.
After a few good minutes, Owen pulled up around our dorm, and we got out as quickly as we got in. We made our way towards his room, took out the remaining snacks he's got, and fired up his laptop.
Our usual date was simple: watching Netflix as we eat in either his room or my room. Since both of us were pretty much drained and exhausted from college that left us nearly broke with almost no food by the end of it, all we had left were packs of instant ramen.
I volunteered to heat up and prepare our ramen outside, and as well as to get us both some drinks. He, on the other hand, was designated to build our fort.
That was a special addition to our usual date. Back home, we usually just snuggled up together, sharing the same blanket as we watch something, but now was different. We upgraded to a fort. A fort.
I was quick to prepare our small bowls of instant ramen, and even had enough money to get us cans of soda. Once I got back to his room, the comfiest fort lay in front of me, with the architect grinning proudly at his work. I couldn't help but laugh at it.
"I know it's a bit wonky, and I apologize in advance if it ever topples over." he said, looking at the blanket fort he made. My stomach hurt from laughing too much, I almost spilled our ramen over his floor.
In a small amount of time, Owen managed to build a blanket fort right between our beds. Well, my former bed. He had two wooden chairs right above each of our beds so the 'ceiling' would be high enough for us, and he draped and clipped two large, white blankets over the top. Funnily enough, he used his thick textbooks to keep the whole thing from falling over, with a few books surrounding the legs of the chairs, and some more keeping the blanket from being too loose. God, he even had chemistry lab papers surrounding the fort in a circle, as if it were to keep out intruders, with a handful of stuffed toys I left guarding the fort.
"How long do you think it'll last?" I asked as I walked over to him, in between laughing and smiling a lot at his weird fort setup.
He shrugged and grabbed his laptop from his table, putting it down on his lap.
"I'm not sure, but our guards are top of the line, though. I heard they graduated from the best military academy in the world." he said, a goofy grin escaping from his face.
I scoffed as I picked up a pink, stuffed bunny I left, and just noticed Owen shoved a sharp pencil into its hands, almost like a spear. I laughed, pressing the bunny under my arm.
"Cute and military? Sounds terrible. I like it." I said, meeting Owen's eye as he bent down and got off his chair, making his way inside the fort. It was not long before I removed my Docs off my feet, and followed him in.
As soon as I got in, along with our food and drinks, and as well as the stuffed bunny guard I brought inside, I felt Owen look at me expectantly, sitting not far from me with tons of pillows and blankets at his base.
"Is it okay?" he asked, looking around the inside of our fort.
I sat beside him and handed him first his snack, before taking my time to gaze upon his weirdly constructed mass of blankets and chairs; the fort he made.
It was just the right height for both of us sitting down. Well, just right for him since he was taller than me. Owen strung up fairy lights around the insides, clipping them to the sheets, and the once cold floor he had was replaced by a thick, soft comforter. Pillows, blankets, and more of the stuffed toys I left in his room were sprawled in random places, and among all the things in here, Owen was the best one.
I smiled and nodded at him, putting my food down first as I pushed his laptop away for a moment, and laid down on my stomach. Owen shook his head, smiling, and did the same.
"This is amazing, Owen. Thank you." I said meeting his eye.
He nodded.
"My pleasure. You deserve this, after all." he said knowingly.
I snorted and nudged his shoulder with mine, catching him off-guard a bit.
"We deserve this." I corrected.
Owen gave me a smile and proceeded to find us something interesting to watch. It was a bit of a process though, with him preferring action and horror, and I preferring comedy and romance. In the end, we stuck to rewatching shows from our childhood. Cartoons were a big hit between us.
As we laid on our stomachs watching, the longer we stayed there, the more squirmy Owen was getting. Our snacks were all gone by that time, and I eyed him from time to time, waiting for him to meet my gaze. Unfortunately, I lost to Spongebob. Owen was really focused.
But I knew exactly how to sidetrack him.
With a devilish grin, I slowly entwined my hand in his, my eyes still fixed on his laptop screen. Almost immediately, Owen turned his head to me, his eyes looking back and forth at me, and back to our hands.
He let out a soft chuckle, and as if by instinct, I pulled him toward me, closer to my body, until I had his mouth on mine.
Owen was startled at first, after his separation from Spongebob, but he immediately melted in my arms, like warm chocolate.
Time seemed to stop yet again, and in that moment, with his hands cupping my face and my hands up his lean, built shoulders, it wasn't clear whether he and I were still in the stages of experiencing first love.
With every touch of his fingers grazing my features ever so gently, and him cradling me carefully as we kissed, I felt my chest rise with elation. I didn't feel butterflies in my stomach anymore, I felt entire flocks of them circling around. Sparks were also missing, but in their place were the biggest fireworks I could ever imagine.
Owen was addictive like that, like forbidden candy. I ate it all up as if it was the last thing I was allowed to taste.
"I adore you, Athena Calimeris. So much." he said with the most breathtaking smile he could give someone.
We stopped kissing, and we sat right back up, laughing our asses off at how we always end with our breaths ragged from not even stopping once for a quick break.
I was the first to sit up with my back leaning against some pillows he placed inside our fort, and once Owen sat up beside me, I snuck in a quick kiss on his cheek, and that was enough to make the guy's cheeks turn red.
"As I you, Owen Watson. But you do know that we need to set some ground rules if it meant starting over." I said, looking back at Spongebob still playing in the background. If things were to progress back between Owen and I, we really need some sort of contract or list of rules if we were going to keep things steady.
"I know. We've talked about this last week. We could talk about it next week too, if you want." he said, sarcasm trailing the way he spoke.
I playfully shoved him a bit, and he shoved me back lightly. What started as me smacking some sense into him turned into a full on war, with the both of us not just shoving each other like kids in a playground, but also with pillows to whack each other on the head. I swear we were both laughing our heads off by the end of it.
"Owen, come on. What happened to our plans of a great and terrible future?" I said, as soon as we both got tired after what started as flirtatious fighting.
"If world domination isn't on the agenda, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested." he answered.
That was enough for me to whack him with a pillow. He was really up to banter lately, that adorable idiot.
"Seriously. If you won't start a list, I will." I said, sitting up straighter.
Owen looked at me with a smiling look, and he nodded.
"Okay, Ms. Calimeris. Start us off with number one." he said, pausing the episode playing on his laptop.
"Alright. I will." I said.
I cleared my throat, straightened up, and gave him a serious look. If the break up did something good to me, that was to point out the initial flaws we had. By this time, I already had the entire list memorized.
"Number one: We talk. In a serious way, I mean. That's what went wrong in the first place, right?" I said, remembering how the both of us were too lost in our own heads to even discuss things among ourselves, just to not worry the other.
Owen nodded knowingly, his dark brows deep as he seemed to think.
"True, but isn't our lack of time for each other a hindrance too? We can't talk if we don't have time." he said with a shrug.
"That's why we have number two: Find time for each other. We don't always have to be together because we have college to think of. We're busy people. Not everything has to revolve around your partner." I said.
For that, he smiled.
"I agree. So can number three be, we don't always have to do things together? You are free to do whatever you want with whoever you want. I think it's good to acknowledge we have separate lives, and are not too dependent on each other." he noted.
"You do have a point there."
"And speaking of which, I contribute number four: you don't have to make decisions that surround your partner. I think we both know what this means, Athena." he said, suddenly looking at me seriously. There was no trace of immaturity on his face, just the fact that he was looking out for me.
I was silenced as he subtly implied what I did back then, an obvious mistake.
In junior year, Owen was the one who motivated and pushed me to apply to the best schools in the country. Fortunately, I got in almost all of the schools I applied for, including Harvard, among other expensive Ivies in the country.
I was originally inclined to go to there and make my parents proud since I was also offered financial aid, but Owen had been a bit lost, being waitlisted in a few schools, accepted into some he can't afford, and rejected from those he liked. Thankfully, he got reconsidered here in our current university, and I chose to go to the same one he goes to, simply because he was my boyfriend back then.
I know now how stupid it was and immature to turn down opportunities for one person, and it scares me a bit to see how this same person pushes me to pursue Harvard.
Owen must've noticed how uncertainty eats me, and he laid a reassuring hand on my arm and gently massaged it in circles. He even had the audacity to smile at me, that confusing idiot.
"Athena, it's okay. I fully support you in this. You'll do amazing there." he said with a smile.
I didn't know what to do.
I shook my head and sat closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist as I buried my face into his chest.
"How can you say that? I don't even know if they accept transferees this time of the year, and how the hell do you think I'll leave you just when we made up?" I said, looking up at him from his chest.
I missed him badly when he was gone, and now he was making me transfer schools? That's crazy. If things go well this summer, or maybe for the rest of the year, long distance is a possibility for us. I wasn't sure if that'll work out.
Owen let out a forced laugh, and tilted his head to the side ever so slightly as he pushed back my freshly cut bangs away from my forehead.
"After all this time, you're still worried about me? Athena, I can manage, as I always had done in the past. You think of yourself now, love. Try. We can ask your professors for a good referral too, if you want to surpass possible late transfer applications." he said.
I didn't know what to do.
He was fine with this whole shindig, and I was surprisingly conflicted. I wanted it then but, the variables changed now.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked, my voice seemingly smaller. Out of fear of the uncertain future, most likely.
Owen scoffed and he grinned widely, with his hand tracing the edges of my face.
"Of course I am. Do you honestly think I'm joking?" he said.
I shook my head and stuffed my head deeper into his chest, avoiding his gaze.
"No but, it's extremely hard to get in there. Do you know there's a less than 1% chance I could get in as a transfer?" I said.
I did the research for this too, in high school. I was intensely prepared for all kinds of scenarios when it came to college and schools, but with him joining in the equation? My system just goes to error whenever he dabbles.
"You can do this. I know it. You're amazing, Athena. Go for it. Show Harvard who's the boss." he said, looking at me like I'm the best thing in the world with that annoying smile on his face.
As much as I want to smack that smile off his face that always stops me from thinking straight, I went silent for a while. This was another major decision I have to do, and one of the most selfish.
But is it actually selfish if the one person whose opinion you value supports you? In going away? Somewhere almost six hours away from him and more hours away from home?
Transferring colleges means a new set of friends, but I already love Owen, Fitz, and some more people from my classes here. It also meant a new environment, and I learned to like it here. I mean, it was an Ivy school too, and if I ever get in, I would just be driven by its name.
I was already happy with where I was, but with just one look at Owen's beaming face, I knew he was telling me I was capable of doing so many great things, and this was just the start. There were so many opportunities missed, and he seemed to tell me to go ahead and grab them while I can. I couldn't say no to trying things out.
"Fine. But if I don't get in, at least I get to stay with you." I said, now with a smile as I reached forward and continued playing what we had been watching just moments ago.
With that, Owen wrapped his arms around me, and I sunk into him as he made me feel warm about our present.
"That's my girl."
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Hi!
This story has now met its end and what a journey has this been! Thank you to all who waited for more than a year for this to be completed, and thank you to all who gave this story moments of their time to read it. I apologize if I posted this last bit of the story quite late because of the connectivity issues we had here in my area. Moving on from that, thank you! Again! I cannot stress how much I love continuing this story and how much I'll miss the characters, but more so, how much I'll miss you! Thank u for being patient with updates, though I know the story is kinda slow-paced. Thank u for your votes and comments, they help me get better with writing:) Thank u to those who sent me a message personally. I love interacting with u, though I don't really know how to keep a conversation.
I know I say thank you a lot, but I promise, this is the last one. Thank u so much for supporting! You guys mean the world to me!
With love (and probably more happy emotions),
â¤Bea