Athena
"I'm exhausted. What have you been up to lately?" I asked.
It was a few days now before classes start and I can hardly hold in my excitement for what experiences await. I can't wait to meet all these different kinds of people in this different campus that actually allow me to wear whatever the hell I want.
That is pretty exciting especially for a kid who went to a fancy school that required intolerably hot uniforms.
Never again will I succumb to stupid rules made by a stupid school.
I'm better than that.
The sky was a gorgeous, drowning shade of dark blue going near black with a few stars sprinkling the horizon. Night was among us and I had the amazing privilege of Dutch-braiding Owen's messy, wavy hair as he read a collection of poems written by Edgar Allan Poe.
I was sitting on my bed with my left wrist bombarded with tiny elastics to tie down Owen's hair once I finished. He was still sitting on his wheelchair much to my dismay since I wanted him to sit comfortably on my bed. I want to braid his hair but I do not want to be facing the handles that stick out of his chair every time I face forward.
Owen looked unbothered by my question the first time and I felt myself internally roll my eyes backward into their sockets.
I purposely tightened the braid as I continued down in the middle of his head and I felt him jolt a bit, causing him to turn back to me. His eyes were still, yes, the same icy blue but now, they just looked annoyed.
"What the bloody hell was that for?" he asked, his tone obviously displeased with what I did to his hair.
I smiled sarcastically and shrugged.
"Gosh, I don't know. Maybe someone wasn't paying attention to something REALLY important." I said knowingly with a slight nod in points that I had emphasized.
Owen smiled his painfully gorgeous crooked smile and sighed.
"I got the memo, Athena. Detecting sarcasm is quite like an innate talent of mine."
I happily sat nearer over the edge of my bed so we could sort of be closer together and looked at him.
His hair, though Dutch-braided in the middle, still looked messy. Some random strands of dark, wavy hair escaped from the braid I did. To be honest, I don't exactly know how to braid a guy's hair but seeing Owen look like one of those soft, e-boys I see on the Internet made him even cuter.
"So, what's happening in your tiny, fictional universe now?" I asked, peering into his book.
Owen slowly put the book up to me and I stared at the page with my eyes all scrunched up as I read a few passages.
It was a bunch of words seated next to more bunches of words that supposedly made sense.
"To summarize the whole thing, the guy got scared of a bird. He called it a thing of evil." Owen said with a soft smile plastered across his face.
I stared at his happy expression and I couldn't help but admire his fascination of books. I could hand him some random bottle of shampoo and he'd still read off the directions and ingredients off of it.
I took the book from him and cleared my throat.
" 'Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked, upstarting." I read.
I laughed and handed him back the book.
"Edgar Allan Poe's rather edgy but this poem really is complete tosh." he said, shaking his head as he bent over again the book.
I nodded and agreed with him.
"If some guy kept staring at some bird that came through a window and talked to it and screamed like a middle school girl, I'd call a shrink." I said in all honesty as I went back behind him and continued braiding his hair.
"Nonetheless, The Raven is a gorgeous piece of poetry. You've got to read it some time." he suggested.
"Sure. I can't wait to read all about a crazy man talking to a bird."
"Whatever you say, love."
The conversation quieted down for a while and as I was close to finishing up, I peeked a little into his side profile and stared at him.
"What are you up to these days? Aside from reading about a bird who keeps saying 'Nevermore', of course." I said as I kept braiding his hair whilst staring at him.
"Nothing too important--, wait, that hurts. Do you mind?" Owen said calmly as he motioned the braid I was doing on his head.
I felt my eyes widen and I immediately loosened the braid I made.
"Sorry about that. Must've been too tight. Want me to untangle it?" I asked, turning his head forward again so I can fix his braided hair. He grunted.
"Just take it off altogether. I don't like braids. They hurt my head."
I unwillingly had my hands back into his soft, wavy locks and undid the braids I just made. Fuzzing it up a little bit with a quick wave of my hand, Owen's hair got even fluffier than it did before.
At this point, his closest doppelganger could either be a poodle or a mushroom cloud from an explosion. It wasn't a surprise that I actually found it so ridiculous and I eventually choked up a hard laugh.
"You're so cute." I said through my laughter as I ruffled my hand through his hair.
Owen's shoulders slumped down and he looked absolutely done with my shit. He always seems done with my shit but these are those rare times when he actually shows it.
"I look like a vegetable."
"A cute vegetable. That bird you read about might come through our window any time now. Better sit in front of it while you're at your peak." I said.
Owen shook his head and smiled.
"I'm not in the mood to contemplate on the meaning of life as I talk to birds. My mother taught me to never talk to strangers. Birds are strange." he said.
He later on spun his chair around and and locked in the brakes as he faced my bed. Owen put a hand on the edge of my bed and hoisted himself up on it until he successfully transferred from his chair all the way to my bed.
I didn't help him though. He hates being helped. The best thing I could do is to stare at his fuzzy head of dark hair as he did it.
As he got himself up, he went up to me and I casually cuddled up to him, letting his arm wrap around my shoulder blades.
"Speaking of your mom, I kinda miss her. She was just everywhere." I said as I laid my head on his sharp shoulder and not long enough, I felt his hair tickle my ears as he laid his head above mine.
"To be honest, I kinda miss her too. Actually, I miss everyone from town." he admitted, sighing.
"Ditto."
Owen and I laid silent on my bed with our bodies so close to each other. It was as if our breaths were in sync until he shuffled and sighed.
"How are your friends? Do you still talk?" he asked.
I stifled a small, reminiscent smile and sighed.
"Of course we do. Just not everyday though. Tim's in NYU doing business and Viv flew off to Oxford for pre-law. Calix on the other hand--, you already know what he's been up to."
Owen laughed subtly and it was harmony to my ears.
I just love it when he laughs especially when it was a little husky and ever so British. I don't know exactly why I find British accents sexy but I guess the whole world's in love with them at this point.
"Cal's obviously bickering away at Georgetown in DC. Probably debating whether Aquaman or Superman would rock a better Speedo."
"I vote for Superman."
Owen smiled and I let myself sink deeper into the crevices of his torso, still with my head propped on his shoulder.
"Tell that to him yourself. I wouldn't want to put myself in a position where I argue with Calix for hours about tight swimwear."
I laughed and shot my head up at him. To my surprise, he was looking down on me with a small, goofy smile plastered across his face. His icy blue eyes didn't seem to melt and they were pulling me towards its own gravity. I couldn't help but drown in them.
"How about your other friend? Marley?" I asked, remembering how he had this female friend who unfortunately had to deal with Calix's geeky fantasies since they're still going strong.
"She's doing alright in New York. Her father moved to the city too to keep an eye on her. It's rather overprotective of him to do so, I think." he said knowingly.
I nodded my head as I pulled back strands of hair behind my ear. I didn't tie my hair into a half up, half down bun or something. It was just plain, simple hair that fell above my shoulders. It wasn't a surprise to actually have stray hair go in front of my face from cuddling with Owen.
"Let the guy be. I bet he loves her so much and she just wouldn't want to crush his huge, loving heart."
"I guess so. Aside from them, Delta's sounds even better these days now that we're miles away from her milkshakes." he muttered.
I felt my chest go warm at the mention of our old town some many kilometers away. That town of ours was our home and I missed it terribly.
"Don't forget the bookstore. You love it there." I said.
Owen laughed and shook his head knowingly.
"And you love Delta's." he replied as he grinned.
"Don't forget the other thing I love." I teased.
"What? Aside from me?" he asked, grinning even wider. Day by day, Owen was getting cockier and more confident. I like that in him.
I rolled my eyes and gently slapped his chest.
"Maxie, stupid."
Owen laughed and shook his head.
"Damn, now that you've mentioned her, I'm starting to miss her drool all over my knees."
I stifled a laugh and playfully punched his arm.
"You only had her for a month and a half when I was in Greece. I had her for years. She obviously loves me more than you."
He rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Well, we're both gone from her sight now. It wouldn't be too long before she and your Aunt start dating."
I playfully slapped his shoulder and felt myself laughing harder at the image of my Aunt, in all her pink glory, be on a date with a dog her ex gave her.
It was about time she actually settled down and that guy she dated for about a year ended up ghosting her.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I ever come home to that."
"I wouldn't too."
I slowly shuffled my way deeper into Owen's chest and it was not long before my head was right in the middle and all I see as I looked up at him was his face. His gorgeously handsome face.
"I'm totally in the mood for another six hours of yearning. Want to stare out the window, yearn for home until a raven perches on your head mistaking it for a nest?" I asked.
Owen smiled and adjusted himself up on my bed so we were both laying down. I kept my head on his warm chest and lingered on his steady heartbeat felt from under his flesh.
"No thank you. I don't want to feel all reminiscent and sad now that we have all the things to look forward for." he said with a soft grin on his face.
I smiled and nodded.
"Oh right. College. Who knew we'd go for the same university?"
Owen raised a brow and looked at me weirdly.
"You were the one who followed me here when you could've went to Harvard. You got in."
I slumped deeper into his chest and pouted.
"But you didn't go there."
Owen sighed and shook his head.
"Because I didn't pass. You did." he emphasized.
I looked at him lovingly and brushed his sharp jawline with the tip of my finger.
"I follow where my heart leads me to. Unfortunately, you stole it with your fluffy bird hair, cool eyes and light up wheelies."
Owen laughed and wrapped both of his arms around me tightly and gently pushed me to his side.
"Light up wheelies? Seriously. You were aroused by small wheels that light up in lines of red, blue and yellow?" he asked disbelievingly as he looked over to the edge of the bed to peek the bottom of his wheelchair.
"Yes Owen. I do find them sexy. Especially the one who uses it." I said, giggling.
Owen's face turned a pinkish shade of red as he shyly scratched his nape.
"God, why is my girlfriend like this?" he muttered out loud.
I laughed and threw a pillow at him.
"Limited edition, baby." I said before plunging in for his lips and I kissed him.
He kissed back gently and it was one of those small and innocent kisses he gave me when he's in a good mood. I always loved them.
We eventually pulled away with huge, stupid smiles on our faces as we laid on my bed side by side, shoulders touching.
"I love college." I said to myself.
Owen turned his head to my side and smiled a little.
"Sure you do. You're amazing at everything. College will be a breeze."
I sadly looked at him in the eye and saw that they were wishing for something too. I fumbled for his hand and as I found it, I held it tight and gave it a good squeeze.
"It will be for you too. Trust me."
"I only hope it's true."