I walk into my dorm and put my things down. I look around. Mom and I came over the weekend to decorate. My dorm isn’t anything special; just a few posters, polaroids, and lights. I don’t really like anything too outgoing.

I pull my phone out of my back pocket. Uh oh...nine missed calls and 25 messages. Lukas, my best friend who is stressing out about college, more than I am. I call him back. It rings 3 times, 6 times. I’m about to hang up when I hear his voice.

“Hello?” he answers anxiously.

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Paisley? Oh my god, I am so glad you called. I’m standing at the front door to our dorm building, but my legs won’t move.”

“I’m on my way. Don’t move from that spot,” I hang up my phone, throw my long brown hair into a bun, grab my keys, and head to Lukas. When I finally get to the doors, I see Lukas with his eyes wide open.  

“Hey scaredy-cat, lemme help you,” I joke as I walk towards him.

“Haha, very funny,” he says, mocking me. I laugh and grab two of his bags. I lead him towards the elevator and we make small talk to calm him down.

“So, how was your ride up here?”

“Depressing,” he mumbles. I feel bad, because I was supposed to ride with him, but my mom insisted that she would drive with me.

“I’m sorry Lukas. I would’ve rode with you, but I know how lonely Mom’s going to be when she gets back home. I didn’t want her to be sad. Now, we’ll be able to go everywhere with each other though,” I reassuringly tell him. He smiles at me and we walk out of the elevator. He leads me to his dorm room and unlocks the door. I set down the bags and turn to Lukas. I smile and give him a big hug.

“Explain to me why we haven’t hugged yet! I haven’t seen you all summer!” I exclaim. He laughs and hugs me back.

“Well, I’m going back to my dorm. If you wanna come over, I’m just 5 doors down.

“Okay, thank you,” he says as he walks me out.

“See you later!” I tell him and walk down the hallway. I get to my dorm and unlock my door. I sigh and begin to unpack my belongings.

4 hours later

As soon as I finish unpacking, I hear a knock at my door and Lukas comes in. I notice he’s wearing a blue t-shirt and sweatpants, which is different from the outfit he had on earlier.

“Clean freak,” I say to him as he sits down.

“What do you mean? I am not a clean freak.”

“Yes you are. You literally take a shower and change clothes when you get the slightest bit dirty.” We laugh and I sit down with him. “Did you get unpacked?”

“Mostly. I’ve just got one more box and I’ll be done,” he sighs and I smile. He’s always been a perfectionist.

I lean against Lukas and feel a warmth inside me. I’ve never experienced this feeling before, but I was probably just cold before leaning into him. I get tired but I try to not show it. My plan fails and Lukas sees how drained I am.

“It’s okay, you can go to sleep,” he says calmingly. I nod and let my eyelids fall down, consuming me into darkness.

2 weeks later

I say goodbye to Lukas as he walks to his dorm and I go into mine. I fall onto the couch and sigh. Today was exhausting, but exciting. Lukas and I went to the state fair and rode so many rides. I was so intrigued when we went on the ferris wheel. When we got to the top, it was like nothing I had seen before. It was so beautifully haunting, the darkness all around and only the night sky above. I remember Lukas laughing at my astonishment.Today made me so happy and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

I think about  Lukas’ short brown hair, his sparkling sapphire eyes that you can get lost in, his gorgeous, bright smile. In the first week of school, I realized that I have feelings for him. When he’s around, I always get a warm feeling inside. I feel like something is supposed to be there, but I don’t know what. I know he doesn’t like me...or at least I don’t think he does. I have too much on my mind. Grabbing my keys, I head outside for a walk.

After a while of walking around campus, I come to a part that I haven’t seen before. There’s an old rusty swing set and buildings around it. My curiosity gets the best of me so I go and sit on the swing set. I look up and see the stars between the buildings.

I’m only there for a few minutes when I see a group of guys emerging from between two of the buildings. They almost look like a gang. I overhear them laughing about something and I sneakily make my way to the alley. I hide until they’re gone and then I go into the alleyway. I see a big lump laying on the ground. I walk closer to examine the mysterious lump. When I get close enough to the lump on the ground, I can see that the “lump” is a person. I rush over to the person to look at them. They’re curled up in a ball. It’s a man.

“Sir, are you okay?” I ask calmly. He flinches at the sound of my voice. He moves a little.

“Paisley?”

“Oh my god, Lukas?!” I help him sit up slowly. His nose and lips are bleeding and he has a cut on his temple. His eye is swollen and his t-shirt ripped. I can tell that his chest is cut as well. “Come on, let’s get you to my dorm and I’ll clean you up.” I pick him up and have him lean on me so he can walk. He moans when he’s finally up, but he tells me to just keep going. I help him walk and soon we are back at the dorm building. We steadily make our way up the stairs and then we get on the elevator. We reach my dorm and I unlock the door. I lead Lukas to the couch and sit him down gently. I get a washcloth, a bowl of warm water, and some bandaids. I sit in front of Lukas and start to clean his wounds.

“Lukas, what happened?” He grimaces at the newly cut wound I’m cleaning. Carefully he adjusts himself.

He talks slowly, “I was going for a walk and I ended up at a swing set. I was just sitting there when a bunch of guys surrounded me. They dragged me to the alleyway you found me in and they started punching me. I don’t know what happened after that. I blacked out until I heard your voice.”

“Lukas that’s terrible. I’m happy I found you when I did.”

“Me too. Thank you for helping me.” I smile at him and finish cleaning his wounds.

“We’re all done. You’re all bandaged up, but I don’t want you to move, until you’ve got some sleep. You can take my bed. I’ll take the couch.” When I finish talking, he frowns at me. “You’re hurt. You need the bed. I’m fine sleeping on the couch.” He sighs and starts to get up. I help him make his way to the bed and I cover him up.

“Paisley, come closer.” I lean close to him and he whispers in my ear, “Thank you, for everything. I love you.” He kisses my cheek and smiles. Then he falls asleep and I’m left there, shocked.

I slowly get up and lay on the couch. He’s probably just thankful for my help, because he was hurt so badly. Thoughts race through my brain for hours until I finally fall asleep.

The next morning

I wake to the smell of coffee. I smile and sit up. I look around the room and see Lukas sitting in my chair, looking out the window. I sigh and he turns around. He smiles and hands me a hot cup of coffee.

“Good morning Sleeping Beauty,” he says sitting at the other end of the couch. I drink my coffee and get curious,

“What do you remember from last night?” I ask putting, down my mug. He thinks for a couple minutes.

“I was jumped by a gang,” I nod, “then you came and found me. You bandaged me up,” I nod again and I see his cheeks get red and he smiles, “and-and I kissed you.” I see him smiling at me and my cheeks get red. He scoots closer and I lean into him. It doesn’t feel right. I feel guilty somehow. Yes, I want this, but not like this. I feel like he only thinks he loves me and it’s because I saved him.

I get up and get some fresh bandages and a bowl of warm water. I walk back to the couch and sit in front of Lukas.

“Are you in pain?” I ask, taking off his old bandages. He shakes his head at me, but once I clean the cut on his temple, he grimaces. I chuckle a little and I get him an aspirin. “Here, take this. It will make you feel better.” He takes the aspirin and I finish bandaging his cuts.

After putting my things away, I take Lukas to his dorm. Once he’s dressed, I tell him that we need to go on a walk. He agrees and we go downstairs.

We walk through the courtyard and eventually come to the old swing set. We sit down and both let out a deep breath.

“Lukas?”

“What’s up Paisley?” he asks, smiling at the clear sky above us. We share an interest of loving nature.

“When did you realize that you love me?” I ask tentatively. He thinks for a minute and then looks at me.

“I guess in our first year of high school. The day that you were so upset about school, that you came over and all we did that evening was talk and watch movies.” He smiles at me, but I doubt him.

“Lukas, I’m sorry, but I...I think you’re lying. I don’t want to be led into something that isn’t real.” I stand up and walk back to my dorm. I can hear Lukas calling for me, but I ignore it.

When I get in my room. I curl up on my bed and start crying. I don’t know why I just did that. Why couldn’t I just talk to him and explain everything? Why did I have to run away from him?

2 hours later

After being alone for a while, I hear a soft knock at my door, and then a familiar voice.

“Paisley? It’s me, Lukas. I know you may not want to see me, but we need to talk.” I sigh and sit on the couch. I can’t talk to him right now. “Paisley, you know I have a key.” I hear his key rattling in the door. I lay down on the couch, hoping he won’t see me. He walks around the couch and looks at me and my tear-stained eyes. He’s holding roses.

“Lukas, I-”

“No, let me speak. I know what you think about my feelings for you. You think I only think I love you because you saved me, but that’s not true. Paisley, I have loved you since 9th grade. Now we are freshman in college. I haven’t had a single girlfriend since then, because you’re the only one I want. I feel warm and secure around you. I feel like I could never get tired of you, because every moment with you is like a new experience. It’s like I’m falling in love more and more. I only decided to tell you last night, because this is a new chapter in our lives and I want to spend it with you. I want to be able to hug you, hold you, kiss you, without hiding my feelings. I love you, Paisley Graice. Please, I hope this has proved that to you.”

I sat there, my eyes filled with tears, my mouth in a small smile. I stand up and hug him.

“Thank you, Lukas. I love you, too,” I say softly. He looks at me and wipes my tears. He starts to move his head closer. Our lips meet each other’s and flow together perfectly. I feel the strange warmth growing inside me, until my body is filled with that feeling.

Lukas and I slowly pull away from each other, smiling. We both sit on the couch, my head on his shoulder, our hands intertwined with each other’s. As we sit there, I start to doze off.

Before I’m fully consumed in sleep, I hear Lukas say, “I love you Paisley Graice.” I fall asleep with a smile on my face, and Lukas on my mind.