Adrien's POV

By the time we all finished our food, we grabbed our drinks and headed out of the coffee shop, and back into the warm summer sun. Autumn was on the horizon, just four weeks away. It was still surreal to me how time flew by so fast. It seemed like summer was here and gone in the blink of an eye.

We walked around campus, admiring the vibrant green trees and grass, and the old-looking buildings as we walked past. The campus was pretty big, and it was beautiful, I have to say. The architecture was old but it was pretty. There were many different buildings all over campus that consisted of different classrooms, studios, and dining halls. There was also a large fountain at the centre of campus, and a community garden, which was lively with flowers.

"God, it's so nice here!" Luella exclaimed as she walked in front of the three of us, arms splayed out as she looked around, doing a couple of twirls. I smiled crookedly, "The last time I toured this place was during the summer last year, and it's a lot more beautiful than I remembered. I could definitely get used to living here for the next four years."

She was right. The campus was beautiful, and I didn't regret my decision to come here. I mean, I was still hesitant, because I didn't know if I had the skills and the tools to make this a successful career for me, but I don't think I would have enjoyed taking a different major. It was just hard for me to belong anywhere. I've always felt like that, since I was little, and after senior year, that lack of belonging was even more apparent.

The campus felt like home. It was cozy. And while I was still feeling awkward around my roommates, as if I stuck out like a sore thumb in comparison to them, I was starting to warm up to them. They were nice people. I just hoped that they liked me and that they didn't find me annoying, because I had no clue what I was doing.

"Can you imagine just sitting out in the garden on a sunny day like this one, and just drawing?" Karsten hummed, "like, that's the dream. I might have to do that before it starts getting colder."

"Or practicing on my guitar?? And writing song lyrics? Hell yes," Luella groaned, "We all gotta do that one day. Just sit around in the garden doing our own thing."

"I agree. It would be nice to sit out in the sun while I work on my plays," Faryn nodded.

I smiled crookedly and nodded. We continued walking around all over campus. Luella, Faryn, and Karsten all chatted amongst themselves, while I mostly just walked beside them and listened. I didn't really have much to say or respond to, but it was fine. 

I didn't mind just listening to the three of them talk. Listening was more of my strong suit than talking was. I did enjoy hanging out with them though because one of my fears when starting university was that I was going to have to navigate this new territory by myself, so I was relieved to have such nice roommates that I wasn't on my own. This new change was a scary one, now that I didn't have my mom or Preston with me. 

***

After spending a couple of hours walking around campus, the four of us walked back to our residence building. We hung out in the living room of our dorm for a while after that, getting to know each other more and just chatting about classes and the upcoming pep rally. 

I was nervous about starting classes next week. We had five courses, which is already one more than what we had in high school, and the semesters were only about 12 weeks each. Which meant more work in less time. I was also nervous because there were obviously going to be so many other talented students in my classes, and I was afraid that I wasn't going to be as good as them, or that maybe my work would seem mediocre in comparison to theirs. It was probably ridiculous to think about, but they were my honest thoughts. 

I sighed heavily. It was now nine-thirty in the evening, and I had just finished brushing my teeth and such, so now I was sitting on my bed cross-legged, leaning my back against the wall behind me. I had my laptop sitting open in front of me on the bed, playing some random rom-com on Netflix. 

When I  was about halfway through the movie while snacking on a bowl of cereal in my oversized shirt lounge pants, my phone started vibrating on the bed beside me. I paused the movie and picked up my phone to see that it was Preston face timing me, and so I didn't hesitate to answer it. 

"Hey, you," Preston said the moment his face popped up on my phone screen, a wide smile on his face. He looked like he was sitting around in his dorm room, as I could see that his back was leaning against the side of his bed. And well...he was shirtless. 

"Hey," I smiled back at him, biting my lip, "how was your day today?" 

"Oh, it was great actually. I met my roommates today, and we got along instantly," Preston chuckled, "I honestly feel like I have been friends with them for a long time, even though we literally just met today." 

"Yeah? Well, that's great. I'm really happy to hear that," I nodded. And I genuinely was happy for him, though, I knew that he would have an easy time meeting people. He was a social butterfly and loved talking to people, so the fact that he got along with his roommates so easily wasn't much of a surprise. Still, I was happy that he had a good first day at his university. 

Preston hummed, "what about you? How was your day?" 

"Uhm..." I paused, setting my phone down so that it was leaning against my laptop, sitting cross-legged as I picked up my bowl of cereal, "it was good. I was a bit nervous about meeting my roommates...because I didn't really know what I was going to say, but it went well. I hung out at the coffee shop on campus with them for a bit, and then we walked around campus. It was really nice." 

"Well, I'm glad that today went well for you too," Preston nodded, flashing me one of his charming smiles, "and don't be nervous. Making friends is hard at first, but it'll get easier."

"Easy for you to say. You love socializing. And you're likeable. I'm awkward and weird. People don't seem to like me too much."

"Are you kidding? You are likeable," Preston scoffed, "and you aren't awkward. Maybe a bit weird, but I'm weird too and you know what, I like your weirdness. People are bound to like it too."

I frowned. I sighed heavily and shook my head, eating another spoonful of my cereal.

"Don't shake your head at me, it's the truth," Preston said. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Yeah, whatever." 

Preston rolled his eyes at me. I laughed, smirking at him as I ate more of my cereal, "Oh, by the way...you wouldn't happen to know a guy named Flores, would you?" 

"Me? Uh yeah, actually. He's one of my roommates," Preston nodded, then tilted his head, "why, do you know his boyfriend?"

"Yeah, Karsten. He's one of my roommates," I laughed. 

"Seriously? What a small world," Preston laughed as well. I nodded, smiling crookedly at him.

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Oh well, that just means that we can all hang out, cause I am planning on visiting you eventually, ya know that?" 

"Yeah...I know. I want to visit you too," I nodded. 

"Glad the feeling's mutual," Preston chuckled. There was a moment of silence as Preston released a heavy sigh, leaning his head back against his bed. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, before he tilted his head back down to look at me, "I already miss you. It's kind of weird being far away from you...considering we've always lived like ten minutes from each other." 

I sighed, nodding in agreement, "yeah...it is weird. I miss you too, Preston." 

Preston smiled softly at me, "I promise as soon as I'm able to see you, I'll be jumping on the earliest bus. Maybe I can visit in a couple of weeks after we've both adjusted to our schedules and whatnot." 

"I'd like that."

"Okay, great," Preston nodded. 

Preston and I talked for another few hours. By the time we said goodbye and got off facetime, it was nearing midnight. I swear, talking to Preston made the time go by way too fast. We both have done a lot of work over the summer break mending our friendship, which involved a lot of communication and whatnot. Now, it was much easier to talk to him, and I enjoyed talking to him. We both still had a lot of work to do, but I was happy with all the progress we have made so far these last couple of months. 

I turned off my phone and laptop, setting the devices onto my desk, before turning off my lamp light and walking back over to my bed. I laid back down, curling up as I pulled the blankets over myself, and closed my eyes.