The Thing about Falling ✓

Fifty One • The Invitation

Owen

That morning, the janitor found Athena and I curled up against each other in the farthest corner of the news room.

He told us off for not alerting them sooner, but I didn't think much of it.

The entire day, and for the days after that, all I could think of was how warm Athena's body was as she slept with her head laying above mine, her small, petite hand soft as they wrapped over my own. My head swam with thoughts of how close she was to me, and how easily I slept when she was there by my side.

It was if she was a wave, calling me home to her calm seas. But I am most likely that drunken sailor, too confused to take the fucking hint.

Because of that, I was surprisingly in a good mood nowadays. Good enough to help Fitz with his calculus.

"I mean, you gotta give me some credit for that. I'm a genius." Fitz told me as he bickered on and on from the opposite side of the table here in the dorm's library.

We rarely go here since it's smaller compared to the other main libraries around campus but it was fine if my only purpose was to check Fitz's answers to his prep tests and do the necessary corrections if needed.

My head was bent low over his solutions, and I was a bit lost since his handwriting isn't exactly the cleanest one I've seen.

I shot my head up a bit to shoot him a glare, remembering how he was the reason Athena and I got locked in that other night.

"You made us sleep in the news room. On the floor. It was cold there." I said, turning my attention back to his indiscernible math scribbles.

This bloody bastard was an evil mastermind. The rotten brains behind all this commotion between me and Athena. 

He knows I write now for the newspaper, but I didn't remember telling Athena any of it. And as it turns out, Athena needed a little help with typing, and Fitz must've thought, 'Why not shove those two together and let the magic happen?'

"I didn't tell you to sleep on the floor." he said with a shrug, his mouth curving into a playful smile.

I stopped checking his answers for a moment to look at him dispassionately.

"Would you prefer we didn't sleep at all?" I asked, putting on the kindest voice I can muster.

Fitz's face scrunched into a disapproving look and swatted a hand at me before he fiddled with my discarded gloves.

"I didn't say that. What surprised me the most was the two of you being locked in a room. Because of her. That was certainly better than expected." he muttered with a sheepish smile, flinging and flanging my gloves around his fingers.

I heaved out a sigh and shook my head, looking at him sternly.

"Fitzgerald--" I started.

"So we're using the full name trick now, aren't we? Okay Robert Owen Daniel, I hear you." he said with a laugh so full, I found it a bit annoying.

I audibly groaned and put down the pen I was holding on the table, watching it roll away to Fitz's side.

"Be quiet. Where did you even learn that?" I asked with a hint of poison in my tone.

I don't remember telling him my ridiculous name. I don't remember telling anyone here what it even was.

Fitz shot me a winning smile, throwing me back my gloves like it was a basketball. I caught the pair in my hands and simply shoved them into my pocket.