||Jamilla Tate|| First Person ||

Four hours of watching Harry Potter movies and getting to know each other better pass fairly quickly, the first two movies of the franchise having been finished with the third waiting patiently for us to get loaded up. Josh rolls over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling as he stretches his arms above his head, his joints having cramped up as a result of resting on his elbows for a good majority of the last movie.

My phone rests near the foot of the bed, so I stretch my arm out and grab a hold of it, turning it on so I can check the time. I can't help but yawn softly as the numbers form on the screen to display 9:03 PM. "Oh, wow," I say lightly, a soft laugh escaping when Josh tilts his head up to look at me. "It's nine," I tell him, to which he rolls over onto his side on the bed, his feet narrowly missing me from where I am positioned on my stomach, near the end of his bed.

"Ugh, we have a 7 o'clock lecture..." Josh groans tiredly rubbing his hands on his face. "If we watch that last one, it'd finish at 11:30--"

"Ack!" I suddenly roll off of Josh's bed in a hurry and almost fall flat on the floor, earning a loud laugh from Josh, who is just starting to sit up from his comfortable position on his side. I shoot him a harsh glare as I push myself up to my feet, my face flushed with panic. "It's not funny. I have to get to the library and finish my essay or else Stevens is going to give me that disappointed look and--" I stop my hasty ramble from continuing any further when I catch the amused expression on Josh's face, growing distracted by the grin that always seems to captivate me no matter what I'm doing. I press the palm of my hand to my face and inhale deeply, earning another chuckle from the brunette.

"Honey, I'm hooome!" The door swings open and reveals the lanky form of Tyler Joseph, who strides into the room with purpose while proclaiming rather loudly his arrival. He freezes with his arm extended in the air when he sees me standing in front of Josh, who is seated on his bed with his sheets tangled around his legs. Tyler's eyes widen as he stares between the two of us, his mind probably coming to far fetched conclusions about what he has just walked into. "Hey, Jamilla," he says slowly, and I nod in response as he turns to look at Josh almost expectantly.

"I was just leaving." I say quickly, not wanting the awkward tension that hangs thickly in the air to go on any longer. I grab my phone from next to Josh's laptop, wanting to get out as soon as possible. The boy looks up at me and his mouth opens to speak, but the words don't come out so I instead make my way to the door.

If anything, I wanted to stay with the dark haired guy with the incredible smile that I was somehow lucky enough to spend four hours binge-watching movies with, but I know that I have to go to Thompson library before it closes at midnight so I can grab a computer, finish typing up my essay, and print it out to give to my professor tomorrow morning. Josh was the sort of character that inexplicably draws people to them, and his constant stream of friends walking in and out of his room on a regular basis was proof of that. I didn't want to have to leave when I was just starting to get to know him, but I know that my schoolwork has to take priority-- and plus, Tyler is enough company to handle as it is. He wasn't going to miss me.

"See ya, Jami!" Tyler calls out as he flops down onto his bed, raising a hand to signal his goodbye. I tug the door open and start to slip out, but Josh grabs my wrist just as I cross the threshold into the hallway, silently demanding my attention once again. I turn around and lean against the door frame as he leans against his partially closed door, a small smile toying at the edges of his lips.

"You're not terrible company, y'know." He tells me. I roll my eyes at him and can't help the grin that takes control over me. My head feels light and my skin tingles happily as I stare up at him, his voice tangled with the velvet of his unadulterated charisma. "We still have to finish the third one." He reminds me.

"Wouldn't dream of missing out on that, now would I?" I smile easily at him. Josh pauses for a moment and looks at me, and then he's chewing on his bottom lip and my heart is practically stopping.

"Have a good night, Ja-mee-lah." Josh smiles softly. "You okay with making the walk to the library by yourself or do you need me--?"

"I appreciate it, but it's okay." I say suddenly, not wanting him to have to leave the comfort of his dorm room when I can just as easily make the walk to the library by myself. "Good night, Josh," I tell him, and he nods his head slowly and waits for me to go across the hall to my room before I hear the sound of his door closing and the lock clicking.

I twist the doorknob experimentally and find that the door is still unlocked by Becca, entering my shared room with a smile on my face. I cross the room to my side of it, not even noticing that my roommate is sitting on her bed with her earphones plugged in, a curious expression on her face. "Hey, Jamilla," she says slowly as she tugs one of her earbuds out of her ear, staring at me wondrously as I grab my Hamlet book and my backpack, stuffing the playbook into the bag without looking up at her. "Where've you been?"

"Around," I say vaguely, not necessarily wanting to tell her that I've spent the past couple of hours in Josh's dorm room despite the fact that nothing happened besides a Harry Potter marathon and the eating of a variety of snacks. "I'll be down by the library, maybe be back before midnight if I can find a computer. Do I take my key or do you have my back?"

Becca doesn't answer me for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed as she studies me. I try not to pay attention to the look of incredulity that has crossed her features as I struggle into a light sweatshirt. "Yeah, sure," she says hesitantly. I smile at her and pick up my mostly empty bag, giving her a wave before I hurry back to the door, slipping out and beginning to make my trek down the hall and to the elevator.

Ohio State's insanely large campus is terrifying enough as it is to travel in broad daylight with students all around, but it seems to gather a much more hostile look in the dead of night as I try to remember the route to get to Thompson library in the dark. I adjust the straps of my backpack on my shoulders before digging my hands into the pockets of my sweater, wrapping the material around my body as a particularly strong gust of wind hits me, blowing strands of my curly hair into my face. I shake my head to push my hair away from my face, huffing as I vaguely regret rejecting Josh's offer to accompany on the eight minute walk to the library.

When I arrive to Thompson library, the warmth that the indoor heating brings swarms me immediately. I can't help but sigh in relief, bringing my fingertips to my freezing cheeks as I walk past the metal detectors and into the building. I navigate my way through the abundance of bookshelves towering at a rather dangerous height, tilting my head up to see all of the floors that continue to climb to insane heights. I sigh and rub my face with my hand, huffing as I begin to wander aimlessly in search of a computer lab.

I pass a couple shamelessly making out in the encyclopedia section, the girl only jumping up in a panic when she sees me passing by idly. I pretend that I hadn't just seen half of her chest hanging out of her tank top and instead keep moving, covering my mouth to stifle a yawn.

When I finally stumble upon a mostly empty computer lab, I have my own sort of 'aha' moment and give a small fist pump as I head for the closest computer to the printer, tossing my bag to the floor as I slip into the chair and begin to boot up the computer. By the time I log into my student account and get my word document loaded with my half typed essay, It's nearly 9:40 PM and my fingers are trembling nervously as I pull out my handwritten rough copy, setting it on the table next to the keyboard. I always get anxious when I leave work to the last minute and have to work to a time constraint, yet I always seem to do it anyways. I huff tiredly and begin to type up paragraph three, my fingers tapping the keys fluidly as I try to get the words out quicker than the seconds hand on the analog clock on the wall can tick.

"Hi, uh, you look incredibly busy, and I am super duper sorry about bothering you, but I-- uh-- I left my micro SD card in that computer and--" I turn around and look up to see a slightly taller boy standing a respectable distance from me, his face flushed with the cold from outside and his slight curls wind-swept. He twiddles his thumbs nervously as he glances down at his feet, his light brown hair barely being kept in place by the beanie that is half falling off of his head. "I just-- I need it for my camera, because my photography work is all on there and I have to--"

"Oh, sure," I say, saving the boy from having to explain himself any further. I stand up immediately and step back, allowing him to reach for the SD card reader connected to the computer so that he can eject his memory card. When he's got it in his hand, he smiles at me, and I'm taken aback by how nice it looks on him.

"I had to run all the way back from my dorm," he says through a tired puff. "Smith-Steeb?" he raises his eyebrows at me.

"Park-Stradley," I tell him. He smiles again slightly.

"I'm, uh, I'm Garrett." He goes to hold out his hand for me to shake, but then he nervously retracts it and shoves his hands into his pocket, dipping his head to look at his sneakers. "Sorry, I'm all frazzled and stuff--"

"Frazzled?" I giggle lightly at the word, raising my own eyebrows at him. His cheeks flush a stronger pigment of red, if that's possible, and then he laughs and I'm in awe. This boy was gorgeous-- utterly and incredibly beautiful in the way his dimples take form as his lips stretch into a hesitant smile, the way his eyes crinkle at the sides... It's almost as good as Josh's grin, but nothing can quite beat that.

"Exhausted," he tries, and I nod my head, "Scatter-brained? I don't know, I just was scared I'd lose the card..."

"Well, I'm Jamilla, and it was an honour to unknowingly keep watch over your SD card for you." I smile up at him. Garrett finally looks back up at me and takes his hand out of his pocket, holding it out for me without taking it back this time. I grasp his cold hand in my own and shake it firmly, smiling widely at him in order to put him at ease.

        "What are you doing here so late anyways?" He ask me, stuffing his hands back into his pockets before nodding his head towards my computer screen. I turn around and chuckle, gesturing to my computer idly.

         "Essay due tomorrow morning," I say.

         "Well, I wish you luck." Garrett grins bashfully at me before he shuffles backwards, jabbing his thumb in the direction behind him. "I, uh, I'll leave you to it, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay," I smile, settling back down in my chair so I can continue my work. I glance back at Garrett as he continues to walk away-- he looks back at me and stumbles over his feet. I laugh and shake my head, posing my fingertips on top of the keys.

Why do I always have to notice the smiles first?