Zephyr

Noah threw his trash into the garbage bin and started off to his next class. Lunch took about fifteen minutes tops considering the fact that he always ate alone and there was no talking to be done. He glanced over the small groups of people engaged in friendly conversations over their meals, already denying his wish that there were someone he could have sat with.

"Hey."

He kept walking, completely sure they weren't talking to him.

"Hey, dude!"

He hesitated, but figured he'd glance back just for the hell of it. A tall guy was walking after him and Noah had to glance around to make sure that he was actually looking at him. Had he done something wrong? Was this guy coming over to beat his ass? What was going on?

"Sorry, man. But hey, you're Noah, right?" The guy's expression softened and became friendly as he stopped in front of him.

"Yeah," Noah said, waiting to hear what this was actually all about. He knew not to get his hopes up.

"There's some chick going around campus looking for you," he said.

"Who?" Noah cringed, thinking that maybe he was being mistaken for another Noah after all.

"I dunno... but hey, when you see her, can you tell her my name's Cameron?" The guy's face was filled with such hope that Noah couldn't turn him down.

"Uh… sure," he agreed, scratching the back of his head. "I will."

"You the man, Worth," Cameron announced with an eager grin, drawing the stares of the other students. "I'll see you tonight, man!"

Noah blinked and glanced at everyone else, hoping they might look like they knew what was going on, but they just looked at him and returned to their business. He wasn't entirely sure why this Cameron fellow thought he was going to be seeing him tonight. Instead of thinking on it, he looked down at his phone for the hundredth time that day before continuing on his way.

x x x

“Hey, guys,” Zephyr jumped up behind a row of guys sitting on a ledge outside the student commons. “Do any of you know where I might be able to find a guy named Noah Worth?”

Each of them looked at each other, shaking their heads and muttering confused apologies for not being of any assistance. Zephyr took in a deep breath and sighed, visibly deflating as she put on a smile and waving her hand in dismissal.

“Ah, that’s alright,” she said. “I’ll find him eventually!”

She climbed back down from the ledge and looked around the entire open space of the courtyard with vague ideas of how she’d proceed from there. By now, she must have asked fifty different groups of people, but none of them seemed to know who she was looking for. Zephyr was getting hungry and if she didn’t find him soon, she might have to befriend one person well enough to crash in their dorm’s laundry room.

“Hey!” Zephyr said suddenly, putting on a bright smile as she scurried after a group of girls that just passed her. “Would any of you happen to know Noah Worth?”

They were all furrowing their brows at her, but one girl with long brown hair suddenly lifted her finger and said, “Actually, yeah. I think he’s my boyfriend’s room mate.”

“Really! Do you know where I can find him?” Zephyr gasped, finally glimpsing the light at the end of the tunnel. “Noah, I mean. Not your boyfriend.”

“No, sorry,” she replied, genuinely disappointed. “He might have class right now, but they’re in the Alder dorm.”

“Oh, thanks,” Zephyr smiled. “I’ll just try and catch him around here then.”

“No problem,” the girl said. “I didn’t know he had any friends... I mean, girl friends.”

“Yeah, I’m from out of town and I figured I’d drop in for a visit,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her head and glancing at the other girls strange stares. “But I'll let you go. Maybe I’ll see you around. Bye!”

Zephyr abruptly turned and started back towards the building. Maybe he’d eventually show up to eat or something. She could only hope for the best as she followed a random crowd of students file through the doors. Her feet took her all around the building, up the stairs, through the cafes, past the game room. Then she flopped down into an open seat by one set of doors in exhaustion. She truly underestimated Noah when he said that he had absolutely no friends. Zephyr thought he was just being modest when he told her that, but apparently he wasn’t lying.

Her dark brown eyes floated over clusters of tables and lingered on lone figures hunched over their meals. Who knew it would be so hard to find one person on a college campus? Zephyr sighed heavily, turning her attentions outside instead to watch a boy crouch down to gather his fallen papers. There were a couple larger guys standing around him, not even bothering to help and Zephyr absentmindedly called them a few choice names in her head. The boy lifted his head, mouth set in a firm line and Zephyr shot up straight in her seat.

“Aha!” She shouted, startling the quietly studying students nearby.

Zephyr jumped to her feet and practically sprinted outside, narrowly stopping the door from smashing someone’s face in her excitement. She laughed sheepishly and stepped aside to let them pass through with a meek apology before marching over to the cluster of guys surrounding the target. She boldly ushered them aside, stepping over a spilled smoothie to stand in front of the boy, placing her hands on her hips and grinning in triumph.

“Found you!” She announced. “Noah Worth, I swear you're fuckin’ ghost.”

He looked up in shock as she dropped down to help him gather the papers and his books. Noah couldn’t help but stare at her long, softly coiled dark hair and recognize her deep brown eyes. His mouth was open and she glanced up at him with an amused grin.

“What’s wrong? Are you absolutely floored by my beauty?” She teased, holding a neat stack of papers out to him.

Noah blushed and took them, clearing his throat as he hastily rose to his feet. She rose as well and pursed her lips together as she squinted at him. His neck and ears grew warm, realizing that there were people looking at them in passing.

“You know who I am, right?” She asked under her breath with a mild pout.

“Zeph?”

“You do remember me!” She beamed.

“You haven’t texted me in days,” Noah said, mildly cross.

“I lost my phone, but I figured that I could find you here if I looked long enough,” Zephyr replied. “Hey, do you mind if I crash with you for a while?”

Noah stared at her, unable to believe that she was suddenly standing in front of him out of the blue. She did mention coming to visit him every now and then, but never in his dreams did he think she’d actually show up. The tall, gangly boy was at a loss for words and he blinked a few times as he nervously checked his watch.

“Look, I have to get to class right now, I’ll be done in about fifty minutes,” he said. “Just wait here and I’ll be back, ok?”

“Alright, alright,” Zephyr mumbled, waving at him. “I’ll be here.”

Noah backed away slowly, as if he were both hesitant to leave and eager to escape. Zephyr couldn’t really tell which, but she saw him off before realizing that there were a few people looking at her. She turned curiously and quirked a brow at them.

“You one of his friends?”

“We’re close,” Zephyr said as she crossed her arms over her chest with a mild shrug. “You guys bothering him?”

“He owes me a smoothie,” the bulkiest one gestured to the pink beverage splattered across the concrete.

Zephyr’s nose crinkled and her brows came together as she stared down at the empty foam cup, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Really though? That's what you're worried about?” She scoffed, pulling a five dollar bill out of her back pocket and slapping it against his chest. “This one’s on me, but make sure you’re watching where you’re waving your gigantic arms around this time. Or you just might want to get yourself a sippy cup instead.”

His buddies snickered as she slipped away to find herself something to eat until Noah returned. She was just about to enter the building when a hand reached out and caught the door for her. Zephyr looked over her shoulder to see a familiar face grinning at her. She smiled in return and stepped inside, turning on her heel to wait for her new company to follow up.

“You’ve been here for about four hours and you’re already making friends?” Max asked.

“I forget how immature college kids can be,” Zephyr sighed. “But I try to be as patient as I can.”

“Yeah, hopefully they’ll grow out of it,” he said. “Any luck finding your friend?”

“Yes, actually! I just saw him,” she clapped her hands. “He had to run to class, but he said he’d be back. I’m about to die of starvation though, so I'm going to find something greasy so munch on in the meantime.”

“Good timing, you can sit with me,” Max told her. “My usual crowd is off studying for some Anatomy exam.”

Zephyr went along with a nod, tracing his footsteps as they did a quick tour of their options before settling on 'The Grill'. She opted for two cheeseburgers, french fries, and a fountain beverage. The second they sat down at a bar table for two next to the windows, she was already stuffing half of one into her mouth. Max was chewing slowly as he watched, both amazed and disturbed at the speed at which she ate. She drastically slowed down after finished the first burger and sighed heavily as she slumped over the table.

"Jesus, I thought I was going to die," Zephyr said, digging into her second burger at a normal pace. "I haven't eaten anything since I left home."

"Where you from, anyway?" Max asked.

"Oh, I'm from down south, around D.C.," she replied. "It's not that far, just about three or four hours."

"Wow, you came all this way to visit- what's his name again?"

"Noah."

"Right, Noah," he dipped a fry into a small puddle of ketchup. "You guys must be really good friends."

"Yeah, I guess," Zephyr agreed, slowly putting her straw to her lips. "As close as people can be without ever meeting, at least."

Max seemed bewildered and ultimately asked, "How'd you guys meet again?"

"On the internet," she said. "It's not all that strange, really. In this day and age, everyone does it."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Zephyr insisted. "People carry on online relationships. Friendships should be even easier, right?"

"Since you put it that way, I guess," Max said, squinting as though not fully convinced. "Aren't people murdered by psychos they meet online?"

"That was before they had webcams, Max," she reasoned, pausing to think about it. "But you do have a point, there are still average looking serial killers out there. Thankfully, I'm not one of them and unless people are mysteriously dying around here, I don't think Noah is either."

"Hope not," Max said, nodding his head as he accepted her reasoning as sound. "So did you ask him about the party?"

"Not yet, but I'm definitely going to make him come with me," Zephyr said, stuffing the rest of her burger into her mouth.

"Who's coming with you where?"

They both looked up to see Noah standing a small distance away, as if he were hesitant to intrude on their casual bubble. Zephyr jumped up, brushed the crumbs off her face and hurriedly stole a chair from an empty table behind her. She slammed it down and dragged the brown haired boy over by the arm.

"Have a seat! You hungry? I have some fries left," She insisted, only sitting back down after she made sure he was settled. "Max, this is Noah. Noah, this is Max. He lent me his parking permit this morning."

Noah's shoulders were tense and he turned stiffly to glance at the one named Max sitting on his right side. He gave a strained smile and nodded his head awkwardly, mumbling some variation of a greeting as he scratched the back of his head.

"Boy, you weren't kidding when you said you're no good at making friends," Zephyr murmured before bursting into laughter.

Noah's face quickly turned a shade of red in embarrassment, but Max came to his defense when he kicked the dark haired girl's shin under the table. Zephyr winced and promptly shut her mouth, giving Max a bitter look for being so ruthless.

"Don't let her bother you, man," Max offered him a hand instead. "Meeting people around here is kind of awkward at first, but it gets better."

"Thanks," Noah said, seeming to relax as they shook hands. "I'm pretty sure it's harder for me than others though."

"Get used to it, Max," Zephyr inserted in a low breath. "He's a Debbie Downer."

"I can hear you. I'm sitting right here," he muttered in the same tone. "What are you even doing here, Zeph?"

"I'm here to visit you," she said innocently. "I always said I'd come, so here I am! You shouldn't even be surprised."

"I don't believe you," Noah said. "What happened? Did you get in trouble?"

"No," the corner of Zephyr's mouth turned down, indicating otherwise, but she quickly shifted the subject. "By the way, you're taking me to a party tonight."

"I'm what?" He turned his eyes over to Max, who paused and put down his soda cup to address the situation.

“Yeah, there’s a party over at Chesterfield North tonight,” Max explained. “I told Z that guys should come. It’ll be fun.”

“Just think, I’ll be there. And that automatically means that it’ll be a grand old time, Noah,” Zephyr grinned. “And aside from me, you’ll know Max.”

“And apparently Cameron…” He muttered under his breath, realizing what that strange encounter meant.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Zephyr leaned forward.

“Ok, fine,” Noah sighed. “We’ll be there.”

“So it’s ok if I crash at your dorm for a while, right?” She beamed. “I already talked to your room mate’s girlfriend. She's nice! She seems like she’d be ok with it.”

“You what?”