We were strangers. I walked into class on that brisk autumn morning, out of breath from walking entirely across campus. There was only one seat left in the entire room of approximately 40 chairs- and it was next to you. I sat down, shrugging my backpack and coat off of my shoulders. And I noticed you. I noticed your emerald green eyes, fading along the pupils to a chocolate brown. I noticed your dark black hair, a dark sea in a midnight breeze. I noticed your clothes, White Air Forces, black Nike sweatpants, and a simple gray hoodie. And I noticed your expression: eyes tired, annoyed to be there but semi-paying attention, enough to be able to take notes. I don’t think I heard a word the professor said that day, I just sat smiling at my notebook. 

We were tablemates. I smiled at you when I walked in and you said hello to me. You would ask me for a pencil, I would ask you for a piece of paper. We would discuss the questions asked in class, but you would always end up on a different topic. I continued to sit in that exact spot next to you until one day when I walked in and your bag was on my chair. “Excuse me,” I said, “Is it okay if I keep sitting here?” you smiled.

 “ Of course, that's why the bag is there. To save the chair.” You chuckled and moved your bag for me. I gave you a grin, and you flashed one back at me. We continued this pattern. 

We were project partners. Our professor, voice booming, announced that there would be a 50-point project due the following week as he was projecting our partners onto the screen. I saw my name next to someone named Ezra Jones, And I scanned the room. I saw you looking around the room as well, turning around as you looked for your partner. You turned to me. 

“Do you know Calista Owens?”

“I-”  

Our Professor interrupted, voice still booming. “Partners are based on whomever you are sitting by, so no need to move around the room.” You turned back to me, a small grin cast upon your face. 

“So, Calista Owens, What shall we do our project on?” you were mocking our professor, one of the biggest things I noticed about you that day was your sense of humor. 

“ I don’t know, Ezra Jones, what shall we do our project on?” I saw your face immediately, realizing you had just met your perfect match.  

We met up at the library to work on our dreaded project of course. It took us approximately 30 minutes to stop mocking each other and think of an actual topic and approximately an hour to finish it. By that time, you explained you had 30 minutes left on your parking meter and asked if I wanted to walk around campus. I pretended not to notice the spark in your eyes when I said yes, but it kept me up until 2 am that night. You bought me Starbucks even though I protested, and by the time we both got our caramel frappuccinos your parking meter had expired. 

“This is random but do you have two dollars for the bus fare? I can pay you back tomorrow.” I hated asking for favors from people. 

“Calista, I'm a broke college student. If I had two dollars I would have gotten a grande frappuccino. But I can drive you home instead.” 

I grinned at you, and we walked toward your silver Honda. I pretended not to notice the 8 quarters clinking around in the cup holder as we drove to my dorm. 

We were friends. We laughed at Tiktox waiting for our professor to come and drew smiley faces on each other's papers. You had given me your number, “for the project” you had said, scribbling the 10 digits down on a crumpled piece of paper. But we never ended up using it for that. We shared funny dorm stories, pictures of our pets, and things about our days. I stayed up late into the night, my eyes burning, watching for the screen to light up with your name on it. But then one Friday morning I walked into class and you were blushing, as red as a rose. You were fidgeting when I sat down and said hello to you. You were quiet the entire class and as I was packing up my things to go I gave you a small wave. 

“Bye Ezra. See you tomorrow.” I turned to go towards the door, and I suddenly felt your giant, warm hand on my shoulder. 

“Uh- Calista. Wait for me.” I looked up at you and smiled as you tossed your backpack over your shoulder. We walked across campus, the brisk autumn breeze flowing through your bushy hair. 

“Hey Cal, what are you doing this weekend?” We stopped walking. 

“Oh, probably nothing but studying,” I looked up at you again and laughed. We both knew I never studied. 

“ right, right, well I-” You looked down at your hands. “I was wondering if you wanted to go see that new Disney movie that came out. I know it's dumb but-”

“YES.” I interrupted, Remembering last night's conversation, talking about our favorite movies. 

We were in love. You thought the movie was a one-time thing, but you were wrong. I now make you watch a new Disney movie with me every Friday night. “If you just admit that Disney movies are the best then you won’t have to keep watching them,” I had told you as you wrapped your arms tighter around me. But we both knew you would never admit that. You squeezed my hand as we walked to school, and did so again under our desks while our professor droned on. You let me borrow” your sweatshirts, but I always accidentally forgot to give them back, And I wore them over my pajamas every night before I went to bed. You looked at me like I was the only girl in the entire world that mattered, you called me the prettiest person you had ever met, and you picked me up and spun me around every single time you saw me. I called you adorable, which was an understatement. We were almost telepathically connected, knowing exactly what the other was feeling all of the time. The way you looked at me was enough to stop time. 

We drifted. You started texting me less and less, finding excuses to hang out “some other time”. You didn’t squeeze my hand anymore. You didn’t pick me up, just gave me a quick side hug. You told me I looked cute every couple of days, I still told you every day. I asked you about all this many, many times. But I never got an answer, just got brushed off. We met up one chilly day at the park, and you wouldn’t look me in the eye as my face dropped. You gave me an answer finally, the answer I expected. The answer I didn’t want to know. 

We were once in love. 

But now we’re just strangers.