It was fitting that the only real cold front of December rolled in as finals began. I felt more susceptible to the chills than before. I shivered all the way to campus, hoping no acquaintance in passing would stop and try and talk to me.
It was however, in my walk home that I came across a friend that I wanted to talk to. Already 10 minutes into my walk and about 15 minutes from my apartment, I saw him.
"Oliver!" I called out across the street. He was walking in the direction opposite me, towards the nearby parking garage. When he heard his name and saw me, he looked up, smiled, and crossed the street to where I was.
"Hey, how are you?" I said once he was on the same street corner as me.
"Hermione! Good. Cold. How are you?" He said with his shoulders scrunched up to his ears. I could see his breath in the air.
"Good and cold, as well." I replied my shoulders in a similar position.
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
I gestured with my head the way he was coming from, "Just walking home". His eyebrows shot up.
"Where do you live?" He asked concerned.
"York Place. It's like diagonal the music building."
"Yeah, I know where that is" He said pensively and after a moment, continued, "That's a long way. I have a car. I can drive you home." It was my turn for my eyebrows to shoot up.
"What, really? Are you sure?" It really was cold, I began to think. That would be very nice.
"Yes, of course, I'm headed to my car right now." He started walking again towards the garage and I followed.
"How has finals season been treating you?' I asked. We chatted all the way to his car on the third floor. It had been a long time since I had gotten a chance to talk to Oliver. In reflection, I realized I had never been alone with him.
In a blink of an eye and a rev of the engine, we were at my apartment complex.
"If you ever need a ride, let me know, okay?" He said when he pulled in front of my building.
I smiled and said in response, "For sure, I'm pretty sure I have your phone number, so." I shrugged. "Thanks again, Oliver," I closed the door and headed up the stairs to my apartment checked later to see if I actually had his number. I did. I had never texted him. That wasn't going to change.
