The doorway to the basement of the campus center creaked open and knocked against the metal of the frame with a dull thud. Two voices echoed up the cement stairway and were lost to the starry, peaceful night as the voices gave way to the sound of sneakers on cement.

            He reached the top step first, a young man dressed in rumpled, black pants and a shirt that at the start of the night was white, before it became so covered in grease that it turned a dusky gray in the fluorescent lighting. His hair was black and kept short, a style that matched his goatee, and he had thin, wire-rimmed glasses slid halfway down his nose. In his hand he held a crunched baseball cap and a plastic grocery bag. He glanced back over his shoulder, pausing his statement, and waited for his companion.

            She was dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans that had just started to fray along the bottoms. Her hair, a mottled mix between dark and light reds and varying shades of browns, was pulled up into pig-tailed buns. Unlike her companion, her glasses, which were thick, green, plastic frames, were pushed close to the bridge of her nose. Though she slouched she was the taller of the two individuals, and in her hand she held a hat that was identical to that of her companion.

            Once they were both on level footing they began walking again, keeping their voices softer as to not draw attention to themselves as well as not disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the night. When they reached the end of the concrete walkway, just before the world turned to asphalt and tar, she sat down and tapped the vacant spot next to her, an open invitation to continue their conversation. With a soft laugh and a tired smile, he nodded and took the seat, dropping his hat and the plastic bag behind him.

            “So seriously, how are you? I haven’t talked to you all summer, and I know about the break up, but what happened? Are you okay?” she spoke quietly, but it was clear she was worried about the guy across from her. She shifted her legs, tucking them under her as she sat cross-legged on the chilly concrete bench, waiting for an answer.

            For a moment he was silent, instead of answering right away, he chose to stare at the black tips of his steel-toed boots. He cleared his throat and after another pause, he answered. “It was an interesting summer. Worked a lot, wasn’t around as much. As for that…” his voice tapered off for a moment as he glanced at his companion with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, “it was a mutual decision, and one that needed to happen. The love wasn’t there anymore. It was just routine.”

            She nodded and leaned forward, placing a hand on his shoulder with a subtle squeeze of sympathy. “But Josh, you moved in with her. That’s going to be awkward, isn’t it? I mean, are you guys…” She stopped and smoothed her hair, a nervous fidget that already had occurred a good dozen times, “You aren’t doing that whole friends with benefits thing, are you?”

            He, Josh, looked comically scandalized and he shook his head with a laugh. “No. By my choice we aren’t anything but friends and housemates. Though, it isn’t for lack of trying on her part.” He shifted himself around so he could make eye contact with his companion. His hazel eyes, hidden beneath the stress of not only work but the starting of an old project as well as miles of personal problems and questions, locked onto the concerned, guarded blue and gray eyes of his friend. “Jenn, I am fine. I promise…”

            Restlessly, she tugged at the hem of her black hat, mulling over statements in her head before speaking them out loud. “But that’s the thing, Josh. It’s been over since before the two of you ever moved in. Were you just…?”

            “I’d been waiting for years to be able to move in, to be asked to move in with her. Truthfully,” he looked away, focusing on a speck on the ground, “I hoped it would have made things better.”

            Jenn looked amused and annoyed at the same moment, hey eyes lighting with a certain kind of understanding, “Didn’t work though, huh? You going to move out now, or what?”

He shook his head and his reply was soft, “No. Not yet, anyway. I still care about her, just not…it wasn’t working out.” Jenn nodded at his soft-spoken words and recognition sparked in her swirled blue and gray eyes. He still loved his now ex-girlfriend, but the feelings of being in love had stopped a long time ago.

Silently, she mused, ‘Imagine if he would have given up the ghost a long time ago. He even seems free, happier than he’s been in a while.’ She removed her hand from his shoulder with a smile, “Okay, brief interlude of a new topic. Any ideas for the Pagan Student Union, Mister Advisor? And trust me,” she almost giggled, “we’ll go back to the previous topic in just a few minutes. I just, I’m excited and terrified for this thing to restart, so I figured, badgering you would be a good idea.”

He chuckled, this time the smile reached into his hazel eyes and wiping away at least a moment of the sadness, “Nice.” He shook his head and then spoke again, “I’ve got a few ideas…”

            Her eyes lit up with excitement and curiosity. “You know, rather than this whole Pagan Union thing, we should just practice together. I mean…”