[CONTENTID1]MOVING ON - PENELOPE's POV[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]
Six Months Later

Penelope's POV

Cambridge, Massachusetts was beautiful in the Fall. The leaves were browning and falling from their trees, the air was cold and crisp, the atmosphere was a mixture of Halloween spirit and Christmas spirit. I stared up at the light grey sky and shivered, hugging myself as I walked through The Yard of Harvard university. I'd been here for three months now and the scenery never ceased to amaze me. I looked at the John Harvard statue and rubbed his toes as I walked past, hoping it continued to bring me good luck. So far, I loved college. I loved waking up at 6am to run laps around Fresh Pond for an hour or so, then showering in the communal for a blissful thirty minutes. I loved going to Annenberg with my roommates Dani and Brontë for some breakfast early in the morning when it was nice and quiet, I loved having hours of lectures and assignments because it meant I was never bored. I loved meeting up with Kyungsoo for dinner (especially on the few occasions that Sehun joined us) and being busy until the early hours of the morning. I loved going to sleep at 2am and waking up again at 6am only to repeat the process, except minor things that changed day to day.

Choosing Harvard was the best decision I'd ever made. 

"Hey, Pen," Dani beamed as I took a seat at our regular spot in the dining hall. Brontë looked up from her neuroscience set sheet and flashed me a smile before refocusing her attention on the homework. "How was class?"

"Awesome," I replied the same way I always did then gave a brief account of what had happened in my entrepreneurial management class. We exchanged stories as we ate, laughing and joking about our pompous professors. "Joshua, pass me the pepper, please."

"Here you go, Pen," the handsome sophomore said as he slid it over. I flashed him a thankful smile and peppered the vegetable casserole on my plate. His gaze lingered on me for a few beats before he looked away, resuming his conversation with our mutual friend, Cade. I knew he liked me, he'd made it very obvious by the third week of term. I was reluctant to date, however, and so I always turned him down. After Kai, I didn't trust myself in a relationship. It was the reason I stayed in the student dorms instead of with Kyungsoo and Sehun. I tried to avoid seeing Sehun as much as possible but it didn't seem to matter because every time we somehow crossed paths, my heart fluttered, my breathing quickened and butterflies blossomed in my stomach. The effect he had on me had only gotten stronger over the months.

But I still missed Kai. It got easier every day but the pain never quite diminished completely. All it took was me catching a glimpse of someone with the same black, fluffy hair or Dani to mention going ice skating when winter came or Brontë to bring up the upcoming formals. All it took was one thing that reminded me of him and I was thrown back to a time when things were simpler, when the love we'd shared was easy. But as expected, the good came with the bad. All it took was a fight scene during a movie to remind me of the final breakup, a couple kissing to remind me of the last time we slept together, or Joshua jokingly calling me a brat to take me back to the first time we broke up, when he shouted cruel words in my face.

I missed him but I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't happier now than I had been six months ago. Being away from all the drama, all the jealousy, all the hate was like a breath of fresh air. I could finally spread my wings, so to speak. As for keeping in touch with all my friends, Cleo and I FaceTimed every day and we opened a group chat with Suyun. We also had another one with the boys and had a scheduled day every week when we'd all fill one another in on the happenings of our lives. I also spoke to Junhong everyday but it didn't change how badly I missed him: it was like walking around every day without my shadow. I kept checking to see if he was there and felt disappointment when I realised he was hours away from where I now lived. Still, I took pleasure in knowing he was working hard in school because he wanted to be valedictorian in the future, just like his noona. 

"I'm throwing a party tonight. You should come," Joshua voiced, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked a few times before smiling and nodding. "So you'll come?"

"You bet," I replied, popping a mushroom into my mouth. He grinned and swiped his thumb over my bottom lip, getting rid of the sauce that had been on it. The action did not affect me the way I knew he hoped it would have. There was no fluttering of butterflies in my stomach, no deep blushes in my cheeks. I simply smiled and corniness eating my lunch. The rest of the day passed quickly and I worked myself to the ground, taking up several different assignments in the span of a few hours.

"Pen, stop writing boring business notes and come help me choose an outfit for tonight," Dani whined, leaning on my door fame with a puppy look on her face. I stopped chewing on my pen and sighed, putting it down and getting to my feet. She grinned victoriously and I followed her to her generously sized bedroom. "y or casual?"

"We just went clubbing last weekend so I'm going casual," I shrugged and she nodded, picking out a selection of clothes. I chose the best combination and she thanked me, getting dressed. I went back to my bedroom and changed into a brown knitted sweater, a black skater skirt, white frilly socks and lace-up wedge boots. I slapped on some lip balm, curled the ends of my hair and threw a bowler hat on top of it. 

"You ready?" Dani asked, her head popping from behind my door. I gave her a thumbs up and walked to the common room with her. Brontë sat on the couch, dressed for the party but her nose still buried in a textbook. "Oi, nerd, we're leaving."

"Just a minute, let me finish this chapter,"'she mumbled, her eyes fixated on the page. I snatched the textbook from her hands and threw it on the opposite couch. She gasped and glared up at me. I grabbed her hands and hauled her to her feet.

"C'mon, we're going out," I declared, winking at her. My phone buzzed in my hand and I unlocked it, reading the new message. I felt a smile etch across my face until my eyes crinkled with happiness. 

From: Icky Vicki
To: Peppa Pig
- little munchkin finally fell asleep xo
[image attached]

"Is that your nephew?" Dani asked as her and Brontë looked at the picture over my shoulder. I nodded and they cooed, fawning over how precious my sister's baby was. "What's his name, again?"

"Elijah," I told them. Elijah Grant Dawson, his middle name the same as Arthur's. He was blessed with both good genes and a good name. I saved the image on my phone and slipped the device into my bra. "Let's go." We left our apartment dorm and started making our way to the bus stop. Joshua lived in a fraternity - something along the lines of Alpha Theta Pi or Kappa Sigma Pi - along with Cade and however many other boys. I'd been sought after by multiple sororities but the whole point of going to