That night I go to visit Ellie. We knew we would struggle: it's hard to go from seeing each other everyday at school, to only seeing each other some nights. However, I think its working. I have a slight skip in my step, and the calm feeling I always get when I am near her, as I walk to the metro.

Some people find the underground in Paris difficult, but I love it. I have got used to the pattern of riding public transport, from living in cities all my life. Be it Paris or London, I am comfortable and sure.

I descend the stairs, bordered by a tall green, Gothic-style arch, marked 'Metro'. Sometimes the beauty of Paris astounds me, and I am overcome by a feeling of gratitude. I swear I will never get used to the artistry of Paris. The sound of a lone violin echoes up the stairs, bouncing of the tiled walls to create a rich, meloncollie tone. I pause and watch for a second. A young woman- probably only a few years older than me- is playing, her eyes are closed and her head is tilted into the instrument. The cheap overhead lights reflect in the tears brimming at the corners of her eyes, and her long, graceful arms bow, with such force and emotion, it looks as if she may fall over.

I watch her play, but I mostly watch her passion. Its amazing how someone can focus on one thing so much, to become that good at it. I imagine her ten years younger, practicing day and night locked in her room, replaying the same piece of music over and over again until it seems futile- until she thinks she'll never get better... and then one day, without even realising it, it clicked.

After dropping a few coins in her open case, I walk on to board the tube. The first tube whizzes past me without stopping. The breeze it creates in it's wake is refreshing, and pushes my hair back. When the wind disappears, it leaves my hair to fall in more of a mess that it began with.

The carriage is almost empty when I get on, as per usual. By the time I can get out of SOAP it is late, so that most of the commuters are already home after work. I pick my usual seat and sit down, ignoring the slight dampness that tube seats always tend to be. I laugh to myself, thinking how much Anna would hate this. The air is sticky and full of cigarette smoke, you can almost feel the dirt going into your lungs with each breath. The handrails are sticky and grimy, I can only imagine what caused them to have that consistency. I think back to earlier today when she gave her grapes a bath!

I nod in greeting to the man sat opposite me. He is the only other regular in this carriage, I enjoy our brief encounters during the journey. His name is Alexis, and he works at the Centre Pompidou as a guard or something of the sort, meaning he gets home late after his shift. Alexis is an old, kind man, with laugh lines etched into his face. He has met Ellie once or twice on this journey, although he always forgets her name. Instead, calling her 'mon petit chou' whenever he asks about her.

Today, as always, I ask about his day. He always replies 'A cat in gloves catches no mice,' which I'm not sure really answers my question, but I don't want to argue. He doesn't like to talk much about himself, instead he opts to pound me with questions. I bite my tongue to stop myself from telling him about Anna, although, I would love for her to meet him. They would get on like a house on fire- unlike Ellie, who, unlike Alexis, was not impressed after they met.

I knock on Ellie's dorm room door, rocking back slightly on my heels as I wait for her to answer, with my hands deep in my coat pockets. She swings the door open, a look of shock filling her face when she sees me.

"Shit," She says, beckoning me in with one hand, looking flustered.

"Not exactly the welcome I was hoping for..." I joke, running a hand through my hair.

"Sorry-" She interjects quickly, "I just had plans to go out with some friends on my course, I thought I had texted you but I must have completely forgot..." She trails off, looking at me helplessly. I feel disappointed and alone, how could she forget?

"We can rearrange," I say after a sigh, I was really looking forward to seeing her, "I'm glad you have made new friends, I'll go now." I go to kiss her on the cheek. Ellie is now visibly squirming, I can tell that she's in an awkward situation. As I walk towards her, I survey her outfit. She is wearing a short sparkly dress, with very high heels. Her lips are coated in red lipstick, and her eyes heavy with false lashes. She looks nice, but I always prefer he more natural.

As my lips hit her cheek, she turns so that our lips touch. She pulls back minutely, before kissing me again. This time harder. Our lips rush to meet each others, her dainty hands twist through my hair, and my hands encircle her neck. She then grabs them and drags them down to her waist, then her hips. We are kissing like crazy, her red lipstick smearing on both of our cheeks.

"I'll stay," she whispered in my ear. I smile in return, grateful to be wanted again.

I remove my coat and big boots, that always made me feel clumsy in the presence of Ellie.

She changes and comes to sit down on the sofa with me, leaning against me with her legs tucked underneath her.

"There is this new girl that sits with us at lunch now," I start. I haven't broached the subject of Anna yet, but I felt like I should.

"Us?" Ellie questioned, it surprised me that this is what she picked up on.

"Yeah, you know... Me, Josh, Mer and Rash." I state obviously, upset that she has forgotten 'us' so quickly. That I can no longer include her in 'us'.

"Ohh," She nods in understanding, her lips are small and pursed.

"Yeah, her names Anna. She's from Atlanta, and she's really into movies. She wants be be like this big movie critic or something. She's really funny, you would like her. I mean you would find her funny." I can't stop the words tumbling out, "She did the funniest thing thing at lunch today. You know how the grapes her ar-"

Ellie stops me with a kiss, her arms encircling my neck. I feel a flare of annoyance that she didn't listen to me, but that soon dies down as the kiss deepens.