From Bringston, With Love

Chapter 2: Concentrate

Tuesday

Simone arrives to American Lit early hoping that she can find a spot far enough in the back of the lecture hall and Damon won't notice that she is there. It's only been 2 days since she has seen him and she has been quite successful at avoiding him. It helps that she knows his schedule pretty well. As she is turning the corner to the lecture hall, the thought crosses her mind to skip class all together. She probably won't be able to focus anyway. Just as she turns around to leave, she runs into Damon. He catches her by the arms just like he did when they saw each other for the first time in their dorm at the beginning of the school year. The feeling of deja-vu washes over them. Oddly enough, both are shocked to see each other again. The both share that same nervous chuckle but snap back to reality when Simone jerks back. "Sorry," she says as she turns around to go into the classroom. She finds a seat in the back and tries to avoid watching the door as the other students trickle in. Damon never does.

That next day, the college athletes are volunteering to mentor high school athletes who aspire to play college & pro sports. Once Simone interacts with her mentee, she realizes that a lot of these kids need access to better training and equipment so they can take their talents to the next level. Simone decides to gather the athletes in her Brignston fam and a few other athletes in the dorm common area to brainstorm ways to help the kids. When she sees Damon, she thanks him for coming and apologizes for how she reacted to him the day before. "All that other stuff doesn't matter right now. Just know I'll always have your back," he says. They exchange soft smiles and go to sit with everyone else.

As everyone is in the common area brainstorming, Damon gets a text from his mom. Now that he has confirmation from her, he can share his news with the group. Just as he is about to share the news, the elevator door opens and out steps Jordan. Simone, who is shocked, jumps up to hug and kiss Jordan gleefully closing her eyes as he spins her around. She did miss him and his presence added a light to her that she hadn't felt since the night she spent with Damon. When the spinning stopped, Simone is facing Damon. As they lock eyes, her cheerful face and smile fall flat. They both turn away and try to act as if nothing happened, but Cam and JR couldn't help but notice the looks on their faces. Cam and JR both glance at each other, then Damon, and finally back at Simone, who is already scurrying off to her room with Jordan.

When Jordan and Simone get to Simone's room, Simone expresses to Jordan how happy she is to see him, and explains how surprised she is that he is there. Jordan responds saying, "Well when we talked on Monday, your mood seemed a little off. You said you were fine, but I know you were lying. Since it's my fall break, I figured what better to do than come and make sure my girl is good." "That's sweet, but you know you didn't have to do that," Simone says as she pulls Jordan in for a hug. A look of concern and guilt wash over her face as her head lays on Jordan's chest. As they pull back from the hug, Jordan goes in for a kiss. Simone pulls back leaving Jordan perplexed. "Oh, I'm sorry," she says. "I just remembered that I'm supposed to be helping the group figure out a way to help our mentees. I don't want them to think that I left them hanging. Give me a sec." She runs out of the room to the common area, only to find that everyone had already dispersed.

Feeling like she let the group down, Simone texts them to make sure they know that she is still there to support them in any way they need. JR responds saying that Damon and his mom had an idea, and that the group would be going with that. All he needed from Simone was to volunteer a little extra time each month for their mentees. Simone agrees to donating more of her time, and then goes back to Jordan who is still waiting in the room. "Well it looks like I'm all yours for the night." Jordan responds, "Perfect because I have an idea on how we can spend our night. Get dressed."

While Jordan and Simone get ready to go out, Cam, JR and Damon are kicking it in Cam and Damon's room. Cam continues to mind his business regarding the Damon and Simone situation, but JR decides to say something. "I couldn't help but notice something off between you and Simone earlier. Did something happen? What did I miss?" Shocked that JR is bringing this up, Damon responds saying, "There's just a lot going on right now, and Simone is just being Simone. Nothing crazy." Cam slightly rolls his eyes and presses his lips together saying, "Yea aight." Damon now realizing that Cam might know something, decides to shift the conversation back to the mentorship program.

Just as JR is about to push for more information, Damon receives a call from his mom who lets Damon know that his dad, Xavier, is lucid and wants to talk to him about the questions he had regarding his adoption. Xavier states that he recalls Damon showing him the picture of JR's mom, Celine. Xavier explains that he met Celine at the coffee shop he previously mentioned, Peach Brew Café in Atlanta, when they were younger. Before Xavier has the chance to explain further, his memory lapses once again. After overhearing the conversation, JR is left feeling shocked and confused. He had no idea that there was a possibility that Celine and Xavier had ever met before. When Damon is finished talking to his dad, Damon and JR agree that it's time to sit down with Celine and talk to her about her relationship with Xavier.

A little later, Jordan and Simone are enjoying their dinner and each other's company. Simone gets up to go to the bathroom. When she comes back, Jordan is on the phone with Layla. Jordan is giggling but when he notices that Simone is back, he abruptly ends the call, so Simone inquires about their conversation. Jordan states that he was just trying to comfort Layla because she was having some difficulties dealing with the fact that she may be meeting up with Carrie, the girl that had previously attempted to take Layla off a cliff with her. Simone was already aware of that situation so she commends Jordan for being a good friend. They finish their dinner and head back to campus shortly after.

On their way back into the dorm, Jordan and Simone run into Damon, who is accompanied by Erica. Yes, the same Erica that he took to the alumni dinner. "Simone right? It's nice to see you again." Simone responds, "And what was your name again, Angela?" "Erica..." she says slightly taken aback. Simone tries to laugh it off, "Oh my bad girl, I just haven't seen you around in a minute. I didn't know y'all were still kicking it." Simone looks at Damon confused as she says the last part. Damon puts his arm around Erica's shoulder and says, "Aight, we have some place to be. Catch y'all later," and turns Erica around to walk away. As Jordan and Simone walk off, Simone speeds up her pace. Feeling odd about what just happened, Jordan looks back at Damon and Erica only to find that Damon is looking back at the exact same moment. "Yeah, something is definitely off," he thought to himself. When they get into the elevator, Jordan looks over at Simone, only to find her spaced out. She is deep in thought. Jordan's mind starts to wonder further.

When they get back to the room, Simone lets out a deep sigh as she goes to sit on her bed. Finally breaking the silence, Jordan questions, "What's going on between you and Damon, and why were you acting weird toward that Erica girl?" Simone looks stunned for a very brief moment, and as she opens her mouth to speak, Jordan's phone rings. It's Layla calling. He steps out to take the call, just as Nate is coming into the room. "Hey girl, I know you and Jordan are supposed to be having a romantic night, but I have to talk to you about something." Simone sighs with relief, "It's all good...wassup?"

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