The Hookup Pact

32| Evelyn

"Come find me when you are ready to leave. Okay?" Atlas had to speak louder than usual to be heard over the booming music coming from the living room of the hockey house.

It was Kris' birthday and the boys had gone all out, inviting the entire campus for the party. Or maybe they invited only a few people and the rest invited themselves. Either way, it was loud and crowded in here.

"Okay," I yelled back and Atlas grinned, leaning down to press a kiss to my cheek.

"See you around." With that, he sauntered off, making his way through the crowd and soon getting out of my sight.

I stayed in the dark hallway a little longer, enjoying what short respite it provided before facing everyone again. Or more specifically Dylan.

For the past week, I'd been simmering in anxiety over whether Dylan would keep his promise. Atlas assured me that Dylan was staying true to his words and also promised me that on the off chance something slipped from Dylan, he would take care of it.

And yet, I couldn't shake off the feeling that everyone would somehow know about us. That they will judge and things would just go downhill from there. That feeling only intensified every time I made eye contact with anyone at the party as I searched for a familiar face. The more people looked at me the more my skin crawled. A slow cacophony of 'they know, they know, they know' echoed in my head and the urge to run away became stronger with every step I took.

"Evelyn!" A hand clasped my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Whirling around, I came face to face with a worried-looking Veena. Her brows furrowed even more when she took notice of my bewilderment. "Are you okay? I have been calling you for a while now."

I blinked at her before shaking my head to get my bearings back. "The music is too loud to hear anything," I replied, plastering a smile on.

Thankfully, she nodded, seemingly convinced. "True that. I feel like I'm going to go deaf if I stay here too long." I laughed as she covered her ears and shook her head. "What are you doing here alone though? I thought you were with Atlas."

I was. And now I regret coming here with him. I should have accepted Veena's offer to come here together. But I was already with Atlas and we were going to the penthouse after the party anyway so I agreed. It made sense to go and come back together instead of going separately. I wasn't so sure about it now though.

Was it really my logic that made me agree with him? Or was it my need to stay with him that made me do it because his presence calmed my nerves?

Veena snapped her fingers in front of me. "Where did you go?"

"Uh... yeah, I was with him. I told him to go ahead before me so no one would notice us getting here together."

"Are you worried because Dylan knows?" she asked.

Leave it to my best friend to catch onto my worries before I even say anything. Sometimes it was both a blessing and a curse.

Shaking my head with a smile, I linked our arms together. "No. I'm okay. Let's go find the birthday boy," I said, changing the topic.

The said birthday boy was sitting at the kitchen table with most of his teammates and a pile of presents. Kris' green eyes lit up with joy when he saw me and he stood up to engulf me in a bone-crushing hug. "Happy Birthday!" I said, returning his hug.

"Thank you. I'm so happy you are here," he said, his voice cracking for some reason. When I looked up at him, his eyes were glassy and there was a flush on his cheeks. I wasn't sure if he was emotional or drunk.