See You in San Francisco

18 | meridian beaumont was everything

          I grimaced. "You're right. I'll be right back."

          I had always liked to think of myself as prepared. I had brought two pairs of socks with me just in case, stuffed inside my purse, and had worn one of them while I slept so my feet wouldn't get cold. I also didn't want to walk around a silent dorm room while wearing heels, knowing it would disturb everyone I came across, so I put on the other pair over the current one. At least I was warm.

          I hadn't brought the socks because I assumed I'd be spending the night at Stanford. The original plan was to sleep at Xena's house, as Courtney would also be staying here, with Jonah, but those plans were flushed down the drain. I'd told them I was staying, receiving a bunch of smirking, eggplant, tongue, and sweat drops emojis in return, and had also let my parents know I was crashing there.

          They weren't too pleased to know, but didn't force me to go home. Paul wasn't that bothered, to be honest, but my mom replied exclusively through monosyllabic words, which was enough to let me know she was pissed.

          I wasn't cold. Meridian had let me borrow one of his Stanford hoodies, which I was wearing over my dress, so I was well aware of what people might think if they saw me wandering around the hallways. I didn't know this place, with all its hidden corners and passageways, and they'd instantly know I didn't belong. They'd see me wearing a hoodie that was too big for me, still wearing the same dress from last night, and they'd think I was hooking up with someone here.

          The mere thought made my temperature go up several degrees. I could probably cook an egg on my cheeks.

          The bathroom wasn't empty, much to my surprise. It was early and, after a night of partying, I wasn't expecting to find so many people, especially in a brightly lit bathroom. One of the people I found was Meridian's friend Vienna, easily recognizable thanks to her ginger hair, but her usual companion, Natasha, wasn't present.

          She noticed me first. Her eyes examined my face at first, then took in the hoodie I was wearing.

          "Good morning," she eventually greeted. "I didn't know you were here."

          "I was at the party," I clarified, making my way towards the toothbrush dispenser. The one that fell to my palm was bright red. "One of my friends also stayed here. Her boyfriend is a freshman."

         "I see." She turned to face her reflection in the mirror, while I wondered why she was here. If there was a private bathroom in Meridian's dorm room, shouldn't there also be one in hers? Why did she need to use the bigger one? "Is that . . . Meridian's?"

         My stomach clenched. I wasn't going to be the one to turn this entire situation into some female rivalry, especially over a guy, but there was something accusatory in her tone. She'd been right there when Natasha had identified me as Meridian's best friend so, even if there wasn't anything else going on between us, I refused to be crucified for borrowing clothes from my best friend. I'd done so with June, too, and no one had batted an eye.

          Granted, I had never been in love with June, so that was a big difference between my relationship with both of the Beaumont siblings, but my point still stood.

          "Yes," I said, hoping I wouldn't sound too defensive. "He let me borrow it so I wouldn't be cold."

          Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. "That was nice of him."

          I raised a hand. "You know what? No. I'm not having this conversation right now. I don't know the nature of your relationship with Meridian, but I'm not going to let you antagonize me over what I have with him. It's not my fault it might have not worked out between the two of you."