Dorm Room 210 [Original]

Dorm Room 210: Inevitable Fate

"I never started this whole thing; it was all her!" Noah calls bullshit, and Jesse flips him the bird. "She's the one that suggested no strings attached, not the other way around. God, why do I always get the shit?"

"Cause you're an ass." Nicole says.

Jesse glares at his sister. "I'm telling Mum." He ignores the look of utter devastation on Nicole's face, and fists his hands in his jeans. His back faces the table, and walks away.

"He's being a puss," Raven says, pulling us back from our thoughts. He turns to Noah. "Remember when Rachel didn't return his phone call last year? He sat on the couch the whole night looking at his phone."

"Because of Rachel." I play with the hem of my shirt when their eyes look my way. "Um, he likes her."

Nicole rolls her eyes. "Well, yeah. Sleeping with the same person more than once, is considered to be of an interest to him. She so likes him back. Those idiots."

"Does she look like she likes him back, smart-one?" Noah holds Nicole's stare.

Her arms fold. "Whatever. I know my best friend."

"Okay, flames out," Raven says. He pats me on the shoulder, breaking eye contact with Noah and Nicole. His smile ushers my attention. "Wanna go and check on Rachel with me?"

I lower my head. "Nicole says not to disturb her."

"What Nicole doesn't know won't hurt her."

Nicole pokes her head between ours. "You know I can hear you two."

"Too late," Raven says. "We're seeing her."

When Raven and I make our way outside, Noah's voice calls me back.

"I need to talk to you," he says. I give him a look. "It's about the...thing." All I can think about is the assignment. I ask him if that's what he means. "Yeah, sure. The assignment we're working on Friday. I need to know if you got the fabric."

I really want to understand what he's talking about, but speaking in tongues isn't my forte.

It's been a week since we've been paired up. During that time, deciding on a project: a long red dress. Noah can't draw for the sake of him, but he can do wonders when he matches up fabric colour. We plan to continue working on the assignment on Friday before the dinner and vow never to speak of it in public

My eyes light with recognition. "You're talking about the din..."

Noah grabs my hand and pulls me away from Raven and the cafeteria. His grip is tight, but not enough to hurt, and warm against my skin. The stutter in my chest surprises me a bit. He lets go and closes some of the distance between us. Not understanding any of this, I step back until the brick wall of the cafeteria presses into my shoulder blades. Noah follows. He turns his head left to right, before as whispers in my ear.

"The dinner with my parents. I need to know if you found a dress. It shouldn't be too out there..."

I'm blushing. Being this close to his, I can see the small stubble and pimple scars on his chin and jaw. Stars splatter in the middle of his face like the galaxy threw a bucket of them carelessly.

"No," I say, and fold my arms over myself. "No, I don't have one."

His jaw tightens. "You had a week, Lillian."

"I was busy during the week." The weekend with my psychiatrist filters my mind. "Besides," I say, and shuffle on the spot, "I don't do much shopping."

"You're a girl!"