Jefferson Lake (MBBF Spin-Off)

Chap. 9

She paused. "Oh, sorry."

"I've ridden in elevators before," I said, as we headed up the staircase. "But I just don't really do well with them."

I opened the door to the third floor hallway for her before we headed back to my dorm room.

Of course I didn't lock it.

"I can get this door," she promised, opening it for me.

It felt strange.

"Thanks," I said, heading inside.

I grabbed a dry pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. "Do you mind if I run down the hall and change real quick?"

"I'm freezing just looking at you," she said, laughing as she peeled off her rain boots.

I headed down to the communal bathroom, changing in one of the stalls before rejoining McKenna in my dorm.

She was sitting on my futon, reaching around to find an outlet for her phone charger.

"You waste no time do you?" I teased, tossing my wet clothes in the corner.

"I forgot to charge my phone last night," she complained. "Don't judge me."

"I'm hardcore judging you," I said, taking a seat in the middle of my dorm room floor.

"You're welcome to sit up here," she said, staring at me. "It's your dorm room; you don't have to sit on the floor."

"I like it down here."

She just shrugged, checking to make sure her phone was charging.

"So how did you end up being the umbrella-girl?" I asked.

"Because I ventured out to get food from the vending machine because I'm all out of Pop-Tarts in my dorm room and there was this kid who was soaking wet and trying to get back to his dorm so I offered to take him under my umbrella and then one person led to another and I became The Girl with the Umbrella Who Will Take You to Your Dorm Room."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're way too nice. I would've just laughed at the kid stuck in the rain and continued walking."

"Well if I would've done that then I'd be back in my own dorm room eating my Pop-Tarts," she pointed out.

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Well then I wouldn't be chillin' here with you. So you tell me."

"That's a bad thing," I agreed, hopping up and heading over to my desk drawer.

McKenna watched me with confusion as I opened my bottom drawer, and then her eyes widened as I pulled out a box of Pop-Tarts.

"Plus you should know that I always have Pop-Tarts," I informed her, tossing her the box. "Always."

"You're the shit," McKenna said, as she reached in and extracted a package of Pop-Tarts.

I reached over and took a package for myself. "Thanks I think."

"You're not shit, but the shit. There's a difference I've been told."

"Told by Gerard?"

She nodded. "He was told me that I wasn't up to date on my vocabulary."

"Well you aren't. But that's okay because it's kind of cute."

That just sort of slipped out without thinking about it.

McKenna just smiled. "Well then I'll make sure to remember that."

I ripped open my package of Pop-Tarts, taking a bite out of the top one.