The first semester of the year began just a few days later, leaving New York University students busy adjusting to their new schedules. Anyone new to campus faced various obstacles in getting used to the fall semester— finding their classes, meeting their professors, and meeting new people in said classes. But returning students seemed to ease into the semester with little to no difficulties.
Lexi was among the returning students who faced no issues in adjusting to life back on campus. She spent the first Wednesday of the new semester attending her only class of the day, Advanced Creative Writing: A Novel in Fourteen Weeks. The first lecture left her intrigued and wanting more out of it already. When it finally ended, she left the massive lecture hall with a pleased smile on her face. Between the other equally interesting lectures she had attended yesterday (Global Women Writing and Mastering the Short Feature) and the one she just left, her semester was already shaping up to look good.
Lexi filed out of the lecture hall with an extra pep in her step for a change. She spotted a sea of students slowly trudging down a large staircase from a few feet away. Several others left the building through a tiny fire exit stairwell on the opposite wall. Almost no one was waiting for the elevator, much to her surprise. She decided to take it to get out of the building faster, even though there was no rush for her to get home.
She only had to wait a couple of minutes for the elevator to arrive from the sixth floor. When it finally opened, Lexi had to stop herself from scowling.
Cassie was already standing inside, playing on her phone mindlessly. She looked up a split second after the elevator doors opened. Her hazel eyes locked onto Lexi's blue-green eyes like a deer caught in a set of headlights.
Despite her gut telling her otherwise, Lexi entered the elevator anyways. They weren't the only ones inside; two more students stood inside too. One was chatting away on the phone while the other was zoned out with large headphones covering their ears. Even though neither one paid attention to what was unfolding, Lexi wasn't about to make a scene in front of total strangers. She merely stepped in and stood as far away from her enemy as possible.
Please don't go off on me right now, she thought as she pulled her phone out of her jean shorts pocket. She needed any distraction to keep her calm. She made sure her stop was already punched in before tuning out her surroundings.
"I had a class on the sixth floor."
Lexi frowned and whipped her head around to see Cassie staring at her. Her facial expression was hard to read, much to her chagrin.
"What?"
Cassie nodded, presumably to try and confirm what she had previously said. "I have my Languages and Mind class in this building. That's why I'm here, in case you were wondering."
The explanation caught Lexi more than a little off guard. If it was true, then it would make sense that Cassie would happen to have a class in a building known predominately for English and language classes. Then again, Lexi had learned a long time ago to not trust Cassie at her word.
"I see," she remarked lamely before turning back to her phone. She also threw her earbuds in and began playing a pop music playlist. The last thing she wanted was to give Cassie a reason to yell at her.
Then again, it's not like she needs a real reason to do that, she thought.
Lexi spent the rest of the short elevator ride on edge, expecting Cassie to suddenly flip a switch and start screaming about God knows what. But to her shock, it never happened. The elevator ride to the ground floor of the building was quick and uneventful. Once it stopped and the doors opened, Cassie sauntered out first, followed closely by the two other students inside.
Lexi exited the elevator shortly after, but she didn't leave the building immediately. Instead, she found an unoccupied chair sitting between two lecture halls with classes going on in both of them. She quickly collapsed on it and took several deep breaths. Both her heart and the music in her ears pulsated loudly in her head.
I can't believe I had to be that close to Cassie so soon after the semester began, she thought as she tried to steady her breathing. It had become ragged from just how fast her heart had been beating.
She had every opportunity to make my life hell...and she didn't. But why? Is it because there were other people in the elevator? It makes no fucking sense.
The brief yet tense encounter had shaken Lexi up more than she thought. She couldn't help it; anytime she saw Cassie, a flood of bad memories washed over her like a violent ocean tidal wave. The bad blood between them was still as fresh as ever.
A few minutes later, Lexi finally calmed down enough to stand up and leave the building. She knew Cassie would be long gone by now, so she was safe to walk home in peace. Despite this knowledge, she kept her guard up as she continued her journey back to her apartment.
***
Later that afternoon, Lexi had received a text from Isaac inviting her out for a late lunch. She quickly accepted, having not eaten yet despite it being almost one PM by now. She organized her purse and made sure that her hair and makeup looked great. She also stole a glance of herself in her silver floor-length mirror to check out her outfit. Her white denim short shorts, bright yellow tank top, and white sneakers were perfect for today's warm weather.
Satisfied, Lexi left her apartment and began to walk over to The Bean's Knees. The previous humidity was long gone, though it was still quite hot outside. An occasional breeze cut through the air, cooling the summer heat now and then. It was as if the wind was reminding people that it was officially September and that fall wasn't too far away. Lexi made a mental note to soak up the last few days of summer before the cold autumn weather hit New York City without any notice.
She arrived at The Bean's Knees not long after to find Isaac already waiting for her. He was sitting at a small table closer to the front of the coffee shop's entrance. She grinned when she noticed that he'd already bought lunch for her.
"Hey, thanks for doing that," she said before kissing his cheek. "And for asking me out to lunch, of course."
"Anytime, babe" Isaac replied with a grin.
Lexi grinned. "Are you all done class for the day?" she asked.
"I am, thank God. How 'bout you?"
"I've been done since 11 AM. God, I fucking despise eight AM classes. But I didn't really have a choice with today's lecture. It was either that or don't take the class at all."
Isaac chuckled. "God, I hate that too."
Despite how light-hearted the conversation was, Lexi suddenly thought back to her run-in with Cassie. It had left a bad taste in her mouth even though nothing bad had happened. She frowned as she tried to forget about it.
"Is everything okay?" Isaac inquired with a puzzled expression.
"I ran into Cassie today," Lexi blurted out before she could stop herself. Why did I bring it up?
Isaac's dark brown eyes almost bulged out of his head. "Already???"
"Yeah, I didn't think it'd be so soon either," Lexi said with an empty laugh.
"What happened?" Isaac asked. He sat on the edge of his sea, his breath hitched in his throat.
"We ran into each other in the elevator of the building my class was in. I should've taken the stairs instead, but there were other people inside. I just decided to suck it up and deal with it."
"How bad of a scene did Cassie make?"
"That's the funny thing— nothing happened."
Isaac blinked hard and sat back in his chair. "What?"
"Yeah, Cassie didn't go off on me whatsoever. She told me she had a class in the same building as me on a different floor— not that I asked. After that, she didn't say another word to me," Lexi explained. She paused to shake her head and laugh in disbelief. "I'm still in shock that Cassie didn't scream at me. She could've easily done so, but she didn't. Don't get me wrong— I'm glad that nothing happened for once. But I went in expecting a fight, only for nothing to happen."
The confession left Isaac with both his eyes and jaw wide open. He ran one hand through his short, dark brown hair while Lexi bit her lip to keep from laughing. His reaction was more than a little amusing for her to watch. For a moment, she wondered if he even believed the words that had left her mouth only moments ago.
"She didn't yell at you?"
"Nope."
"She didn't make a scene at all?"
"Correct."
Isaac sat back in his seat and exhaled loudly. "Wow. I didn't expect you to say any of that."
"I was a mess once she was gone," Lexi admitted. "Stupid, I know."
"No, I get where you're coming from," Isaac said as he placed his hand on hers. "You and I both know just how nasty she's been to you over the years."
Lexi bit her lip as a slight shudder shot through her spine. "I just don't get it. She could've yelled at me right then and there. What stopped her?"
"No idea."
"That doesn't help."
Isaac shrugged. "I'm sorry."
Lexi sighed. "Don't be sorry, babe. I'm just anxious about the whole thing. To be honest, I'd rather stop talking about it."
"I'm fine with that," Isaac replied with a small grin. "So... How does it feel to be back at NYU?"
"It's been good, honestly," Lexi said, smiling as she spoke. She perked up the second the question popped up. "The classes I've had so far seem super interesting! I'm excited to continue them. How 'bout you?"
"They've been good, but I think it's gonna be a hard semester," Isaac revealed. His grin had faded away to reveal his concerns. "I'm a bit nervous, not gonna lie."
Lexi squeezed his hand, her heart beating faster as she did so. His fair skin felt cool despite summer still going strong outside. His hand was as soft as she'd remembered. She rubbed the top of his hand with her thumb.
"You're gonna do great, Isaac."
"I hope so."
"Of course you will."
Isaac grinned again. "Thanks, babe."
The couple shared a brief kiss before carrying on with lunch for a little while longer. By the time they parted ways— Isaac to his last class and Lexi back to her apartment— things seemed to be just right in the world. Even though everything was far from perfect, it was still a nice feeling.
***
Before the first week of school was even over, Felipe had suggested holding a party for people to celebrate a new school year and semester. DeShawn was on board from the get-go, but Isaac had initially baulked at the idea. This had caught both of his roommates completely by surprise.
"Dude, we've held so many parties over the years," Isaac had explained late Thursday night when the trio discussed the subject. "I'm kinda over them."
"But we should enjoy ourselves and have fun while we're still in college!" Felipe had argued.
"I agree," DeShawn had piped up.
Isaac didn't want to argue any further, so he'd reluctantly agreed to hold a party the following Saturday. In all honesty, he hadn't gotten tired of college parties— yet. The real reason behind his disinterest had nothing to do with that. He just didn't want to give Cassie an excuse to drop by and ruin things.
He'd previously tried to convince his roommates to not let her come to some of last year's parties. While Felipe hadn't cared whether she showed up or not, DeShawn did. He had argued before that if Mariana was allowed to come, then so should Cassie due to their long friendship. It was a flimsy argument, but Isaac knew better than to argue with DeShawn. Once his mind was made up, there was no changing it. Then again, he most likely wanted to stay on Mariana's good side due to their relationship.
Once the party was in full swing that night, Isaac had tried to ignore any worries about running into his volatile ex-girlfriend. He chose to focus on sitting on the living room couch with Lexi while college students danced or milled about around them. Loud dance music blared from some Bluetooth speakers, with voices barely edging out the noise. The living room felt hot and a little crowded, but the couch offered some much-needed relief.
"You okay?"
Isaac stopped daydreaming to look at his girlfriend. She looked sexy in a white cropped tank top and black denim shorts. Her long hair sat past her shoulders in messy waves. The smile on her face brightened up her eyes. She had placed one hand on his leg to get his attention.
"I'm good," Isaac said before gulping down what was left of his beer. He didn't plan to get wasted tonight, but he needed something to take the edge off.
"Are you sure?"
Isaac nodded. "I'm gonna grab another beer. Do you want anything?"
Lexi shook her head. "I'm good, but thanks."
Isaac got up and waded through the crowd of people to the kitchen. He made it to his destination several minutes later, only to suddenly freeze.
Cassie was standing by the stove, looking around aimlessly. She spotted Isaac a mere second later and approached him. Isaac cursed before pursing his lips shut.
"Isaac, can we please talk?"
He didn't bother replying. He grabbed an ice-cold beer from the fridge and poured it into his empty red cup.
"Please?"
"Leave me alone," Isaac snapped. He had forgotten that Cassie wasn't good at taking a hint.
He finally looked at her to see that she'd taken a step back from him. She appeared hurt by his harsh words, but Isaac had no remorse for what he'd said.
"Look, I—" Cassie began.
But Isaac didn't want to hear it. "I said leave me alone, for Christ's sake. By the way, you better leave Lexi alone this year. She doesn't deserve any more of your fucking bullshit."
He glared at his ex in an attempt to prove he meant business. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it a moment later.
Isaac turned around and began to saunter out of the kitchen.
"I'm sorry."
The words caught Isaac completely off guard. He looked back at Cassie, fully expecting a sarcastic look or anger etched in her features. But she continued to look empty and sullen as she sauntered away.
Where she was going, Isaac didn't know. He couldn't stop thinking about what Cassie had just said to him. It stuck to his brain even as he returned to the living room and sat back down on the couch. He must have appeared to be out of it because Lexi looked concerned the second he joined her.
"Everything alright?" she asked. "You were gone longer than I expected."
"Yeah, I guess," Isaac answered with a stunned laugh. "It's just...I ran into Cassie when I went to the kitchen, and...she apologized to me."
Lexi's eyes widened. "What?"
"She said, "I'm sorry," and then left the kitchen. I don't believe it."
"Neither do I," Lexi laughed. "Don't get me wrong— I'm not calling you a liar. It's just unreal."
Isaac took a sip of his beer and tried to shake off the weird encounter. "I'm willing to bet she didn't mean it."
"That's most likely the case. She hasn't yelled at you or whatever in a long while, huh?"
"Not since second year, when we were celebrating your birthday at my place and she interrupted it. Last year, she approached me to tell me that she was done trying to win me back and that she'd stop harassing me. That was pretty much the gist of it, from what I remember. She hasn't given me any trouble since."
"I wish I was in the same boat."
Isaac bit his lip and wrapped one arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. He leaned his head close to her right ear. "I'm sorry, baby."
"It's not your fault," Lexi said. She locked eyes with him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm okay, babe."
Despite how sincere her words sounded, Isaac knew better than to believe them. He saw how the drama had taken its toll on her over the years. He decided to drop the subject altogether.
"Let's go to my room," he suddenly insisted.
Lexi raised her eyebrows as a smirk appeared on her face. "In the mood already, I see."
"We both need a distraction, don't you think?"
"Definitely."
Isaac laughed as he and Lexi hightailed it out of the living room. He returned to the kitchen to dump his beer in the sink before going off into his bedroom. Lexi followed not far behind him. The bedroom door locked behind them quickly— who did it, Isaac didn't know— right as the couple got busy. The distraction that having sex provided was exactly what they needed after finishing out a hectic and tense first week at New York University.