The car ride there was quiet, but it felt comfortable. The sun was still rising, a faint orange glow peering over the horizon. Alexandria had the radio turned on but the volume was too low for me to hear what it was playing. My eyelids started to flutter, I was never awake this early so sleep wanted to overcome me once again.
Before I could drift off, I felt a hand on my knee.
"You need to stay awake. We are almost there." Alex's voice boomed, the sudden contrast of volume startling me.
"Ughh." I groaned.
She quietly laughed beside me. I don't think I will ever get used to hearing that sweet sound. Everything about her is beautiful, even the most mundane things she could do, she does them with grace.
~~~
We pulled up onto the side of a street, just around the corner from the college campus.
"You'll have to jump out here, I can't be seen getting out of my car with a student." She looked over to me with a small smile, her eyes showing a glimpse of sorrow and disappointment.
"I know..." I whispered, looking down at my hands before returning my attention back to her. "I will see you later..." I offered a small smile in return before unbuckling my seat belt and turning my body to open the door.
"Wait." I felt a hand on my arm that squeezed gently, her voice laced with desperation. I turned my head around to face her.
There were a few seconds of silence before she moved closer to me, she raised her hand to hold the side of my face and it wasn't long before her lips were on mine. I felt her smile into the kiss, the action causing butterflies to swarm my stomach again.
I felt right when I was with her, her strikingly cold skin seemed to cool me down, as if she was the ice to my fire. It just felt right.
"Okay, now you can go." She slowly pulled away, laughing slightly as she did.
I chuckled, earning one more peck on the cheek before managing to actually get out of the car. I saw her roll her eyes playfully, making sure I crossed the road safely before waving and driving off. It was little things like that, that made me feel safe and loved.
Loved.
I had never felt emotions like this towards another person before, especially someone that wasn't family.
~~~
I made my way to my dorm so that I can put away the clothes that Alexandria bought for me on our date. That reminds me, I never found out what Cameron messaged me to make her so angry.
I hope I don't run into him, it would be hard to explain everything and considering what he has done, I don't think I would be comfortable around him.
I grimaced at the thought. I couldn't even begin to think how Alex felt when she found out. My heart ached for her.
I opened the door to my dorm.
"Rory?!" I only took one step into the room before I was lunged at by Dana.
"Hmph." I felt all the air I had in my lungs escape me as she wrapped herself around me.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She pushed off of me, as if she was suddenly offended by my presence.
I pushed us into the room as the students walking by were now focused on the loud shouting.
"Shush Dana. I stayed with a friend for the weekend, it's not that big of a deal."
I chucked the bags of clothes on my bed, exhaustion creeping over me reminding me of the previous nights activities.
"Are you lying to me?" Dana asked.
"What?! No, what makes you think that?" I flopped on my bed.
"You look flustered, that's all." She shrugged.
I felt my cheeks getting hot. God, she's not even here and she still managed to make me blush.
"I'm just- tired." I almost stuttered.
"If you say so... Anyway, you missed out on some drama whilst you were gone." Dana slumped into her chair that resided in front of her messy desk.
"What sort of drama?" I sounded more intrigued than I actually was.
"Maya and Jen are now like... dating, sort of. They keep flirting and making out like- right in front of me. So, it's safe to say I have missed your company." She looked at me with heavy eyes.
"Hm. Honestly, I am not surprised at all. The sexual tension behind those two was so thick. I wonder how they get along though, you know, being roommates and everything." I laughed.
"I don't know..." Her voice was quieter than usual.
I looked over at her, her head had lowered and she was avoiding any eye contact with me. I sat up and shuffled towards the end of the bed.
"Dana, can I ask you something?" I tilted my head trying to see her face.
"Um. Sure..." She slowly turned her head towards me, looking like a lost puppy. Her voice was still quiet which made her seem nervous, the reason for it unknown. I stopped for a moment, wondering if I should ask her if she had feelings for me. I didn't want to embarrass her or myself, but she seems to go quiet whenever I mention anything to do with relationships and sex. The way she looked at me when I went on the restaurant date with Alexandria stirred something unpleasant inside of me, I know that look all too well...
"Do you..." I stopped, rethinking my question, "Have you got your eye on anyone at all?" I looked at her.
Her cheeks reddened as she looked away and back at me again.
"Well, there is someone but I'm not sure how they would react if I told them." I saw her eyes glance to my lips before keeping eye contact with me. Her answer was vague. I didn't know what to do, I knew she liked me, it was evident.
"Use me for example, my partner didn't know how I would react, and right now we are happily dating. Well, it's still early days yet but you don't know if you don't try. What's there to lose?" I smiled gently.
I saw her face drop slightly at the mention of Alexandria, it had to be done.
"And what if my person was already in a relationship?" My heart dropped. Was she really going to push it?
"Then you should respect that. I've gotta get to class, I'll see you later." I spoke blatantly. I quickly stood up from the bed, grabbed my bag and headed for the door. Before I could open it, I heard a scrape of a chair and a hand on top of mine that was gripping its handle.
"Maybe I don't want to respect it." I felt her breath against my ear, her torso lightly grazing against my back.
Something had never felt so wrong, "Dana, what are you doing?" My voice was low.
"I like you, Rory. Is that such a bad thing?" I felt her free hand rest upon my waist.
I quickly turned around and pushed her off of me, anger flooding through my veins.
"Get the fuck off of me, Dana!" I gritted my teeth, I saw her face visibly drop once more as if I took her by surprise.
I heard whispers of 'I'm sorry' before I walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me which caught unnecessary looks from the students around me.
~~~
I made my way to my first class which I was somewhat grateful for considering it was Alex's. Once I got there, a few students were already sitting in their seats. I turned to face Alexandria, only to be met with a concerned and somewhat angry look upon her face.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched me sit down in the desk in front of her. She stood up from her desk and walked in front of it, bending down to meet her eyes with my own.
"What's wrong?" She whispered quietly enough so that no other student could hear her. The class hadn't started yet so people were chattering among themselves.
I felt tears prick my eyes but managed to keep them back.
I sighed shakily before I spoke, "I-. I'm sorry." The lump in my throat made it hard to speak. Rage had now plastered itself upon Alexandria's face. It wasn't my fault that Dana did what she did, but something inside me had screamed guilt.
"Sorry for what?" She still spoke quietly but the anger rising in her made her voice sound deeper and more intimidating.
I inhaled, trying to remain calm, the lump in my throat feeling larger and constricting my own voice.
Her hand brushed over mine but quickly pulled it away as more students walked into the lecture room. It was now starting to fill up and voices started to quieten which only angered her further.
She stood up and looked at the young adults sitting in their seats, "Good morning class, in your textbooks please turn to page 16 and read the topic on 'Natural Disasters'. The plan for this lesson has changed and I will not be testing you until tomorrow's lesson." I heard a few of the students exhale, at least I wasn't the only one that felt relieved by that, even if I knew I was the reason for the push-back.
"Aurora, come with me." She looked at me and held the door open, signalling for me to exit. She shut the door gently behind us and looked around, there was barely anyone nearby.
"Continue what you were saying, darling." She placed her index finger just below my eye, swiping gently. A few tears must have escaped as I stood up, my vision still blurry.
"Well... Me and Dana, we were talking and one thing led to another, I tried to leave but she came on to me." I felt guilt instantly creep up on me. I made it sound worse than it actually was. The look on her face spoke for itself. She looked murderous.
"What is her last name." She wasn't asking this time, she was demanding. I was afraid on what she would do, Dana was still my friend.
"Why?" My voice was quiet, I felt small under her angry gaze.
"Her last name, Aurora." Her voice lowered an octave.
"Carter..." I whispered.
Her blue eyes had turned to stone grey ones as she looked around. I could tell she was trying to calm herself down but the heavy breaths coming out of her made it seem like she was struggling.
"I didn't do anything, she just-." Before I could finish my sentence, I saw her head turn to look down at me. The rage had subsided into lust, the look on her face was now terrifying.
Her hand instantly found its way around my throat and she had turned and pushed me against the wall. The impact made me become breathless for a few seconds and as soon as I was able to breathe again, she squeezed her fingers tightly around my neck. A devilish look in her eye.
She bent down to put her mouth next to my ear, a dark, sinister laugh coming out of it. Just the sound of it had made my eyes roll back slightly, my mind completely wiping the memory of Dana.
"Firstly, I am going to see what I can do about that little friend of yours... And then, I'm going to remind you of who you belong to. It seems like I need to put you back into your place, little girl." Her grip squeezed tighter which made my vision start to get hazy, I felt her tongue glide up the side of my ear before she completely released the hold she had on me. The action causing me to stumble a little.
"What are you going to do to her?" My voice came out barely above a whisper.
"My, my what a sweet thing you are. Darling, I would be more worried about what I am going to do to you..."
And with that, she gave me a sly smirk and made her way back into the classroom, signalling me to follow her.
The lump in my throat now making itself apparent again.