(Angel's POV)
"Elena, I'm sure I can drive myself." I say.
"You can't. Not with that long of a distance. You could get a headache and get into an accident." She says.
"I don't have to go today. I can continue online or something."
"Angel, we talked about this. You have only six months left. It's January."
"Elena-"
"Angel, get in the car. We already told them you're coming today. Plus, we already told Ellie that when she gets home you won't be here. You also said your goodbyes to Delilah and your bags are in the trunk. Let's go now."
"Fine." I huff.
We just dropped Ellie off and Elena is going to drive me to campus herself. I sigh and get in shotgun.
"I hate you." I say when she gets in.
"I love you too." She says before driving.
~*~
"Heyyyyy." Mary says when we meet her in front of the dorms building.
"Hey, Mary." I say and hug her.
"How are you feeling?" She asks.
"Better."
"Elena! Woah, your getting big." She says as she hugs her.
"We can catch up later. Now, where's this little one's dorm." Elena says.
"Getting rid of me much?" I ask.
"I have a surgery in two and a half hours and the road is already two hours. We need to do this quick."
Mary and I chuckle and she gets my bag out of the trunk.
"Your dorm is 310. Mine is 705." Mary says.
"Ok." I say.
"Well, I really need to go. See ya." Elena says and races with the car.
"Do you know which dorm he's in?" I ask, rolling the bag behind me.
"Yeah. I had a feeling you'd ask. He's in 501." She says.
"How do you find out?"
"I may or may not be seeing the person responsible for dorm distribution system's child."
"Darren?"
"No. His sister. Jenna."
"She goes here?"
"Yeah. You'll see her tonight."
"Why?"
"We're going to a party, remember?"
"I really don't want t-"
"Angel. How have you been?" Stefan appears in front of me.
I just stand there for a few seconds. I haven't seen him since either. He did visit me once in the hospital, but never since.
"Stefan... Hi." I say.
"I hope your feeling better. I didn't know you were coming back today." He says.
"I'm trying. Baby steps. Uhm... How have you been?"
"Angel, it's not weird, okay? We could still be friends, right?"
"I-I guess so."
"Great. I guess I'll see you later."
"Sure." I say and he leaves.
"Who was that hottie?" Mary asks as we get in the elevator.
"Damon's brother." I say.
"He's hot."
"You're seeing someone, remember?"
"Yeah. She's even hotter."
I chuckle as we reach my floor.
"By the way, there's a box on your bed. It's the photos that I didn't know where to put." She says, giving me the key.
When she came to me at the hospital, she told me that she decorated my room the same way I did.
"Well, I have lots of homework. Gotta go." She says and leaves.
I take a deep breath before going to my dorm and entering. It's nice. Cozy. I close the door behind me before sitting on the chair. I feel a headache start, so I lay my head on my arms and wait for the excruciating pain.
~*~
"I don't wanna go." I whine for the millionth time.
"Stop whining and put on the outfit." Mary says.
"Mary, I already have excruciating headaches. A party would increase them."
"You need some fun."
"Fine. Under one condition."
"Depends."
"If I get a headache, we'll go."
"We'll go when you need to go. NEED. Not want."
"Fine." I say and take the outfit into the bathroom to change.
"You look fabulous. Come on. Make up time." Mary squeals.
I sigh before sitting down and letting her do my make up.
"Why didn't you open the box yet?" She asks.
"I was busy unpacking. Then you came." I say.
"Ok."
When she's done, I grab my phone and we head to the party. I could hear the music from a few houses away. It was soooooooo loud.
"I hate you for this." I say.
"You're gonna thank me later." She says.
I just roll my eyes as we reach. When we enter, I could see a few couples making out and humping each other.
"Guys, get a room." A blonde says, coming our way.
"Jenna!" Mary squeals.
"Hey, baby." Jenna says before kissing Mary.
"Jenna, this is Angel. Angel, this is Jenna." Mary says.
"Hi." She says, shaking my hand.
"Nice to meet you." I say.
"I'll go get us drinks." Mary says.
"Mary told me a lot about you. Your so much prettier in person." Jenna says.
"Uh...Thanks. I guess. Your pretty too." I say.
"Come here, let's find a place to sit." She says.
She leads me farther away and we sit on a two people sofa. As I look around, I feel her eyes burn holes through me.
"So, are you seeing anybody?" She asks.
"I-I don't know." I say.
"How do you not know?" She giggles.
"It's complicated."
"Do you still like him or her?"
"Yeah. A lot, actually."
"You're too pretty to be left confused like that."
"Hey, guys." Mary says, finding us.
I grab a cup from her hand and slowly start sipping on it. She then sits on Jenna's lap.
"You didn't tell me she was that pretty." Jenna says.
"She doesn't think she is." Mary says.
"Well, she definitely is."
"Are you guys friends with benefits?" I ask.
They both then chuckle.
"No. It's just an open relationship. We're together but we can sleep around too." Jenna says.
"Makes sense." I say.
I take another sip before looking around. Suddenly, my eyes land on someone. Him. He's here. Leaning on the wall, observing everyone. Then, his eyes meet mine. The moment he sees me, I look away.
"Mary, I wanna leave." I say.
"Angel, we just got here. Plus, I'm not leaving until I get laid." She says before kissing Jenna.
"Then get laid already." I say.
She giggles before chunking down another drink. I huff before getting up and going to the kitchen. I see a couple making out and a guy eating nachos in the end of the kitchen.
"Mind if I have one?" I ask.
"Sure. Take as many as you want." He says.
"Thanks, I'm starving." I say and take one.
"Are they not going to go to a room or something?" He asks.
"First college party?"
"Yeah."
"You're a freshman?"
"No. I'm a senior, but I took the last three years online."
"Nice. Anyways, to answer your question, I don't think so."
"So they're gonna stop?"
"I bet you fifty bucks they're gonna do it right there right now."
"They won't."
"We'll see."
We snack on the nachos while watch them. A couple of minutes later, the girl's dress comes off.
"Ooooh. We've got a naughty girl. No underwear." I say.
He then looks away.
"What? Have you never seen a girl naked before?" I ask.
"Just my ex girlfriend. And my sister." He says.
"Your sister?!"
"She's 1 year old."
"Aww. You helped change diapers and take care?"
"Yeah. I treat her like my own daughter."
"Yeah." I say.
I couldn't help but think of Ellie on her first birthday.
"Oh god. I can't believe you were right!" He gasps.
I giggle as I look and see the couple doing it.
"Here." He says and gives me a fifty dollar bill.
"Thank you very much." I chuckle as I put it in my pocket before jumping up and sitting on the counter.
"I'm Garret, by the way."
"I'm Angel." I smile.
"Nice name."
"Thanks. Garret's nice too. What's your major?"
"Criminal Law."
"Oooh, officer Garret? Nice." I say.
He then smiles.
"What about you?" He asks.
"It's not as important as yours."
"It's doesn't matter, really. As long as you love what you study or do."
"Music."
"THAT'S where I know you from."
"What?"
"I attended one of the concerts. I love music. You were the one who sang a tribute for her father, right?"
"Yeah."
"Honestly, it was the best cover of Father by Demi that I've ever heard."
"Thanks. I guess when you sing a relatable song, you sound great."
"I recently lost my father too. He had been hospitalized for a while. He began to crash a lot and then he just didn't make it."
"I'm so sorry. I don't know how you must feel."
"What do you mean?"
"This kind of talk should be in a more quieter place."
"The garden, maybe. Or by the pool."
"Sure. Come on." I say and hop off the counter.
He leads me outside and I sit, cross-legged on the grass.
"I was a mistake. A result of a one night stand." I say, fiddling with the grass.
"Oh." He says.
"Yeah. My mother's husband, who I was led to believe that he was my father, died before I was born. For twenty three years, I believed that I didn't have a father."
"Twenty three?"
"I took a two year break from studying."
"Oh. Continue."
"Then, someone special helped me find him. Well, he tracked him down for me. As a surprise, maybe. I don't know. But, when I found him, he was really sick. Then, he died. My time with him was short-lived." I say, tears filling my eyes.
"It's ok to cry. We can't always be brave."
A small smile appears on my lips as I look at him.
"What about you? Did you have a good time with your father?" I ask.
"Well, when he was hospitalized, my mother banned me from seeing him. They were going through a divorce and she didn't want me seeing him. He had cheated on her multiple times and he even has a daughter from another woman."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We found out about her when his will came out. He left quite a few things for her. The lawyers are trying to track her down."
"How do you feel about that?"
"Well, it would be nice to have an older sibling, to be honest."
"She's older than you?"
"Yeah. He had her at the beginning of their marriage. Before me."
"Do you have any other siblings?"
"Nope. Just Andreah. And the mysterious girl. What about you?"
"I'm an only child. My mother died of cancer when I was six."
"Oh. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine."
I sigh as I look down at the grass and start playing with it again.
"I don't wanna alarm you or anything, but do you know that there's a guy who's been watching you for a while, now." Garret says.
Damon?
"Blue eyes, black hair?" I ask.
"Yup." He says.
"It's fine. I know him." I say as a tear runs down my cheek.
"Why are yo- he's the guy, isn't he? The one who helped track down your father?"
"Yeah. That's him."
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"It's complicated, really. I-I don't wanna talk about it."
"It's fine. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"It's fine. What time is it?"
"Uh... Midnight. Why?" He says, checking his watch.
"I should probably get going."
"Do you want me to drop you off?"
"No. It's fine. I'll just go tell my friend that I'm leaving."
"Ok. Uhm... It was really nice speaking with you today. Can I give you my number? I'd love for us to hang out again." He says.
"I guess." I say and give him my phone.
"There. I saved it Officer Garret."
I couldn't help but chuckle before going back inside. I look around to find Mary and Jenna still making out on the sofa. I sigh before making my way to them.
"Mary. I'm leaving." I say.
"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow." She says.
I roll my eyes as she goes back to kissing Jenna and start making my way to the door. Halfway to the door, I feel a hand grip my bicep, stopping me. I look up to see Damon. His eyes hold so many emotions, I don't know which ones are the cover and which ones are true. With his free hand, he tucks a hair behind my ear. I close my eyes, enjoying his touch. As soon as I open my eyes, he's gone. I feel a pang hit my chest and continue walking out towards the street.
About fifteen minutes later, I reach my dorm and drop on my bed. I wrap myself up in the blanket and try to drift off to sleep. Tears streaming down my face.