The next day, Siobhan sat at a small table at Starbucks. Two cups of coffee rested on the table as Siobhan studied for her test which she'd be facing in a few hours. It was the day of her midterm exams at school, yet Siobhan felt as if she was not ready for the test. She felt incomplete.
Running a hand through her hair, Siobhan closed her eyes; a method to soothe her already tittering nerves.
You can do this, Si. You've got this. Nothing's stopping—
"Siobhan," An all too familiar voiced called out in front of Siobhan. As quick as they closed, Siobhan's eyes snapped open, only to see Prince comfortably seated in front of her. "I've been looking for you."
"Prince." she sneered back as she gathered up her belongings, not wanting to study any longer. The only thing that ran through Siobhan's mind was the idea of being hurt by Prince at the club yesterday.
Prince watched as the love of his life packed her books together to leave. He couldn't let her get away.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He revealed. "My behavior yesterday was truly unacceptable. I... I don't know what came over me."
With that, Prince retrieved a small box. Opening it, he pulled out a silver bracelet, with an 'S' shaped charm dangling from it. The cold heart which Siobhan had a few minutes prior had softened at the sight of the mesmerizing piece of jewelry. Prince's way of apologizing was really getting to her.
"Here." Prince said, sliding and clipping it onto Siobhan's wrist. "It's from me."
Siobhan bit her lip with a smile. "I don't know what to say..."
"And you don't have to. Just come along with me to the mall this afternoon. I'll buy you anything you want."
Almost immediately, Siobhan looked up at Prince as she slowly shook her head. I have a boyfriend, for Christ sakes! She thought. Does he even care? I don't know him!
She had finally concluded that Prince was crazy, and she had to get away. Fast. Grabbing her drinks and bags once more, Siobhan stood up. "I can't. I'm sorry..."
"Siobhan, wait!"
Before Prince could even finish his sentence, Siobhan was already out the door.
"Shit!" yelled Prince once he saw Siobhan leave the premises. He kicked the chair across from him, and sighed out angrily. His plan of getting his amor was failing miserably. That matter made him angry. Prince was clearly obsessed.
***
Two hours later, Siobhan sat in her Biology lecture room, tapping her pencil on the desk. All of her studying had come to good use until she came across one short answer question.
'What is the function of the kidney?' the question read. She struggled to answer it. About to leave the question blank, Siobhan felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Looking up at her professor, she saw him sitting at his desk, reading a newspaper.
Just my luck. Siobhan pulled out her cellphone and opened the message she received on her cell.
'The kidney removes waste from the blood and maintains water fluid levels.' It read. Suddenly, she realized that was indeed the answer. She gasped and quickly wrote down the answer, then reply to the text.
'Who is this?'
'You don't need to know.' The person replied.
"Okay class! Pencils down! Your scores will be let out on Friday." The teacher said, collecting the test papers. After gathering her belongings, Siobhan rushed out of class. Whoever just texted Siobhan had just earned her a few extra points on her test.
Siobhan could not get the text past her head.
Who the hell was that? She thought.
After a few minutes of sitting outside, Siobhan would have thought her nerves would have calmed down, but they didn't. In fact, they had just alleviated. She only expected a text like this from one person.
Prince.
And speak of the devil, Prince was suddenly making his way up to Siobhan.
Where the heck did he come from?
Siobhan quickly gathered her belongings and sped away from the bench she sat on. To make sure she lost the boy, she entered the university buildings and circled it three times, just for safety's sake. After thirty minutes, she was sure that Prince had left, and made her way back home.
Siobhan ambled down the sidewalk, sighing in frustration. In a matter of one week, Siobhan had caught a persistent stalker on her hands and didn't know what to do. Should she go to the police? Maybe Prince would get over this little phase, or crush, he had on her.
Some time during Siobhan's thought, a car slowly drove besides her.
"Amor!"
Siobhan glanced towards towards the direction of the voice and saw Prince. Practically seething, Siobhan continued walking, ignoring his call and presence in general.
"I could give you a ride home, you know," he called, slowly following behind her. "It's a bit cold outside for you to be walking."
"I'll live." Siobhan muttered. All she wanted to do was get home to her loving boyfriend, Craig.
"Come on. I don't want you to get sick. Just tell me the directions to your house and I'll drop you off."
Still ignoring him, she continued to walk, whether it was cold or not. By the time Siobhan arrived at the end of the sidewalk, her feet felt like ice blocks and her teeth refused to stop chattering.
Finally, Siobhan did the unthinkable. She turned to face the car and sighed.
"Fine."
Almost immediately when she entered the car, Prince began to speak. "We almost seem to always run into each other."
Siobhan forced a smile on her face, rubbing her hands together to get some warmth. But also to keep herself occupied as a way to keep herself occupied from talking to Prince.
"It's such a beautiful day," he added. "But not as beautiful as you."
Siobhan sighed once more and shut her eyes, wishing she would be home already.
"Over these few days, I've grown an interest in you," Prince revealed. "My feelings have grown stronger and stronger each day, and I can't get over you. Your beauty."
It was clear to see that Siobhan wanted nothing to do with Prince. Not even as acquaintances. "I have a boyfriend." Sobhan spoke slowly so he could understand. "I told you this before."
Automatically, the car came to an abrupt stop, causing Siobhan to jolt forward, almost hitting her head on the dashboard. "What the hell was that for?"
"You always bring up your boyfriend! Why can't you forget him and focus on us, just for a second?"
Siobhan hastily struggled to open the door, but found it wouldn't open. It was locked. "Open the door, Prince."
"Come on, Siobhan." Prince spoke out, grabbed her arm. Responsively, she shuddered in disgust.
"Open the damn door right now!"
He yanked her arm towards him and cupped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Listen. You and I belong together."
Prince let go of her arm and begun to play with Siobhan's hair. She took in a sharp breath and watched as Prince placed his face against her neck, kissing it softly.
"Meet me at Gumbo tonight." He whispered in her ear.
When Siobhan didn't respond, Prince roughly grabbed her hair, causing her to yelp out in response. "You're hurting me..."
"Be there at eight. Don't push it."
And that's why at eight o'clock sharp, Siobhan sat on her empty bed, with her mind racing furiously about Prince. She wasn't going to allow him to run her life, especially since she barely knew him
She found herself positioned there for the next minute, unable to bring herself to move anywhere else besides her bed. That's until her cell phone began to ring.
"Hello?" she answered shyly.
"You bitch!"