The first few days of the new semester were slightly hectic for students, but most managed to get used to school once again after the holiday break. By Thursday, Isaac had made it through all but one class on his timetable. Once that afternoon came, he had finished the first lecture for the week. He'd managed to have not only the rest of the day off but Fridays off as well. So when he texted Lexi to go out to The Bean's Knees for lunch that day, she'd accepted the offer to hang out, as she had two classes on Fridays and none on Thursdays. Isaac walked to her apartment and buzzed her place.
"Who is it?"
"It's me...Isaac."
Lexi's laugh was caught by the speaker. "I'll be down in a minute."
Isaac chuckled as well while he waited for his girlfriend to join him. She showed up a moment later with a small smile on her face. Isaac studied her outfit— black jeans, a white knit turtleneck, a black fake leather jacket, and black boots— before speaking again.
"You look beautiful."
"Oh, thank you," Lexi said with a slight laugh. "Let's go."
"Sounds good."
As they left the apartment complex to begin walking to The Bean's Knees, Isaac noticed that Lexi wasn't wearing gloves or mittens on her hands. In the bitter January winter, that was a foolish mistake she must've made without realizing it. She began to hide her hands in the sleeves of her jacket, but Isaac grabbed one hand with his. He threaded his gloved fingers through hers and gripped it gently yet firmly. He waited for her to reject the gesture, but that never happened. Instead, she gripped his hand in the same manner. A blush crossed her face, but she didn't mention it, so Isaac didn't either.
The rest of the walk was relatively peaceful, save for traffic noises, and small bits of chatter shared between the couple. They soon arrived at The Bean's Knees, which was quiet given the time of day. They each ordered their drinks, with Isaac offering to pay for his girlfriend's order.
"I'll pay next time," Lexi remarked as they waited for their coffees. "It'll be my treat."
Isaac grinned. "I'll try to remember for next time."
After receiving their coffees, the couple found a table and sat across from one another.
"It's funny that we've been back at school for almost a week, but we haven't seen each other until now," Isaac noted with a chuckle.
"My semester's busier than I thought it would be," Lexi revealed. "Two of my classes have lectures and labs, so I have to spend more time in the classroom than I wish. But I do have Friday afternoons off, as well as all of Thursday."
"I have Thursday afternoons and Fridays off," Isaac admitted. "So, basically what you have, but reversed a little."
Lexi laughed. "Pretty much. I'm just glad we were able to find some more time to spend together."
"Me too. So...how have you been?"
"Good, thank you. Like I said, school's made me pretty busy, but I think I'll be fine. Oh, and the rest of break was good. I don't mind having my apartment to myself for a couple of days— the peace and quiet is always nice. How about you?"
"I'm good as well. Break was nice, but I wish it'd been longer. Then again, it would've made going back to school that much worse."
"That's very true," Lexi pointed out. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
"Oh, and something happened during break," Isaac confessed. "I told my parents and sister about you being my girlfriend."
"How did they take it?"
"Laura was very happy for me. But my parents think that I'm getting into a new relationship too soon. They really want to meet you now."
Lexi's face fell a bit. "Oh wow. The idea of meeting them makes me a little nervous, I'm not gonna lie. Don't get me wrong- I'd love to meet your parents. It's just the idea of meeting them has me a little freaked out."
"It makes me nervous, too 'cause I really want them to like you."
"Do you think they will?"
"Oh, yeah. I can't imagine them not liking you. They might be a little on edge 'cause you're new and they still think I'm rushing into things. But the second part is more an issue for me, not you."
"That's good." Lexi paused to grin. "Now I'm looking forward to meeting your family."
Isaac smiled in return. "Me too."
The rest of the coffee date had the couple chatting about what their respective semesters entailed, as well as what they had planned to do for the coming weekend. Lexi already had a paper to work on that was due early next week, while Isaac had made plans to hang out with his roommates. Almost an hour and a half after their date had begun, it had ended with Isaac walking Lexi back to her apartment. They held hands again— albeit more confidently this time— as they strolled back to her apartment building.
"Thank you so much for taking me out," she remarked. "I really had a great time, baby."
Isaac grinned at her pet name for him. "I had a good time, too. I always enjoy hanging out with you, babe."
"Right back at you," Lexi laughed.
"I'm sorry that we won't be able to hang out this weekend," Isaac suddenly said.
Lexi shrugged. "It's okay, we'll figure something out for another time. I'm not upset about it if that's what you're thinking."
"I'm glad. I was a little worried, I'm not gonna lie."
"Like I said, it's okay, baby. Please don't worry about it. Besides, you can text me whenever just to chat. It won't bother me at all."
At this, Isaac grinned wider. "I'll keep that in mind."
They soon approached the door to Lexi's apartment, where they faced each other while wearing big smiles. They kissed, exchanged goodbyes, and then Isaac left to return to his place.
Once he was gone, Lexi began digging for her keys inside her purse. She heard soft footsteps approaching from behind but didn't think much of them. But an all too familiar voice suddenly interrupted the silence that had hung in the air.
"Hello, Lexi."
"Hi, Cassie."
"I thought I saw Isaac leaving. Was he just visiting your apartment?"
Lexi finally looked up from her bag. "No, he walked me home from our date. Why do you care?"
"Do I really need to remind you?" Cassie questioned. She soon raised her voice. "God, you're such a fucking slut. You ruined my relationship with Isaac, and it's all your fault that we're no longer dating, you skank. You can go fuck yourself for all I care!"
During this verbal tirade, Lexi found herself maintaining a cold yet calm exterior. She tried to not let Cassie's horrible words get to her; after all, she'd heard them so often that it was almost expected anymore. She didn't try to interrupt her during her rant; instead, she just let Cassie carry on until she was finished speaking. Only then did Lexi utter a one-word reply.
"Fine."
Cassie definitely hadn't expected that response, as evident from the frown on her face. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.
But before she could say anything, Lexi found her keys, unlocked her door, and entered her apartment in a matter of seconds. She spotted Nikita sitting in the living room, working on her laptop with a textbook on her left and a notebook and pen on her right.
"Hey," she greeted, not bothering to look up from her laptop screen.
"Hey," Lexi replied with a half-hearted grin. She began to head to her room.
"How'd your date go?" Nikita asked.
Lexi stopped at the entrance of her bedroom door and faced her roommate. "It was fine. We were just at The Bean's Knees catching up on how our Christmas breaks were. Sorry, I know I'm interrupting you while you're doing homework."
Nikita closed her laptop with an amused grin. "It's cool. I need an excuse to take a break anyways. But, uh...are you sure it went well? I thought I heard Cassie bitching you guys out just now."
"Oh, that. Isaac had already left before she started, so she was only chewing me out. It was just the usual shit— that I ruined her relationship with Isaac and so I can go fuck myself. There's a bit more than that, but it's pretty much identical to what I just said. When she finished her rant, I dismissed her before coming in."
"Wow. You'd think she'd finally stop her bullshit since finding out that you two are boyfriend and girlfriend. Guess I was wrong."
"Oh, she doesn't know that yet."
Upon hearing this, Nikita raised her eyebrows. "Oh, she'll totally flip her shit when she finds out. You know she will soon enough."
Lexi bit her lip. "I'm trying not to think about that 'cause I really wanna enjoy my new relationship. At least, for as long as I can until Cassie tries to ruin everything yet again."
"Enjoy it while it lasts," Nikita remarked, "'cause I have a feeling she's gonna find out sooner than later."
"You got that right," Lexi replied.