by Rebel Hart
“I’m not mad that you didn’t tell me,” I replied. “You never tell me what you’re up to! I’m used to that. I’m mad because I thought we were going to get to live together. You didn’t even pick Presper because of me. Just because of Henry.” Sydney went quiet, and I nodded. “Exactly. Now move.”
“Nina—”
“Uh, not to interrupt this—seriously, I’d really rather not—but I promised Nina I’d walk her around campus.” Both our heads swirled around toward Devon, and he was sitting up in the bed with the covers no longer hiding his shirtless torso.
“Really?” Sydney asked.
She eyed me, and I eyed Devon. He sighed. “Yes, really. I’m going to give her some advice on how to survive school here.”
Advice. He had to be talking about giving me advice on Kai. I looked up at Sydney. “Y-yes. We did make this arrangement, for…” I looked at the clock and noticed it was almost noon. “Noon.”
“Uh-huh,” Sydney said in a muted, non-believing tone. “This isn’t just an attempt to avoid talking to me.”
“Nope. Unlike some people, I’m here because I want to learn.”
“Fine.” Sydney finally climbed off of me. “Take some time to cool down. I’m not letting this go. Maybe I chose this school for Henry, but don’t think for a second that I’m not excited to be here with you.”
With a slam of the door as she walked out, Sydney was gone. I groaned. I was the one getting the raw end of the deal, so why did the conversation end with me feeling like the bad guy?
“You know, you should probably go easy on her,” Devon said.
I looked back at him, and he had thrown the blanket off and was sitting on the bed. He had shorts on, thankfully, but his bronzed and well-defined abs were now on full display. Despite wanting to continue looking, I held up a hand.
“Can you put a shirt on?” Devon immediately grabbed his shirt from the end table next to the bed and put it on. It was the first time in two days that someone had done something immediately when I asked. It was comforting to have someone finally listening to me. “Thank you.”
“No problem. I could tell you needed a little control over something.”
I furrowed my brow. What he’d gained, he gave away with that sentence. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“That’s why you’re so upset, right? You feel like no one’s listening to you?”
I didn’t want to admit he was right, so I settled for growling, “What are you, a psychologist?”
He laughed. “I am studying psychology.”
“Oh, well…” I nodded. “Good, then. You’re learning.”
He laughed. “Hey, thanks.” He stood up and walked over to the desk on the opposite wall from mine and sat down in the chair. “As I was saying, you should lay off Sydney.”
“I have every right to be angry,” I hissed back.
“You do,” he replied quickly, and there was sincerity on his face when he said it. “That doesn’t mean you have to be angry. She’s your best friend, and she’s clearly upset that she hurt you. You’re telling me that if you walked out that door right now to find Kai there, and he said,”—Devon threw his hand over his chest and pointed his head toward the sky in a dramatic display—“‘Oh, Nina. I’m in love with you. Run away with me,’ that you wouldn’t run away with him, Sydney be damned?”
“No,” I responded, but it was a flat out lie, and I could tell in Devon’s half-lidded gaze that he didn’t believe me. “Fine, maybe, but… I’d tell her, at least.”
Devon pointed. “I thought you weren’t mad because she didn’t tell you.”
I crossed my arms. “You know, I don’t think I like you very much.”
“Why? Because I’m right?” Devon asked with a laugh. He peeked at his phone screen. “I’m gonna run upstairs and change. Then we can leave.”
“What?” I asked.
Devon sighed. “God, I feel like you immediately forget everything you are told.”
My jaw dropped. “I didn’t forget anything! You didn’t say we’re going anywhere!”
“I did!” He pointed toward the bed as if to jog my memory to when he was sitting over there. “We’re going to walk around campus.”
“Oh,” I sat back in my chair. “I thought that was just a ruse to get Sydney out of the room.”
“I mean, it kind of was, but don’t you want to see the campus?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Fine, then. I’ll go get changed, and then we can leave.” He stood up and looked down at me.
“Okay,” I replied. “Thanks.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
He left the room, and I turned my attention to packing an over-the-shoulder bag with a few things I thought I may need—money, my phone, some chapstick—and by the time I was ready to go, Devon was back at the door. He’d changed into a sleeveless hoodie and a pair of black jean shorts. A few girls passed by him in the hallway outside, and I could see them looking him up and down. One of them peeked in at me and tilted her head in confusion before continuing on her way.
I ignored their stares and stepped out into the hallway, shutting and locking the door behind me, and then we were off. Devon led us out of the East Tower and toward the north, where the humanities building was located, the one where I’d have most of my major-specific courses. Unlike my thinking that he was going to wander around, he seemed to be devoted to showing me any buildings that were necessary to my schedule.
At one point, he actually asked me to text him a picture of my schedule so that he had a list of where to take me. He pointed out the important buildings as we passed them, and any building that I had multiple courses in, he’d actually walk me inside and point the rooms out to me. It was really wonderful. If it had just been Sydney, we would have wandered around aimlessly. With Devon, it was a guided tour, and I had to admit that he wasn’t terrible company.
When we’d been around most of the campus and through all of the buildings of importance, we settled for a casual stroll down some of the school’s pathways with nice landscaping on either side.
“Okay, when do I get my advice?” I asked, taking a sip of the smoothie I’d purchased at the hidden smoothie shop Devon showed me behind the Student Union.
Devon had a smoothie of his own and a sandwich, as he’d not yet had lunch. “Okay, tell me a bit about you guys again.”
“We’ve known each other since he first moved here. He always seemed to be really friendly toward me, even though I was kind of a quiet, nerdy girl in school.”
“I can’t imagine you being quiet,” Devon replied.
“Pipe down,” I responded. “He would eat lunch with me and wait for me after classes and stuff. I don’t know. We just hung out a lot. We get along really well.”
“It sounds like he likes you already,” Devon replied.
“Really?” I asked.
“Maybe.” He took the final bite of his sandwich and then brushed his hands free of crumbs. “Maybe he wants you to play hard to get or something.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Like how?”
“You know, he likes the hunt, so instead of always being ready and willing to talk to him and spend time with him, you need to act sort of aloof.”
“Do guys really like that?” I asked.
“Some guys. You know, make it like it’s a sport. They like feeling like they accomplished something if they get the girl to like them back. So if he feels like you already like him, he won’t go for it because it doesn’t feel like he accomplished anything.”
“Okay.” I shook my head. That seemed unreasonably convoluted. “So, what do I do? I do already like him, so you’re saying I need to act like I don’t like him?”
“Pretty much. I mean, just talk about seeing other guys and act less interested in some of the stuff he says to you. Just thin it out a bit.”
I scoffed. “That’s stupid. Wouldn’t that make him feel bad?”
“Yeah, but that’s the point. You make him feel ba
d now so that when you stop making him feel bad, it’s a big payoff.”
It was like he was talking about gambling at a casino, not trying to start a relationship with someone I actually liked and respected. “If guys are really like this, I understand why they struggle with relationships.”
“First of all,” Devon responded. “Not all guys are like that, just the one you chose. That’s on you, not me. Second of all, this is the advice you asked for. I’m telling you it’s going to work, but if you don’t want to hear what I have to say, then lesson one is over.”
He sounded irritated, and I felt bad. He really was just trying to help. “Sorry for the attitude,” I grumbled, and Devon looked at me, shocked. “What?”
He shook his head. “I have never once met a woman who apologized for her attitude. You truly are a rare bird.” I couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or an insult, so I let it go. “Apology accepted. Really, it’s easier for cute girls because they don’t have to try so hard, so just relax.”
I kind of wanted to ask for clarification on that last sentence. Was he saying I was cute? He’d made a comment about me being beautiful the day before, but were those just statements of fact, or something he actually believed? Either way, the thought of asking made me feel like I was going to combust, so I didn’t.
We finished our walk around campus, and then Devon showed me a short cut back to our dorm. He hung out on the elevator when it stopped on the fourth floor, saying he was headed up for now but that he would be back down before count. I climbed off the elevator and waved, watching the doors close, and grinned.
Devon wasn’t a bad guy, thank god. It’d suck if I had to have this weird arrangement with someone awful. My smile remained as I made my way back to my dorm, passing Monica, who had a curious look on her face. Between the excitement for my first set of classes and my anticipation to use the advice that Devon had given me, the first day of school couldn’t come soon enough.
5
Nina
Presper’s early move-in option meant that most of the freshmen for the new year were living on the campus about a week before the first day of class. It was the school’s way of giving the new students all of the time they needed to get settled and comfortable before the campus was overrun by all of the upperclassmen and before the rush of school began. Any upperclassmen who wanted to move in early could, as well, but they were encouraged to wait until the weekend before the first day of classes to give the incoming freshmen some breathing room. Henry and Devon ended up moving in early because of Henry and Sydney’s arrangement, and other upperclassmen like Monica were moved in early to take up their positions as RAs.
All in all, my first handful of days at Presper had been pretty low-key, room-switching antics notwithstanding, but when I woke up on Friday morning, the campus had entirely new energy to it. The upperclassmen were starting to arrive. Classes were finally about to start.
Devon had been sleeping in my room for six nights, and we were getting to know each other enough that it didn’t make me totally uncomfortable to sleep in the room anymore. We started our mornings with me slapping him awake so that he didn’t sleep until noon, and then we’d go and meet Henry and Sydney over at the dining hall in the Student Union for breakfast. I still wasn’t really talking to Sydney, apart from the passing comment here or there, so after breakfast every day, she’d follow me back to our dorm room. Devon would return to his room, giving Sydney the space she needed to try to get me to forgive her for abandoning me.
“Reason number eight,” Sydney said, continuing a long list of reasons she’d contrived why I should forgive her. “I convinced you to dye your hair purple at the tips, and I think we can both agree that it looks really good.”
“I could take or leave it,” I grumbled back as we walked down the hallway toward our room, but it wasn’t true at all. I loved the electric purple dip.
“Reason number nine,” she continued, ignoring my quip.
“Good morning, Nina, Sydney.” We turned down the hallway toward our dorm room, and Monica was standing directly in front of our door. My heart panged for a second, worried that maybe she’d seen Devon and me slip out that morning, but she went on to say, “I didn’t see you guys leave this morning. I wanted to check in.”
“Everything’s good,” I responded quickly. “Ready for school to start.”
“I bet! It’s exciting stuff. I’ve seen you around, doing some studying. Remember, my door is always open if you need some help,” she said.
“Thanks,” I replied, though I highly doubted I would ever exercise that option.
“As for you, Sydney,” Monica continued, her voice getting a little more bass to it. “I haven’t seen you around much. Or at all. Except for count, that is.”
“I’ve been around,” Sydney responded. “I know a few other people in this dorm, though, so I spend a lot of time on other floors.”
“Oh? Who do you know?”
I crossed my arms. “Uh, that’s not really your business.” I’d had just about enough of Monica’s nosy attitude.
Monica put up her hands in defense. “No need to get testy. I was just curious.”
“As long as I’m around for count, what difference does it make?” Sydney asked.
Monica shook her head. “No, no. You misunderstand. I was just making small talk.”
It didn’t sound like small talk—it sounded like fishing. I stepped forward to where Monica was standing at the door and waited. Monica stepped aside, and I opened the door, and Sydney threw Monica her own dirty look before sliding into the room. I slipped in, as well, and Monica turned to face the room as if she was going to stick around, but I waved and slowly shut the door in her face.
“God, she is weird,” Sydney said.
“No kidding,” I responded.
Sydney pointed excitedly. “Oh! You said something to me that wasn’t sarcastic!”
In the mixup with Monica, I’d forgotten I’d taken a stand against Sydney. “Don’t get used to it.”
“Come on, Nina. I still have more reasons. Eighty-two of them. I’ll list them all, and you know it.” I sat down on my bed and started to unpack my purse, and Sydney sat down on the other bed, facing me. “Reason nine.”
I scoffed. “Stop it.”
“Reason nine, I locked you in this room with a majorly hot guy. You told me it was my job to get you over Kai. I handed you a virgin-killer on a silver platter.”
My gaze shot up to her. “Virgin-killer?”
“Yeah,” Sydney said. “Sleep with Devon. Duh.”
“I’m not gonna sleep with Devon.”
Sydney pointed at me. “You’re blushing.”
I put my hands up over my cheeks. “No.”
She giggled. “Come on. He’s super hot, and he’ll be here every night. Why wouldn’t you sleep with him?” I didn’t immediately respond, and she let out a groan. “Tell me you don’t still think it’ll be Kai?”
I shrugged. “Devon thinks he likes me.”
“You told him about Kai?” she asked.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s complicated. Anyway, I don’t know. I think things could work with Kai.” I had Devon’s new advice, after all. Maybe this was finally my year.
Sydney switched to sitting next to me on my bed. She put her arms around my shoulders and set her head against mine. “Sweetie, I just don’t want you to hurt over him anymore.”
I curled my arms up over Sydney’s and sighed. The strain of being mad at Sydney was waning. She’d always been a woman of many plots and ploys. I guess now probably wasn’t the time to decide to take a stand. If I was going to survive the year, I was going to need my best friend.
“I know. I’ll be okay,” I responded. “I promise.”
“Well, at least sleep with Devon until you’ve worked all the Kai stuff out.”
I leered over at her. “I’m not sleeping with Devon.”
Sydney released me and crossed her arms. “I don’t get it. He’s super hot. If I wasn’
t in love with Henry, I’d be all…” She clicked her teeth. “Hey, baby, I’ll let you buy me breakfast in the morning.”
I laughed, officially letting my anger go. “You’re a freak.”
Sydney laughed and smiled, clearly relieved that I was feeling better. “Yeah, but you love me.”
I nodded. “I do.”
A knock on the door pulled our attention. “I swear to god, if that’s Monica,” Sydney grumbled before calling, “Come in!” The door opened, and Devon walked into the room. Sydney chuckled. “Speak of the viciously sexy devil.”
“Shut up,” I hissed. “Hey, Devon.”
“Hi. Is my phone down here? I can’t find it.”
“I haven’t seen it, but we can look around,” I replied, and Sydney, Devon, and I set to flipping covers and lifting books in search of the device.
Finally, I peeked into the bathroom and saw it sitting on the counter. “Got it!” I grabbed it and walked out of the bathroom and handed it over. “Here.”
Devon smiled at me. “Thanks.”
“So,” Sydney started with that tone in her voice that let me know she was up to no good. “How are things going with you two crazy kids?”
I shook my head at Sydney as subtly as I could. “Fine.”
Devon nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s going fine.”
“Yeah? Nothing really crazy? No crazy sex—”
“Stop,” I cut in. “Stop it right now.”
Devon was snickering, letting me know he knew where the conversation was headed. Devon tucked his phone into his pocket, but Sydney was still slithering over with a suggestive look on her face. I went to stand between the beds, eliminating whatever Sydney had planned, and she pouted, all while Devon continued to laugh at the exchange.
“Oh. Sorry to interrupt.” Both Sydney and I sighed as Monica’s voice filled the room. She was standing in the open doorway with a fake smile on her face. She looked up at Devon. “Hello. I’ve seen a lot of you around. What’s your name?”
“I’m Devon,” Devon replied coolly. He held out a hand. “You are?”
