Tegan was hoping the rest of the weekend would be smooth sailing, praying she could catch up on her school work, but with her erratic friends, she never knew. After sneaking out from Lindsey's hold of her early in the morning, she headed back to her dorm, taking in the gloomy weather the season offered. The crispiness in the air gave rise to goosebumps all along her pale arm, causing her to reflect on how real everything suddenly felt. The events that unfolded the night prior just seemed so wild, how could Lindsey fall in love with her so quickly? Did she feel the same? What about her apparent crush on Ms. Clement? And lastly, who the hell took her jacket?

With that train of thought, she pulled out her phone and quickly called Emy, wanting to distract herself from the coldness that was slowly invading her body as her trek back to her dorm felt much longer than it normally did.

"Hello? What's wrong, why are you calling me this early?" Clearly Emy was rudely awakened by the phone call, but Tegan knew deep down her friend didn't mind much at all. This isn't the first-time Tegan has been her wakeup call, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"Good morning Sunshine. I just left Lindsey's. It's fucking freezing out, somebody must've took my jacket last night when they left. I need someone to know my whereabouts in case I drop dead from hypothermia."

"Mmm, it couldn't have been that good of a night then, eh? Why'd you leave so early?" Tegan could hear the rustling of Emy slowly getting up from bed and walking around.

"It was fine, when I come back to the dorm I'll explain it all. Tell me what you and Hunter did after she kicked you guys out.

"I gotta think about that actually, I was still sorta buzzing when that all went down. We took all your gear back up and dropped it off in your room. I left your key under your mat I think. I don't remember seeing your jacket though." Tegan could hear Emy closing and opening drawers, presumably getting dressed.

"After that we went to Taco Bell to grab food and we saw Johnny sitting out on the steps by his place. Him and Hunter talked while I sat in the car, they seemed pretty chill. I'm almost positive I passed out in his car at that point because I have no clue what happened after that, and now I'm back in my room." A loud thud on the other end startled Tegan.

"Shit, Emy! Are you okay?"

"Well shit, it's a good thing you called me I guess, they're doing room checks before we leave for break. I gotta hide my stash good this time. Jenn gave me a warning when she was in here a few nights ago. She said she could smell it from the other side of the room."

"Emy, I was there when it happened! You were so high you bribed her so she wouldn't confiscate your shit."

"Oh my god! I've literally been looking all around my room for that money, dude. Hope she spent it on something nice. Maybe I should quit smoking…." Both her and Tegan burst into laughter. "I'm just fucking with ya. But yo, for real, I should invest in those Stink Sack things, they supposedly help with containing the smell."

Tegan chuckled, loving how no matter how much, or how little sleep Emy has gotten, she would start rambling on and get Tegan's mind off her most prominent issues. Just as Emy was finishing up her stream of consciousness, Tegan noticed a car nearing her, flashing its lights and slowing down. She felt uneasy about it, but maybe it was just someone out of town needing directions. But what an odd way to get her attention.

"Hey Em, some car is pulling up, I'm gonna put my phone down, but can you stay on the line please?"

"Oh, yeah sure thing. Let me know what's happening."

The car rolled up to where Tegan was standing on the curb. The teen was visibly tense from the cold, but the skepticism of the person in the car didn't help either.

"Well good morning Ms. Quin," the owner of the car said as the window rolled down. The melodic voice rang a familiar tune in Tegan's ears, but she couldn't put a face to the recollection.

She knelt down to peer into the car and was shocked to see Sara. "Oh, good morning Ms. Clement. You sorta freaked me out back there, hold on one second, I have to tell my friend you weren't some crazy axe murderer out to get me."

"Hey Em, it was just Dr. Clement, I'm all good. I'll call you when I get back to the dorm, alright?"

"Ohh," Emy sang out, "get that shit girl! Or don't, live your life. Call me and I'll let you up when you get here, bye!"

Tegan was blunt with her goodbye, feeling the crimson blush on her face rise after Emy's obvious taunt directed towards her. She stooped back down and let her arms rest on the open window of her TA's car.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you you'll catch a cold with no coat on in this kind of weather, little girl?"

The shock on Tegan's face was not easily masked, as she was completely taken aback by the odd remark. "Little girl? I'm almost a hundred percent sure I'm both taller and stronger than you Ms. Clement."

"What a bold statement, Ms. Quin." The professors smirk grew as she thought of a witty comeback, "You don't know what I do during my free time, maybe I'm secretly a CrossFit trainer, you know, with all the excess free I time I get with being in a doctorate program." Sara laid the sarcasm on thick, making Tegan laugh, which soon turned to teeth chattering as a gust of wind reminded her why she needed a distraction in the first place.

Sara tutted at Tegan's state. "Why don't you let me give you a ride? You honestly look pitiful right now, no offense. And I promise, I'm not a crazy axe murderer."

Tegan gave a wide grin, and nervously tapped on the window frame of the car. "Are you sure? I'm sure you have somewhere to be."

"No, no, I was just running out to get some coffee. Some company wouldn't hurt." Sara gave a slight smile, which grew even wider when Tegan obliged and got in the car.

"Thank you, I was just heading back to the dorms, I didn't realize the weather was gonna be this nippy."

"Ah yes, who would have thought that the start of Winter in Canada would be, what's the word you just used? Nippy? Baffling really, I thought I signed up for palmy days in a summer like breeze when I took this job."

"Alright, alright. I see your point." Tegan tried restraining her laughter, not wanting to let the other woman know just how amusing she was to her.

They made their way down the main strip of the town square, where the streets with littered with amber leaves and premature Christmas decorations every so often. The teen fidgeted in her seat, trying to slyly adjust her hair and clothes, forgoing that earlier in the morning when she left Lindsey's apartment. The professor cleared her throat when Tegan kept fidgeting with her hair, trying to get that perfect scruffy look.

"So, I take it you went out and partied last night after your set? Living like a real rock star, I dig it."

"Oh gosh, no. I think my friends live vicariously through that mentality though." Sara chuckled at that, giving Tegan the confidence to reveal more about her personal life. "All my friends loooove to party, but I can't really keep up with all that, with school and the whole music thing, it just gets in the way. Anyways, because of their love to party, some drama went down, and I had stay at my friend's house to calm them down."

"Still doesn't quiet explain your disheveled state, but hey, that's none of my business." The TA smugly shrugged her shoulders, but Tegan quickly became defensive, "Oh gosh, it was nothing like that. There was just some crazy people there, who were so far from sober it was scary. I think some dude that has beef with me took my jacket, out of spite. And like I said, my friend was a mess last night, so I had to stay up all night dealing with her emotional self, and ended up sleeping on the world's smallest couch. That a better explanation?"

"Mm, plausible enough, so I'll take it." The woman gave Tegan a cheeky grin. The rest of the ride Tegan mindlessly hummed to the pop songs on the radio station and would direct her subtle gaze towards Sara. For the first time ever, Sara was in normal clothes, looking as comfortable as could be in her oversized hoodie and dark sweatpants.

"What do you call this look? Not quite as flashy as your other outfits."

"Again, with you constantly judging my clothing. I was concerned the guys would be more of a problem this year drooling all over me, but yeesh young lady, you really don't mind making it obvious."

"Alright Kayne, bring the self-righteous back down a little, eh?"

"You're right, you're right, humility goes a long way. But this outfit is brought to you by my collection of 'needing to do laundry.' Quiet hip, right?"

"Honestly, why do you talk like you're an actual grandpa? I get your English is your thing, but your only like 5 years older than me. I gotta expose you to more lingo, before you start going to bed at 8 watching the evening news.

"Don't harass the elderly, didn't your mom ever tell you that? And what's wrong with having a good sleep schedule, we can't all be rock stars."

The two walked into the coffee shop, bumping into one another, teasing each other endlessly until they realized all the stares they were getting from the other quiet coffee drinkers, who were also trying to enjoy their early Sunday morning.

"I'll pay, to make up for that croissant you gave me last night. Also, to maintain that rock star image, you know?"

The two sat and sipped on their coffee with another, until a steady stream of hungover college students began to intrude on the peaceful atmosphere the shop offered. "Now seems like a good time to head out, tell me which dorm you live in and I'll drop you off."

"Thank you very much, its greatly appreciated. It was nice spending this morning with you by the way. I think it helped turned my weekend around, for the better."

"Awh, don't think by schmoozing me you're gonna get out of presenting your project this week. But I enjoyed this morning, too. Maybe this will boost my street cred with the rest of the students."

"Ugh, okay grandpa. Using me to gain popularity, I see." They both chuckled before Tegan noticed them approaching her dorm, and who quickly sent a text to Emy letting her know. "Oh, right here works. I can walk through the back entrance, it's okay. And again, thank you very much."

"Oh, no problem. But uh," the professor looked down, breaking their steady eye contact, as she put the car in park "would you mind if I took a picture of you, Tegan?"

"Huh? Of me? I mean I guess, but like…yea sure, just tell me how to uh, pose or whatever." She nervously laughed.

"Yeah, just stand in front of that tree right there, I love the colors of the leaves right now, it sort of matches the golden hazel in your eyes. I won't keep you out here long, I know it's cold."

Tegan shuffled near the tree, wrapping her arms around her cold body, as Sara searched in her car for the camera. Tegan blatantly checked out her professor, unable to ignore her obvious attraction to the other women, feeling a little shame that Lindsey had an inkling of the relationship they were developing.

"Alright, do you mind if I adjust your pose just a little?" Sara asked, looking through the finder in her camera.

"Uh yeah sure," Tegan felt tense, knowing Emy was going to give her shit if she saw this, and realizing that other students had to be aware of how obvious Sara was being with her.

Sara approached her, gently brushing away the hair from Tegan's eyes, and using her knuckles to push Tegan's jaw up, all the while eyeing her up and using her other hand to pull Tegan's arms away from her body to let them rest at her sides, "Just like that," the professor said all but whispering into her ear.

Tegan felt a shiver run down her spine as Sara left her space, leaving her body feel encumbered by the cold again. Sara quickly took the shot, and let Tegan know it was all she needed. "Thank you, see you in class tomorrow."

Tegan gave a quick nod and ran to her dorm after watching Sara head off. As she neared the door, she could see Emy's shit eating grin widen as she opened the door for her freezing frame.

"Please, don't ask."