Chapter 4

Phoenix handed in his final midterm and stepped out of the classroom. It was always a crap shoot when it came to his courses. Would they have just a final exam, or a final and a midterm? Will other assignments exist for grades? How much does class time actually prepare you for the final test? After years of getting used to college life, Phoenix finally felt like he had a handle on preparing his classes in a way where he wasn't overworked.

He only had two midterms this semester, with one of them being a law prep class. And now that they were finished, he was free to hang out with Dollie, his love.

It was hard to believe they had already been going out for six weeks. This had been a whirlwind for him, but maybe that's how love was supposed to be. After all, his dating life before college had been sparse. I suppose it's really like the professor said in philosophy class - The frog doesn't seek the fly; the fly comes to him.

Phoenix had agreed to meet Dahlia at the fountain in the quad, and as he approached, he saw her, but something was off. She looked distressed, put off - and who was this guy who was speaking animatedly at her. Is this some creep giving her trouble?!

He rushed down and decided he would greet Dollie first. I shouldn't make assumptions unless Dollie tells me something is wrong with this guy. For all I know, they're talking about grades or something.

"Hey Dollie! Hope you weren't waiting too long." Phoenix looked to Dollie and he could see the almost instant relief on her face. She had clearly been stressed out. He then looked at the guy, but his expression was harder to place. He had brownish-red hair that was far too carefully set into place.

"Oh! Hi Feenie. Um, sorry, I didn't see you there…" Dahlia drifted off to looking at the guy across from her. She looked like she wanted to jump into the fountain and hide under the water like he did in middle school.

That stupid swarm of bees. I had to hold my breath for – wait, what am I talking about?! Why is she so shaken? Phoenix tried to suppress the idea that this might be an "other guy" situation.

Finally, the gentleman spoke. "I don't believe we've been properly acquainted yet, Dahlia. You must pardon me; my name is Douglas, but Doug is how most people refer to me." He turned to Dahlia. "Do forgive my rudeness, but I must be going. Should anything come up that you'd like to tell me about, you know where to find me."

And with that he left. Didn't even think to ask my name. That was pretty stuck-up of him! Phoenix turned his attention to Dollie. "Who was that. And is he actually from England?"

Dahlia composed herself. "His name is Doug Swallow, and he was the boy I dated before you. And no, as far as I know he is from another part of this country."

"I knew that accent sounded fake! What a poser!" Phoenix chuckled to himself, and it even got Dahlia to crack a smile for the first time today. "So was he giving you a hard time about breaking up with him?"

"He claimed I took some materials for a project he was working on. I was trying to explain to him that I don't steal. I guess he didn't want to admit he lost supplies for the chem lab. Either way, it was hurtful to suggest I'd be a thief after the time we spent together."

Phoenix nodded along. What a jerk, assuming his girlfriend would be responsible for something like that. Then Phoenix had a thought. "Why would he even think a literature student would steal chemistry supplies?"

Dahlia paused and seemed to be thinking of why. She eventually replied, "His supplies are related to his pharmacology major, so he can make medicines with it. I'll admit to the occasional bout with hay fever in the spring, so maybe he thought I'd give the mixture to someone to make a prescription-level allergy medication?"

"That's so ridiculous! He should know you wouldn't be so dishonorable. Heck, if you'd asked him to make one, he should have done it himself! Or better yet, why didn't he offer? Allowing someone as sweet as you to suffer from allergies!"

"I think you're missing the point, Feenie," she replied through giggles, suddenly lightening her mood. "The point is I didn't ask and I didn't steal any chemicals to get it. If I need medicine, I can buy my own. It's just annoying that he didn't trust me. Though I guess I did leave him and immediately find another boyfriend, so maybe he just wants to rationalize that I was using him."

Phoenix stepped up and wrapped her in his arms. "Don't even worry about that, Dollie. The heart is fickle, and I know relationships can end badly. But you always have to enter them hopeful that they'll succeed. Nothing good out of expecting failure."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Well, I can definitely say you've built up a great deal of hope with me, Feenie. And thank you, I feel much better."

And with that, the two walked hand-in-hand to go eat.

Hello all! Been a while since this story has been updated. I've been teaching much of the school year. I will be working to finish this story over the summer along with some one-shots for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. If you follow my other Ace Attorney fic or the BOTW fic I've allowed to sit, they'll be getting updates this summer too. Hope everyone enjoys!