Another night at Nicky's was all that was on anyone's mind, needing to relax after some painful test taking.
The boys were grabbing food, playing pool or foosball and left the girls to talk amongst themselves, as usual.
It was perfect though as Ana had her unsettling shower experience reigning supreme in her subconscious since it happened, not having told a soul until now. She couldn't say whether her holding it in was because she was worried nobody would believe her or because she just wanted to forget about it entirely, knowing all too well though that it wouldn't even be possible for her. She was still a little shaken up about it, after all.
"Really?" Kate asked, surprised.
"A couple days ago, yeah. I could've sworn I heard someone whisper my name in the showers," She started, shaking her head. "I got out of there as fast as I could, I was so freaked."
Sarah's eyes were wide at her revelation, looking paler than usual.
"Oh, I wouldn't be scared, I was probably just hearing things-" She started to console before she was cut off by Sarah's words.
"I felt like someone was watching me in the showers like a week ago. I checked everywhere and nothing," She paused, biting her lip nervously, "I don't think that's a coincidence."
"Well I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised if the dorms were haunted." Kate claimed, a shrug to accompany.
"It felt like somebody was literally standing there though, watching me. Wouldn't a spirit feel different than that?" Sarah questioned.
"It was the same with me. It genuinely felt like a person was standing beside me and whispered right into my ear." Ana shuddered.
Chase appeared then, giving all three girls a little jump at the suddenness of it, taking a seat.
"Telling ghost stories, are we?" He joked, setting his burger onto the table.
Sarah sent Ana a look of saying that she wanted to continue the conversation at a later time and she gave her a nod of acknowledgement. The poor girl still looked so spooked, clearly in desperate need of someone to confide in but not wanting it to be Kate, for some reason. She assumed since they both had experienced...something that she decided Ana would hear her concerns out.
Kate then explained that while she hadn't had anything supernatural occur to her, the most disturbing thing she'd witnessed about the campus was the number of spiders. They all agreed in a heartbeat, the creepy ass little things (sometimes not so little) seemingly being around every corner.
"Analeigh?" The shrill voice rang out, causing Ana to cringe. "Can I have a word?"
She turned, already able to discern who it was before they even finished. Sarah and Kate looked confused, asking if she wanted either of them to go with her. She declined, but thanked them, looking to see the girl wave her over to where she was standing by the wall. Ana pushed her chair out and joined her in the slight privacy, hoping she wouldn't regret it.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Kira?" Ana asked, tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Came onto my boyfriend, did you?" She accused, getting straight to the point.
"Ew, in what world?" Ana grimaced.
She stepped to the side, fully planning on just sliding past, Kira blocking the area with her arm and pressing her palm into the wall, creating the obstruction. It was very reminiscent of her boyfriend, actually, rolling her eyes at the thought that they were practically the same person. Why they couldn't just leave her alone was beyond her. Cocking her head to the side, she indulged her, maintaining eye contact with her cold stare.
"It wasn't wise to let word get back to me that you were alone with Aaron at his party." Kira sneered.
"And why wasn't he with you?" Ana asked innocently, visibly seeing Kira stiffen and her jaw clench. "Look, he was the one who went looking for me, I didn't want anything to do with it." She clarified.
"You think I'd believe that?" Kira rebutted.
"I think you'll tell yourself whatever you have to in order to believe that your boyfriend isn't constantly cheating on you."
Kira's face twisted in quite the display of indignation, forcing a crooked and very irritated half-smile.
"And what makes you so sure of that?"
Ana's eyebrows rose in surprise, "You're kidding, right? What do you think he's off doing when he leaves you alone at every public function?"
"You just moved back here, Moore, how would you even know?" She spat, temperature rising.
"That should be more alarming to you." She began, "I've already witnessed it so many times since I've been back."
"My, you must love confrontation. You can't just shut that trap of yours and apologize?"
"Apologize?" Ana asked incredulously, "I don't enjoy being a confrontational person but I will if I have to be. I didn't do anything to apologize for."
"You obviously did something to warrant him looking at you all the time."
"Gross, no." Ana shook her head. "Maybe keep him under control, yeah?"
"Or maybe you could stop getting his attention." She challenged.
Ana's eyes widened, completely stunned. She was unbelievable.
"Wow, blaming the girl for your boyfriend's behavior? How original."
Once again trying to leave the situation, Kira refused to let that be an easy endeavor, obviously not gaining the response that she wanted yet. It was taking everything inside of her to not rip off the watch she wore covering the mark her boyfriend left and causing a large-scale scene, letting Kira, hell, the entire bar know that she most definitely hadn't sought him out that night and what his response was to that fact. Ana was sure there was no way Kira didn't know what he was really like but she was far too proud to admit it, possibly even somewhat afraid to.
Sighing irritably, she'd had about enough.
"This was fun and all but you can get the fuck out of my way now."
Rocking on her heels, Kira's jaw tightened further with a rigid smirk. "You going to make me?"
"Please, you aren't worth a suspension." Letting out a breathy laugh, she pushed downward on her arm sharply, forcing it to fall from the wall and the frizzy haired girl to lose her balance. Sliding past her as she had intended to in the first place, Ana sent a smile her way after she had taken a few steps away, offering a middle finger and turning in the direction of her friends. Subconsciously rolling her eyes, a sigh of relief fell from her lips and she knew she'd be perfectly content to never have another interaction with either of them ever again. She only wished she could be so lucky.
Making her way back to the table they'd chosen, she halted in her tracks as Sarah had obviously picked a song on the jukebox, she and Caleb dancing their hearts away and managing to get multiple couples in the bar up and moving too. She was surprised to see Kate had gotten Pogue to dance as well, admiring the feat and observing all of the other randoms grinding on one another.
At receiving a tap to her shoulder, she turned her head to see Tyler offering a hand and yelling over the music to ask if she wanted to dance.
Ana couldn't help the smile that erupted onto her face, accepting the hand and following him to the middle of the floor as they squeezed past the tens of moving bodies.
His arm lead her in her twirling form before her own arms rose to the ceiling, moving her hips along with the beat in the sweat-stained air, Tyler's hands coming to rest on them. He moved with her in synchronization, fingers tightening ever so slightly to not lose his grip. He'd followed her lead as she was dipping down low, dress grazing the floorboards and coming back up together once more. Ana turned around to face him, arms resting loosely around his neck while she swayed, his hands still placed along her hips. Her smile was beaming, locking a hand with his as he twirled her in a finale, breathless as the song was ending.
Ana thanked him for getting her out onto the dance floor, letting him know it had been a while since she had danced as they all collectively went back toward the table. He smiled, claiming that it was no big deal, except it was. It was to her.
Sliding her arms around his neck, she plants a kiss against his cheek, evidently catching him off guard as the youngest Son immediately turned beet red.
"Really, thanks for everything." She whispered, Tyler knowing exactly what she meant and giving her a smile.
"Wow, you look like shit." Pogue spoke, looking past her and when she met the direction he was speaking to, a curious eyebrow rose on her face.
Reid had obviously pre-gamed and it seemed quite a bit at that, judging by his posture. He wasn't drunk yet, per se, but tipsy for sure, arriving much later than the rest had despite knowing when they all planned to come.
"And you're late. I was going to pick you up." Tyler stated.
"When a girl calls for your services, you don't deny, you know?" He alluded, a smirk showing on his features.
Ana rolled her eyes with a recognizable look of disgust. She hated when he was like this.
As a whole, they ignored his previous statement for the most part, save for Chase who for some reason felt the need to question him further. Who it was, how she was, if they'd had sex before. He was more than willing to answer, everyone else in their own conversations ignoring them and she tried to as well. She really did try, but it was as though their voices were amplified to deafening levels as she tightened a fist under the table.
He kept stealing glances at her as he spoke about his rendezvous, slipping in unnecessary details on purpose.
It was becoming harder to pretend she wasn't affected, telling the group suddenly and without warning that she was going to the dorms to get some rest.
She got up in a hurry before anyone could question her and was almost out the door, a single foot already crossing the threshold when a hand was wrapped around her upper arm, pulling her back.
"You good?" Reid asked, having the audacity to act as though he didn't know she would be upset by his words.
"Just fine."
Pulling her arm from his grasp, his hand fell to his side, watching her walk out of the door alone.
They both knew it was a lie. She was anything but fine.
The bitter night air blew right through her, her light jacket over the dress she was clad in being a joke in this weather. But at that point, she was numb to it.
She was perfectly happy to just disappear.
Ana's eyelids flew open at the sound of banging at her door, a closed fist against the wood echoing throughout the room and booming off of the walls. Immediately climbing out of her bed and making the reach for the baseball bat in her closet, her grip tightened around the base as she walked toward the door. The floorboards creaked beneath her steps and she swallowed hard, preparing herself, ripping the door open with a racing heart and shaking hands.
"Took you long enough to op-" He paused, head titling in amusement. "Why do you have a bat? And why the hell is it pink?" Chuckling, he leaned against the door frame, almost missing it and she watched as his shoulder raked along the wall before he had caught himself.
Through his laughter, she could smell the combination of mint and whiskey rolling off of his breath and her face contorted with pique, her erratic heartbeat becoming calm again.
"God, Reid, you're drunk." She spat, throwing her weapon of choice in frustration, it clattering onto the floor.
"And you're beautiful."
With a roll of her eyes, she asked him why he had come and he responded that he honestly wasn't sure. He was walking back to the dorms and before he knew it, he was in her hallway and approaching her door.
Some fellow classmates opened their doors then at the racket they'd produced, poking their heads out with very sleepy expressions and she apologized profusely, grabbing him by his hoodie and dragging him into the room. Making sure the door was closed securely, she returned it back to a locked state, turning to face him.
"What exactly are you planning on doing?"
"What do you mean?" He replied, scanning her room and walking toward her desk.
His finger dragged along the surface, stopping whenever he came across something that happened to peek his interest in the slightest. Mostly pictures were doing the trick, but some book titles tickled his drunken fancy as well as soccer trophies.
"I mean, are you trying to stay here tonight and do what you can to prevent a hangover, or...?"
"Hmmmmm," Reid pondered a moment, fingers drumming against his chin lightly, "Yeah."
Ana sighed, thinking he was so incredibly lucky not only that she had the patience for this, but also that her roommate was spending the night with her boyfriend. She couldn't imagine that Elle would've appreciated being woken up by Reid in a drunken stupor.
"You know we'll be sharing a twin sized bed, correct?" She inquired.
"I'm a great big spoon, don't you worry." He informed proudly, a goofy, childlike grin on his face.
Trying to bite back a laugh and failing miserably, she handed him a bottle of water and informed him to finish the entire thing right then.
As she pulled back the covers, preparing to climb inside, she glanced at the clock to note that it was two o'six in the morning. She'd left at approximately ten, knowing from texts that the rest of them had left at around eleven that night and she wasn't certain why he stayed out so late just to drink alone. But she also knew it was futile to question Reid's motives and choices. He was an enigma.
Slipping into the warmth and comfort, Ana waited for Reid to finish his water as she requested, stripping to only his underwear and turning out the light, cuddling up next to her. She laid her head to rest against his chest, hearing his heart thud faster when she did so and couldn't help the smile that formed on her features. His just barely there cologne was soothing, inhaling the scent deeply and using her fingertips to lightly trace along the lines of his inner forearm tattoo, the black ink forming the shape of a camera being her favorite.
Moments like these were what would get her into trouble. It was this, exactly this that made her envision a future with him, a happy one, one that she could be proud of. If things could just be simple like this, she would be all in. Completely his, no exceptions. But that was child's play. What we want isn't necessarily what's real, and she knew that it didn't matter anyway. She loved the way he made her feel, even though he did shit just to get under her skin.
She'd already decided that she was his, for as long as he'd have her.
Settling into him, her eyelids became heavy and drenched in sleep, out like a light in minutes.
Listening to her breath steadily rise and fall beside him, the only other sound being the pattering of rain against the aged windows, he was unsure what was going on with him. This was entirely unlike him and he'd be lying if he didn't admit that it scared him. More than that, terrified him because how did she have this drastic of an effect? He had no idea what to think, being as he was so accustomed to not even wanting anything to do with a girl once he got them in bed. But he still wants her. He always wants her.
He didn't dare utter the thought that it was anything more than lustful infatuation, a strong case of meshing very well physically, the 'L word' not even a possibility. Except that he knew it was. It was a very real possibility and he knew himself well enough to know that he was petrified of her not reciprocating the feeling.
He knew it didn't feel right when he was with that girl earlier, instantly leaving when they were done because he just wanted to see her.
Why else would he have come here without thinking? His feet led him to her in his time of need, his time of acting purely off of an instinct.
She'd pulled him in and started taking care of him without question, being so good to him when he absolutely did not earn that.
Reid wasn't positive if this was some drunk bullshit or drunk truth, but even in his inebriated state, he was leaning toward the latter.
He didn't deserve her.
And he would ruin her.
That's just what he did.
Chapter nine already! I'm seriously so proud that I've gotten this one out so much faster than my last two and I'm going to keep this up, I pinky promise! It's therapeutic to write and get the scenes I imagine in my head written down for y'all to enjoy as well as me and I've been very inspired at of late. As always, please be sure to follow and favorite if you enjoyed reading and pretty please leave me a review down below. You have no idea how much reviews motivate people! Love y'all. xx