CHAPTER SIX

Hey everyone. Let me just say that I loved all your reviews and they got me excited and motivated. I love to hear from y'all. Please continue to tell me what you think. Here's chapter six.

(CHAPTER SONG: BOY BY NINA NESBITT)

THE WORST THING ABOUT FEELING EMPTY IS THAT YOU NEVER REALLY FEEL EMPTY

The campus buzzed with people as students went in and out of different classrooms.

Considering its location, Carter found it irritating how many students the college had. This was supposed to be a quiet town with a small population.

She huffed as she looked around trying to spot her next class but found no luck. She glanced at her schedule to double check and she wasn't wrong. Sociology in room A3.

She started walking down the hallway reading door numbers. How difficult is it to bloody find a classroom?

Still looking at classroom doors and not anything else, she bumped into someone stumbling back a bit as she did. She looked up only to lock eyes with blue-eyed goldilocks who she shares a room with.

"uhm sorry. I'm just running late for class." The blond apologised quickly and a lot friendlier than the last time they talk which was last week Friday.

"Apparently I'm running late too." Carter said, dismissing her apology and glancing done at her schedule. "Can't seem to find it though." She added.

"What do you have?" asked the blond, her voice carrying an innocent tone.

"Sociology. Room A3." Carter blurted out immediately.

The blond smiled and took a step towards Carter. "Well lucky for you we have the same class. Come on follow me. I'm Caroline by the way."

Carter released the breath she was holding and followed the blond who now had a fitting name; Caroline. "I'm Carter. Thank you for helping me." She said as they entered the classroom and Caroline nodded in understanding.

After attending three tiring lessons, Carter visited a coffee shop near the campus.

It was full of college students and some working adults who were probably on tea-break. It was a stereotypical small-town coffee shop where the owner was the sole operator of the business and knew almost everyone who came in by name.

It wasn't small but it wasn't large either. Just the right size for its location.

She sauntered in towards the counter where a small queue was formed and got in line. There were only about three people ahead of her but she could wait.

Standing in that queue brought back memories of her days at Macbeth's with Mr Alvin and Aiden. It sent a wave of nostalgia through her. She realised, only now, how much she missed them, how much she missed their pleasant company. They were like family the three of them.

In the beginning, Aiden and she didn't get on much. They constantly bickered. She was repulsed by his ways and he was just happy to get under her skin but through their bickering, the two developed an odd brother-sister relationship. They disagreed and argued but they also learnt how to tolerate each other and later that tolerance turned into friendship.

A strong friendship.

In the span of her life, Carter had never valued friendship. She saw it as a sign of weakness and she avoided it. Even back in school she preferred to be on her. She just couldn't afford to care for someone who will let her down.

Friends thought that they had this unbreakable bond, that one would always be there for the other but she knew better.

By God she knows better.

Shaking her head to rid herself of her musings, Carter reached the counter where she was met with a friendly faced waitress.

"Hi. How can I help you?" The waitress' voice was awfully cheery.

Carter resisted the urge to role her eyes. "One black coffee please." She ordered.

The waitress immediately began to move around. Carter waited, looking around the coffee shop. She liked its interior. It was warmly welcoming and she imagined herself coming here to get some peace and quietness.

It reminded her of Macbeth's and that warmed her. She smiled at the thought of that coffee shop.

Her coffee shop.

Soon the waitress had her coffee ready and she fished out some bills and gave it to the waitress.

Before leaving the queue, she took a sip of her coffee and savoured the rich taste it left on her taste buds.

Turning around to exit the shop, Carter bumped into a figure, spilling her newly purchased, hot black coffee all over her grey shirt.

She was momentarily distracted by the taste of her coffee that she forgot she was in a queue with people standing behind her.

"Ugh damn it!" she cursed as she felt the hot liquid burn her pale skin.

"Forgive me. I didn't realise your proximity."

A man apologised hastily, aiding her with serviettes to wipe the offending colour off her shirt.

Without looking up at him, Carter grabbed the serviettes and began to wipe aggressively at her shirt. She was irritated by her clumsiness. She hated clumsy people and she always took pride in her impeccable balance. So this annoyed her.

After wearing out several serviettes she finally looked up at the man before her.

He stood an inch or two taller than her, with polished blond hair and mysterious blue eyes. His posture was perfectly straight and he looked straight into her eye, his stance radiating confidence.

"I'm the one who should apologise. I got a bit distracted there. Although you did ruin my shirt." She replied to his earlier apology not really meaning any of it.

She was never a sincere person. She did, however, excel in the art of lying and pretending.

"I guess I owe you coffee then?" he had a slight smirk playing on his pink lips as he quirked a single brow. From the way he spoke, Carter picked up that he was a very confident man, mainly due to his attractive looks she guessed. But she also knew that something else triggered such confidence.

Men always pretended to be confident but only a handful of them possessed that confidence which they so shamelessly display. And if she were correct, this man was one of them.

Carter's pouty lips quirked up into a smirk. "I guess you do." She replied, stepping aside to give him way to get to the counter.

"By the way I like my coffee black." She added as she fiddled with the hem of her almost dry shirt.

"I know." Was his lone response. He smirked when he saw Carter's expression. "I heard you when you ordered it earlier." He further explained unknowingly relieving her.

She laughed mirthlessly and shook her head slightly. "For a moment there you had me thinking I was talking to a stalker. My stalker."

No.

She wasn't thinking of a stalker, she was thinking that maybe he was a part of the lunatic witches and warlocks who were out to have her head. Stalker was putting it lightly.

"Although eavesdropping is a common stalker trait." She added, now much calmer than a few seconds ago. She couldn't get freaked out about everything if she wanted to remain sane.

The man, who yet had to give her his name, chuckled and handed her a hot cup of black coffee.

Immediately she took a satisfying sip of her coffee and savoured the taste once again. All the while the man watched her with curiosity.

"Am I forgiven for ruining your shirt?" he asked.

Looking at him properly, she nodded slightly and took another sip of her deliciously made black coffee.

"So mysterious-coffee-spilling-guy do you have a name?" she finally asked.

Since her weird frightening visions started, Carter made a point to know everyone she interacted with by name. It would be easier to recall them if they turned out to be harmful later on.

The man suddenly seemed to have remembered something he forgot and stretched out his hand for her to shake.

"Excuse my bad manners. I'm Dr Wes Maxfield but you can call me Wes since you're not one of my students."

Carter shook his hand gently and introduced herself. "Carter Degrassi. Not one of your students." She repeated what he said before with a slight smirk.

Wes chuckled and let go of her hand slowly and dare she think reluctantly? She shook the thought off instantly.

"So doctor, what exactly do you do?" she asked.

By now they were slowly making their way out of the coffee shop and on the main road that lead back to the campus.

"I'm a lecturer at Whitmore College. I teach micro-biology. I'm guessing that's the same college you're attending?" Wes was a very perceptive man who barely missed a detail. She learned that within the few minutes she spent with him.

He was intelligent and extremely observant. The way he posed questions without sounding suspicious or too interested was amusing. It peaked Carter's interest. She herself was a very observant person and she too never missed even the dullest of details. Her ability to mask her inner emotions with a stoic exterior gave her advantage over many people. So no, she had never been intimidated by an observant person, no matter how smart they were.

"Is this town that small?" she asked with a scoffed.

"You don't like small towns?" he was digging for information, why? She could not tell but she decided to play along.

"Not my playground. What about you? You enjoy small-town life?" She was differing. For a good reason. She practically just met the guy, she couldn't let him in on her past or present life. Instead she directed all the questions to him.

"I cannot say I like it but I cannot say I don't either. I lived here my whole life, it's part of who I am."

Carter and Wes continued with their small talk while they sipped on their coffees until they reached the campus.

Their conversation, although brief, was a very interesting one. Carter avoided all questions asked about her and managed to successfully coax some answers from him.

In all honesty, Wes was not a very open person and he seemed extremely smart so he wasn't easily fooled but he was an easy converser and that made things that much better. She wasn't much of talker but if there was one thing she hated the most, it was awkward people who were unable to make a conversation go smoothly and Dr Wes Maxfield was anything but awkward.

He was mysterious, suspicious and vague but not awkward.

And she was interested.