"Oh my god Jess I just had the weirdest library sesh, I hate this word but I'm shook," I walked in the room and set my bag down next to my chair. I collapsed onto my bed and when I looked towards Jessica's bed I saw Kiera and Jess sitting watching me with concerned looks.
I sat up awkwardly.
"Oh, uh, yikes. Sorry did I interrupt something?" I had difficulty making eye contact with them as I looked towards the floor in embarrassment.
"No, no don't worry," Kiera began as Jess finished her sentence.
"Fox called us and we just wanted to make sure you were okay, and ya know, talk about what you heard."
"Oh, thanks then. Honestly I'm confused and hurt, maybe? It sounded like they were talking about the werewolf myth Wick had told me about, so I'd just assumed they were making fun of me-"
"Wait he told you about the Were?" Kiera's face was completely serious as she stood from the bed.
"Ha ha, you guys were all in on it I get it." I tried to force a smile as I leaned on my arms behind me. A little voice in my head told me to get over myself, that maybe it wasn't a big joke on me. But the insecurity demon won anyway.
Jess stood next to Kiera and interlocked their fingers.
"I think it's just a really honored story here, and so it means a lot that Wick would share it with you, right Kiera?"
Kiera nodded quickly and seemed to snap out of her confusion.
"Yeah, exactly. And don't worry about what you heard, Rose. Fox and Kolt were just telling Wick what they'd heard about other attacks in the area, it's nothing to concern yourself with." It was Kiera's turn to force a smile as she fidgeted with Jessica's hand.
"Ok, but why were they mentioning Fay-"
Before I could finish, my phone rang and I saw my mom's contact photo pop up. Jess lightly pushed Kiera towards the door.
"We will let you take that and I'll see you later, ok? I'm gonna stay over at Kiera's tonight, so I'll see you tomorrow before the party!"
They slipped out before I could say anything more and I answered my phone.
After a lengthy conversation with my mom about my classes and making sure I take time to just enjoy college, I took a shower and got ready for bed. It was past midnight by the time I was settling into my blankets, and I looked up at the sky through the window.
The moon was a crescent just visible between the clouds, and the tops of the trees shook slightly with the wind. I had the window ajar, and the smell or fresh laundry and fallen leaves cocooned me as I closed my eyes.
I must have been dreaming as I distantly heard gentle thuds against the floor, and a soft caress of the wind against my cheek. I leaned into the comforting wind and heard what sounded like an intake of breath. Probably the wind whistling through the window.
Then, before I drifted off for the rest of the night, so softly, as though it came from within my own head, from my own lips:
"I'll tell you everything, I promise."
I shuffled through the crowds of students in the History department, finally reaching the classroom that was used for my tutorial. The tutorials were smaller classes that followed the lectures content and gave us a chance to discuss and debate with our peers. I did my best to forget that I shared this tutorial with my peer, Wick.
I was about 3 minutes early, perfecting timing as students were all just arriving. We sat at a round table, so that everyone could see each other and be part of the discussion. I took a seat towards the window and students filed in around me. The tutor took his seat by the door, and just as I thought I'd get lucky and Wick wouldn't show up, he slipped through the closing door and gracefully sank into the seat directly opposite me across the table.
The girls around me sat up straighter and did their best to look unbothered and academic in his majesty's presence. Don't get me wrong. I usually do the same as them whenever I want to impress or get someone's attention. But I was too nauseous and anxious to follow suit.
Wick didn't seem impressed either, as he took out his notebook and quietly brooded while the tutor started the discussion.
In our lectures this week we've been learning about some princess in the Middle Ages who allowed the man she loved to be executed so that she could ascend the throne. It was a gruesome tale, and historians were debating its validity, but it served as a lesson in responsibilities and priorities.
The discussion began slowly, with only a few students contributing or even paying attention at all. It was the Friday before Halloween, and I could tell everyone was itching to get out and head to the parties. There was a particularly agonizing lull in the conversation so I decided I'd stall for a bit and save everyone the awkwardness.
"I think the she made the right choice. She was a princess, she had been groomed her entire life to protect her people and take her place on the throne. If she hadn't, who knows what her father's corrupt court would have done. She set aside her personal priorities and made a sacrifice for the good of her people."
The tutor nodded, and was about to add to my point when Wick suddenly sat up right and looked me dead in the eye.
"What about him? Why couldn't she save him too? She was the heir to the throne, the people loved her. So what if some stuffy old assholes threatened her? Shouldn't her love for him be enough? If she even did love him at all." He was livid, and he clenched his fists on the table. The rest of the class had sensed the tension increase tenfold and looked at me expectantly.
"It didn't matter that she loved him. She didn't have a choice. And if she had said "fuck you" to the court? What then? Would they have run away together, or-or defy protocol and take the throne anyway? It would have been ruinous, and just because she saved him didn't mean they'd live happily ever after!" I didn't care that I was cursing in front of the tutor, or that everyone was stating at us. All I could see was Wick's silver eyes, full of passion and intensity.
"But she would have been with him. She wouldn't have had to live out the rest of her days alone, wondering what if. Wondering if she had failed before she even ascended the throne by betraying the one person that would always forgive her, always find her, no matter what." He scathed at me, barring his teeth and looking almost feral. Wick leaned back in his chair and waited for my response. But I didn't have one. This debate, argument, felt oddly personal, and wherever my fire had come from, it had smoked out, leaving a hazy smoke in its wake.
Neither of us spoke for the rest of class, and the rest of the students had little to contribute after our eventful outburst. When the hour was finally over Wick was the first to storm out the door and I didn't bother looking for him.