You unlocked the door to your apartment and walked in, greeting your senses with a very plain, yet organised living space. You honestly didn't mind it's bare appeal. You liked neutral colours. It kept your eyes from hurting too much. You shut the door behind you and locked it, not wanting any surprise visitors.
Remembering your recent commitment, and seeing that you now had bars here, you texted your mom your house phone's number and did the same for the number that Jack gave you. Almost immediately, your house phone began to ring. Of course, you responded by walking over to the phone and answering it.
"Hello?"
"Oh, there you are! I was worried why your phone wasn't ringing.."
"I just don't have good service here. Granted, I may not be home all of the time, so if you call here and don't get an answer from me, call my cell. Well, actually, just text it first. I may be in class at the time, and I would rather not get in trouble." You explained, earning a hum from your mother's voice on the other end.
"Okay sweetie. I'll keep that in mind. I know that you're busy with your own little world now, but don't forget about your parents!"
"I won't, mom. I promise." You reassured.
"I'm so excited for you. Keep us updated on how you're doing. And make sure to tell us about any boys~"
"Mom!" You shouted, hearing a laugh come from the other end.
"Ah, don't be embarrassed. You'll find someone. I know that. No one can resist the (L/n) charm." She joked, allowing you to respond with an exaggerated groan.
"Alright mom. I'll be sure to let you know."
"Sounds good to me. I'll let you go. I'm sure that you're nervous for tomorrow, so get as much sleep as you can! We love you!" Your mom said. You returned her gesture by telling her you loved her and adding a simple goodbye before pressing the end button on the phone.
You put the phone back on it's charging station and walked towards your room. But not before hearing the phone ring again.
You stared at it for a moment, confused as to who it is. You thought that it may be Alvin, or even your mother calling you back to tell you something that she forgot. So, you walked back over to the device, picked it up, and pressed the talk button.
"Hello?" You greeted. You were hesitant to make a casual introduction. Your phone didn't exactly give you a Caller ID.
But, strangely enough, the other line stayed silent for a good ten seconds before the call was cut off, allowing you to listen to the monotonous beep to tell you that - whoever it was - had either ended the call abruptly, or someone ended it for them.
You pulled the phone away from your ear and furrowed your brow, but simply ignored it by putting it back on its charging station and going to the bathroom to start a nice bath with one of the bath bombs you had bought before leaving your home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A familiar tone came from your phone as you sat on your bed, letting your hair dry as you rang it out with a towel. You picked up your phone and looked at its bright screen. You saw a text message from Alvin, whom you had put into your phone as 'Al'.
You opened up the message.
*How do you like that apartment building?* He asked, giving you no context behind his question. You texted back.
What do you mean?
...
Three little dots popped up on his side of the conversation. So, you waited until he would post his answer.
*I've heard some bad things about it. You know, how it may be haunted and what not.* He explained. It didn't fully convince you, but whatever his reasoning, you couldn't see any reason why this question would cause you problems in the future. Al may had become a quick friend, but you didn't trust him that much.
Though, you had mentally cursed yourself for telling him where you lived. But, at least he would have to talk to the scary receptionist downstairs to see where your room was, and that would deter anybody.
*I haven't encountered anything like that, but I am a sucker for horror stories. Maybe you'll have to share these rumours with me sometime.*
*I'm studying before I do anything else. But if you can get me to all A's and B's, I'll share some with you.*
You smiled at his suggestion.
I'll try my best. You replied.
*I know you will. Get some sleep. We're both going to need it. Want to get some lunch tomorrow after class?*
*I would never say no to food.* You replied back, accepting his invitation before setting your phone back on your bed.
You threw the towel into the laundry hamper in your room, hoping that you could update your wardrobe sometime soon.
Your parents were giving you a monthly allowance of sorts. They claimed that, as long as you were focused on school and got good grades, they would help you pay for your extra stuff. They didn't want to be distracted by a job, if you could help it. You were never amazingly smart anyways. In fact, you got the scholarship because of the hundred's of hours of community service you had participated in since ninth grade.
You turned on the fan next to your bed, allowing a gentle breeze to begin to cool you down. Something about the night always made you warm, and being warm was not a good thing if you were going to be under large, furry blankets.
You turned off the light and climbed into bed, snuggling into the many covers that hid the majority of your body. Soon, you fell peacefully asleep, ready for a new day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first class of your day was history, something you personally excelled at most of the time. Math and science, you could do without.
Following the directions that Al had given you the day before, you found the room, in which several others students had entered into for the same class.
You had decided to take the earlier class, not wanting to have to deal with the bigger crowds that would appear later in the day.
You entered the hall, noting that there were about 150 places to sit. So, of course, you chose to sit somewhere behind the middle row. You didn't want to be all the way in the back, not knowing if you could hear - or see - the professor well.
But, as soon as you sat down, you thanked the god's above, as about ten girls came running in, practically screaming.
"Oh my gosh! He's so hot!" One of them yelled as the others shrieked with glee.
You followed their movements until they stood in front of a young man, who seemed to just want to mind his own business.
He sat in front of you to your right, making it difficult to see who he was and what he looked like. But when he saw the girls run towards him, he immediately tensed up. The girls crowded around his seat, holding their hands to their face in unbelief.
"Omg! You're so amazing! Could I like, have your autograph or something..?" One them asked, earning a hesitant shake of the head from the boy they centered their attention on.
"But you have to be famous somehow! You can't have those looks and not do something with them!" One of the girls exclaimed. The man reached to the back of his head and gently scratched it in embarrassment.
"That's very nice of you, but I would really rather not talk right now.." He explained, his deep voice resonating through the hall.
'So he speaks.' You thought to yourself.
As you watched the girls continue to pester at him, you could feel their words nagging at you too.
'He's already asked them to stop talking to him... People don't have any common decency anymore.'
Throughout high school, you learned that there would always be some girls that couldn't contain their admiration and excitement, but that only made you more intolerable towards them. They were just a bunch of idiots trying to sleep their way through college.
With another girl's girlish, ecstatic scream, you knew you had lost it. You felt your eyebrow twitch as you stared the group down, menace in your eyes.
"Hey!" You shouted, getting everyone's attention, including the boy's. You now noticed his Korean-like features and chiseled face, along with his muscular, well-kept physique. You didn't necessarily blame the girls for being so attracted to him, but there was a point that it crossed a line.
"Yes?" One girl answered, her blonde hair resting just above her shoulders as she pulled down a pair of sunglasses that had previously rested in front of her deep brown eyes.
"Why don't you all find your respectful seats and sit down." You countered, matching her boldness. She huffed at your command, earning a nod from the girls behind her in approval.
"Why do you care about how we act?" She asked, making part of your blood boil.
"Because the way you're acting is affecting the attitude of everyone else here, especially me." You explained, as gently as possible. She scoffed and pulled her sunglasses back over her eyes, trying to achieve some dramatic effect.
"Well you-"
"Girls, please go and sit down somewhere else." The man commented, drawing everyone's attention back to him. He pointed towards the back of the class and did not waver eye contact with the group as they sighed in defeat and followed his pointed direction.
Once the brute of them had left, he turned back to look at you, a grin on his face.
"My name is Mark." He greeted, looking to you excitedly for your response. You smiled and nodded.
"(F/n) (L/n). Don't let those girls harass you." You commented, hoping to get the point across to him. He nodded back quickly.
"I'll try my best." He said, returning back to his original position facing the board as the professor walked in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Homework on the first day?" Mark asked himself, flipping through the thick packet. You smiled and put yours down.
"If you need some help, you could study with me." You suggested, excited at the prospect of another study partner. With Jack having all of his responsibilities, he may not be able to study all the time. And you didn't know if he had history this semester or not.
But, in response, the boy simply looked back at you in horror. You were taken aback by his reaction, to say the least.
".. Did I say something weird?" You asked, hoping to get that look off of his face. But, instead, he quickly turned back around in his seat.
"Thanks, but I'll pass." He simply replied. You were a little offended, but maybe he just wasn't used to someone's kindness - as those girl's before proved to you - so you decided that you would ask later. Rather, you came up with another idea.
"Okay, so maybe you don't want to study physically with me, but maybe I could have your number and we could do it that way?" You requested, earning a thoughtful, far-off look from the boy.
"I'm sorry. I can't."
The professor dismissed shortly after his reply. You were going to ask him why, but he had grabbed his things and ran out of the room before you could talk to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I just don't understand. Was it weird of me to ask?" You questioned Al, earning a casual shrug. You huffed and turned back towards your path, "Well you're a lot of help.."
"Maybe you're right. Maybe he's not used to kindness like that. It may just be a shocking thing to him. Don't think too much about it." He replied.
"Should I ask him again?" You asked. Alvin shook his head.
"He may be going through something that you don't know about." Al explained, "Just remember that."
You slumped your shoulders as the two of you walked towards your psychology class.
"... I guess you're right." You agreed. Alvin mentally sighed in relief, allowing him to put a joyful smile on his face like he always did.
Shortly after your conversation, you arrived in front of the classroom, about to open the door. Before you could pull the knob, Alvin put a hand on your shoulder. You looked up at him, curious.
"Hey, you go on ahead. I have something I need to do really fast. Save a seat for me, will ya?" He announced, trying to sound as casual as possible.
You weren't convinced of his behaviour, but you knew that there wouldn't be enough time to question him before you were late to class, so you just nodded and went into the classroom, closing the door behind you.
Not wanting to be late for class either, Alvin quickly pulled out his vibrating phone from his pocket and hit the talk button.
"What is it now?!" He asked, getting a little agitated with his caller. He sighed as the person on the other line rambled.
"Listen, I know. I know. You're just going to have to suck it up. God, act like a normal person for once. If you keep acting like that, she'll just become more suspicious... Yes, I am... Don't worry about it. As long as you do your part, I'll do mine. Calm down, get some sleep, and talk to me later."
He didn't give the caller enough time to answer before he pushed the end call button.
He walked back into the classroom and spotted you sitting in the front left of the class. He ran down the steps and slid into his seat next to you, letting out a relaxed sigh.
"Is everything okay?" You asked, getting your supplies out from your bag. Alvin watched your moves meticulously before turning back towards the front of the classroom.
"Everything's fine. Just got a call that I had to take."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Not too bad, huh?" You asked, only adding onto your homework assignments a rubric and the name of a website to take a bench test1 on.
"I guess." He replied, "I think I've already psyched myself out of a good grade.."
"Don't say that! You'll never do anything in your life if you think like that!" You lectured. Al rolled his eyes at your nature.
"Okay, mom." He joked, earning a punch in the arm from you. He laughed and rubbed his arm, feeling the leftover ache from your action.
"Rude.." You teased, hugging the psychology book you were assigned for the semester for comfort.
"Are we going to lunch today? I know a really good Mexican restaurant down the street." He suggested.
"Oh.. Sorry Jack, but I got a huge packet for history.. Maybe tomorrow." You explained. Alvin was kind of hurt by your rejection, but he understood. There was only one thing that worried him, but there was nothing he could do about that, unless his wanted to be charged with aggressive kidnapping.
"Ah, it's okay." He said with the dismissal of his hand, "Like you said, we'll do it later."
You smiled at him.
"Thanks Al."
He smiled.
You walked a little longer until you were at the university's doors that headed to your exit. You looked back at Alvin and waved.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"You betcha." Al replied, mimicking your gesture. You exited the building a smile still on your face as you waved down a taxi.
Alvin pulled out his phone, which was not vibrating a the moment, and opened up his messages and sent one of his contacts this:
I'm sorry, but she was too worried about her history packet to go out to lunch. She's coming back, and she's probably not going to leave for the rest of the night. Keep yourself under control and I'll do the best I can tomorrow.