That night, Nikolai indeed stayed over at Eloise's place but he kept his distance. Throughout the night, he just kept an eye on Eloise. He stayed on the couch and never approached anywhere near the bed where Eloise was sleeping. He just quietly watched over her in case she felt scared from the stalking incident. He waited until she feel asleep and just watched over her from the couch.
When morning came, Eloise woke up first since she was an early bird. She saw Nikolai sleeping on the couch. She quietly approached him and sat on the coffee table as she looked at him. "He is like a sculpture…" she murmured softly as she looked at his define features. She also felt the urge to touch him in his sleep. All of a sudden, Nikolai opened his eyes. This made Eloise flustered since she was not expecting him to wake up. He gave a smirk and said "I didn't know you would touch me in my sleep." His words made her blush since it sounded kind of perverted. "Pervert!" she said with her face slightly blushing as she stood up and walked away. Nikolai had a smirk on his face. He then followed her to the kitchen and stood behind her. The distance between them was so small Eloise could feel his warmth on her back.
"Why are you standing so close?" asked Eloise, trying to sound as calm as she could. "Why did you want to touch my face?" asked Nikolai who was not willing to back down. "I wasn't touching you," she justified. "But you were about to," he added. That was when she turned around only to regret her decision seconds later. She did not know that they were so close to one another. Also, seeing his face up close was not good for her heart. She also knew that her face was definitely flushed. Nikolai took advantage of the situation so he leaned in towards her, forcing her to inch back. With the sink in the way, she had no more room to move thus allowing Nikolai to close the gap between them. "I can kiss you now if you want me to," he said with his deep and gentle voice as he looked into her eyes. After having fun teasing her, he just patted her head gently and moved back. "I'll leave first. See you in campus," said Nikolai as he left. With his departure, Eloise was finally able to calm down her crazily beating heart.
In campus, Eloise was the center of attention. She was the topic of discussion wherever she went. It was all thanks to the news of her being a couple with Nikolai making them the hottest campus couple. "Soooo, is Nikolai coming to my fashion show?" asked Katherine. "You want him to attend?" asked Eloise. "Won't he come since you are coming?" asked Katherine. "Just focus on your project and stop caring about gossips," replied Eloise after rolling her eyes at Katherine. "You should worry about yourself. You and Brandon, any progress?" said Eloise who changed the subject. With a sigh, Katherine replied "I don't think it will work out." Concerned, Eloise asked "Why? Is he dating someone else?" Katherine then replied "I can't get him to talk about anything other than work. It's like he is purposely avoiding any conversation that is personal." She then let out a sigh and said "I should just give up…"
Worried about Katherine, Eloise decided to approach Brandon to lend her best friend a helping hand. She managed to find Brandon in the fashion faculty building. When she approached him, Brandon was surprised. "I didn't expect for you to ask me out," said Brandon who was invited to have coffee by Eloise. "Let me get straight to the point. I am here to ask about you and Katherine," said Eloise, straight to the point. "Katherine and I? What about us?" he asked, not sure of what was going on. "I think you can see that she is interested in you. I hope you will give her a clear answer. Katherine is a nice girl. She should not be wasting her time on someone who does not like her," said Eloise. Upon hearing her out, Brandon smirked and said "I thought you wanted to talk about us."
"Us?" asked Eloise since she had no idea what was there to discuss about them. "You are dating that playboy, aren't you? Is that really what you want?" asked Brandon. After hearing his question, Eloise remained silent. She did not know what answer should she give. "I believe you can tell that I am interested in you," said Brandon, straightforward. However, she did not expect for Brandon to say those words to her. "Brandon…" said Eloise who was slightly taken aback. "I don't know if you noticed but I have been making an effort to get close to you. I failed every time but I didn't want to give up. That was until I saw news about you and Nikolai circulating around," said Brandon. "I'm sorry if any of my actions were misleading but I thought of you as a friend," explained Eloise who wanted to make sure she drew the line. There was no reason for her to beat around the bush since she had no feelings for Brandon.
"Brandon, I am sorry but I do not feel the same way as you do. I respect you as a friend, as a senior, nothing more, nothing less. As for Katherine, she really likes you. She is my dearest friend and she is one of the nicest girls I have met. I hope that you will give her a clear answer when the time comes," explained Eloise calmly. She flat out rejected him. "Thank you for your time. Good luck with the show. I will definitely come and support for Katherine and also for you," she said before she left the coffee shop. Brandon let out a sigh. He then said "I can't seem to pull myself out from you."
Eloise was just walking along the pavement when Nikolai swooped in and held her hand. She was surprised but she did not shake him off. Nikolai smiled as he looked into her eyes. "Let's hold hands until you reach your destination," he suggested. There was no reason to shake him off since they were an official couple that everyone knows about. Plus, she enjoyed the tingling feeling from holding hands with him. Her heart was racing despite her will. After arriving at her faculty building, Nikolai let go of her hand. "Have a good day. Call me when you get home," he said. "Wait," said Eloise as he was leaving. "Come over tonight," was the sign of her heart opening up.