Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, drawing the semester to a close with only two weeks left. And this only meant party season to the college students.
Barth Keeston, one of the renowned students and a top player in the college football team, had a reputation for throwing one of the wildest and fun parties, and the weekend was no exception.
"Will you be attending the end of the semester party at Keeston's?" Eva asked her friend.
"No, I don't think I will."
"And why not?"
"I don't feel like it, babe. Besides, I'm not in the mood for that."
Eva sighed.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Eva asked, hinting at something, "I don't know…maybe you got something you want to talk to me about?"
"Something like what, Eva?" Sade suddenly became interested, hoping to discover where the conversation was leading to.
"Like I said, I don't know. It's just that you haven't been yourself lately, so it's only fair for me to ask…" Eva pointed out.
…Pin drop silence…
It was unusual and awkward for that to happen, but it only reaffirmed Eva's suspicions about her.
Without further intrusion, Eva got dressed up for her agreed date with Philian. They were hanging out at a spot outside school, where she intended to spend nothing more than two hours with him.
"I'll see you later. I'm going out with Philian." She announced as she exited the room.
"Yeah, whatever, bye!" Sade replied nonchalantly.
She got into a taxi to meet with him. Arriving at the venue, an excited Philian walked up to her.
"I'm glad you came." He said, admiring her outfit.
"Not sure if I can say the same for myself."
They walked into a building. It was a lounge with really nice furniture laying around. The lounge was sectioned— there was the bar section, the dining section, and the games section. Each section was beautifully designed, giving off an aura that resonated with its concept.
"Do you like it here?"
"I think it's pretty cool." She responded.
"I'll order some drinks for us." He offered.
"I'm okay…for now."
"Alright then, maybe later on…" He smiled.
Both of them continued to stare at each other, with each person looking lost and speechless. It was such an awkward moment, she felt her legs rubbing against each other for comfort.
"Would you like to play a game?" He asked
"I don't play games." She shot at him.
There was a way she said it that made it hard to understand what she meant. Was she actually responding to his question, or something else?
Defeated and feeling like a fool already, he struggled to think about his next move.
"Aren't you tired of this shit?" She began, "I mean, can't you see how fucked up things are between us? We can't even be normal anymore without acting awkward around each other."
"Why do I feel like you honestly don't want to be here?" He said, looking straight at him, "Because I need you to understand that if a friendship should work between us, you must at least give me the chance to prove myself to you." He remarked.
She knew he was right, but admitting it to herself proved difficult.
"Maybe you're right, but you have to give me some credit here. I'm trying the best I can to be here, sitting next to you." She defended.
"And I'm thankful for that…Just please act like you do want to be here." He begged.
Obliging his request and line of reasoning, she decided to loosen up a bit, but of course, without forgetting to keep her guard up— stronger than ever.
They had conversations about school, recent happenings, Paris…and of course, Mabel. He claimed he never had anything besides the cheating incident, but Eva maintained her stance…she didn't believe anything he said regarding his relationship with her.
Like they say— all good things must surely come to an end. However, in Eva's case, she was finally glad to be over and done with the hangout. Although she couldn't deny it was unexpectedly fun, she also couldn't make it apparent that she felt that way.
Now back at the hostel, Philian waved her goodbye from the taxi as it drove away.
He does seem kinda nice!
She thought.
Don't get carried away by his charm. You must admit it was like that in the beginning before it all came crashing down.
A voice inserted.
"Not again!" Eva said out loud, expressing her irritation at what now appeared to be the new normal…
She approached the door and noticed something— Theo's car was parked outside.
What is he doing here?
As she made her way inside, she beheld a shocking scene. The sight of her naked bestie, dominated by a naked man named Theo, who apparently used to be her ex, or so she thought…
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, Sade!!!" She called out, disgusted by the sight of the two of them naked together.
Theo immediately jumped off of her, pulling his clothes from the floor, trying to put them on in a hurry. While Sade, on the other hand, covered herself with a blanket, burying her face in shame, fearing the worst Eva had to say about the situation.
"I guess I'll see you around, Sade." He said, grabbing his keys and leaving the room as if he was being chased by a maniac.
Still dumbfounded at this discovery, Eva stood still, looking down at her friend who was too ashamed to look back.
Feeling hopeless, and unable to find the right words, Eva walked past her, heading straight into the room. Feeling uneasy and disconcerted at Eva's reaction, Sade trailed her…
"Eva, it's not what you think. Theo came in and I…"
"You don't have to explain anything to me, Sade. It's your life and you can do whatever the hell you want with it, even if you end up making some dumb decision with it. It really does not concern me, so if you'll please excuse me, I need to take a nap because I'm exhausted as hell."
"But if you would at least just listen to me…I mean, hear me out…" Sade pleaded.
"There's nothing more you can say to me, Sade. I know what I saw, and frankly…" she paused, treading carefully not to say things she'd regret, "what I saw does not concern me at all…I mean, I don't think it's any of my business, so let's just pretend like this never happened." Eva concluded.