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ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ꜰɪᴠᴇ » ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜꜱʏ, ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜꜱʏ

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚-𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆: 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒚, 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒚
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𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐍 𝐔𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 the Wilsons' bar, just to be there as quickly as possible. She arrived at a busy crowd of mildly drunken people having a smoke outside, as per usual. She fixed her messy hair one last time before diving into the stuffy inside of the bar, feeling severely underdressed with her casual jeans and hoodie combination. Her green eyes searched the room for Linh, drifting over couples making out in booths, groups of friends standing around poser tables, and even the line to the bathrooms. 

Slow steps brought her closer to the middle of the room, careful to not bump into anyone. No familiar face was to be found, which made her stomach drop a little. She had to swallow down a big knot of panic that was building up in her throat. Maybe overthinking wasn't her best quality. 

"Grace, oh my God," she heard a relieved voice to her left, where Linh stumbled toward her, brow furrowed and bun messy. She had hidden by the big plant that was next to the bar. 

"Was he that bad?" Grace asked instantly, hugging her tipsy best friend assuringly, who shrugged in response.

"Worse, probably," she sighed, her words blurring together, "Let's get out of here, please."

Grace took her by the hand, guiding her to get her coat before the two exited the bar after what the blonde would later deem her shortest visit in a bar, ever. The fresh air of the dawn flooded her lungs again, and after they passed the group of smokers, all of them already tipsy and struggling to stand, Linh took a deep breath in order to sober up a bit. She pulled her jacket around her body tighter.

"I came here instantly. I had just started reading after Pete's tutoring lesson," Grace started to tell her best friend, who nodded, trying to get a clear mind.

"Pete," she repeated slowly, "How is he?"

Grace suppressed a smile. She also couldn't have told anyone that she wasn't just a little bit glad her friend's date had gone so insanely horribly. Shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat, she continued to walk alongside the brunette to her right, who visibly regretted her shoe choice which consisted of the highest heels she owned.

"He's fine," the blonde eventually replied, "But he couldn't concentrate very well."

"Why's that?" Linh asked, turning her gaze to the sky that was darkening more and more. A few clouds hid the uprising moon. 

"No idea," Grace laughed, "Maybe he's nervous about the party tonight... or he's got a crush."

Linh halted in her path, making Grace whirl around in confusion. She hadn't expected her best friend to react that way to her jokingly delivered hint. The young Viet's left brow arched up. 

"What? A crush? Why would you think that?"

"Is someone jealous?" the blonde asked back teasingly, ignoring her friend's question. Linh scoffed.

"No," she said, but it didn't sound like she was too sure about that answer herself. Grace merely accepted the response and motioned for her to continue walking. A bit of fresh air would surely help with her friend's intoxicated brain.

"And Mai is at Jake's place?" she instead carried on the conversation, to which Linh nodded, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. Stupid honeymoon phase. I'm kind of glad that we're still two single ladies, Gracie, not gonna lie."

Grace gulped. Sure, her friend was correct, she was by no means anywhere near a relationship, but then again, all she could think about was...

"Mr. Barnes," Linh's voice ripped her out of her thoughts. For a second, an expression of shock took over her face. She felt as if her best friend had read her mind. 

"W-What?" she stuttered, blinking rapidly to try and process the situation. Linh shook her head and pointed to the other side of the street.

"He's over there, look."

Grace followed Linh's finger and indeed found the Professor, tall and broad as ever, shoulders straining a black button-up that was tucked into black dress pants. His leather jacket was draped over his right arm, while his left held the door open, letting someone pass through the entrance.

"Ooh, is that his date?" Linh asked eagerly, ready to clumsily hide behind parked cars to stalk their teacher. Grace on the other hand felt sick to the stomach at her tipsy friend's question. 

The woman wore a dark red dress that hugged her curves perfectly. This shade of crimson brought out the shiny red tone of her hair, cut into a long bob that ended on her shoulders. She looked stunning as she walked to a table by the window, perfectly visible to the two girls on the other side of the street. James was quick to follow her, saying something that made her chuckle faintly, looking down on her black heels. Was that the friend he said he would meet up with?

When James helped her with the chair, putting one hand on her arm in an assuring manner, Grace felt an insane jealousy bubble up within her that she knew she probably shouldn't have felt. It wasn't like she and the Professor were exclusive. Nowhere near that, to be specific. He could go out with who he wanted, as could Grace herself―if she'd ever wanted to. 

"They're so cute," Linh commented with a giggle, but Grace could only hum in response, too focused on the events behind that huge window. Hot shivers traveled over her skin, her breath got heavier, and she kneaded her hands nervously. The sight of him with another woman, one much closer to his own age, made her doubt everything. The secret hope that he would actually see her in a romantic way instead of a purely physical attraction was crushed into a million pieces.

"Good for him," she flatly let out, putting one hand on Linh's arm. "Let's leave them some privacy, Linh. You don't wanna be caught and called a stalker, do you?"

"Ugh, fine," she groaned, "But let me tell Mai about this later. This woman is mad hot."

"Okay, okay, got it. Now let's get you home so we can get ready, okay?" Grace hurried her friend, already walking in the direction of the subway station they wanted to go to anyway. Her eyes stung with tears, not believing that she was actually feeling so incredibly jealous. 

The realization that she was really not more than a meaningless affair to him made its way to the very front of her brain, and by the time the two arrived at the sisters' apartment, Grace excused herself to the bathroom quickly to hide the fact that she couldn't hold back her unwanted tears and her even more unwanted emotions.

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♡𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆♡