The First to Fall ⚢

𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 • 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧

I get back home from my classes before anyone else in the dorm is there and the space feels weirdly quiet. Norah hasn't quite gotten back from her evening class yet and Opal is nowhere to be found, yet the most disturbing sound is the silence that fills my bedroom while Cara's away on her date.

Just thinking about her makes my head throb with confusion, but I push every thought of her away as soon as it arises, trying my best to focus on the goal ahead: forget about Juli and my mother and everything that's been making me lose my mind for a night.

I don't take any time to freshen up or change my outfit—if anything, I allow myself to relax and wind down for a few minutes instead. I take a sip of water and give each of my contacts a quick splash of eye drops before grabbing my tote bag and leaving. And before I know it, after only about five of the songs from my favorite playlist play through my headphones, I make it to the front of Theo and Ambrose's dorm door. Without allowing a single moment for hesitation, I raise my fist and knock gently.

Theo opens it up with a wide, genuine grin.

"Aspen!" he greets me happily, opening the door wider to let me through.

"Theo!" I respond with just as much enthusiasm. His shirt smells like body wash and cologne when I shift to pass by him, allowing our chests to graze over each other just slightly. He doesn't seem to notice, or at least he doesn't react in the slightest, so I drop my bag on the floor by his dresser and I take a seat on his bed.

"So can I ask why you wanted to hang out so suddenly?" He asks, catching me a little off guard. I didn't exactly pin him as the type to be so direct.

"Oh," I start, scrambling to find the right words, or rather, the acceptable words to use in this situation. "I just want to get to know you more. I think you're pretty cool."

He laughs at that, his smile whole and unapologetic. "Oh, thank you," he says. He takes a seat beside me and pats down his sweatpants as he looks over at me. "Well, I don't know if you're hungry or not but I was planning on ordering some sushi if you want some?"

"Oh, sushi sounds amazing," I tell him, giving him a flirty smile as I keep my eyes glued to his. He doesn't seem shy at all, which is undoubtedly one thing I'd always been attracted to, if my relationship with Juli was any indicator.

He places the food order on his phone and asks if I want to join him in his video game that he paused when I arrived. It's kind of odd that his idea for a first date is playing video games in his college dorm but it's also kind of refreshing. It's practically like any other date, just without the underlying stress of making sure everything is perfect and proper. Casual has always been my favorite way to date.

We sit down beside each other on his bed at first as he teaches me how to play. It's some old fighting game that gives me the same vibes as Mortal Kombat but a little more modern with much better graphics. I try my best not to ruin his scores but he laughs it off every time I bring down his average. I think this is the first time I've ever gone on a date with a guy whose ego wasn't ten times the size of his head.