Rowan

Chapter 22 | Rowan

A couple of weeks had passed since the phone call, and Rowan felt closer to James than ever.

He'd been by her side most of the time that she spent out of class, and it seemed that he had become somewhat of a permanent fixture in her life.

She'd been staying over at his place, but had wound up back in her own apartment after he left on his trip. He hadn't told her where he was going, just that he had some business to attend to back in New York. He expected to be gone for a few days at the most, and she hoped that's all it was.

The ceremony was two weeks away and she couldn't have been more excited to go now that she knew James would be with her. She'd been told that there was going to be an award for her, so the idea of being recognized for her work at the school with him alongside her was more pleasing than she could have imagined.

"Earth to Rowan."

Her head shot up at the voice, and she gave Leo a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I'm a little distracted."

Emma smirked. "We noticed. Any particular reason?

She rolled her eyes. "Speaking of noticing things...are you guys going to the ceremony together?"

Leo scoffed, dropping his stack of books loudly on the table. "No." He quickly backtracked as he caught Emma's glare. "Yes."

She looked between them in confusion. "It sounds like you've really got it figured out," she remarked.

The blonde girl looked away awkwardly. "Can I talk to you for a second, Ro?"

"Sure," she said, easily.

Leo jumped up, swinging his backpack over one shoulder. "If this is girl talk I'm out of here. We still meeting up at the theatre?"

"Yeah, we'll see you there in a bit," Emma said. She waited until he was out of earshot to continue. "Rowan, he is driving me crazy."

Rowan laughed. "No kidding."

"No, I mean it! He's so back and forth with me. One minute I think he likes me and then he's back to his old self. And then there's me. I'm so confused," she said, sounding frustrated.

Rowan tried to think of a way to console her. "Sorry, Em. I'm no good when it comes to giving boy advice, but I think he's as confused as you are. Except he probably doesn't even know where the confusion is coming from; that it's over his feelings for you. It seems like guys can be like that."

"Not yours. What's his name?"

"James," she said, the name bringing a small smile to her face.

Emma just looked miserable. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

"When does anything happen the way we think it's supposed to? I wouldn't even be here if that was the case," she said, trying to be gentle. There wasn't much that stressed her out more than relationship talk, given her history.

Emma seemed to think about it, and Rowan was struck by how different they were in their uncertainties. She hadn't questioned her feelings over James for one second; she knew they were real. She just didn't think that he would even look at her again after the first time.

"James is still coming with you to the ceremony?" Emma had stood up and was gathering her things.

Her smile widened, and she grabbed their lunch trays, setting them on top of the counter. "He is."

"You should ask him to come to the movies with us tonight."

They were outside now, and she let her eyes wander over the university's front lawn. Students were sprawled out all over the place, probably just trying to enjoy the warm spell they were experiencing.

"He can't," she finally said. "He's away on a trip."

Emma looked over at her in surprise. "Will he be back in time for the ceremony? It's a week and a half away."

She nodded, feeling her hair blow around her face in the breeze. "He should be back in a few days."

They had made it to the theatre, and she turned to give Emma a sympathetic smile. "I hope everything works out between you and Leo. You already know each other so well, I think you'll figure it out."

"I hope so," the other girl said, turning to smile at the small group of people waiting by the entrance. Leo was among them, but Rowan didn't recognize anyone else.

He stood up straight when he saw them. "Guys, you already know Emma, and this is Rowan."

They introduced themselves to her, and she realized that she actually had classes with one or two of them but had just never known they were friends with Emma and Leo.

They had gotten their tickets and were heading into the theatre when someone slammed into her from behind. Emma grabbed her before she went down, and they spun around to see what had happened.

Britney was looking at them in mock horror. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," she said.

Scowling, Rowan clenched her fist. "What the hell? You've been doing this all week. What is your problem?"

Now Britney was glaring back. "You're acting like you don't know? He would have been mine," she spat. "What does he see in you, anyways?"

"This is over James?" she asked. "Really? Don't you think if he was interested he would have talked to you?" She was almost surprised at the fact that she was defending herself, and a little spark of pride ignited in her chest.

Britney pursed her lips, giving her one last murderous glare, and then she turned on her heels, leaving.

"Ro, you're shaking. It's alright, she's gone." Emma placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's just a bitch anyways. I would know- I've been working with her on that biology project for the past month. I'm not sure the girl has more than one brain cell."

A small laugh escaped her, and she smiled at Emma. "You're probably right."

"Of course I am," she said, leading to her by the arm into the theatre.