Watch & Learn

Chapter 21: Time to Catch Up

Romance is no more 😢 I'm sorry y'all. I had to spice the story up.

Candace in the mm.

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- Asia 💫

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One Year Later...

It's been a year since the night of the party. Rome and Candace hadn't talked to each other since then. Now that it was a new semester, they didn't see each other much on campus. Rome and Teddy ended up getting up an apartment together near campus. The only time he came on campus was to go to his classes or for basketball. He didn't party as much anymore either. His main focus at this point in time was school and basketball. Many NBA scouters were watching him. He got better and better each game. He was definitely ready to go into the draft after the next school year. He found out that Sydney's baby wasn't his. That was obvious though. He hadn't been in any serious relationship since Candace. He had short flings here and there but none of those girls had the same mindset as him.

Teddy and Crystal were still going strong. She had plans of moving in with him and Rome the following year. She was still crazier than ever. She has calmed down slightly since her freshman year though. She made the volleyball team this year. Teddy never misses a game.

And lastly, Candace. Since her breakup with Rome, she was reserved for a couple of months before returning back to her normal self. She never got into another relationship and wasn't looking for one. She made school and volleyball her top priority. The coach kept her as captain due to Sydney not returning for anymore seasons. She partied and drunk occasionally. She was definitely growing and maturing as a woman. She was doing a paid internship as a receptionist for an office complex. She got paid every week which definitely benefited her. Once Caleb found out that her and Rome wasn't together anymore, he was less strict with her. Everything seemed to be going better than it was the past year.

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Pulling into her parking space, Candace got out of her car before walking up to her dorm suite. It was her last night working for the week. She got her paycheck which would definitely come in handy for the days ahead. Her birthday was coming up in a couple of days. She'd be turning 20. Crystal and Toni decided to plan a birthday dinner for her. Candace didn't really want anything spectacular but she trusted her friends. Crystal was in charge of inviting all of Candace's friends while Toni was in charge of setting up a reservation at one of Candace's favorite restaurants.

Walking inside of the dorm, Candace relieved herself of her jacket as she was surprised to see Crystal sitting in the living room area.

"What are you doing here?" Candace said as she put her jacket in the closet.

"Uhhhh... Did you forget I live here too?" Crystal laughed.

"Well yeah but you're barely here. Just a surprise seeing you since you're always with Teddy." Candace smiled as she sat down next to her.

"You gotta spend as much time with your loved ones because you never know when they'll be taken from you." Crystal reasoned. "But Teddy's at practice right now. I'm not staying over his tonight but he's gonna take me out to dinner when he gets out." She smiled.

"Must be nice." Candace sighed with a light smile.

"No no no, don't do that!" Crystal told her.

"Do what?" Candace laughed.

"Don't say it must be nice. You could be in a relationship too if you actually gave a few of these guys a chance." Crystal told her.