Dorm 34 ✔

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

(Vanessa's Pov)

Digging into my purchased plate of warm macaroni and cheese, I welcomed a forkful into my mouth, inwardly moaning at the cheesy taste dancing instantly on my tongue. I had been starving the entire day, having skipped breakfast, leading to my stomach to embarrassingly rumble throughout my English lecture.

I hoped nobody heard it.

But finally, at last, I was able to quench my hunger with a plate of mac & cheese. It oddly tasted nicer and I presumed that was only because I was exceptionally hungry. I let another forkful into my mouth, pulling my phone out from my pocket to mindlessly scroll through it.

I found a rather large smile curling onto my lips when a sudden text message notification came up. My finger didn't hesitate to press down on it, leading for a chat between Jase and I to open up.

'I didn't see you this morning' - Jase.

Biting my lip, I typed with my free hand that wasn't holding a fork.

'Yeah, I sort of had to rush my way over to class' - Vanessa.

It took a few seconds before he replied.

'I missed seeing your gorgeous face' - Jase.

The giddy smile on my lips grew widely and that familiar flutter of butterflies swarmed freely around inside my stomach. Those butterflies had been lingering inside my stomach for a good month now. After all that had been said and done between Jase, I was beginning to feel strange around him. A good kind of strange. 

Truthfully, it terrified me. I had told myself I wouldn't dare fall for Jase, knowing this wasn't anything serious for him. Eventually, inevitably, he'd get back with Roxy, whom he was in-love with and for now, with their little break going on, I was just someone he would get to have fun with. I told myself I was okay with that. It would be good for me, too. I mean, my body practically thirsts after him. 

But now, as we spent more time together, the closer we got, the more invisible boundaries we broke down - it was all beginning to terrify me. The fact that I was most likely falling for Jase was closing in on me and made a harsh, cold, cruel wave of reality slap me across the face.

I couldn't fall for him.

I was brought out of my thoughts when the familiar three faces sat down across from me. Minx, Samuel and Roxy. My brows drew up in surprise and I lowered my phone immediately, not wanting them to read the messages Jase sent me.

"Uh, hey, guys." I spoke, my tone clearly confused. I hadn't been expecting to see any of them. After all, Roxy was no longer texting me or phoning me as she once did. I'd usually see her around and share a simple greeting. Rarely did the both of us stop to have a conversation. It didn't add up. I sure as hell had a reason to wanting to stay away from her, which was my heavy load of guilt. Her, however, I wondered why she found it best to keep a distance from me.

"Hey, Vanessa." Roxy chirped, flashing me a small smile. I returned it, glancing between the three pair of faces.

"Could I help you with something?" I questioned, distracting myself by letting another forkful of the cheesy goodness into my mouth.

"You could, actually," Roxy smiled, looking excited with what she had to say. "We're throwing a party for Jase's birthday... We know we're a week late, but we had some stuff to take care of."

My brows rose up from her words, not expecting to hear them. "Oh, that's awesome..."

"Yeah," Samuel spoke up, before he took a large bite from the apple he pulled out from his pocket. "You're invited."