SHE DIDN'T SAY anything as she continued to stare at me, eyed wide as she was taken aback that I finally caught her. I furiously banged on the door as I kept my tight grip on her arm, "Ava, open up the door!"
A second later, the door swung open. "Hads, you have your own key, why don't you just...who is this?" She inquired, observing the girl in a grey sweatshirt with matching sweatpants.
"The culprit." I quickly pulled her into the dorm and to my dorm room, Ava closing the door behind her.
"Hadley, do you know who she is?" Ava whispered into my ear.
"I never thought that this would be the way you'd meet her, but Ava, this is Stacey, the girl I met in New York."
Ava's chin dropped to the floor, eyebrows perking up. "The one you befriended on that boat ride?"
I nodded, looking back down at Stacey, who was fidgeting nervously on the edge of my bed. Then, Ava glared at Stacey. "So you're the one who's been putting my friend through hell?" Ava spat venomously.
I lightly tugged on Ava's shoulder, putting some space between them. "Stacey, why are you sending me these notes?"
"I-I...I'm sorry," said Stacey as she broke into tears, crying hysterically. Ava and I looked at each other, unsure of what to do. The mattress slowly dipped as I sat down next to Stacey, who was luckily bare faced. Ava left the room and returned a minute later with a box of tissues and a bottle of water, handing it to Stacey as she began wiping away her tears.
When she calmed down a bit, I asked, "Are these about James?" She nodded, keeping her eyes on her lap as she sniffled.
"Because...he—"
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.
"I'll get it," announced Ava, tiptoeing out of the room as if the person outside could hear exactly where we were inside. A minute later, she returned, her being thrown into a state of disarray. "It's James."
My eyes grew wide, as did Stacey's, who sprang up.
"I need to leave now," Stacey whispered, her eyes swirling with fear.
"Just relax. I'll leave with James, and as soon as we leave, wait a few seconds, then go, okay?" I told her, never ceasing eye contact, to which she nodded at.
I softly closed the door behind me as I left the room and saw James sitting on the couch. When he heard footsteps drawing near, he looked up from his phone, flashing me a smile, "Hey."
He got up and walked over to me, engulfing me in a hug, accompanied by a kiss.
"Hey, you. What are you doing here?" I said slowly in a questioning tone, wrapping my arms around his waist.
"Just thought I'd stop by and see my girl," He grinned, placing another light peck at the tip of my nose, causing a zap of electricity to surge through my veins.
"I feel like taking a walk, take a walk with me?" I said, stepping out of his embrace as I reached down and intertwined our fingers, pulling him behind.
After reaching the ground floor, I pushed the door open and took in the fresh air, feeling a slight chill from the fall breeze. Leaves swirled around at our feet, some colored yellow, others beginning to turn brown and orange.
"Shall we, hm?" I turned back to him with a smile on my face, James mirroring my expression.
∞
"SO, I KNOW we haven't really had anytime recently, but I wanna know, how was it with Hunter?" I asked as Ava and I settled down onto my bed, sitting criss-cross. She began gushing all about her date, her whole being exuding euphoria. "So when did he go from being a dick to a date?" I chuckled.
"Well, we were working on our project together while you were in New York, and...I don't know. We started talking, and one thing led to another, and we almost kissed," Ava averted her gaze as her cheeks began to turn pink. "And he might've broken your vase."
"What! When did that happen?"
"Remember that one time when I was on the phone with you while you were in New York, and in the background, it sounded like something fell?" Ava said cautiously, biting her lip.
"Vaguely," I narrowed my eyes at her.
"That's when," Ava said. My mouth slightly parted, eyebrows furrowed. "But see, I bought another one that was identical, and look, you haven't even noticed until I said something," Ava's voice raised a few octaves as she talked, trying to make the situation better. "But enough about me..."
A knock at the door interrupted our conversation. "I'll get it this time," I told Ava, pushing myself off the soft mattress. Making my way to the door, I twisted the knob, a friendly smile spreading across my face, "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to come by and give you the...closure that you wanted from the notes," Stacey said. "Meet me at Bella's next week?"
Next week, I didn't want to wait until next week.
"Sure, I guess."
"Great, I'll see you then."
I closed the door as she walked down the hall, returning back to my room.
"Who was it?" Ava questioned.
"That was Stacey. She said she couldn't tell me why she was sending me the notes now, but she wanted to meet next week at Bella's."
"Next week? Can you even wait that long?" Ava joked, although there was a hint of gravity in her voice.
"We'll see," I shrugged, already feeling a bit antsy to know what this whole commotion was about. I sighed, falling backward onto the bed. What could be so bad about James?
_______________
A/N: hello, another filler(ish) :/ I'm sorry this chapter was a bit short, I've been busy lately. But thank you for reading once again! ♡
-Karlee 💛
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Three Years Later | ✓
Teen Fiction"He talks about you a lot, you know?" She said, her smirk clearly audible in the inflection of her voice, making me blush. "What does he say about me?" "Good things but nothing I ever doubted. Sometimes when I'm on the phone with him, he tells me...
