The Perfect Storm 2

Chapter 90

I texted Stephanie a while ago, letting her know that Jace and I were coming and she warned me that Miles was looking for me which only makes my stomach grumble even more as Jace and I walk through the hall.

"This place looks better than I remember, now that I'm here for a visit and not quickly picking you up for your birthday." Jace smiles and I nod at him as we approach my new dorm.

"I've gotten used to this place, you will too. WSU feels like home." I smile

"This isn't your dorm." He states, looking at me confused as I come to a halt.

"I had to change dorms," I explain and his features soften.

"Why?" He shakes his head.

"Long story." I breathe, remembering how I saw Chrissy and Rebecca in the mall.

"You must be Jace." Stephanie stands up, letting her phone stay on her bed. I smile as I watch Jace not knowing what to do as Stephanie squeals and gives him a tight hug.

"Yeah, and you're Stephanie right?" He smiles and she nods.

"You should have told me you had such a cute friend." Stephanie smiles before applying red lipstick onto her small lips.

"Are you leaving?" I ask confused and she nods.

"Yeah, I'm going for a quick shopping, party tonight is too big not to have a new outfit, that and of course it's combined with and early Birthday celebration, so it's the biggest party of the year." She smiles.

"Birthday celebration?" I ask.

"Yeah, Miles is celebrating his birthday early." She announces with a smile before heading towards the door.

"You have to come, I know he's an asshole for what he did, but you deserve to have fun. Plus . . . there's no way you'll run into him, the whole WSU will be there." She says with a quick wave before disappearing.

"You know . . . she's right," Jace says to my surprise before he sits down on my bed.

"Jace—" I almost laugh.

"I know it's not something I would suggest, but you don't deserve to be upset this long." He says and my heartstrings twitch.

"Of course I do, he . . . he broke my whole world," I explain and he nods.

"I know, which is why he should be the one suffering . . . not you," Jace explains and I agree with him even though I'm still a little surprised at his sudden change of character.

"Okay, but after that, we're going home, back to Ohio?" I ask and he nods. I need something drastic to take my mind off Miles.

"What should I wear tonight? Is this okay?" Jace asks, looking up at me. I smile at him and attempt to hide a giggle.

"Yeah, your t-shirt is fine." I smile at him and he nods.

"I'm still new at this." He chuckles and I nod.

"Can you show me around campus? I'm eager to see what college will feel like." He says.

"Yeah, of course." I smile at him and he stands up from my bed. My nerves claw at me even more for agreeing to go to that party tonight, but if it's the only thing to get me off Miles, I need to give that to myself. My feet take me towards the door and Jace follows every step I take. 

Before I came to WSU I was excited about the school and even more excited about Jace being here, but now that he is, I can't help but think about how different everything would have been if he had been here the whole time. 

We would have stayed together through everything and I wouldn't have let myself go anywhere with Miles, and the cabin wouldn't have happened. Crissy would have never let Miles chase after me if I would have had Jace by my side, nothing would have been the same—nothing would have happened. I would have still been the simple, innocent, and naïve girl I was before.

"Is this the library?" Jace drags me out of my thoughts and I nod at him.

"Yeah." I fumble.

"I study there sometimes, and the coffee is amazing." I giggle to myself.

"I can't wait to study there with you." He says, his eyes glancing at my lips for a split second before he grabs my hand and pulls me gently towards the hall. We enter a small book shop that I've never thought to walk into.

"I didn't even realize this was here," I say, staring outside of the perfectly wiped glass. The small table Miles and I sat at, is still there, except now, someone else is there, drinking their coffee.

"Those tables look nice, maybe we could have lunch there when I join." He says and I nod.

"Yeah . . . maybe." I'mnot sure what to say, the only thing I can truly focus on are all of mymemories at this school. I'm not starting out like Jace is, I'm reliving mypast.