____________________

PH 202 College Physics has been cancelled.
We will meet again on the date of our next scheduled lecture.
Edward Touchinski Ph. D.

I stare at the note posted on the door and let out a deep sigh. Of course it's cancelled. And of course that old timer didn't bother to let anyone know ahead of time. For fucks sake he still uses one of those old fashioned projectors that you write on with those stupid smear prone markers when presenting. It's not exactly a surprise that he rarely ever sends out emails to alert his students of anything.

"Crazy old fucker," I mutter under my breath.

Shaking my head, I turn on my heel to head for the main doors. It's then that I see her. Mabel rushes into a room near the entrance, her head is hung low but I can still make out the wetness that stains her cheeks as they shine in the fluorescent lighting. My chest tightens at the sight of her, and then—if at all possible—manages to constrict even further at the sound of a heavy door slamming shut behind her.

Without thinking, I rush down the hall after her. My stomach lurches into my throat as I pause at the door with my hand lingering mere centimeters from the handle.

What the hell am I doing? I chastise myself internally, clenching my teeth. What am I gonna do? Waltz in there and...what?

Mabel and I don't know each other well enough that she'll spill out whatever has gotten her so upset, and if by some chance she does, am I even ready for that? It's what a friend would do though, right?

It's also what a boyfriend would do, a voice in my head points out.

A muffled cry rings out from inside and before I can stop myself I'm pushing open the door.

"Mabel...?" I ask hesitantly.

A sniffle sounds from the corner of the tiny space and I reach out along the wall blindly, fumbling for a light switch.

"I'm going to turn on the light." I wait for a response, and when there is none, I flick the switch up anyway.

The scene laid out before me breaks my fucking heart in two.

Mabel is hunched over in the far corner, partially hidden behind a metal shelving unit that holds cleaning supplies, with her head between her knees as she takes in ragged breaths. She lifts her head slowly, her pale green eyes glassy with unshed tears as she stares up at me. A breath I didn't realize I had been holding gushes out in a whirlwind of hot air.

"Fuck," I hiss from between my teeth.

"Hey," she says shakily, forcing a smile.

I close the distance between us in three quick strides and crouch down in front of her. "What's going on, Mabes?" I ask hoarsely, my throat thick with emotion.

Mabel wipes hastily at her face with the sleeves of her jacket in an attempt to dry the tears. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"You're anything but fine right now." I reach out a hand and gently use the pad of my thumb to wipe beneath her eye. The gesture causes more tears to well up and she buries her face against her knees again.

I shift to sit down beside her and pull her close into my side. She allows the contact, burying her face into the crook of my neck. Hot tears splash against my skin and I wrap both arms around her tightly.

I hold her like that for close to ten minutes, neither one of us saying anything, before Mabel's breathing finally settles.

"I'm late for my next class," she mumbles, breaking the silence.

I'm appalled to say the least. That's what she's worried about? Being late?

Mabel moves to untangle herself from the embrace and I reluctantly let her go.

"You're not going to your next class," I say suddenly, startling both of us. "In fact, why don't you skip the rest of the day."

She sucks her lip between her front teeth and bites so hard on the plump skin that it goes white.

"You don't have to stay with me the entire time," I add hastily. Fuck, I hope I don't sound like some kind of controlling asshole. "I just...you obviously didn't want anyone to see you like this...and, well, I'm worried about you...fuck, I'm bad with this kinda shit." My fingers fly into my hair of their own accord and I pull at the roots, frustrated.

"You helped," she says so softly that I almost don't catch the words.

I feel my eyes widen. Is she fucking with me? All I did was hold her. I hardly said anything productive at all. But as she meets my gaze I find that she seems earnest.

"Can I?" she asks. "Stay with you for a while I mean."

"Of course," I blurt out.

"Thank you. For everything I mean."

I get to my feet and offer a hand to help her up. "You don't need to thank me for anything, Mabes. I'm just glad you're okay."

Her lips twitch in response as she takes my hand and allows me to hoist her up. "I'm fine. It was just your average panic attack."

Panic attack? I stare after her quizzically as she crosses the tight space to open the door. I had no idea that Mabel was dealing with so much anxiety in her life.

I follow her out into the hallway and pull a pair of sunglasses out from my book bag. Silently, I hand them over to her. Mabel takes them and carefully pushes them up the bridge of her thin nose, shooting me a grateful smile. She's so fucking beautiful, even with puffy eyes and a bright red nose from all of the crying.

"Come on, let's go for a ride," I say, slinging a protective arm over her shoulders. I'd like to think that the gesture is more for her to help Mabel feel safe and at ease, but that's a fat lie. Well, a half lie anyway. Of course I feel the need to comfort her, but it's also strangely addictive to touch her. Her body is soft and warm, and fits perfectly against my tall, much wider frame.

We cross campus together, walking along one of the main paths to the parking area. A few people shoot us looks, but I keep my head high and ignore them. Going to a large university is nothing like high school. Back then if you were "popular" everyone knew your name. In college, there's less people who know your name though, and for me those who know me happen to be women more often than not.

As we arrive at my truck Mabel pulls away, her eyebrows shooting up over the lenses of the sunglasses and her lips forming a perfect "O." I feel a burst of pride as she looks over my beast of a truck. That is until I hear her comment.

"Compensating for something?" she teases.

"Absolutely not," I reply with a chuckle. "You're more than welcome to see for yourself though." I slide a thumb through a belt loop on my jeans, tugging them in her direction.

Mabel's cheeks flush bright pink. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass."

Rolling my eyes, I open the passenger door and help her up into the cab. The truck has a lift kit so she struggles at first, but manages to crawl inside. I'm pleased to find that Mabel is slowly easing back into her old self after the panic attack, and I smile to myself as I jog around the truck to the drivers side to get in.

The engine roars to life as I twist the keys in the ignition and heat blasts us in the face. Mabel lets out a content sigh as she warms her hands in front of the vents.

"Who is Kelsey?" she asks quietly as she rubs her fingers together.

My body stiffens at the question, but I try to play it off. "Why do you ask?"

Mabel shrugs indifferently. "She confronted me with two other girls after lunch." She says it so easily, but there's an edge to her voice that I'm not used to hearing.

"Is that why you had a panic attack?" Guilt floods through me in such an intense wave that it nearly knocks the wind out of me. The thought that I was the reason for her distress makes me cringe. Kelsey and I only hooked up a few times before I broke it off, but it had been clear from the get go that she was interested in much more than a hook up. It was as obvious as it was then as it is now that she really only had wanted me as a "trophy boyfriend." She liked the idea of dating someone who increased her social status, and that's just not something I'm interested in.

"Yes and no," Mabel replies. She smashes her lips together into a tight line and pushes the sunglasses up onto her head to look at me.

"Fuck Mabes, I'm sorry."

"She's really pretty," she continues.

"I guess," I mutter distractedly, dragging a hand through my hair. "Whatever she said it's not true. We only hooked up a couple of times, we're not together," the words rush from my mouth before I have a chance to stop them or edit them. I can't explain the need to suddenly reassure her of the fact that it was nothing but sex between Kelsey and I, but I'm doing it anyway.

Mild surprise appears in Mabel's expression as her eyes widen the slightest bit. "It's none of my business who you hook up with," she says after a beat. "She was just saying things about me personally that got under my skin is all."

There's a sense of finality in her tone, making it clear that this is all Mabel is going to say about the subject. She leans back in her seat and focuses her attention outside the window.

I shift the truck into reverse, the questions I want to ask buzzing around erratically in my head. Kelsey's face flashes in my mind, bringing with it newfound rage. It's normal though, right? It's hard to gauge what my reaction would be if it were Lucas or Tyler in Mabel's place. Of course if someone had messed with one of them it would usually mean we would throw down with the guy, but I'm not about to hit a girl.

I shake my head at myself as I pull out onto the main campus road. This is stupid. Beyond dumb. And then an idea springs itself forth. If I can't get even with Kelsey the way I would if she were a guy, then I have to get her where it'll hurt her personally.

Her social status.

____________________

Poor Mabel...

Stay tuned for the next chapter, things are about to take a more...serious turn.

Remember to comment/vote/add this story to your library if you're interested in reading more! :)