There was never a good reason to be on campus. A pandemic raged beyond the gates, yet here I was forced into an institution full of deprived degenerates that prowled the campus after being stuck in the lockdown for over two years. It seemed as though people didn't know what it was like to interact with others, let alone how to talk with others.

As I walked with a platter of food in hand, the droned out voice of Lukas far behind my mind. I wasn't sure what nonsense he was on again or if he was talking about our assignment. Whatever it was, I was zoned out.

At least, I wished I was.

"My hangout with Chloe went really well," he said with a cheeky smile. "Chloe says she has a boyfriend, but I don't know. We spent some time talking about her boyfriend, and I can't tell how she feels about him. Is that weird?"

Yes. "No, I think it's fair to say she might have a crush on you," I replied, shrugging. "What girl tells some guy that many details about her relationship and then insists on just being friends. Clearly something isn't right here."

My friend, Sienna finally showed some interest in the conversation, walking beside us. "She has a point."

"See? Everyone can recognize when a genius speaks," I joked.

Lukas shook his head with a smile, eyes misty with a longing for his lady friend. The hopeless romantic in me wanted to tell him he was falling in love, that he was deep into this spiral of romance, and the only way to get out of it was to go through it. It was obvious there were feelings involved, strong feelings, but men were clueless and they didn't pick up on romantic cues like women could.

The familiar dome of the library came to sight, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief. September felt like July with a humidity so strong that my hair became a rat's nest whenever I woke up. Even walking with a giant backpack in the heat was becoming too much.

Lukas opened the door for us, still talking about Chloe. "I really thought I'd forget about her since she was taken. I mean we had this whole pandemic between us, so you'd think my brain would realize it'd never happen, but of course I always choose the messy love life."

We walked into the library, heading up the elevator. Sienna was quiet, not much of a talker to begin with. She also didn't know Lukas the way I did, so I couldn't blame her for her silence. We exchanged a knowing glance with each other, knowing Lukas was far too deep into this messy web.

We found it funny.

Sienna's eyes lit up with an idea. "Technically, it's not your fault if she likes you. You're just a helpless bystander here."

I pressed the elevator button to the seventh floor, laughing aloud when a panic crossed Lukas.

"I'm not a bystander though," he insisted. "She knows I like her, and I'm literally throwing myself into this."

"And she still hasn't told you off," I emphasized. "That says a whole lot. If it was me, I'd make a hundred excuses to avoid the guy that confessed to me. I'm surprised she hasn't if she's in a relationship already."

Sienna's grin widened. "Which means her boyfriend isn't doing his job right."

Lukas considered this as the elevator opened, allowing us to walk through and pick a spot with the best view. From this floor, we could see the entire campus and look in awe at how life was finally getting back to normal. It was like we came out of caves after the lockdowns, free to explore and wander like human minds should. A part of me still wished to go back to online classes, but I couldn't deny the happy memories that came from being with my friends.

Granted, two years was a long time, and people did change. We all started on the same path with the same classes, but as time went on, our paths diverged. We became more focused in our individual areas, growing with the seasons and living through our mistakes. I suppose that was what growing up meant.

Sienna and I settled on a couch near the window while Lukas sat across from us. "So what you guys are saying is that she might be having relationship issues?" he asked, clueless as a lovesick puppy.

I sent Sienna a look that said, why are we still talking about this? She gave a small shrug, scrolling down on her phone. We both gave our opinions, yet they fell on deaf ears when it came to Lukas.

This man had it bad. Real bad.

"Why else would she disclose information about how her boyfriend who lives far away and is always working so they never hangout? Come on, Lukas. You gotta think," I said.

He sighed, leaning back against his chair with crease lines on his forehead. "If only I had my dad's luck with women. He was in the friend zone for ten years and ended up with the women he loved."

Sienna looked up. "I mean, you are his son. Maybe you have some of those genes."

"This is going to be a long decade," he lightly joked, although I swore I saw a grimace of pain. "Now all I need is to find some girls to hook up with. My dad would try his luck with women and he'd surprisingly succeed to the point where he had a whole system. Every year he proposed to my mom, and she said no."

"So, why did she say yes then?" I asked, a little curious.

"She probably got tired of rejecting him."

We all shared a good laugh with that one. I could barely comprehend how someone could chase after one woman for a whole decade. No wonder she said yes in the end. That showed dedication.

Briefly glancing at my watch, I realized it was prayer time. I got up to find some abandoned corner to pray in without attracting attention to myself, which meant I'd be leaving Sienna and Lukas alone.

Did I feel bad leaving my quiet friend to listen to Lukas talk more about his love life? Slightly. Was that going to stop me? Hell no.

She could survive a few minutes alone with him. It wasn't like Lukas would disclose too many private matters with Sienna anyway.

* * * *

I didn't like being wrong. Hell, I hated being wrong. Imagine my surprise after walking back into this conversation and seeing a very nervous Sienna laughing at something Lukas said.

But that wasn't the surprise. It was what Lukas said that had my eyes bugging out.

"Okay, but when you think about it a 'friends with benefits' type of relationship actually has its perks," explained Lukas. "You have the comfort there because you're friends and you both get your needs satisfied without things getting awkward. It's a beneficial relationship in both parts."

"I'm sorry, what?" I said, sitting back down and staring at him as if he grew another head. "What the hell happened while I was gone?"

Sienna glanced at me with relief in her eyes, thankful I was back to carry this conversation for her. "We were just talking about ways for him to get the most out of his college life. It hasn't worked so far," she remarked.

I was even more confused. "I thought you were into Chloe though."

"I am," he said, "But I also need to broaden my horizons here. My plan is I ask a girl out every week just to get rejected so that I get used to what being rejected feels like."

"Can we watch you make a fool of yourself?" asked Sienna, a jovial glint in her eyes. "It's free entertainment."

"What if the girl says 'yes'?" I said, crossing my arms. "What then?"

"Then I'm screwed," he chuckled to himself. "What do I even say to that?"

"I mean you could just go on a date with her, you know like a normal person," I replied a bit sarcastically. I thought it was common sense, but I guess it wasn't too common to go on dates anymore.

Sienna perked up as if a lightbulb went off in her head. "Wait, that could be your friends with benefits," she offered the idea.

Lukas thought about it, brows furrowed in concentration. "I wouldn't be able to bring her back to my room though. It'd bother my roommate."

"It's not like you always bring a girl, so he'd probably support you," waved off Sienna.

I nodded my head in agreement. "And if that doesn't work, there's always a car."

God, what was I even saying at this point? Why were we entertaining his whacky ideas? Man should have just buckled down and focused on school like the rest of us.

He gave us a blank look. "I don't have a car."

Sucks to suck. I didn't say that though.

Surprisingly, Sienna was having more fun joking about this than I was. "There's tons of places on campus. There's a lecture hall, there's the bathrooms, there's empty corners, you name it. The possibilities are endless."

Lukas raised his brows at her ideas. "The lecture hall does sound thrilling, but if we get caught, then that's the start of a criminal record."

"For real?" asked Sienna.

"Yes, for real," I said, shaking my head at her. "Don't do stupid things in public. Be smart about it."

Sienna rolled her eyes playfully. "Okay, fine," she said before pointing at the window. "What about trees? Do you have anything against trees?"

Lukas glanced at me. "She's giving pretty good ideas here," he commented, fascinated by her list. I think he seriously considered some of the places.

I knew Sienna very well for that matter. Neither of us had any experience to be giving him ideas, hence why we were joking around with it. Only a fool would think trees were a solid idea. For Sienna, this was just her daily cup of nonsense.

"I think this conversation is getting out of hand," I tried to deter away from the sudden turn of events. We still had homework to finish, and the clock was ticking.

It seemed like Lukas didn't hear me. "Now the only issue is, who should I sleep with?"

Sienna and I exchanged another look for what seemed like the hundredth time. We were seriously talking about this? Again.

One would think that we'd put a stop to this before anyone revealed too much information, but humanity never rolled like that. Society thrived off of chaos, and as a part of society, we did too. In simple terms, we chose chaos.

"Do you have any hard limits?" asked Sienna suggestively.

"Just workout and get buff. Ladies love a man with muscle," I said around the same time that Sienna started speaking. We were literally snowballing.

"Well," Lukas started. "I don't mind some pain and bruises. A little pain goes a long way, and I'd like to think I have a high tolerance for it. I think we're good there."

If the masks weren't embedded to my face, everyone would have seen my jaw hit the floor just like in cartoons. I looked at Sienna the same time that she looked at me with the same wide, horrified eyes.

Did this man really say he was okay with bruises and pain? It was a real 'choke me like you hate me' type of situation. The song in the form of a human being.

"Uh..." I trailed off, clearing my throat. "I didn't know you had some affinity for kinks, bud."

His eyes rounded. "No! I mean I'm okay with bruises from working out."

Sienna barked a laugh. "That is so not what that sounded like. Even you have to know how bad those words sounded."

He gave a deep, exhausted sigh, knowing there was no point in arguing with us. "Anyway," he said, "I wish I could just get these needs fulfilled already, but I'm such a wreck when talking to females like I have the worst luck."

"Try harder," was my advice. It was the best I had.

"I do," he persisted. His pale cheeks were turning as red as cherries the more he kept talking. "And it's so hard when we're surrounded by such beautiful women on campus. I mean, have you seen them?"

This time, I was the one raising my eyebrows. "Yeah, have you? Everyone looks basic at this school."

"And there's so much diversity in how they look," he continued, ignoring me as he seemed lost in a tangent of fantasies. "Big, small, thick, thin, athletic, curvy. They're all so unique and in different sizes and shapes. No wonder my hormones are out of control."

I released a low whistle. "Slow it down, chief. You're getting ahead of yourself."

"This is like group therapy," muttered Sienna under her breath.

Lukas shook his head in dismay, not into our side comments. "You know this entire pandemic, I was studying and focused on my school work. There was no crazy need inside me or annoying hormones, but the second I saw Chloe again, bam!" He clapped his hands for emphasis before falling against his seat. "All those repressed feelings came rushing back and now I can't even look at her without feeling it or any attractive woman for that matter. They all have this effect on me."

"This is sounding an awful lot like simp behavior," said Sienna in a sing-song voice.

"And you always said you weren't at that level of degenerate," I chided jokingly.

Calling Lukas a 'simp' got his blood boiling, and he was quick to rush to his failing dignity. "I have a simp theory. A simp is a person who will chase and pursue a girl without gaining her affections in return, but my situation is different. Chloe most likely has feelings for me, so technically I'm not simping."

"That's bull," I said. "You know boyfriends can simp for their girlfriends and vice versa. Simping can be a two-way street in healthy relationships. You don't always need to be some creep that spoils the girl he likes."

"I'm not a simp," he denied fiercely. "She likes me."

"Oh, so now you believe that?" I challenged. "What happened to 'I'm just a bystander'?"

"I mean, you guys are right. It's highly suspicious why she'd keep me around," he admitted. "Anyway, the point is I'm not simping. I just need to find a way to get her out of my mind."

"Just go to a club," said Sienna. "It's always full of lonely people."

Lukas cringed. "There are also older women there. Like women in their thirties and forties looking for young meat on the side."

Sienna's gaze glittered with mischief, a look that meant nothing good would come out of it. "So? That just means you'll be with a more experienced woman."

"You're not wrong," he said. "But I'd rather not. I'd prefer someone around our age."

"Go to a strip club," she offered. "Have a private lap dance on you."

"I'm not that cheap."

I was rolling my eyes at this point. The easiest way to avoid talking about this was to just change topics, yet every time I did, we ended up deeper into the brewing chaos. There was the saying that if you couldn't beat it, then join it.

As the wise, young scholar that I was, I invited that saying with open arms, smiling when I realized Sienna and I would keep pressing his buttons until either of us got tired. We were curious about how much Lukas was willing to tell us. Essentially, we opened Pandora's box, and we had no idea how to close it.

"Okay, what about prostitutes? They do whatever you want," said Sienna.

"Absolutely not. Who do you think I am?" he questioned, slightly offended.

A horny college student that needs to get laid. Maybe I should have said that.

"I mean you could get an escort. They won't be forced to sleep with you and then if they really like you, they might," I snowballed. When he narrowed his eyes at me, I gave him a wide grin. "I'm giving you options."

"No help," he mumbled.

"Good grief," exclaimed Sienna. "If none of these ideas help, then just watch porn like every other college guy."

"But that's not realistic," he practically whined. "I need something real."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Lukas," I said.

"Yeah," agreed Sienna. "You take what you get, and you can't get upset."

"This is so frustrating," groaned Lukas, head in his hands. "Maybe you're right. I do need to get laid. I'm going crazy."

I wish I could say the conversation stopped there. God, do I wish it did. Never open Pandora's box, kids. Because the second you do, there's no stopping the spiral of confessions that come after it. Therapy is scary.

---

I'm so sorry you had to read that. RIP Lukas and his simping.

Probably won't regularly update, but this is good stress relief. Future chapters may also be shorter.

I'm gonna fail my exam >.<

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