Slivers of the dawn sky broke through the blinds, washing the bed in rivers of crisp golden light. Sprawled out beneath the sea-blue sheets, Elise gripped each second of extra shut-eye in a vain attempt to keep the looming buzz of her phone's alarm at bay. Her eyelids knitted themselves shut, and the hum of early traffic blended with the hushed breeze that rolled in off the sea to let her drift loose of the weights on her mind.

    Such peace was short-lived. A thumping knock at her door roped Elise back to conscious shores, and her elbow struck the edge of her bedside table as she sprang to her feet. Rubbing away the pain that sprouted across her joint, she caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror. The rude awakening had done her fatigue-laden eyes and knotted amber hair no favours.

    "Ellie?" Robin's voice called from the corridor outside. When the door creaked open, he tugged his collar at the sight of Elise's exhausted features and the tumbled duvet behind her. "I hope I didn't disturb you too much."

    "Of course not, Robin. I love getting dragged out of bed while my legs are still asleep." Even as she answered her roommate, Elise flexed her toes to tempt her blood to filter down through her body. "What's up?"

    With a hint of sheepishness creeping through his cheeks, Robin scratched at the stubble along his neck. "I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I'm leaving early to meet up with a friend this morning. Nat wants to meet for coffee and catch up on some notes she missed from last week, so I can't give you a lift to uni like usual." He pulled at the hem of his top, a wine red long-sleeve t-shirt that stuck close to his body shape without a single crease. "Will you be alright getting in on your own?"

    A snort escaped Elise's throat. "I think I'll survive without my roomie ride this week, just about," she said with an impish grin. Unfurling her pale pink t-shirt's scrunched sleeve, she glanced at the bathroom door and filled in the blank space with Cadence's winking face. "Maybe Cade would be fine with driving me over, actually. Is she awake?"

    "More than that." Directing Elise's eye to the living room, Robin indicated the empty sofa. "She was gone when I first came out of my room. I didn't hear her leave, so she must have gotten out of here before I woke up."

    Bitter chills seized Elise's heart, and she kept one hand on the wall to support her shaking weight as she made her way to the seats. The borrowed blanket still held slight creases of Cadence's shape, though its cold fabric revealed for just how long she had been absent. "She just left," Elise muttered, peering out of the window to confirm that Cadence's car had left the premises. "Without a text or anything. She's just gone."

    A tense silence formed between the roommates, and Robin clenched his teeth to bite back what he wanted to say. "Maybe she just didn't want to impose any more than she had done already," he suggested with a forced smile that lasted mere seconds before his front collapsed. "Look, I know she was your friend and all –"

    "She is my friend." Bundling the blanket in her arms, Elise's anger carried her to her bedroom without a passing glance at Robin. She paused in her doorway and held her head low. "She's my best friend, and I'm sure she had a good reason for leaving so early, just like you do."

    Robin laid a hand on his bag by the front door. "I just don't want to see you get hurt chasing some childhood memories, Ellie. People really do change, and not always for the better."

    Shudders wracked Elise's lips as she squeezed the blanket, fighting against the tightness that grew in her chest. "Have fun with your friend, Robin."

    The slam of the bedroom door beat the life out of whatever words Robin released in return. Still clutching the blanket, Elise fell face-down onto her bed and freed the sob that had been spooled in the back of her throat. Her duvet's soft, cool weave rustled beneath her furious fist, and the clean blue sheets soon ran dark with the first drops of her overflowing eyes.

    Elise was annoyed with Cadence for leaving without a word, yet that frustration evaporated beside the open flame of her anger towards her own hopes for anything more. Agreeing to move past their hard feelings did not mean reviving their old relationship, or even attempting to return to that friendliness. It did not warrant the gleeful chimes that rang out in her heart whenever she met her friend's eye, heard her friend's voice, or felt her friend's warmth. It definitely did not justify the wild impulse that had flitted through her mind the previous night.

    Just as the memory of Cadence's hand on her face threatened to sink her thoughts in the same shifting sands, Elise's phone wailed from her bedside table. It was time for her to get up and face the world again.

    ***

    Ellie. Heard from your uni. We need to talk.

    With a scoff, Elise swiped the text notification from her father away and tucked her phone inside her bag on the bus seat beside her. She had tried to engage more with Leon during her first few months at university, yet it had soon become clear that the only topic that held her father's attention was money. In Leon's world, what little cash she had left over after paying her bills was his to put towards whatever he liked.

    The bus jolted to a halt, and a steady stream of people climbed onboard without a word. Elise stared through the glass bus shelter to the building that stood behind it, her gaze lingering on its weather-scarred walls and the soap streaks that clouded its windows. Weary groans bled into every gust of wind from its black-and-white sign.

    "Move your junk." A firm grip thudded against the back of Elise's seat, and she pulled her gaze from the window with a huff. Her breath stopped short as the tall, dishevelled shape of Matt lurched over her seat, chewing the whole time. As Elise froze in place, Matt leaned closer and flared his nostrils. "You hear me?"

    A layer of sweat formed along Elise's back. "No," she said, failing to hide the nerves that erupted through every syllable. Glancing around the bus, a smattering of free seats announced themselves to her. "Sit somewhere else."

    Matt lowered his head, and when he raised it back up, his lips curled upwards in an amused smile. "Playing tough? That's cute. Next time, try sounding like you mean it," he said with a laugh, setting a hand on Elise's bag. "Like this: move your junk or I'll move it for you."

    Aware of the sideways glances flicking her way, Elise wrestled her bag free from Matt's grip and nestled it on her lap. She pressed her side into the bus window, and the man dropped himself into the vacant seat as the vehicle stirred into motion. The stench of sweat, cigarettes, and something much stronger than tobacco soaked into the air around her, the gum's thin minty varnish doing nothing to dull the cocktail's razor edge.

    "Head's fine, thanks for asking," Matt said suddenly to spoil Elise's efforts at avoiding further contact. He tapped a bruise on his forehead, its rich purple sheen compensating for its small size. "So don't count on me forgetting that stunt you pulled, girl."

    "I only did that because you started screaming in my friend's face," Elise snapped as the image of Cadence buckled over their table rose to the front of her mind. Though fear trembled along her limbs, the anger that rose in her gut at the memory crashed through any walls of hesitation. "And why don't we talk about you digging through Melody's stuff? I bet you forgot about that easily enough."

    Surprise flared in Matt's dark eyes, and Elise bathed in every speck of its satisfying glow. When his usual bitter mask returned, it arrived with slight fractures of frustration. "I should've known that gobby prick would tell her little sidekick all about that," he spat, shifting in his seat. "Listen, angel. There's plenty to that story that your wannabe-punk pal won't tell you. Mel knew she hated my guts, and she saw her lies for the bullshit they were."

    Though he kept his voice down, tremors of passion coursed through Matt's words. Elise steeled herself against the man's weed-tainted aura and faced him head-on. "Lies? She caught you stealing things out of her room!"

    "I wasn't stealing shit!" Matt smacked his fist against his thigh, drawing a handful of irritated looks from around the bus. "The room was a mess when I found it. I went in looking for a bunch of Mel's things that had gone missing, okay? Sure, I should've asked first, but I had this big stupid idea of surprising her with all the stuff she'd lost. Not that she really lost anything, as your pal knows."

    "What's that supposed to mean?" A twinge of annoyance tainted Elise's tone, the lingering attention of the other passengers honing its fine edge.

    Matt released a single sour laugh and stretched out his legs. In the snatches of sunlight that beamed through the bus windows, a flash of metal glinted in his jacket's inner pocket. "I mean exactly what I said. Your friend isn't the innocent little lady she claims to be. Get it, genius?"

    As the man straightened his dusty leather jacket, the metallic weight in his pocket caught Elise's eye again and again. Every glimpse added another layer to the knot that formed in her throat, and she choked back the nausea that rushed from her gut. Matt was both high and carrying a knife, and he made little to no effort to conceal either fact.

    The bus tossed Elise forward as it jerked into life, and she looked out of the window in time to see the university campus scroll past. Cursing under her breath, she reached for the button to stop the bus, yet Matt's smirking body blocked her way. "I need to get off," she stuttered as she tried and failed to expel her knowledge of the weapon in Matt's pocket.

    With another laugh, Matt leaned back and waved Elise along. "Then get off. Don't let me stop you," he answered, delight oozing from his face as he watched her stumble over his legs. "Have a good day now. And say hi to your lovely friend Cade for me, alright?"

    Elise leapt off the bus as soon as its door opened, and she pushed past the queue of people boarding to land against the bus shelter, her bag dropping beside her feet. Against the wishes of her thrashing, burning stomach, she did not throw up then and there. Sweat coated her palms, and stray hairs stuck to her brow every time she wiped her face.

    "Missy?" To Elise's side, a man about the same age as her father looked on with concern. "You alright? Look like you've seen a ghost, you do."

    Swallowing the latest wave of saliva that flooded her mouth, Elise took a breath to steady her shaking voice. "Yeah," she said with a polite smile that died before it reached her damp eyes. "I'll be alright. I just felt sick for a minute."

    "Buses do the same to me," the man answered, adjusting the flat cap on his head. "Blasted drivers throw the things around like they're bloody race cars. It does my neck no end of trouble and all."

    "Shocking," Elise said as she looped her bag around her body, tapping the flap as a signal she wanted to leave. "Thanks for stopping, but I've got to go now."

    The man nodded and stuck his hands in his coat pockets. "Take care now, aye? You young things aren't invincible. Run about like a fool, and before long, you'll be like me, popping and cracking every time you get up." As if to prove his point, he ironed out his slumped posture to the tune of his cracking neck and spine.

    Looking on in discomfort, Elise fought through her desire to flee to manage another civil smile. "I'll...try. You take care too," she wished the man as she left the bus shelter, avoiding eye contact with the other strangers that crossed her path.

    The hurried walk back to the university campus flew by in minutes, though an age seemed to pass before Elise found a way around a young couple strolling ahead of her. Pushing through the faculty building's double doors, she released the breath she had held for far too long and fell against the dividing wall by the entrance. Between the granite flooring and solemn slate-grey walls, she was safe again.

    A glance at her phone screen reassured Elise that she still had time to get to class, and she resumed her quick walk through the corridors. Few other seminars took place this early in the day, leaving the halls quiet enough for her steps to tap around her in a chain of echoes. The empty corridors also meant there was no mistaking the voice that greeted her as she rounded the final bend before her classroom. "There she is! Damn, Ellie. I started getting worried when you weren't fifteen minutes early."

    "Cade," Elise said, her legs trembling as she approached her friend outside her classroom door. Whatever composure the building's pervading sense of peace granted her evaporated beside her overheating heart. "I'm sorry I didn't see you off. I must have been exhausted last night."

    "Don't worry about it. I left so early, the foxes were still poking around the trash." Paying Elise an impish smile, Cadence produced a dark-coloured book from behind her back. The grinning cats on its cover confirmed it was her notebook before Elise got her hands on it. "I wanted to bring it back to the flat before you left, but Flo was in a bitchy mood even by her standards. She ranted at me for ages when I showed up. It ended up taking so long, I just came straight here."

    As she stared at the book in her hands, surging drops massed in the corners of Elise's eyes. "Thanks," she muttered, slipping the notebook into her bag. "You didn't need to do all that just for me, you know. I'd have waited."

    Cadence shrugged her friend's words off and gestured towards the classroom, where almost everybody else in Elise's class awaited both her and the seminar leader. "You said you had class notes in it too, right? Besides, any chance to steal from the grump and give to the poor, I'm up for." When Elise did not rise to her grin, Cadence studied the lines of her friend's face and placed a hand on Elise's shoulder. "Speaking of poor, you look like shit, Ellie. You good? Been hitting the tea too hard?"

    "I'm okay, but..." Elise met Cadence's hand with her own, and the delicate contact drew the first wave of tears from her eyes. "Matt cornered me on the bus just now."

    "What? That fucking slimeball!" Anger smouldered through Cadence's fiery words, yet her hold on Elise remained as warm and tender as ever. Her booming voice won a couple of stares through the classroom window, and she shrugged them off with a sour look before turning back to her friend. "What the hell did he want with you?"

    The concern in her friend's eyes robbed the last dregs of Elise's resolve, and she fell into Cadence's chest as her hold on her tears snapped loose. "I don't know. I think he just wanted to scare me, but then I mentioned him stealing from Melody and he started accusing you of stuff," she said, sniffling into the wings printed across the front of Cadence's top. As she looked up at her friend, she wiped away the drops that blurred her vision. "Cade, he had a fucking knife."

    Cadence wrapped her arms around Elise and pressed her fingernails into the girl's back. "You're okay. Matt's an asshole, but even he'd never bust out a knife in public," she said, her hushed breath landing on Elise's hot face like a fresh breeze. "He's got some nerve trying to freak you out. I swear, if he starts shit with you like this again –"

    "Excuse me, sorry. Are you waiting for the 'Writing Prose' module?" A woman with curly brown hair and a cosy orange jumper tapped on Elise's shoulder, the friendly smile on her ruby lips vanishing as soon as she saw Elise's wet eyes. "Ah. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

    "It's fine. I was just going in, actually," Elise said to the woman she now recognised as Annabelle, one of the other faculty members on the course. "Where's James?"

    Annabelle fiddled with the gold cross around her neck as she shook her head. "Your guess is as good as mine, sweetheart. He called in about half an hour ago saying he couldn't make his first class. I only just got here after racing over from the other side of town!"

    A dark glimmer of offense infiltrated Annabelle's polite face as she heaved a deep sigh, and Elise dried the last of her tears. "He's not missed a session yet, so he must have a good reason for getting you to cover this one at such short notice."

    "I swear, that man had better be either drowning or on fire for pulling something like this. I had to skip my morning crossword because of him!" Throwing her arms up, Annabelle stepped into the classroom and set her bag on the desk.

    Elise pulled away from Cadence's side, though she kept their fingers loosely locked together. "I should head inside," she said with a sigh. The dark, damp patch on her friend's top brought a fond smile to her face, and she checked her eyes to make sure no straggling tears had escaped. "Thanks for being here, Cade. Are you okay driving me over to see Florence later?"

    "More than okay. You've run into too many psycho ex-boyfriends getting yourself around lately. I don't think Flo would appreciate her new favourite gal pal getting shanked." With a smirk, Cadence pulled on Elise's hand and winked, not dropping her smile in the ensuing silence. "Too soon?"

    Shaking her head, Elise held a straight face until the first notes of a laugh parted from her lips. She drew Cadence into a final embrace, taking in one last comforting breath of her friend's familiar scent. "I'll see you in a bit," she said as she entered the classroom.

    Cadence clicked her fingers in response. "Can't wait, killer!"

    The other students in the seminar group looked up at Elise as Cadence's boots hammered out of earshot and Elise kept her face low until she reached her chosen desk. One look at the other students' expressions told all about what they thought they had seen, who they thought Cadence was to her. A tide of self-consciousness washed over her face's sands, soaking them with vivid rose stains. Only as Elise opened her notes did she realise she had been blushing long before attention's brush had left a stroke on her cheeks.