Garroth's POV:

"Thank you for grading these extra papers last night Mr. Ro'Meave,", Mrs. Weldon told me, putting them away in her desk. "I don't think I would've finished them by myself."

"It was no problem really,", I shrugged. "I had some extra time on my hands."

It was after school and she had asked me to stay a while so we could talk. I was confused since it was Friday and she usually had family matters to attend to. It wasn't like her to spend extra time here.
She pointed to a stool and invited me to pull it up to her desk. I did and tried my best to get comfortable.

"I wanted to ask how everything was going in your personal life,", She said, folding her hands on her desk. "I know that we haven't been that close but, I'm concerned about this whole...boyfriend mess."

I was confused. She was right that we weren't close and it was out of character for her to ask. So, of course, I hesitated before saying; "I'm fine."

"Obviously you're not. You missed a day and according to your records, you haven't missed a day of school since you started your college education. This must've hit hard for you to go against your better judgement."

I honestly wanted to know where she was getting this information from but, I decided to say; "He's alright...just some health reasons. He needed to stay at his proper home for the time being. It's been a week already and nothing drastic has happened."

"I'm just worried that this will affect your performance,", She said, sitting back in her chair. "Garroth, I will give you permission to get an extra few days off if you would like. Also, email me if there's anything I can do."

I was shocked immediately. Her? Helping me? What has gotten into her? What there something wrong with her clogs? Was her husband secretly poisoning her?

"T-That's very sweet of you Mrs. Weldon but, I'm sure that I'll be alright."

"Okay then,", She sighed. "But, seriously, let me know."

I nodded and got up to put my stool back. I then thanked her before leaving the classroom.

•••

I entered in my dorm room about twenty minutes later to see Blaze, again, watching something on his laptop.

"Hey Garthy-bro!", He said.

"Are you addicted to Netflix or something?", I smirked, setting down my stuff.

"It's not that bad if you think about it,", He shrugged, smiling.

"Sure,", I say, rolling my eyes.

I pulled out my laptop to start getting some work done but, Blaze said;

"Hey, there's something I need to tell you,", He gets out of bed and starts twiddling with his thumbs.

Confused, I said; "Okay...what's up?"

He was hesitant at first and I could tell he was running the pros and cons in his head.  He finally said; "There's this party tomorrow and I was wondering if you would like to go with me and few buddies of mine. You can bring some of your friends too."

I remembered what Laurance said about parties. I told him I wouldn't go to one...especially during a time like this. A bunch of drunk young adults mixed with a potential attack, not a good idea. 

"I-I don't know...Laurance said it's probably not a good idea,", I explained. 

Blaze scoffed and crossed his arms. It was like all his nerves washed away once I mentioned Laurance's name. "Does he always tell you what to do?"

"N-No. He just...he just wants me to be safe,", I say, defending my boyfriend. "Besides, what good can come out of a college party?"

"Laughs, music, an actual good time,", Blaze listed off. "Garroth...you're literally graduating in a few months then, it's off to work for the rest of your life. Do you really want to leave university saying you never did something wild all four years?"

"I mean..."

"Look, if you're uncomfortable, that's fine. What about this though? You can be the designated driver. That way you will be aware of your surroundings the whole night and can leave if you reach your limit. Or if it feels unsafe."

I thought about it. He wasn't wrong. I haven't done a single thing all four years of being a student at university. All I've done is work and go eat food at restaurants with my friends or Laurance. Looking back...it really has been nothing special. Yet, if I go, Laurance would literally have a heart attack. Then, again...he doesn't have to know. Maybe this can be a way I can prove to him that I can take care of myself. I can prove it to myself even. 

"You know what, sure. I would love to go."

"Yes!", Blaze fist pumped the air. "Garthy-bro is gonna party!"

"Let me just-", I say, opening my laptop to only have it be closed by the redhead. 

"Nope. We're going to go out tonight."

"To do what?"

"Whatever the fuck we feel like doing."

Word Count: 823