Notes:

Additional cast:

Dulce Maria as Nina Andrews

Nathan's POV

Waking up at such a time in the morning is one of my least favourite things. Or the least favourite thing really. But a man gotta go to class. Yes, I do that occasionally. Don't forget it is necessary to keep my grades up as well. I don't mind attending my classes, I actually enjoy some of them. Well, kind of enjoy. The early ones are not one of those. I am feeling damn sleepy so I do the one thing that will help my state. Go straight to the coffee shop to get one of those drinks who will hopefully do its magic.

Great, it's too damn crowded as per usual. I spot Robin waiting on the line and approach her. A friend can make the waiting less boring.

"Hey Nate, what up? Big line again, man, this place is mainstream, I should find someplace else." She jokes after she hugs me.

"Morning, Ro. Yeah, when you find that place let me know. This is bullshit." I say pointing at the line. Seriously, there are other coffee shops in campus, why is everyone here?

"Hey, at least they have baked goods, and the best coffee around. Bruh it's better than Starbucks here. The line there is hella annoying." She remarks.

"Whatever." I shrug and check the time at my phone. There's still plenty till the class begins. And it passes pleasantly. Robin is a great company. We take our coffees and sit at an empty table. Apparently, empty tables are a reality at a coffee shop full of people. They all grab the damn coffee and leave.

"So how come a gorgeous lady like you is all by herself? Where's Sam? Or Sophie? She's become your bff number 2, isn't that right?" I ask Robin as I start drinking my coffee.

Out of the blue Robin chokes on her coffee and curses. "What?" she asks.

"What do you mean, what?" I frown. "Every time I see you, you're either with Sam or with Sophie. Now that I am thinking about it, lately I've seen you more with Sophie than with Sam. I guess it's logical to say she has joined your gang officially."

"I can assure you Sophie is not my Bff. She could be, but she is not that exactly." She murmurs mostly to herself, than me.

"So what is she?"

"Hmm....I don't know if I am allowed to say." She says in a cryptic way, narrowing her eyes. "Let me check." She pulls out her phone and types something.

"If you're allowed to say?" I chortle. "Now you got my attention." She stops typing and eyes me for a second, till her phone lights up. She looks at it and smiles before she stares at me.

"Ok, yes, ummm...I know it will sound impossible, I mean it was impossible for me...but.....ok, imma say quick...I am dating Sophie, there I said it." She says and sips her coffee, leaning back at the chair.

"Shut up." I raise my eyebrows at her.

"Yup, Soph is not only queer, she is also my girlfriend! But we are keeping it a secret, so consider yourself lucky to be included." She winks.

"Shut up! You're really off the market?" I ask surprised.

"Why is that so hard to believe? I had a 2 year old relationship, dude!" She feigns offence.

"Two years? Shut up! I had no idea!" I never imagined Robin as the committed type. It's not that she screams she's looking for one-night stands or something but I didn't know she had found the one. "So I guess I have to say goodbye to our wild night out projects?"

"Well, yes I had a relationship, thank you very much, and no, our night projects can continue, they just won't be wild, for me." She winks playfully.

"Who would have imagined that!" I remark lifting my eyebrows. "So Sophie has you pretty whipped, huh?"

"Oh come on! I am not whipped, I am being considerate, moron." She eye rolls.

"More than whipped." I tease her with a smirk. "Since when are you two lovebirds together?"

"Not long, after my birthday. We make a nice couple right?" She asks serious.

"Hmm..." I can see she is anticipating my answer. "Well, I am not the expert one on this kind of things but you seem pretty nice to me. Who cares really? If you want to be together, that's what matters. Fuck what anybody else thinks."

"And this is the reason I like you more than the other frat-morons. What about you? How is Vanessa? You must have impeccable humor." She grins wildly. What the fuck?

"Okay, I am kind of lost here." It is the truth after all.

"Did you, or did you not, exchange texts with Vanessa the last 24 hours?" She mocks me.

"What kind of question is that?" I chuckle. "And how do you know?"

"I happened to have been there, during the incident. What did you talk about, dear Nathan?" She sips her coffee being Sherlock.

"What could we have been talking about, Ro? We have this paper for this damn class together." I say casually.

"You are answering my questions with questions, interesting." She nods her head.

"What are you trying to do exactly?" I roll my eyes. She is clearly nosing around.

"Another question, you are uncomfortable. Interesting...." She tosses me a napkin playfully. "Seriously, you are not exactly a talkative person, I could probably count the words you have said so far with my fingers, so what did you guys talk about that made Vanessa giggle?"

She did giggle? Well, that is what you call interesting, my dear friend Robin.

"Should I begin to count how many questions you've asked me so far? Why don't you ask her? How am I supposed to know why she giggled. Geez, Ro."

"Dude, I study human interactions, you are my subjects, when I come to a conclusion I will let you know." She smiles cockily.

"Your conclusion will be long awaited." I tell her smirking. "You've got class now?"

"I have yes, World Society at 3, why else would I be here?" She retorts.

"And you finish at what time?"

"6, why wanna ask me out on a date?" She sticks her tongue out.

"I thought you were taken." I return the gesture. "You do go on class with Susan, right? You know, Susan Hastings?"

"Blonde, tall, sexy?" She asks and I nod. "Yes, we share a class together, and we shared notes once, why?"

"Because at 6 I will be done with practice and I will have lots of free time to share." I wink at her.

"And you think, that blonde, tall, sexy, Susan Hastings will be available?" She chortles.

"She already has been available multiple times. If you know what I mean." I give her a cocky smile.

"Hmmmm....what got to her? Your talkative personality? Susan usually talks a lot." She deadpans, making fun of me.

"If that was supposed to be a joke, sorry but it didn't make me laugh." I give her a fake smile. "And trust me when I say that I know she talks a lot." I raise my eyebrows playfully at her.

"Thank god you are hot, then. Man, she is always talking in class, she is annoying." She winks at me teasingly.

"I don't find her annoying at all." I shrug. "Anyway, you're not gonna be any help as it seems so I'll just show up after your class."

"Hey, be nice. I am not helping you cause Susan is so not the good type of girl, and you should avoid her." she shrugs. "I have heard things."

I can't help but burst into laughter.

"Like?"

"Like, she is not the girl you want to get emotionally involved. I know she is good for one night stands, but you should start looking for something more than that."

"I can assure you I am not getting emotionally involved and neither is she. We are just having fun. And just because you're now smitten with little miss Sophie Lillian Ford, it doesn't mean we should all get a page from your book." I state casually and take a sip from my coffee.

Robin eye rolls for a second but looks at me again. She signs and then reaches for my hand.

"Listen, I was at a rough place a year ago, so my drill was to shut off and sleep around, thinking that was what I need it. Turns out though that what I actually needed was someone to hold me and make me feel safe. I know you are probably not so into relationships, but there will be a time when all you will need, will be a kiss goodnight and a kiss good morning." She says shrugging.

"Thanks for the speech, love guru, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Sorry, I am going to say it again because it's the bold truth; you are so whipped." I stand up and pat her on the head.

"It's in my nature, friend, that's what it does to you. Hopefully you will understand one day. Then I will be the one laughing at you." she mocks me.

"Seems to me you'll be waiting forever." I give her a smirk. "Anyway, I gotta go to class, thanks for the company and take care of Ford. I'll be watching you."

"Yeah yeah, bite me Parker. Have fun." She shakes her hand.

I chortle and get out of the coffee shop ready to get bored for the next couple hours as I head to my class.

Vanessa's POV

Wednesday, 5:40 pm. I get into the library reassuring my suspicions. As we are only weeks away from the start of the exams, more and more people come here to study. It is kind of sad to see it filled only at these times. It gives you the idea that students just happened to remember the library's existence. I prefer being here when it's less crowded. You can enjoy the silence and organize your academic future between all these books that give you motive.

Coming 20 minutes earlier should be enough to find somewhere to sit. I wonder around at the first floor as carefully and silently I can with no success. Every spot is taken so I go to the second floor hoping I'll get luckier. There aren't that many people in here and thankfully I find a desk for me and Nathan. I hope he shows up. He's been in a miraculously good mood this last week. I could never imagine that he would help me with the paper, nevertheless finding the topic. He is not so bad after all. Well, not that I believe anyone is bad of course, but Nathan was so hard to deal with and I didn't think there might be a reason for it. Or multiple reasons perhaps. You should never judge a book by its cover. I didn't really do that with Nathan either because if I had stayed on his outside and his appearance and his tall figure and his piercing eyes and his full lips, I would have been like every other girl in his radar. It is unbelievable really how they are acting when they see Nathan, undressing him with their eyes and drooling over him like he is a slice of chocolate cake. God, like show some respect, ladies. To Nathan of course but to your own selves too. It is almost embarrassing, don't they get it?

I take out my notebook to check where the books we are going to need for our project are. I came by the library yesterday to make sure they were available but Mrs Fitzgerald didn't allow me to borrow them all because it wouldn't be fair to the other students so close to the exam period. I guess she has a point, I doubt though anyone will show any interest in the Tudors at this time. When I told Alice, she began mimicking her, turning her hair in a messy bun, the signature hairdo of Mrs Fitzgerald. I laugh replaying this scene in my head.

"Laughing at the library, Vanessa? Mrs Fitz will eat you up alive." Nathan whispers into my ear.

"For God! You scared me!" I try to catch my breath.

"You're such a scaredy-cat." He sits next to me. His black hair is falling gently on his forehead and he smells like musk. He must have showered and came here straight away after practice. "What was so funny anyway?" Nathan asks.

"Um...What?"

"Like why you were laughing?"

"Oh...I don't remember really..." I say and doodle at the bottom page of my notebook. "How was your day today?"

"Class in the morning, practice afterwards. Same old shit but a different day."

"You do actually go to class?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Ha. Funny. Not." he teases me. "I try to attend my classes as often as I can. It's not easy with all this basketball craziness but it is demanding. My grades have to be descent." He is not that indifferent after all. I wonder why he acts like it.

"That sounds really hard. Bravo, Nathan!" I give him an appreciating smile.

"Yeah..." He seems uncomfortable in his red hoodie getting credit for his effort. He is cute when he is uncomfortable. "So how was your day?"

"I had class in the morning and then I passed by the paper."

"You spend a lot of time there, don't you?" he tells me looking at his phone.

"I guess. I don't have to be there all the time but I want to get into the whole paper spirit, see how things work in general since it is my first semester. I am lucky I've been given the chance to be among them. Everyone at the paper is so brilliant and great."

"All the fucking geniuses together." he murmurs.

"Why are you saying that?" I steady my head on my hand.

"No reason."

"Ok then. Are you ready to get this thing started?" I raise my fist into the air.

"How can you always be so enthusiastic?" Nathan laughs.

"Shhh!" Some girls sitting behind are annoyed. Nathan turns and gives them one look and their angry faces immediately disappear. Now their mouths are drooped on the floor. Remember what I said about Nathan and the female population? I clear my throat to remind him we are here for academic purposes.

"I am not always but our project makes me really! I've already searched for some books that can help us."

"Of course you have." he eyerolls.

"They are on this floor and we can take them later on our way out. So what do you know about the Tudors? I think we should focus on Henry's VIII reign and just mention briefly the before and after parts." I present him my plan for the project showing him my notes.

"That dude deserves all the credit. I agree. What are all these different colours and arrows and shit? I thought this was going to be a paper not a damn rainbow." He smirks and leans closer to see what I am talking about.

"Hey!" I say offended. "It will make our task easier. Pink symbolizes my parts and green yours. I believe you can pull this off considering you have practice and games." I explain him why there is less green than pink. The fact that he is participating willingly is good enough, I don't want to overpush him since his program is pretty intense. He rests his head on my shoulder.

"Keep going." he says. Well, that is easier said than done. I take a breath and continue.

"Yeah...Um...So the blue stands for the different time periods so we don't get confused and I have found which book fits each and noted the pages we could use in orange, so you don't get to read them all from cover to cover. With black are the parts I am either not sure if we should include them in our paper or parts that I haven't found any related bibliography. Yellow means that I have already written the part so it is complete." Nathan's head is still on my shoulder. "Wow, there are a lot of colours indeed, I should write what each means so you don't forget."

"You should, I wasn't paying attention really."

I am about to lecture him but he smiles so warmly at me. His smile is so dazzling that it lightens his eyes, which are wide open and looking straight into mine. I can't help but stare back at them. They say that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. I can't read his soul for sure and I don't think I will ever do that, but at this moment I don't care about it. All I want is to return this unrelenting daze. Nathan doesn't break our eye contact. He stays still, resting his head on my shoulder, our faces inches apart. His smile widens.

"Is that Nathan Parker at the library or my eyes are playing tricks on me?" a female voice interrupts us. I mean interrupts our professional total academic centered meeting.

"The second." Nathan says annoyed as he pulls away from me.

"Haha, what are you doing here?" she asks as she sits next to him.

"I am busy." He tells turning completely his body to face her. All I can see is his back and I am totally shut out of their conversation.

"I thought you always had time for me." She says seductively "As I always have time for you." I keep doodling at my notebook, feeling extremely awkward to hear what I am hearing.

"Not now." His tone is strict.

"Oh, you're no fun." She complains. "Call me." She stands up and leaves. Well, that was a brief visit.

"So... What were we talking about?" Nathan asks like he has the memory of a goldfish. This girl clearly distracted him. I mean, how couldn't she? She was wearing these tights that showed off her perfect curves.

"Um, the paper?" I point the obvious thing.

"Yeah, I mean you were talking about this colorful plan of yours." Is he trying to show me he is actually interested in this?

"Yes, I wrote an explanation right here to make it easier for you while you were talking with your friend. Here." I give him a copy of the plan.

"Thanks. It seems pretty helpful...So what do we do now?" He asks.

"I think we should better go get the books in case someone else also wants them."

"Ok, you said they are on this floor?"

"Yes, I have written where they are placed in the green post it. You go find those three and I'll go find the one I'm missing." I tell him and head on my left to find the book. Maybe I should have gone with Nathan to show him where they are since I spotted them yesterday but he can find them by himself with the help of the post it as well. I am browsing at the Greek mythology department giving Nathan enough time to locate his books. When I return, I find him already at the desk.

"Where were you? I thought you left."

"How could I? My things are still here. Besides, that wouldn't be polite." He puts his hand at the back of his neck.

"Yeah... So I found these damn books, they're heavy."

"Don't you worry about it. You just have to take a look at the pages I have noted on the plan." I put my bag on my shoulder and take the books into my hands.

"Where are you going?" he asks puzzled.

"We can leave now. We got the books, we discussed the plan. We can do a little research on our own and meet again, um... on Friday?"

"I can't. I have a game out of town." He informs me.

"Okay, on Monday then?" I suggest.

"Sure." He lifts his practice bag from the floor and heads to the stairs. "Aren't you coming?"

"I actually have to return a book I got for another class, so I'll see you on Monday, Nathan. Good evening." I tell him.

"Um...Okay, then. Bye Vanessa." He greets me and leaves as I stay still watching him.

Sophie's POV

Breath in, breath out, stick to the pace Sophie, you can't afford to stay behind. Damn, Alice is fast, she wasn't kidding, at all.

I thought this would be a disaster, but so far so good, and I have to be honest, I am quite impressed by her. She is a few feet away, and sometimes I had a tough time catching up with her, but now the pace is good and less intense, so I had the chance to catch my breath and cool it down a bit.

Another ten minutes in, Alice is slowing her pace and I finally get next to her.

"You run really fast! Seriously you're one of the few people, included my dad, who can catch my pace." Alice says with a wide smile. Her face has become a bit red from running.

"Thanks, you run fast too. You are in a very good shape. I am impressed." I tell her wiping my forehead. "I run with my mother too. It's our thing."

"It's my thing with my dad too!" she beams at me. "Also he's like my personal trainer, when he's not working all over the USA" She exhales,frowning a bit.

"He works a lot, huh? So does my mother. I get it." I exhale too. It sucks to not have a parent there when you need them. I understand.

"What does she do for a living?" She asks curiously.

"She is a college professor, American studies. It takes a lot of her time, especially weekends, papers to grade and stuff." I explain and she nods.

"But you decided on studying law! How come?" She tries to make a conversation with me, and she seems genuine. And to think that she yelled at me days ago! That is progress!

"My dad is a Lawyer, soo...but I do like it. It's a great occupation, profitable, and interesting. I like it. You? I don't think I know what you are studying." I kinda feel bad about it. Has she said that? Has Vanessa or Joss said her field? I think not, I would have remembered it.

"My major is Linguistics and my minor Translation and Interpretation. I love learning languages and discovering new cultures!" Alice effuses over her field. Linguistics, huh? That's interesting.

"That's impressive. I mean, not the whole world speaks english, so it's a useful knowledge. How many languages do you speak?" I ask interested. I don't know any other languages, mother thought it was a waste of time, since I live in the states and there are no plans of immigrating or anything.

"English obviously!" she chuckles. "French,Spanish, Italian and Japanese so that means 5." She beams at me. "Also I know scattered words in Greek, but the majority are just swears." she giggles.

"Oh, I would like to know some Italian! Robin knows a few words..and some spanish. She calls me principessa from times to times, and bella." I say and feel my cheeks redden.

"Ro is such a romance trash! Truth be told she didn't strike me as one!" Alice chortles, as she's running. I wonder how she keeps going.

"Yes, she is. I still can't believe you thought Joss and I were a couple!" I laugh out loud, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"It feels so damn stupid when I think about it now. Like it's ever possible for Joseph to settle down with only one woman."

"Hey, you will be surprised about the Joss I know." I shrug. Joss is more than he appears. "Speaking of Joss, have you seen him? Something happened apparently and he broke his nose. He didn't tell me what happened, and I would be worried under circumstances, but he has been acting like a diva, bossing me around the house to fetch him water, or ice, so I stopped feeling sorry for him." I grimace. Joss got home in pain, but after that, he hasn't stopped whining about his 'beautiful face'. I've had enough.

Alice bursts out laughing, the moment I finish my sentence. Why is she laughing?

"Can you keep a secret?" she asks me with a cunning smile.

"Of course, I can." I say in all seriousness. I can be trusted with people's secrets.

"I made Joseph's face like that!" she confesses to me with a simper. "I didn't do it on purpose, I swear! He popped up behind me, when I was stretching and I thought it was some kind of perv, so my self defense training took control and the result was what you saw."

Wait what? I stop dead in my tracks and as soon as she notices she stops too.

"You hit Joss?" My voice comes out a bit raised.

"Yes, but as I said it was an accident! Don't take it the wrong way pl-" my deep laugh interrupted her sentence. I swear, I did not see that coming, I thought someone's boyfriend hit him or something, cause he made a move on his girlfriend...but Alice beat him up? This is gold!

"Oh my God" I try to say, but I can't stop laughing.

"But don't tell him that I've told you! I said I wasn't going to tell anyone, but you're not anyone!" she exclaims and she joins me.

"Oh, yes of course I won't." I say managing to calm down. I promised I could keep a secret, even though it's going to be eating me up alive, to not be able to make fun of him.

"Thanks! Because I won't be able to bear his whining if he finds out. I shared a funny story with him! It's time to share one as well! You must have many!" Alice smirks, looking at me mischievously. Oh I have many stories with him and me.

"Well, when we were little, I mean, I was 7 and he was 9, we went to the neighborhood's playground, like we always did, but that day, it wasn't empty as it usually was, and we couldn't enjoy it. Now, Joss, he was very tall for his age, taller than the other kids and kinda intimidating, so we made a plan to scare the other kids off the slide. I positioned him in front of it and he crossed his hands on his chest, so to the other 5 year olds he seemed scary. Needless to say that Joss and I were the only ones that enjoyed the slides that day, apart from one of the older kids who even gave us his cookies to let him have a go. We had fun, and a lot of cookies. But of course our mothers scolded us when they found out, so we never did that again." I remember that day, vividly. Now that I think about it, that incident makes us bullies...ok, maybe it's not a cool story to say.

Alice starts chuckling!

"That was a really amusing story!You were like mafia! Godfather and.... Godmother?" She ponders on it.

"More like Princess Leia and Luke" I chuckle. "But overall, we never caused trouble. We were good kids." I state, proudly.

"Maybe you are, but I doubt about him!" she simpers. "But, I understand what you're saying! Me and my best friend Ren are also like that. I miss him a lot, but thank God there is the internet!"

"Oh he is away for college?" I ask, as we reach the city park.

"Too far away." she sighs. "He lives in Tokyo, studying to be a game designer." Tokyo? Wow! I take my phone out and go to google search.

"Wow, that is far, like 6,800 give or take, miles far! I don't know what I would have done if Joss was so far away. We saw each other every other weekend but I would still miss him." I say pouting. Thank God SCU is so close to home.

"The distance is huge! Tokyo is 14 hours forward. It's hard,but we talk quite often and also he will come over for Christmas, so I won't ask for any presents. Well, maybe some shoes that I've seen, but only because it's love at first sight!" she chirps enthusiastically.

"Oh that's cool, you will get to see him again. I usually receive money on christmas from my parents and my other relatives. Joss, Dan, Ben and my cousin Julie, are the only ones that buy me actual gifts." Yeah, my mother claims that since they don't know what I like, the logical thing would be to give me money, so that I could buy it myself.

"I think actual gifts are better! People can buy you the most crazy stuff. Stuff like you didn't think you need or didn't think to buy yourself. Also it's nice to look at a gift and think the person who bought it and what he might have thought of you to buy it. That doesn't apply of course to the lame ones!" she giggles at the end. That would be nice indeed, wouldn't it.

"You have a point. I am not good at giving gifts either, though. Ask Joss, my gifts suck, but I can't just give him money." we finally stop in front of the fountain and start stretching.

"I think he appreciates it better!" she grins at me.

"I am not so sure about that, he loves getting good presents!" I giggle as we are done with the stretching.

"Just don't over think over it." she winks at me. "Anyway I am near to the dorms from here. How are you going back?"

"Oh sure, yes the dorms are close. I will call Ro, to come get me, since she dropped me off." I say and pull my phone out.

"Do you want me to keep you company until Ro comes?"

"No, that's ok, she will be here in 10, thank you." I politely decline.

"Ok then! It was fun jogging with you! Let's do it again sometime!" she proposes with a wide smile.

"That would be nice, yes" I smile back at her as she waves and leaves.

This was fun.

Vanessa's POV

"I hate the long queues! I need my caffeine dose like NOW!" Alice exasperates, glaring at the long line. She has her arms crossed and she moves her weight from one leg to another impatiently.

"And we are 20 minutes earlier than class!" I remark checking the time on my phone. "Maybe we should change our daily routine and find another coffee shop. Although, I would terribly miss Chloe's cookies."

"She bakes like the bestest chocolate pie EVER!" Alice exclaims emphasizing every word,as her eyes widen in excitement.

"That's absolutely true!" I nod my head in agreement. "So I guess we're not changing coffee shop and as a result we are forever doomed to wait on such endless queues!"

"My royal blood needs the best quality of coffee and the best pie!" she says firmly and I can't help it but laugh with her formal posture.

"Do you know Nina's order? We should get a coffee for her as well, otherwise you're not gonna be at class on time." I tell Alice concerned.

"Yes! She drinks mochaccino with syrup and heavy cream!" she says making a grimace. "I love sweets as well, but there's a distinction between real coffee and a sweet that wants to be coffee." she remarks.

"I gotta go with Nina on this one. Sorry, I can't help it!" I shrug and Alice eyerolls. "Maybe I should try it sometime. Speaking of Nina, how does your paper go? Have you finished it? You spent a lot of time on studying on Monday if I remember correctly. I didn't even hear you coming. That's how exhausted I was!" I giggle.

"We get together anytime we've got to do it. Actually it's going pretty well." she grins. "I came back late on Monday. We went to Matt's house, Nina's boyfriend and we watched a movie. Joseph and Grant were there as well."

"That sounds nice!" I tell her with a smile. "I still can't believe I haven't met Matt yet. From what you've told, he must be a wonderful guy, I am happy for Nina! Did you have a good time?"

"I wonder sometimes how he manages with both Joseph and Grant. He's very down to earth. We had lots of fun. I laced Grant big time!" she brags and a simper appears on her face.

"What do you mean?" I frown and her simper widens. "Alice!"

"Nothing to worry about! He couldn't believe that a girl can take down someone of his size and I proved him wrong." she shrugs with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh my God, this is so bad of me but I wish I had witnessed that!" I chortle.

"Joseph wanted to record that, but he missed the chance and Grant wasn't in position for another round. Anyways, he was in position to drive back home, from what I saw when Joseph and I said goodnight to him out of the house." Alice tells me, looking ahead if the line's getting shorter and then puffs, because we have a long way ahead of us.

"That's a relief!" I shy and process what Alice just said. "So Joseph gave you a ride home?" I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Things must be going more than well for those two if they can actually spend a couple minutes alone in such a small place as a car.

"He insisted! He didn't let me take a cab or anything." she says casually, having her arms crossed and still without looking at me. Then she pauses and as I am about to answer she adds. "That was really gentle of him."

"I was about to say that. And nice and kind and thoughtful. You see, Joseph is a great guy after all!" I state and take a step forward as we actually start to move.

"I guess he has his bright moments." she shrugs. "So what about your Nathan paper?" she asks, obviously changing the subject from her to me. If I was the one trying to get away with it, she wouldn't let me for sure but I am me so I give her a pass.

"We met up the other day at the library and it went pretty good! I wasn't expecting it at all." I speak the truth, it was a pleasant surprise. "We shared the bibliography and we should arrange another studying meeting for next week at some point."

"I guess people do change!" she says astonished. "I hope he hasn't got an upper motive." she says raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask puzzled and Alice eyerolls.

"I mean that he wants to bed you!" she exclaims, but tries to keep her voice low.

"Alice!" I shout without intending to and everybody turns and looks at us. I give a half smile to all the indiscreet people around us and whisper to Alice offended. "What are you talking about? I would never do that! Or give him the idea I would ever do that!"

"I know that! I am not talking about you! I am talking about him! Maybe he's acting the good partner role to get on your good side and then without you noticing he will have you where he wants. Nathan is a good player and you are not going to realize what hit you." Alice whispers to me, giving me meaningful looks.

"Alice, I am going to say it again. What are you talking about?" I unintentionally raise my voice again. "He won't have me anywhere! I mean, we are just partners on a history project, you're taking this way too far!"

"Don't get upset! I just want to point out some things so you can be on the lookout. You're so innocent and full of unicorns and rainbows, that I want to remind you that this is not a Wonderland." she remarks with an apologetic, but still serious voice and then takes a step forward and I realize we're almost there.

"Okay, okay." I exhale. I know she means well. "But you have nothing to worry about." I reassure her with a smile. "Let's talk about something else. Like how was your jogging session with Sophie the other day." I am glad the two of them are starting to spend time together. They are two of my closest friends and I would like for all of us to be able to hang out together in the near future.

"It was a good start. Better than I'd expected to be honest." she points out. "We talked about different things and she didn't bite."

"I am happy to hear that!" I giggle. "Sophie is pretty cool, you'll see it yourself! Ah! Finally, it's our turn to order!"

Thankfully it doesn't take long for our orders to be ready. Alice welcomes the caffeine by closing her eyes to enjoy the smell. She is such a coffee addict. Me on the other hand, I test it right away to see if it's sweet enough. Yeap, too much sugar and too much caramel flavour syrup.

"Hola chicas!" Nina greets us with a beam as we get out of the coffee shop. She is always so sweet.

"Hey Nina! Look what a good friend you have! I've bought you coffee!" Alice winks at her.

"Thank you so much cariño!" Nina claps her hands from excitement.

"I think I'm going to try it your way, Nina! I do like my coffee to be as less as a coffee as possible." I chortle.

"Be my guest! This one has never let anyone down." Nina exclaims, pointing at her coffee and Alice eyerolls.

"Ok ,Nina let's go now, because Vanessa has class and it's not her style to be late like us." Alice chimes in.

"You're right!" she giggles. "We should arrange a girls' night out sometime or a sleepover"

"Definitely!" I nod in excitement. I know Nina since almost the first week, when she came to our room to pick Alice for the frat party. She is lovely and we have hanged out sometimes at the grill to grab a bite after classes and I would like that to happen again. "Have a nice class, girls."

I give them both a hug and we go our separate ways. When I enter the classroom and I am taken aback at Nathan's presence in here. He said he would be out of town for a game, didn't he? He is wearing his team jacket and sits by the window as usual. As usual meaning it is the 3rd time he attends International History I and he has sat at the same seat thrice.

"Good morning, Nathan. Is everything alright?" I ask unsure.

"Hey, Vanessa, good morning." He greets me with a brief smile and sleepy eyes. "Yeah, why wouldn't it?"

"Don't you have a game today?"

"Yeah" he yawns. I want to giggle 'cause I find it really cute but I hold myself.

"What are you doing here then?" I sit next to him. My seat at the front is empty but I'd rather sit here today for a change.

"Do I seem like a morning person to you?" he smirks. "Again with your questions." He lays his head on the desk facing me.

"Considering you are an athlete I assume you should follow a basic program for sleeping hours and staff." I remark.

"You assume right, congratulations. We play at 7."

"But you said it is a game out of town." I remind him.

"How can you remember every single thing? Yeah, it is in another state and a 3 hour drive so we're going by bus. Any other question, Miss Adams?" he sounds amused.

"Um... So that means you are leaving late enough to attend our class right?"

"Look at you putting two and two together." He teases as Mr. Theodors starts the lecture.

"It isn't polite to sit like this." I nod at Nathan to stand up.

"For God's sake!" he eye rolls but lifts his head up from the desk. I put my hand at my mouth to keep myself from laughing. His reactions are kind of hilarious today. Mr. Theodors is talking about the iconoclasm, picturing perfectly the time period as always. Nathan seems not interested in that but he leans in and mimics Mr. Theodors every now and then. I swear I don't know how I've managed to stay serious until the class is over.

"I thought you were going to sleep during class." I tell him finally free to laugh while we walk down the hallway.

"That was my intention but you woke me, so it's on you." He says smirking.

"I am the one to blame? Haha, ok. You need to stop this if you keep coming to class otherwise I am not sitting next to you ever again." I point a finger at him.

"Oh, you don't say. Is that a threat?"

"Maybe...Or just a friendly warning..."

"So we are friends now?" he crosses his hands.

"Well... we are not enemies, so... that makes us friends." I answer at his question gesturing my hands.

"Fine, friend. Buddy. Bro. Dude." He pauses a bit after every nickname and pushes me lightly with his elbow as we walk.

"Hey! Not that kind of friends!" I yell and laugh at the same time.

"I call Robin like that all the time." He says joining me also laughing.

"Well, I'm not Robin."

"You're a special kind of friend then?" he surprises me with his words.

"Hmm... Yes, I am a special one..." I tell him raising my eyebrow and he smiles.

"Ok, if that's what you want...So, I'll see you on Monday, my special friend Vanessa." I facepalm.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?"

"Absolutely." He tells me still smiling. "6 o'clock at the library?"

"Yes and you better not be late."

"Wow, you can be more intimidating than coach himself. Speaking of, I have to catch the bus before he cuts me into pieces. Bye, Vanessa."

"Haha, bye Nathan!" I wave at him as he disappears in the crowded hallway.

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