Having a roommate had its advantages, but sometimes I wondered if there were more disadvantages. The advantage was the lower costs of renting a room, and the prices in the dormitory went up a lot this year, while the disadvantage was the personality of the person you lived with. Olivia was so friendly and open, much more open than I was, and always wanted me to accompany her on various outings in her free time, while I preferred to surround myself with books and didn't complain every time I had to spend more time working on something or even doing something extra. Moreover, Olivia was much more surrounded by boys, while I was more of a gray mouse, although I could give them a hard time during classes.

However, sometimes something good came out of even Olivia's persuasion. At first I wanted to go in a shirt and jeans, but she insisted that for such an occasion it would be appropriate for even a skeptic like me to pay a little more attention to my image than, as she put it, I do every day. Unable to bear her constant complaining any longer as we walked down the hallway, I turned around and put on my simplest navy blue dress. In fact, it was the only dress I took with me when I left home to study. I didn't think I would need other dresses then, and I still do, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices. I managed to catch up with Olivia before Justin and his friend Fabian joined us.

I smiled at them in greeting, while Olivia immediately started talking to Fabian. Fabian was a relatively shy boy who tended to avoid other people's company rather than invite himself in. Or at least that's what I thought until I got to know him better. He turned out to be relatively loud and liked to laugh, but, as he himself claimed, only in the company of people he already knew well. And on top of that, I had the impression that Olivia was attracted to him. After her last breakup with a man named Felix, she decided to look for a more worthy person. I didn't quite understand what she meant, but she and Fabian didn't match at all, at least to my eye.
Our little pack consisted of the four of us, although it was expanding to include Olivia's new boyfriend. I found myself in this group rather by accident, more because I lived in the same room with Olivia than because I somehow wanted to belong to it. However, I had nothing to complain about because after years spent alone, even I needed some company sometimes.

While Olivia stayed behind a bit, trying to convince Fabian that it wasn't appropriate for a boy like him to be wandering the halls alone, I stayed at the front with Justin. I could never deny that I liked him and felt more than intimidated in his presence. A tall, handsome brunette with green eyes, and one of the best of our year. I knew that apart from me, he attracted the attention of the other girls from the Academy, both younger and older girls looked after him, but he tended to avoid closer contact with them. Just like me, knowing that my chances were doubtful if not zero, I didn't open up to him, and only Olivia managed to see my face when I was studying until very late one evening and in the morning, out of exhaustion, something must have slipped out by accident about my hidden feeling.
I didn't know if it was just infatuation or something more, after all, it had been going on since the beginning of the Academy. Studying helped me focus my thoughts away from him, but recently I noticed that Justin started spending extra time with us. Not that I'm complaining, but it didn't help me collect my thoughts and determine what I was really feeling.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the doorstep and tripped over it. I fell forward, leaning on my hands. Justin immediately knelt down next to me and, placing his hand on mine, asked:
"Are you okay, Penny?"

I smiled gratefully as he helped me up. I brushed off my dress and looked at him shyly.

"Yes" I shook my head.

"Little clumsy," Olivia grabbed my forearm gently and then whispered into my ear. "Take advantage of the opportunity. Justin hasn't invited anyone," she said before we rejoined the guys.

However, I was silent the rest of the way. I felt intimidated that I made such a fool of myself in front of Justin. We were laughing at Fabian's stupid jokes. The tiny hall the Academy had rented for this year's final dance was one street away from our dorm building, so we walked there. We were among the last to arrive. We quickly checked off the list and while Olivia had already disappeared, me, Fabian and Justin stood in the corner of the room. I was looking at the photos hanging on the walls, not really listening to their conversation about the chances of them being assigned to a fire station outside Newtown. I was silent until Fabian asked me straight:
"What about you, Penny? Where would you like to go?"

"I don't know," I shrugged halfheartedly. "I was thinking about taking one more course before I apply somewhere," I explained briefly.

I didn't like talking about my plans. Even with people I knew a little better. That's how I was and that's how it had to be. We stood there laughing when the music changed. It moved from rhythmic rock to a slightly more delicate rhythm. To my surprise, Olivia came back to us. She looked out of breath, ran a hand through her hair and leaned against the table behind us.

"You have to dance," she said briefly, as if giving us an order, then grabbed my hand and pulled me along, winking significantly at Fabian and Justin.

I had a feeling none of us were happy, but we didn't stand a chance against Olivia. She always had to get what she wanted, so there was no point in even objecting. Although I personally would rather not draw attention to myself and just stand aside, but unfortunately for me, Justin liked the idea of ​​dancing. While Fabian and Olivia moved aside a bit, he held out his hand to me and then asked:
"Shall we dance?"

I nodded with mixed feelings. Inside, I was jumping with joy at the thought of being able to dance with Justin. But I didn't feel comfortable in crowds, and Justin noticed that as soon as he pulled me closer to him and started leading me, and I couldn't take my eyes off his green eyes.

"You don't like attention, do you?" He asked me suddenly as the rhythm of the music began to change again.

"I'm definitely not as big a fan of it as Olivia," I replied briefly.

"And do you think that about me too?" Justin asked teasingly, turning me around.

"Why?" I looked at him surprised. Something about the twinkle in his eyes was that of the swashbuckler I knew, and something was different, new and... tender.

"I heard you think about me a lot. So out of curiosity, I was wondering if it's because I get as much attention as your friend," he nodded in the direction where Fabian could be seen standing off to the side, and Olivia was immediately back surrounded by a crowd of colleagues. "You're not like her," Justin suddenly said, breaking the moment of silence. However, I couldn't determine what emotions were hidden behind his words. "Or like the rest of the girls," he added more nervously when I didn't respond.

He continued to lead me in the dance, and I was even more than aware that our faces were so close together that I could clearly distinguish the color differences in his iris. The melody around us was changing, but the emotions weren't. I couldn't help but suddenly realize how much he meant to me during these five years of the Academy. Apart from Fabian, he was always one of the first people to invite me to his group during classes. He didn't reject me just because I was a woman, while others treated me rather distantly. Justin gained my trust, and it wasn't long before Olivia made me realize why he was so easy to get along with. But only now, when I felt him gently guiding me, did I fully realize it. I looked up to meet his eyes again as he turned me around one last time before bowing to thank me as the music stopped. I just smiled and, when we returned to our previous spot, I was unconsciously still holding his hand. This was only met with a skeptical look from Olivia, who had also just returned from dancing.

I looked down intimidated and wanted to immediately let go of Justin's hand, but he continued to hold it and then gently pulled me towards him. He was stronger than me, so I didn't even try to resist as I followed him to the back door. The cool breeze of the evening air hit my face, but I didn't have a chance to breathe before I suddenly felt someone's lips on mine. At first I didn't know what was happening, but I immediately smelled his perfume and relaxed, allowing myself to enjoy the moment. I loved him, and what he was doing now had to prove that he loved me too, right? I couldn't tell how long it lasted, but when he gently pulled away from me, I felt a strange emptiness.

"Coming back, what else do you want to take?" He asked me as we leaned against the railings, still trying to catch our breath.

"First aid," I replied.

"After all, each of us has to pass a first aid course while studying," Justin noted in surprise. "Do you want to leave Newtown?"

“No,” I assured in a surprised voice, looking at him skeptically. "Who would? I grew up here and this city is all I know. I can't think that I would ever find a better place."

"Then why do you need this paper?" Justin looked at me with confusion. "As we have a separation between firefighters and paramedics."

"You know..." I shrugged. "You never know when you might need it. And besides, it's only one exam."

"You dont say?" I heard a nagging voice behind me and a cold chill ran through me immediately before I even turned my head.

"What are you doing here, Paul?" I hissed at him. I couldn't afford more because I didn't know how long he had been standing there.

"Our little Penny wants to play hero again," he replied mockingly.

"Watch your mouth, Paul," Justin came to my defense, but I cut him off by placing my hand on his forearm. My argument with Paul shouldn't be about him either.

"I see you've found yourself a defender, Penny," Paul mocked me before glaring at Justin. "It's just a pity he didn't tell you the truth, that he's not defending only you."

"What have you come up with this time, Paul?" I rolled my eyes in annoyance. I was tired of the stories Paul and his friends tried to fill my head with throughout the Academy. This time I was also convinced that it was another such trick on their part, but Paul clearly wanted to emphasize how wrong I was.

"I don't think you know how to judge people, Penny," Paul couldn't help but tease me even more. "Ask Justin what he did to stop us from bothering his girlfriend," Paul said casually.

I turned around immediately, and seeing Justin look away from me was enough to bring tears to my eyes. I didn't care that Paul might see them. I squeezed my eyes shut, ignored Justin's scream and ran ahead.

I ran as long as I could until the lights of the place disappeared into the darkness somewhere behind me. I leaned against the wall and let my tears finally fall. Just a moment ago I was spinning in the clouds with joy, and now it all shattered like broken glass. I loved Justin and he hid the truth from me all this time. I tried to explain to myself that we were just friends all this time, but that didn't help either.
When I calmed down a bit, I felt it getting colder around me, so I slowly walked back towards the dorm.

Hi! I just wanted to say I'm not responsible for this chapter. It turns the story its way already, so sadly you have to deal with it as same as I have to. I just hope you're up for it, don't you? 😰