dakota's pov +

i arrived back at my dorm the next morning after walking down to the campus starbucks and getting myself a small latte. aria walked out of our en suite bathroom in a robe - a smile crossed over her face when i entered.

"hey, how was the event last night?" she asked, searching through her wardrobe in thought.

"okay" i shrugged off.

she looked back at me with a chuckle at my simple response, "tiring?".

"yeah, tiring" i told her whilst tapping my phone to check if i had any messages. i let out a small sigh when my notification screen was empty.

"are you okay?" aria inquired as she pulled on a pair of skinny jeans.

when i woke up this morning, i didn't have any plans on telling my college friends that i saw jack last night. it's been so long since they've heard me talk about him and i just wanted to pretend that it never happened.

but it did and stupidly, i'm now waiting for some sort of text from him. i don't know what i'n expecting him to say - just anything that will at least show that our relationship actually meant something to him.

"i saw jack yesterday" i confessed.

aria's brows raised in disbelief, "your ex boyfriend, jack?".

"he plays for usc trojans" i added then scoffed at myself. "i should have known he'd be there".

she settled down on her bed, facing mine, "wow. did you talk to him?".

"kinda, not really. i haven't seen him in so long that i didn't even know how to act".

"and now you're waiting for him to text you" she gestured to my phone tightly in my hands.

i looked down at the screen with a guilty shrug until last night's events replayed in my head. "but it's stupid, he has a girlfriend now".

aria's face had concerned written all over it before she pulled on a cropped hoodie to go with her jeans.

"dakota, i know how much you loved him" she told me. "so i don't know if you should really get back into this, i don't want you getting hurt again".

interrupting our conversation, a knock loudly rang against our dorm door.

"yo, wake up!" luka's voice exclaimed from behind it, causing a playfull eye roll from aria.

"we're coming in anyways" isaac added before they both casually walked in as if it were their own room.

luka glanced at the both of us, furrowing his brows together, "why the long faces?".

"we need help" aria pulled her hair out of her messy bun and fixed it in the mirror. "dakota saw her football playing ex-boyfriend yesterday".

isaac's head snapped towards me and i slouched against the wall on my bed since i never managed to tell him last night.

to be honest, i was surprised that he didn't even recognise jack at the event.

"when?" isaac questioned.

"h-he was invited to the ceremony and i served his table" i explained.

"wait, is this the dick who cut you off?" luka realised.

"exactly my reaction" aria agreed. "you know what you say to that? thank you, next".

"yeah, if it was me i'd make sure he knows that you don't give a fuck anymore and show him what he's missed out on" luka advised. "us boys are sly, don't get sucked back in".

after putting on her vans, aria dusted off her jeans and clasped her hands together, "right, let's go get some breakfast already. i'm starving".

luka and aria were the first ones out of the room with isaac following slowly behind, but i reached out for his arm to stop him.

he seemed pissed as soon as jack's name was mentioned and even though we're not dating, i feel like he deserves an explanation.

"hey, isaac. i—".

"dakota, i don't want to get involved in something that's complicated like you and jack" he admitted. "you both never really said it was over or got any closure".

"no, no, i don't need it" i assured him although i was barely sure myself. "i like how things are right now and with jack...if he wanted me, he wouldn't have ghosted me like he did".

"to be honest, it was pretty stupid of him to let someone like you go" his lips raised into a smirk.

he chuckled lightly at my blushing cheeks then came in to place a kiss on the top of my head.

"come on, those two will kill us if we prevent them from eating food any longer" isaac said, throwing his arm over my shoulder to leave my dorm.

as we left, i checked my phone notifications one last time, seeing it completely blank and feeling a sense of impatience fill my body.

+

"jonah, i said no" i groaned whilst i facetimed him, kelsey and liam on my laptop.

it was 4pm and i had no more classes scheduled for today - aria had a few more left and i was waiting on isaac to bring some chinese food to my dorm so we could hang out.

"dakota, i can't go on my first vacation with my friends without my best friend" jonah explained to me.

i ran my fingers through my hair with a shrug, "i'm just not up for it".

"have you seen the pictures of connor's beach house?" kelsey added. "the only thing i could say was yes".

"see" jonah persisted. "it's spring break, everyone will be there. come on".

"um, i'm not going" liam slightly raised his hand to point out.

i raised my brows with a smile as i found another reason to not go, "see, liam isn't going".

"that's because liam prefers a spring break filled with dusty books and volunteer work" jonah told.

liam scoffed with offence, "that's not all i'd do".

"who else is going?" i inquired since this was a spring break vacation planned by connor, and i haven't yet heard anyone point out that my ex boyfriend will be attending.

"my boo connor of course, then sam, johnson, adrianna, seriyah, me and kelsey".

i fiddled with my fingers and cleared my throat, "and what about jack?".

"um—".

"he's being forced to visit his grandparents that week, so no" kelsey explained, and coming from her, i could believe it than if jonah were to.

he would just create a lie to prevent me from using jack as an excuse to not go.

"good because i don't think i'd be able to face him again" i said.

jonah gasped with excitement, "so you're coming?".

"only if liam goes" i responded.

"what? no, no, no. no way, i'd rather stab myself in the eye" he dramatised.

"then neither am i" i concluded, folding my arms across my chest. jonah released an angry groan through his microphone.

"liam, i swear to god" he said, before taking a deep breath to calm himself whilst i found this all incredibly amusing. "look liam, if you come i guarantee that seriyah will be on your dick by the time we leave cancun".

liam's mouth dropped open at the offer.

"don't make that face, you've been hooked on her for months. we all see you drooling" jonah confessed.

liam scratched the back of his neck, "fine, i'll come but just to get to know seriyah".

"yeah, yeah, whatever. so dakota you in?" jonah asked.

"i was already booking tickets from when you mentioned seriyah" i informed. "i knew it would break him".

jonah and kelsey laughed at my words whilst i agreed to book liam's ticket too and he'd send the money over after.

after a while, isaac had finally arrived back with our food and we were sitting on my bed eating and discussing our spring break plans.

"so while i'm getting coffee for directors at my film internship, you'll be sipping cocktails by the beach" he pointed out.

i laughed, "sounds about right".

as i was searching for a movie to watch on my laptop, i jumped after the sound of a camera flash went off, seeing isaac as the culprit.

"oh my gosh" i chuckled, shielding my face. "do you mind?".

"no, not really" he checked his camera to see the outcome. "this is a really good image".

"i can see the description now: girl manages to look even uglier while chomping on her chicken chow mein" i emphasised.

isaac rolled his eyes, "you're beautiful and you know it".

"yeah, yeah" i said, focusing back on my laptop.

"just take a look" isaac encouraged me to come closer and with a small sigh, i leant towards him so i could see the small camera screen.

he started swiping through various pictures of nature, buildings and graffiti art before we came across candids that he look of our friends.

candids of me soon appeared and i stared at isaac's cinematography skills in awe. i glanced back at him and saw a smile glued to his face whilst viewing the pictures of me.

"wow, you're really talented" i told.

"nah, it's the view that creates the picture" he looked at me and said.

his lips parted slightly as he took in the close proximity between our faces. setting the camera down, his hand held my cheek instead.

we've never been this close before or really experienced a moment where it was clear that we both wanted to kiss each other.

isaac took the first move and attached his lips to mine. my fingers found their way into his curly hair, pulling him closer to me until a key turning in the door caused us both to quickly separate.

"hey—oh, sorry" aria awkwardly clenched her teeth together. it soon switched to a forming smile. "was i interrupting something here?".

"no" isaac and i both answered at the same time, although aria's raised brows told us that she wasn't buying it.

-

isaac's hot but he's not jack

btw are y'all enjoying this book so far or should i cut it out and delete it?

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