Nightlife ✓

13 | flirt

A /N :

I Don't Belong In This Club is Krista's theme song every time she comes to work, lol. The lyrics fit her attitude so well.

Are there any songs you can think of that match the vibe of this book? I 'd love to hear your suggestions!

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I HAD ONE MORE LECTURE to attend before I could go home for the day. As I rounded the corner of Humanities 2, a red brick building with grey pillars, I saw Quen, Noah and Fraser sitting on the lawn together.

I immediately plastered myself to the nearest pillar, the stone cold against my back. I didn't know why I hid like that. My usual modus operandi would be to march over and ignite some witty repartee like I had done so many times before. But some part of me wanted to just observe Quen, see how he was like with his friends when his guard was completely down.

Quen had a textbook spread open on his crossed legs. He read with his chin propped on his hand and his elbow propped on his knee. Occasionally his friends would say something between themselves and crack up laughing, at which point he would simply lift his head, arch an amused but composed eyebrow and return to his textbook.

He looked so refined, so intelligent, when he made expressions like that. In the sunlight, it was warm enough to shed his hoodie, which lay on top of his backpack. Quen's green long-sleeved sweatshirt was loose around his lower torso but slightly tight around his shoulders and chest, which tempted my imagination to no end.

Maybe it was the matter of his friends that prevented me from going over there. My only encounters with Noah and Fraser had been at Topaz. Fraser had catcalled me the first time, but admittedly he had also apologised via direct message the day after. Plus, he had been so drunk he couldn't stand upright.

I didn't know how I should feel about that. Fraser was munching on a burrito, the aluminium foil glinting at me even from across the lawn. He looked positively harmless in the daytime.

On one hand, I'd read that alcohol didn't make a person do anything they didn't already have the capacity for; it just removed their inhibitions. Did that mean Fraser had the capacity to objectify and catcall women when he was sober, deep down?

It was hard to determine because, on the other hand, I didn't have the capacity to do half the things Drunk Kris did. I could totally imagine myself using foul language, being belligerent or handsy with strangers while intoxicated, and that didn't mean I thought those things were okay when I was sound of mind.

Across from him and Quen was Noah, the only one with his back to me. If I was being honest, it wasn't Fraser and his catcalling that bothered me the most. His apology had seemed sincere, and I had told him as much when I accepted it through Instagram. Then after a cheerful thanks, Fraser's messages to me had ended there.

Noah's had not.

Noah had apologised to me, too, on behalf of Fraser. But after we cleared the air about that, he kept sending messages asking about my degree, my hobbies, my job—and worst of all, reacting to my Instagram stories with none too innocent emojis. I might have been romantically challenged, going through a severe dry spell and introverted, but I was not stupid.

None of those actions seemed platonic to me, especially remembering the coy, subtle remarks he had made that night in Topaz' VIP lounge.

No, I really didn't want to talk to Quen in a group setting. I mean, not that group setting.