Sparring Partners [18+]

Chapter Eleven: Do You Want To Talk About It?

I had spent the entire weekend inside the flat, ignoring all messages except Quinn's. I didn't have the energy to socialise any more than that. It wasn't until Monday morning that I mustered the energy to shower, dress, and step outside. And it was only then that I finally checked my chat with Roman and acknowledged his countless messages - and that was only because I knew I would see him at our 8am lecture.

I didn't bother to explain where I'd been or what I'd been doing, other than to briefly mention that I hadn't felt well. Thankfully, Roman had left it at that. I knew that I had held us back in terms of our project progress though, and my guilt had me scheduling a meetup in the student library after my early 4pm training session with Dev.

I nearly hadn't gone out of fear of running into any of the guys; but I'd owed it to Dev to show up after bailing on the Friday session. Thankfully, by some stroke of good fortune, Dev informed me that Markus had the next few days booked off from work.

It was after six when I scanned my student card at the entrance to the library. A group of loud students followed behind me, with far too much energy than one would expect of people who were presumably about to spend their Monday evening revising or working on assignments. In contrast to their boisterous laughs, and endless chatter, I was yawning as I pushed through the turnstile and messaged Roman of my arrival. Although I had spent most of the weekend sleeping to avoid all kinds of stress and anxiety I was feeling, I still felt exhausted and in no way capable or focussing on our joint project.

"Idiot," I huffed under my breath, heading to the second floor where all the best tables for studying were, though I couldn't be too mad considering I had abandoned our first study date on Thursday.

The first floor of the University library - dedicated to silent studying - comprised long computer desks that paralleled the central row of bookshelves. It was the best floor to be on if you were there to work on essay work alone and needed to focus.

The second floor had no such noise ban and was ideal for group meetings. While on one side of the large room there were a cluster of Apple computers all updated with the most recent adobe software - better suited to students of Thorpefield Uni's 'School of Fine and Performing Arts' compared to the outdated computers one floor down that struggled with anything beyond Microsoft Word or PowerPoint - the other side of the room had around twenty oval desks perfect for those who had brought their own computers or needed to discuss things in groups. If students had really prepared for their studying, there were even private rooms available to book on the third and final floor of the library.

Although it was only early October, and a few weeks into the academic year, the library was unreasonably packed, and there were no tables with enough spaces for both Roman and me until I reached the very end of the long room. There was only one table up against the far wall that had any space at all, with three available chairs. It's only occupant, armed with an intense expression and a laptop, had proven to be a fearsome adversary against those in already search of a study space.