Four letter word

36. Not much studying

Lindsey came home already feeling burnt out and tired from the study session at Dana's, she had even given them homework to do later. Riley had decided to stay with Dana that night so Lin came home alone, except when she entered her dorm late at 2am thinking everyone would be asleep, she was found wrong.

AJ was sitting on the couch with a big blanket around her and a huge book in hand, she looked up at Lindsey and smiled.

"Hey" the brunette said and Lindsey smiled back, though it was hard for her to keep her eyes open, she still had to sit down and do the homework.

"Hey... I thought you'd be asleep" Lindsey said, she hadn't moved from her spot after seeing AJ, she wasn't sure where to go now. Why was this so awkward for her? She was never this awkward! And why did AJ look so calm?

"I was, but our lovely roommate woke me up" she said, giggling, "said she was gonna go stay at her boyfriend's apartment for the week since she could 'focus' more on her studies there"

"Oh" Lindsey smiled.

"So I guess it's just the three of us this week, by the way, have you seen Riley? I haven't seen her in a while" AJ asked.

"Ah yeah, we were at Dana's, studying" Lindsey said and AJ's eyes widened.

"Wow, you actually got her to offer?" She asked, grinning.

"She kinda offered me herself, not sure why..."

"So that's where you've been the whole day? I was looking for you" AJ chuckled and closed her book. Lindsey looked at her in surprise.

"You were?" She asked with a bit of hope and subconsciously took a step forward.

"Yeah! I was talking to my mom and she mentioned a new theatre that opened in town. It's not a usual theatre, it's pretty cool actually, they've got all these couches in one room and they have blankets and pillows so it's just like watching a movie at home, but with strangers and they sell waffles!" She said the last part most excitedly, it made Lindsey grin.

"That sounds fun" she said.

"It is! Maybe we should check it out. I could use a break from all the studying, I think I'm gonna burn out if I don't take my mind off of it for a second"

"Oh... you wanna go with me?" Lindsey asked, a smile forcing it's way in, she couldn't help it, but she was also confused. So they could still hang out like this? Was it a date? Or just a friend thing?

"Yeah, who else? Maybe tomorrow afternoon?" AJ asked, hopefully, still smiling at the blonde.

"Sure! Yeah!" Lindsey said, her old cheerfulness showing itself again. Movies with AJ, what could be greater than that?!

"That's great!" AJ said, "so uh... were you gonna go to sleep?"

"Oh, no. Dana gave me some homework..." she replied, suddenly reminded that the exams were still near and she was nowhere near ready. Though tired and sleepy, she was still so grateful that Dana had offered to help. There was no way she could pass those exams on her own, they were getting harder and harder every year and she was falling behind while everyone else made big achievements and celebrated their scores.

This year she would for sure be kicked out if not for Dana. That felt weird to say. Dana, the so called cold-hearted bitch was helping her with something when she had absolutely no reason to. People really did have layers. Maybe Dana wasn't as mean as everyone thought.

But she couldn't think about her right now. The thing that had been bugging her was her relationship with AJ. Where did they stand? How should they act? But somehow AJ was making everything so much easier for her. It's like she was opening all the doors for Lindsey and letting her explore. There was no lock on their relationship... no lock. Maybe that was it. Lindsey was looking for some kind of a key when there was no lock. Maybe she didn't need to worry so much. Maybe that's what they needed, a relationship with no lock.