So What Now? | TSLOCG

rejection

I stalled for a while. I showed him every statue on campus, and every other spot I could think of. By the time midnight rolled around, I was out of tourist spots, and we'd made our way back to the dorms.

I fumbled with my key in the door, praying Leighton would be laying in bed. It's not that I wasn't glad to see Nate, it's just that I'd ended things with him for a reason. Sure, I'd told him that reason was simply that I didn't want to be stuck in a long distance relationship, but we all know that's never the truth.

"Anyone home?" I asked, as I swung the door open.

No one replied.

"Hey, this is pretty nice," Nate walked in, making himself at home as he flipped on the lights.

"Yeah, it's not too bad."

"So, which rooms yours?" He asked, and I pointed towards the door with me and Leighton's name hanging on a sign. "Oh. Duh."

His shirt was off before my skirt was even unbuckled.

"Is there any chance we could, like, not.. y'know, tonight?" I asked, avoiding eye contact, though I could feel him staring down at me.

"Mads, come on. I drove all the way here."

"Yeah, but didn't you say that for Noah?"

"We all know I wouldn't drive from NYU to see Noah, Maddy."

I sighed. "I'm just not feeling too good. I'm not in the mood."

He ignored my protest, and began kissing my neck.

"Nate, I'm really not in the mood."

"Mads, just chill out and take off-"

"Knock knock!" Leighton exclaimed, as she banged on the door to our room. "Pull your pants on, I'm coming in!"

And so she did, but not without difficulty, given the fact that she was quite clearly plastered.

"Is that Leighton fucking Murray?" Nate asked in a hushed tone, glaring at her.

"Soooorrry to interrupt," Leighton shot me a toothy grin. She had mascara running all down her face, her hair was a mess, and her jacket looked torn up. Once she spotted Nate, her smile fell.

"It's fine, Leighton," I replied, grabbing Nate's shirt and tossing it at him. "You should go."

"Mads, come on. I'm sure we can find somewhere else in your building," Nate pleaded, sliding his shirt on.

"I know, but I've gotta take care of her," I motioned towards my drunk roommate, who was staring at us from the middle of the room.

Nate glared between the two of us for a moment, muttering something inaudible before speaking. "Whatever. I'll see you around, or something."

"Yeah, sorry," I replied, shutting the door once he was out. I turned my attention to Leighton, who was now sitting on my bed.

"Sooooooorrrry if I messed that up for you!" She exclaimed, now looking truly sorry. "He seemed mad."

I grabbed my skirt off the floor, and pulled it on. "It's fine, Leighton. You did me a favor, really."

"Okay." She paused for a long moment, staring over at the window. "I did something bad."

"What did you do, Leighton? Did you forget to wear pink on Wednesday?"

She shook her head, taking my joke seriously. When I looked over I realized she was now crying.

"Oh," I walked over and sat down next to her. "What happened?"

She was still shaking her head, a few tears streaming down her face, further smudging her mascara. "Something bad. But I don't want to talk about it."

"That's fine. We don't have to talk about it," I replied, doing my best to comfort her. She sniffled, and placed her head on my shoulder. We sat like that in silence, and when I looked back over a few minutes later, she was sound asleep.

✩✩✩✩✩

I woke up around seven, and Leighton was gone. No note, no nothing. Not that I'd expected one; she'd been quite clear about her privacy standards. Still, it would've been nice.

I got dressed regardless, and when I opened up the door I spotted my other two roommates all seated around the coffee table.

"'Morning," I smiled, walking over to the mini fridge to grab a celsius.

"Good morning!" They responded.

"Anyone know where Leighton went?" I asked.

"No clue," Whitney responded.

"Maddy, do you know Leighton's hot brother Nico?" Bela asked, patting a seat on the couch next to her.

My face flushed. Did they know I'd hooked up with him? "Oh, sort of. I've seen him once or twice, I think."

"Well, look at the comment he left on my post!"

I grabbed the phone and read it aloud. "That dress though?"

"He totally wants to bang me, am I right?" Bela winked as I handed the phone back.

Just then the main door came swinging open, and in stepped Leighton, looking like she'd just witnessed a murder.

"Well, I've just had the worst morning of my life."

"Oh my God! Did they cancel your reservation at Mara a Lago?" Whitney quipped, feigning a serious tone.

"No, I have to... volunteer," Leighton replied, sounding like she was biting back tears.

"Wait, I like volunteering," Bela replied with a confused look.

"Yeah, I love to give back," Whitney added.

Leighton shook her head, clearly in disagreement.

"Where do you have to volunteer?" I asked.

"The 'Women's Center'," She scoffed, throwing her hands up with air quotes. "God, this is so dumb!"

"What'd you even do?" Kimberly asked.

"I was just drinking! And it got a little out of hand, I guess. But it's still dramatic, and totally ridiculous!" She huffed a sigh as she stormed off into our room.

"She is not real," Whitney laughed, and the rest of us joined in. I grabbed my celsius and followed Leighton back into our room to change for my first class.

She shot me a look as I closed the door behind me. "I didn't, like, say anything last night. Right?"

I giggled. "Just all your secrets," I lied to mess with her.

Her face went flushed. "I'm going to hope that that's a no."

"What, are you scared you revealed the fact that you're not a natural blonde?"

She rolled her eyes. "My color is 100% natural, thank you very much."

"Sure it is."

"It is! You think hair dye can get you a color this perfect? It can't."

"Calm down," I giggled again, her face was as red as the sweater I was buttoning. "I was just playing. You didn't say much."

"Right," She scanned my face, looking like she was trying to figure out whether or not I was lying. "Good. Great. Very well, then," She broke the eye contact, and headed out.