ᴏᴜᴛꜱɪᴅᴇ ɪɴꜰʟᴜᴇɴᴄᴇ

Chapter 8: Reasons

A/N: TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND CHILD ABUSE. PLEASE DO NOT FEEL PRESSURED TO READ IF THESE TOPICS ARE UPSETTING. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING/HAVE EXPERIENCED SITUATIONS SIMILAR OR RELEVANT TO THESE, PLEASE SEEK HELP OR FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT!

The day had passed in a blur, with your classes drifting by like a gentle breeze. Had anything truly sunk in? No. You were relieved that the day was finally over; it felt like hours of emptiness, a significant time waste.

Your gaze was hazy as you absent-mindedly entered your dorm, vision clouded by your thoughts whilst you tuned out the world. The cool metal slightly grounded you, the door unveiling your presence with its usual creak. "(Y/N)!" Stephanie was quick to greet, "I've been waiting for you!" Her knees were pressed against her chest with her arms loosely slung around them, a small smile adorning her features. Neither Erin nor Maddie were in the room.

"Have you?" Raising a brow, you situated yourself opposite her, back resting on the frame of your bunk.

"Yeah," answered Stephanie, "I wanted to make sure you were ok, that conversation you had with Mitch seemed pretty heated."

Frowning, you squawked, "Heated? For real?" The girl nodded in response, eliciting a rough shake of your head as you profusely denied, "No, no, no, Mitch just gets protective, that's all. I promise you it wasn't an argument or anything, he just gets worried sometimes - he's always been like that!" Stephanie remained slightly sceptical, evidently concerned. Tilting her head, she gave you an angled look which urged you to continue, "He saw me with Marlon and Louis, so he was making sure I was ok. Since I got here, he's been making sure I don't hang out with the wrong crowd. I promise you, Steph, it's fine."

Briefly pausing, she was still unconvinced. "Mitch - of all people - thinks Marlon and Louis are bad company?"

"He didn't say anything about Marlon," you explained, "but he seemed pretty wary of Louis."

"What did he say about Louis?" Stephanie squinted, trying to get a gauge of the situation.

"He basically said that he flirts with every girl. So I'm guessing he's a bit of a player from what I was told." You added with a shrug. 

Your brows furrowed in confusion as Stephanie suddenly erupted with laughter, doubling over as she relentlessly chortled, leaving you utterly confused. The sound filled the room as the girl basked in the humour she found in your words, entirely amused. As she slowly calmed to a stop, she took a stabilising breath, "Louis? A player?" She widely grinned. "Louis has never felt the touch of a woman since he last saw his mum, I can assure you he is not a player. Mitch was probably jealous that you were hanging out with another guy, and Louis isn't exactly ugly too, he's probably insecure."

Although you agreed Louis was fairly attractive, you couldn't wrap your head around why Mitch would feel threatened, he was your best friend, what did he have to worry about? "Why would Mitch be insecure? I'm not going to replace him with Louis."

"I don't think that's his full concern. Has he always been this wary of other guys?" Asked Stephanie, subtly hinting at something you were yet to catch on to.

"Well, not since I arrived here, no." You mumbled in thought. "Back home it was just me and Mitch, neither of us really had any other friends... But now that I'm thinking about it, he did seem particularly angry when I was sat next to Jasper-"