Marked by Obsession

15.

I forced a smile.
"Oh, yeah. Just... working on some things."
She nodded, her cheeks turning a faint pink.
"You always seem busy," she said, a bit more quietly, "with school and stuff."
I almost laughed— if only she knew how distracted I really am.
"Something like that."
There was a pause, the silence stretching longer than it should have.
Rachel shifted from foot to foot, clearly wanting to keep the conversation going but unsure how to. I felt stupid, seeing the signs of her interest when I didn't have any towards her.

"So... you, uh, have any plans for the weekend?" She asked, her eyes flicking down to her shoes as soon as she finished speaking.
I resisted the urge to sigh.
I could feel the familiar itch to walk away, to avoid this uncomfortable small talk.
She was already thinking of the weekend, and I was planning on following Marcy home again.
"I'm not sure yet." I said, scratching the back of my head. "Might just stay in and catch up on some work. What about you?"
Her face brightened slightly at my response, as if she hadn't expected me to ask anything in return.
"Oh, nothing much. Just watching a movie or two."
Her smile grew a little. "If you ever want to join... um, with friends, I mean... that could be fun."

Right, I forgot she's in Accomodation too.
Her building is right next to the one I have my flat in.
I never went to another building before, never needed to. I barely even meet my flatmates anyway, I don't bother with useless friendships.
I blinked, caught off guard by the offer.
Not knowing how to respond, I just nodded.
"Maybe... I'll keep that in mind."

"Yeah, I mean— it could be a fun time to gather together and actually get to know each other better." Rachel kept going, and I nodded absentmindedly.
My mind was elsewhere.
I was wondering if Erika had spoken to Marcy yet.
What would she say? The idea of someone else making the first move on my behalf tugged at me, a mix of anxiety and impatience.
Rachel was still talking, something about snacks and how we could order food, and I nodded again, barely hearing her.
The hallway felt too quiet, the lights above casting an awkward glow on our conversation.
I glanced down the corridor, half hoping I'd see Erika coming back from her mission, maybe even with my girl trailing behind her.

Rachel called my name, clearly waiting for some kind of response from me. I blinked, realising she had asked a question.
"Sorry, what?" I asked, trying to refocus.
"I said... maybe we could watch something funny, or, like, horror if you're into that," she repeated, her cheeks flushing slightly.
She fiddled with the strap of her backpack, avoiding eye contact.
"Sure, whatever... it doesn't matter to me." I added, non-chalantly. I didn't really care what type of movie we'd be watching if I ever joined her. But that was exactly the matter.
I would never join.

The curly haired girl gave a small laugh, but it quickly died as my attention drifted once more.
I checked my phone out of habit, had done so since morning. My thumb hovering over Erika's contact in the chats.
"I've got something going on later, so... I'd better be going." I found myself saying suddenly, definitely having had enough of that conversation.
Rachel's expression faltered for a moment, but she quickly hid it, nodding a bit too eagerly.
"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry..."

I could see the disappointment in her eyes but didn't dwell on it. All I wanted was to hear from Erika. I mumbled a quick goodbye and left, my steps quickening down the hall.
By the time I made it to the girls' criminology class, the lecture had already been dismissed.
Students poured out into the hall, chatting in pairs and groups.
I immediately scanned the dispersing crowd, and relief washed over me when I spotted Bogdan standing near the doorway. He certainly had waited for Erika, kind of like I did, curious to know if she succeeded in what we had talked.
I felt eager to approach, and then almost stopped when something odd caught my attention.

Bogdan was speaking Romanian— his native tongue. And standing right next to him, engaged in the conversation, was Marcy. Marcy.

I blinked, my stomach doing an odd flip.
She speaks Romanian? Since when? Have I skipped a whole chapter on Marceline that I wasn't aware of? I watched the two of them from a distance, the exchange fluid, almost intimate, in a way that made me feel a little outside of my own body.
Her face lit up as she replied to Bogdan, her words melodic but utterly lost on me.
"Nu mă așteptam deloc!" Her voice was soft but confident, the Romanian rolling off her tongue as naturally as English.
She sounded excited.
My friend then chuckled, nodding.
"Da, exact! Nici eu. Parcă devine totul mai clar în limba ta, nu?"

I watched them laugh, rooted to the spot, trying to make sense of the exchange that meant nothing to me. I felt left out of something that, moments before, I hadn't even known existed.
Marcy, multilingual, smiling at Bogdan like they'd been friends for years.
It was... unsettling.

Then, from the corner of my eye, I caught Erika looking at me. She grinned, giving me a subtle victory sign with her fingers.
My heart thumped— I'd literally asked her to befriend the girl I like, and she had done it.
Mission accomplished.
But then it seemed like she wasn't just making friends with Erika.
She was making friends with Bogdan, too.
As if sensing my presence, the light brown haired boy switched effortlessly to English, his face lighting up when he noticed me.
"Hey! There you are, man. Thought you got lost on the way."
He dabbed me, friendly salute.

Marcy turned toward me as well, her face bright, lips curving into a soft smile that made my breath catch. She looked beautiful— more so than usual, with a certain sparkle in her eyes I hadn't seen before. The way she stood next to my mate, so at ease, it was almost like she was... happy.
"Hey," I replied to Bogdan, trying to ignore the sudden tightness in my chest.
"What were you guys talking about?"