Monstercat University I

Chapter 009

[Tristam's POV]

"Monday blues," Aero Chord sighs, flopping onto his bed. "Hate them."
"Guys, why don't we just chill here tonight and watch a movie or something? I'll order pizza," I suggest.
"Sounds great," Aero Chord says. Braken gives me a thumbs up.
"Yum, pizza!" Noisestorm jumps up in the air. I chuckle, pulling out my phone to order the pizza. I kind of want to invite Dilumi over to share it with us since we're such good friends, and I know she loves pepperoni. After hanging up with Domino's, I start to type a message to Dilumi. I find it oddly hard to figure out what to say. It's just a stupid invitation. But for some reason I feel like everything has to be perfect. I guess this will do. I hit send.
"Watcha doing, Tristy?"
"For the hundredth time, don't call me that." I glare up at Noisestorm.
"But you let Dilumi call you that," he says, crossing his arms and smirking.
"Th-that's different," I say, trying to get out of this as quickly as I can.
"'Different', mm-hmm," Braken says, nodding and winking at me.
"What the heck are you..."
"You know you like her," Braken says.
"N-No I don't! You're mistaken, Braken," I add.
"Was that supposed to rhyme?" Braken raises an eyebrow.
"Nah, you guys definitely like each other. You just won't admit it," Noisestorm says, smiling a little.
"No. We're just really good friends, that's all," I shrug, going back to my phone. Sure, Dilumi has answered. Well, I can't get out of this now. "Guys, Dilumi's coming over. Get yourselves straightened up."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Uh...like...put a shirt on, Braken," I say.
"Oh. Yeah. Right." Braken grins sheepishly.
"Are you gonna ask her out?!" Noisestorm says.
"Yeah, do it!" Braken urges.
"NO!!!" I shout, probably a bit too loud. Gosh, these guys can get annoying.

[Dilumi's POV]

Great! You can come anytime you want, Tristam answers back. Yay! This will be fun. Ok, I'll be over there in a minute, I reply to him. I look up from my phone. There's no way I'm telling my crazy dorm mates where I'm going. "Hey guys, I'm not really hungry. I'm going to the gym during dinner," I lie, getting up.
"You're going to the gym in that?" Anna questions, gesturing to my black miniskirt, leggings, and denim jacket. Crap. I realize I haven't thought yet about what I'm supposed to wear.
"Well...I guess. I mean...uh...it doesn't really matter, does it?" I ask, turning away to hide my incoming blush. "I'll see you guys later," I say, going through the door without looking back. I head down to the gym first, and looking in, I spot Trivecta, Razihel, Protostar, Haywyre, Varien, and...Rezonate. I can trust him. "HEY REZ!!!" I yell, getting his attention easily. He runs over to me.
"'Sup?" he asks, breathing heavily.
"Well, uh, I told the girls I was going to the gym, but I'm going somewhere else. Can you cover for me?"
"Of course! I got your back," Rezonate agrees without asking any questions.
"Thanks," I smile.
"Sure! See ya," Rezonate says, slapping me on the shoulder and jogging back over to the other guys. I walk back out, heading towards the boys' dorms. I hope what I'm wearing is okay. I guess I don't have to wear anything fancy since I'm just going there to hang out. Still, I stop in the public bathroom on the way to make sure my hair looks presentable. I successfully make it the rest of the way there without getting caught. At the door to Tristam's dorm room, I hear muffled voices which stop once I knock, and Tristam opens the door, instantly telling me to come in. He's not wearing anything fancy either. I'm probably crazy for even worrying about it. After all, we are just friends. But when he smiles at me like that...I shake the feeling out of my head as I walk in and Noisestorm and Aero Chord greet me. Braken must be in the kitchen. There aren't really any chairs to sit on, so I sit down on Noisestorm's bed as Tristam heads into the kitchen area.
"So, how's your music going?" Noisestorm asks.
"Pretty great. How about yours?"
"Good. I'm working on a lot of stuff for next year."
"Great, I can't wait to hear it. I've been kinda obsessed with Sentinel lately," I say, breaking out into a grin.
"Really? I'm glad to hear that!" Noisestorm smiles. "I spent a long time on it. Since it's kind of a new style for me, I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect." Just then, Tristam and-gosh, is that Braken?! He looks so different without his hoodie on. I've never seen him in public without it. He comes over and hands Noisestorm and I each a slice of pepperoni pizza. He says nothing but smiles graciously at me.
"Th-thank you," I stammer. There must be a somewhat awestruck look on my face, because Tristam comes over and sits next to me with a knowing smile. I shake my head and try to put a normal look back on my face as I take a bite of my pizza. Tristam must know I like pepperoni.
"It's ok. That's what everybody's like when they see him this way for the first time," he says quietly to me. There seems to be a twinge of sadness in his voice, but I don't know why. I turn my attention back to the pizza. It's nice and warm. It must've been baked pretty recently. Oh yeah, it was delivery. Duh.