feel ➳ post malone [IN EDITING]

04

After gaining my composure, or as much of it as I could, I make the three or so block walk by myself back to my dormitory, stopping when I get outside of the brick building. I sit on a bench outside by a lamp post that illuminates the sidewalk just enough. I need to catch the rest of my breath before I go back to the room that I already feel is suffocating me. I shouldn't feel this way already. I'm here for a new experience, the start of my new life.

"Hey," A voice says, cutting off my thoughts. I look up and see the guy I had met at the news team booth with Randy earlier. "Olivia, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Parker, right?" I ask even though I remember his name. I give him a small smile as he nods, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Is there a reason you're sitting on a bench by yourself at eleven o'clock at night, Olivia?" Parker asks, making his way over and standing in front of me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dark jeans.

"Not particularly," I look up at him and let out a soft, defeated chuckle. I have no idea why I'm so shaken up still. It's not a big deal. "Just been a rough night."

"Well l happen to be a really great listener," He says, finally sitting down next to me. The warmth of his body next to me makes me realize how cold I was. Could I actually have made two friends the first day here?

I battle internally about venting to who is technically a stranger, but in the spirit of letting loose, I tell him all about Austin and my worries of being here, and he was right. He is an absolutely exquisite listener, never breaking eye contact and nodding at all the right parts of the story.

"Yeah, Austin and his crew aren't the best to be around," He tells me, leaning his elbows onto his knees. "A lot of people here could tell you that."

"I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover," I sigh after my cheesy observation. "But he is one that I was right about."

"It's okay. You don't have to deal with him if you don't want to," he smiles at me, his dimples shining brightly under the dim lighting. "Lucky for you, he usually stays far away from anywhere that doesn't have booze or bitches as I say. You might be safe if you can avoid literally any frat or sorority around."

"Noted, he's making this too easy for me, then," I chuckle slightly, feeling much better about the situation after having someone take me seriously. "Thanks for listening to me, Parker."

"Anytime, girl," he nudges me playfully and I give him a fuller laugh this time. "Just so you know, I'll always be here to talk. Or just to listen. Even if you barely know me. I know how it feels to feel misplaced, a little lost, you know?"

"Same goes for you," I smile and then stand up off of the bench. "I'm going to head in. Goodnight, Parker. And seriously, thank you again."

"Goodnight, Olivia," he says before walking away. I walk towards the building and down the hall before entering our room and throwing myself on my bed. Like the dramatic individual I am, I grab my pillow and scream into it. Misplaced. The word Parker used to describe me really hit me. That's exactly how I'm feeling. If that's the case after one day, I don't know how I'm going to survive my college career.

————

A few hours later, I'm forced awake by a rattling at the door and murmured hushes coming from the hallway. I sit up in bed and stare as a drunk Randy stumbles into the room along with Lenny. And Austin.

"Oh, no no no," I protest, sleepily throwing my comforter off me and all but catapulting off of the bed and walking towards them standing at the threshold. Despite my attempts to get the boys to stay out, they still enter, Austin doing so with a growing smirk on his face. "Randy! No!"

"O, heyyy, it's fine shhh," Randy says, her eyes glazed over as she walks towards me. She grabs my face in her hands and squeezes my cheeks. "We were having soooo much fun, why did you leave?"

"No, Randy. You are drunk and you know boys are not supposed to be in here," I tell her, completely ignoring the two brooding men waiting on our next moves. I'm so beyond fed up.

"What's the point in rules if you can't break them?" Lenny smirks and I snap my head towards him with piercing eyes as I cross my arms over my chest to hide the fact I don't have a bra on. I don't like Lenny but I sure dislike the man standing behind him more.

"I don't break rules. Leave," I say sternly and then turn back to Randy who has flopped onto her own bed. "Randy, what happened to you not bringing it back here? You promised."

"Maybe you wouldn't be so uptight if you broke rules," Austin chimed in, tearing me away from my non responsive roommate. No way is he talking to me.

"I really don't need some wannabe stick-it-to-the-man playboy telling me what I should or shouldn't do," I glare at him, my eyes heavy from my sleep being interrupted. "Maybe you wouldn't be so insufferable if you listened to someone other than yourself for one minute. You know, just try being a good person."

"You don't know me," Austin states, stepping towards me until my space is completely overtaken by him and his woodsy scent. "So how the fuck would you know how good of a person I am?"

"Good people don't disrespect complete strangers the way you did me," I tell him, dropping my arms and staring up at him as he towers over me. Lenny and Randy just stare at us, waiting for the next move. "Get out of my room, Austin. Now."

"So me thinking a pretty girl is interested in me is being disrespectful?" He scoffs, eyeing me up and down. "You're so caught up in your perfect little fucking life that you don't understand that we're in college. People ask other people to fuck all the time. You're nothing special. Stop taking yourself so seriously."

"You don't know me, you just met me today," I scoff as well, not backing down from him. "So stop pretending you do."

"I don't fucking want to know you," Austin spits and I flinch a bit. No one has ever spoken to me this way, especially no one that I just met. "You think I'm the bad person? Listen to yourself, you spoiled fucking brat."

"Just because I have standards doesn't make me a brat," I tell him, not breaking eye contact. I don't care, he will not scare me. I hate this place. How soon is too soon to start a transfer?

"Oh, those aren't standards, princess," he chuckles, wiping his hand over his mouth. "You're just a bitch."

I don't know how to retort, so I just step away from him as I look at Lenny and Randy who both have their jaws open. The room goes eerily quiet for a moment and I can almost hear my heart beating before someone speaks up again.

"Maybe we should leave," Lenny says, walking towards Austin and grabbing his arm, leading him out of the overcrowded space. "I'll text you, Randy."

"Alright," Randy, scratching her head. She is drunk and this is not how she planned the end of her night to go, I'm sure.

The door closes behind them finally and I let out the breath I was unknowingly holding. My adrenaline is flowing and I am beyond infuriated.

"How dare he talk to me that way!" I exclaim, pacing the floor as Randy looks me over.

"Olivia, it's three in the morning," Randy sighs, shaking her head as she drunkenly pulls herself under the covers, not bothering to take her clothes off. "Just forget about him, okay? He won't bother you again."

"He better not," I sigh, climbing into my own bed as I come down from the high of standing in Austin's face and speaking my mind.

"Just stay away from him," Randy suggests with a slur as she turns over to face the wall. "This is not about to be like that one Harry Styles fanfic."

— edited 12.13.23 —