Weathered Love

PUNISHMENT

The last week of August. I looked at the towering school in front of me. It no longer held the same magnificence that it had on my first day. Then again, I had been here since June, taking some summer courses to get my basic requirements out of the way as quickly as possible. I wanted to double-major in Finance and English, so I needed to get as ahead as I possibly could while I still could.

Now, it was frosh-week. I had completed my first round of college exams before my freshman year had even officially started, but I needed this summer. I decided to move to California and put as much distance between me and my old self. And Caleb.

"Oh my god Ivy, this is going to be awesome!" my roommate, Hannah, gushed. She was kind enough, although a little removed from reality, but her enthusiasm was sweet. Still, I kept my distance. I didn't want to get close to anyone anymore. In fact, I had cut ties with everyone, even Ivan, and just moved here. The only people who had heard from me this summer was my family, and even they didn't really get to see me. School was my excuse to keep everyone at arm's length.

"What should we check out first?" Hannah asked. She was a stunning, raven-haired, petite Japanese girl, with light and clear hazel eyes and flawless skin. She was energetic, bubbly, and extremely outgoing. As we walked through the quad, she stopped at literally every single table and took a brochure for every extra-curricular club. There was no way it was humanly possible for her to join all of them.

I, on the other hand, was only there because Hannah threatened to bring a bunch of strangers back to the dorm for a party if I didn't tag along. I hated the sight of the Sun, the bright buzzing and excitement etched on my classmates' faces... it was almost sickening. I just wanted to curl in my bed and read some Poe or search the web for some dark or twisted literature. Or fanfics. Anything to distract me from my thoughts.

I had refused to deal with the rejection and instead opted to get angry at Caleb for not reciprocating my feelings. And I was angry at everyone else for convincing me - against my insightful gut feeling - that he did in fact have feelings for me. "Ooh, Ivy, try out this ice cream sandwich!" Hannah gushed, sticking half of her eaten dessert in my face.

The overly-sweet smell made my stomach both growl and heave. I moved my face away before I binged on the fattening dessert and ended up puking it out "Ivy?" came a familiar voice I hadn't heard in a while. I froze. I was hoping the enormity of the college would keep us from crossing paths. At least, until I was ready to see him.

Tomboy mode, "ON". "Hey Ivan!" I perked, turning to him with a wide smile and giving him a light, playful punch on the arm. He clearly wasn't happy to see me.

"What happened?" he asked, looking extremely hurt.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing dumb. I noticed him take in a deep breath. He was picking his words. Because he was worried about scaring me off. "Oh just say it," I snapped, quickly forgetting the facade I was trying to keep.

"You look different," he mumbled. I shrugged. I knew that. "Are you not eating at all?" he finally asked.

"Of course I am," I defended too vehemently.

"Ivy," Hannah ran over to me. I hadn't even noticed that she had left my side. "We have to join this sorority!" she began rambling. "My friend in Washington says they throw the best parties, we absolutely have to rush!" She turned to look at Ivan and was instantly silenced. For three seconds. "Ooh! Who are you? Ivy, if I knew this was the dessert you had in mind, I would have definitely joined you!"

"Hannah, this is Ivan," I introduced them. "Ivan, Hannah," I gestured between them. Ivan held out his hand, but subtlety was never Hannah's strong suit.