nerd.

quarante-cinq

Dedicated to @spacegoatrocks again bc you're my fav and you're fab, ilysm <3

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Arielle Evans 

Perhaps I have a problem. In fact, I strongly believe that I do. More of a tendency, really, to run away from the people I love when I think that they have betrayed me, although most of the time it's just my emotions going into override. Maybe it's just a side effect of being a teenage girl.

I honestly expected Kyle to send Delilah or Teagan to come look for me after a while, but when he showed up at the park with sweat beading his forehead and heavy pants escaping from his mouth, I was a bit alarmed. At first I tried to duck behind the nearest tree, but he easily spotted me with his advantage of height, with him being 6'1" and me being a grand total of 5 feet 5 inches.

"Arielle." he exhales. "Thank god I found you."

"Why? You didn't need to. Now you have Hannah, right? What's the point in having 'Miss Self-Hate' now, Kyle?" I snap, keeping my eyes focused on the lake in front of me.

"I didn't know she was coming, I swear it. And I can promise you that she's usually not like that; or at least she wasn't like that." Kyle sighs, sitting down in the dirt next to me and swiping some of the sweat off of his forehead.

"I know, I'm sorry." I pause, not knowing what else to say. "She doesn't even know me, but she spoke to me like I was her worst enemy. I mean, she's literally the exact opposite of what you described. She's certainly not conservative, she's definitely not quiet with her opinion, and she's a total bitch." I spit, instantly regretting the last part when I see Kyle's face fall. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're right." Kyle quickly assures me, shaking his head. "She isn't who she used to be."

"Are you going to get back together with her?" I ask.

"I don't know, Arielle. She's coming back to Yale next week, and she said something about getting her place in the house back, so before we even think about our relationship, she needs to find a new dorm." Kyle sighs in exhaustion, not bothering to make eye contact with me as he speaks.

"There's no more room in our house, though." I point out, relief washing over me because she can't stay in the same house as me.

"Right, but she used to share with Delilah, and you took her place." Kyle pauses.

"Which just makes her want her place back even more." I finish, and he nods, clawing at the dirt in frustration. "I don't think she can get it that easily, though." I tell him, taking my lower lip between my teeth and nibbling at the raw skin.

"Her father has buckets of money, Ari. She usually gets everything she wants. I mean, she asked for a car on her birthday and she got it three months before." Kyle chuckles softly despite the extremely serious topic.

"So?" I snap. "I worked hard for this scholarship, Kyle. I'm not letting her take the one good thing in my life away from me."

"It's not like she's taking your scholarship, Arielle!" Kyle cries. "She just wants your dorm room. You can easily find another!"

"So can she! My mother paid a lot of money for that dorm, Kyle, and I'm not about to waste it. That dorm is mine. Not hers. Mine."

"Arielle, why can't you just find a new dorm? I'll even pay for it if it makes you happy! It's better for everyone if you just let Hannah have hers back!"