Good Guy

Part Two

He assured her that room C-2-4 was only a short walk away, but clearly they had different definitions of short. It turned out that C-2-4 was at the back of the building, in the newly constructed annex that was yet to be painted. The Modern Sciences building was already huge to begin with, with its laboratories, plant nursery and animal handling units, but they'd still decided to expand on it.

"This is a very big university," Cleo commented, taking the time to look around now that she wasn't rushing off like a bullet train.

"Tell me about it," he replied, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "Nine colleges, a high school and an elementary. And then there are the post-grad buildings. Alternative learning. Summer classes. I can only imagine the chaos that goes on in the dorms with so many students."

"You don't stay at the dorms?" she asked, not that she was surprised. She wasn't staying there either, not after seeing their less than stellar amenities. Even the landlady looked like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep in two weeks. It was perhaps the one place in the university that hadn't been improved in years. It's location also wasn't the most ideal, considering that the building was tucked away in a secluded part of the school grounds.

"You can't pay me to stay at the dorms, at least not the dorms here," he confirmed, further slowing his pace so she could catch up. "As it is, my grades are slipping up. I can't afford to be distracted by all that noise, not to mention the cramped space. Eight people in a room? Six shower stalls a floor? Come on!"

Cleo couldn't imagine coming to school on time with those conditions either. If a big guy like him couldn't handle the dorms, then she'd probably die or drop out within a week. Her dingy, little, low-cost apartment was a definite step up. "So where are you staying?"

He paused, as if considering her question, and slowly turned towards her. Cleo looked up at him, and once again there was that wicked smirk on his face. One of his brows lifted, and she had to fight down the giddy sensation of being given that come-hither look. He really had that mysterious, magnetic personality down pat. And the voice to match.

"You wanna know so you can stalk me?" he asked.

His corny and overly dramatic responses were getting to her good. She didn't even know she was into that kind of stuff, not until a gorgeous guy like him started blabbing them off like the worst kind of nerd. But she had to admit, it was pretty cute.

So of course she had to give as good as she got. "And kill you in your sleep. That's the important part."

"Ha. You're not half-bad, Freshie," he complimented, giving her a full-on smile. "I think I like you."

"Way ahead of you." Cleo grinned. She had to restrain herself from jumping up and down. She couldn't believe that she was having a fun conversation with a good-looking upperclassman, something she'd never done in high school before. And he hadn't made some crude comment about sucking face or jumping into bed as of yet. Maybe he was a nice person, after all. "You're not so bad yourself, Sopho."

He laughed out loud then, and Cleo had to turn her head away in order to hide her blush.

The rest of their walk was spent on conversations about the different professors that held the freshmen's classes. It turned out that he was a wealth of information. It was like she'd hit the jackpot, especially after he told her who gave extra points for after-class activities, who gave out the most homework and who included take-home questions in their tests. She felt just a little bit guilty for getting all the inside facts at no cost. Then again, he looked like he was having a lot of fun while showing her the ropes.

"This is your stop," he eventually said.

They ended up in front of a set of solid double doors, the dark wood panels large and imposing. Cleo checked her phone for the last time, finding out she had a minute and thirty seconds to spare. It was more than enough time to show her new friend some gratitude.

"Thanks for walking me here." She faced him and held out her hand, only belatedly realizing how out-of-place the gesture actually was in their day and age.

Luckily, he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he appeared more than eager to gently take her hand and shake it. His hand was warm and comforting despite its roughness, so it was a shame when he finally had to let hers go. "Anytime. Gotta go now though. Professor Solis isn't as chill as Jenkins, so I've gotta make it to my room before he does."

"Wait!" Cleo said when she noticed that he was about to leave. It was probably a stupid idea, but she wanted to do it anyway. There were a bazillion people who studied in the university, and one student could easily lose track of another if they weren't in the same class. "Cleo! I mean... my name's Cleo."

She felt just a bit mortified for having inelegantly blurted out her name like that. But this was the first time she'd ever given her name away before, instead of waiting for the other party to casually ask for it. Hopefully she hadn't scared him off by doing it in a weird way.

"I knew you had a cute name," he said, a smile forming on his face. "It was nice meeting you, Cleo. See you around?"

Cleo hugged her book to her chest, hiding her mouth and chin behind its hard-bound cover. Nobody had ever called her name 'cute' before. She quickly told herself not to get too excited, and that he probably thought all girls' names were cute. More importantly, she should be relieved after seeing his reaction. Maybe it hadn't been too big of a slip-up, if the pleasant look he gave her was any indication.

She watched him walk towards another set of double doors, but didn't stay or wait until he entered them. Instead, she reached for the knob of her own room. As she did though, she couldn't help but feel that she'd forgotten something very important.

It was only after the bell had rung and her professor entered the room, introducing himself as he did so, that Cleo realized she hadn't gotten the guy's own name.

♥

Author's Note

Updated in time! Woohoo! Also, hello to h. (@avney) and AHirMck (@AHirMck). Thank you so much for reading my stories. It certainly makes all the time and effort I put into them worth it. Please stay tuned for the next part, everyone, because new characters will be coming into the picture. 'Til the next upload!