Fluctuate - Van McCann

18

I clear my throat. "Yeah," I say. "You know him?" I ask, making it seem like I had no clue who she was. I tried my best not to sound too passive aggressive with her. After all, she did nothing wrong. At least, nothing I know of.

"Yeah, I do. We dated for a while," she said. "Our parents were friends back in England. We broke up a few months before summer started, but we're still good friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you're still friends, though," I tell her. I couldn't help but wonder why they broke up. And who broke up with who?

"Eh, don't worry about it. Van can be kinda crazy. He's a good friend, but we just weren't made out for each other romantically, I guess," Emily explains to me. "So you guys are a thing now?" She asks me. It almost seemed like there was a small amount of aggression in her voice.

"Well... yeah, kind of," I say, feeling awkward for talking about Van with his ex.

Anna butts in. "They're so cute together, honestly. They tried to act like they didn't like each other for the longest time, but I guess they finally realized there's no point in hiding it," she says.

I laugh at Anna. She was like a little kid sometimes, always excited about something. "That's not true," I argue. "I've only been here for a few days anyway. Stop making it seem like we've been on and off for years."

"Yeah, whatever," Anna says. "You see her blushing, don't you?"

Emily gives us a smile with no teeth. "Yup," She says. "Make sure you're careful with Van. I should mention that what I meant by him being 'crazy' is that he's literally insane sometimes. He can overreact a lot and he's super protective. Might as well say goodbye to your freedom while you still have it."

Right when I was beginning to gain a little respect for Emily, it quickly went away when she said that. Was she really that jealous as to make up stuff about Van? He's been nothing but caring to me today.

I frown a little, hoping it's not too noticeable. "Oh, I'll keep my eye out for that," I say. "Class is starting, though. I should turn around."

I turn around and pull my chair closer to my desk. Anna shuffled around and returns into her desk shortly after.

"Hey," she whispers to me. "Don't worry about what she's saying. She's totally just jealous since Van is such a great guy."

The professor starts talking, introducing herself as Professor Clark. She was an older lady, probably around sixty years old, with short brown hair.

"I know. It's just annoying to hear. I hope she doesn't tell other people things like that about him," I sigh, whispering back to her.

I watch as the rest of the students grabs a piece of lined paper from their backpacks and do the same, except I wasn't entirely focused on algebra at the moment. "She won't. Think about it, why would she have any reason to bring Van up to anyone else. And if she ever does, I'll get Bondy to take her down," Anna says to me, making a joke at the end.

I smile. "I guess you're right. I'm just overreacting," I say. I begin copying the equations on the board.

"You're totally not overreacting. I'd do the same thing. Actually, I'd probably be all over her right now. If anything, I'd say you're under-reacting," She says.

"I don't know about that," I sigh. "But, on a lighter note, Van is taking me on a date tonight." Immediately, I get excited just thinking about seeing Van tonight. What were we going to do?

"Aw!" Anna squeals, making some people turn around and look at her. She must have been a little too loud. "That's so cute. Where is he taking you?" This time, Anna speaks in a whisper.

"I don't know yet. He didn't say," I tell her.

"Ok, well after class I'm helping you get ready. And, yes, you're wearing another on of my dresses," she says to me, excited.

I was secretly hoping Anna would let me wear another one of her dresses. I really liked how her other one looked on me. "Thank you so much. I really need to get my own dresses soon," I tell her.

"Nah, don't worry about it. You can always borrow my clothes," she says.

•~~~~~

The rest of algebra passes rather quickly since most of my time was just spent chatting with Anna. Anna and I walked back to our dorm afterward and she's now helping me get ready.

"Here, come look through my dresses. You should choose one you like," she says.

I walk to her closet and look at her dresses. She had about fifteen of them. I start looking through them and decide on a short, red dress with thin straps. "What about this one?" I ask her, holding out the dress.

"Yes! You'll look fantastic in that. I'm glad you didn't pick a black one. You'll look really good in another color besides your usual black," She says.

"Thanks. And, you're sure you don't mind me wearing your dress?" I ask. I don't want her to feel like I'm using her for her clothes.

"I couldn't care less, I promise. Now, go get changed so I can start your makeup. I already have some ideas," she gently pushes me into the bathroom.

"Okay, okay," I laugh. "I'm going."

I shut the door behind me and begin to change. I take off Van's black T-shirt and sweatpants that I still had on and fold them. He's going to want them back tonight. I pull the dress on over my head and walk out.

Anna turns around when she hears the door open. "Oh my god. I think I like that on you even more than the black one. Van's going to be speechless," she smiles.