Elle and Hugo

Chapter Six

Eleanor was surprised to find that the lights were on in her dorm room when she entered it. Her and Wesley had continued to sit in his car and talk when they arrived back on campus, and it was pretty late.

Alice was sitting on her bed, typing away at her laptop. She looked up when the door opened and grinned. "Strolling in after midnight, Elle? I suppose this means that the date went well?"

Eleanor couldn't suppress her grin. "Alice, it was fantastic! He was so fun to talk to, the concert was beautiful, he even bought me ice cream afterward! We even, uh... We, uh..." She was blushing deeply.

Alice's eyes widened. "You put out on the first date? I totally didn't take you for that kind of girl!"

"What? Oh, no! No no no no no! We just kissed! He kissed me! That's it!"

Alice let out a laugh, her body relaxing as the shock left her body. "That makes a lot more sense. I'm really glad it went well! So..."

"So?"

"So who is it? You told me you would tell me if the date went well, which it obviously did!"

Eleanor bit her lip, setting her purse down and sitting on her bed. She had honestly assumed that the date was going to go horribly when she made that promise, and now she had to follow through.

"You have to promise me you will not tell anyone though. It was only one date, and I do not want the whole school knowing."

"I promise, I promise! Now spill, girl!" Alice's laptop was completely forgotten at this point as she stared at Eleanor expectantly.

Eleanor let out a loud sigh. "I went out with Wesley..."

Alice's jaw dropped so far Eleanor was afraid it had unhinged. "You went out with Wesley Anderson?!"

She nodded. "And we are going out again tomorrow. He is taking me sightseeing at eleven."

"Wow... I had really just assumed it was Hugo."

"Hugo just got out of a really intense relationship, remember?"

She nodded, still stunned. "Well, that's really cool. I hope you have a good time tomorrow. Do you know where you're going yet?"

"Not yet. I guess it will be a surprise in the morning."

The conversation lulled at this point because Alice seemed to be at a loss for words. Eleanor got ready for bed, pausing in the mirror after she had brushed her teeth. She was looking at a different person than the one who had arrived on campus a month ago. The old Eleanor was stuck up and selfish. She didn't know how to interact with people and all she cared about was her education. The new Eleanor still cared about school, but she also cared about other people. She cared about Hugo, Wesley, and even Alice, which surprised her. There were people in her life that cared about her too. Since her father passed away, she had forgotten what it felt like to have people want her to be happy. Not that her mother didn't want that. She just didn't do a great job of showing it.

The reflection in the mirror had a smile that was so bright she felt as if she were glowing. When she had arrived on campus she thought she had made the wrong decision coming to California to study video game design. She thought that she should have listened to her mother and gone into law. But she knew now that she had been wrong to worry. She had definitely made the right decision. For the first time in her life, Eleanor felt truly happy.

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Hugo paused his video game the moment Wesley entered their dorm room. He wanted to stay up until his roommate returned from his date. He was anxious to hear how it went and the time had finally come to find out.