Chapter 12 Getting Along

"The pizza has arrived and I brought a guest with me."

Michelle and Chris both looked up as Wes and I entered the dorm room with the box of pizza.

"Look who it is," Michelle smirked, looking at me in a suggestive manner. "I was wondering when Fia was going to pull you along again."

Wes laughed, walking into the room and closing the door behind him. "And I was wondering when I'd be invited to one of your pizza parties."

"The time has finally beckoned upon us!" Michelle fist-bumped the air, making no sense as she spoke but we all still laughed in response. She was too sleep deprived for her own good.

"Hey man," Chris beamed, getting up to do one of those bro-hugs with Wes. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Chris."

Wes hesitated, looking at where Chris was sitting on my bed. He quickly put a smile on his face and greeted Chris, "Nice to meet you. Are you... Michelle's boyfriend?" Wes's voice was cautious.

Michelle snorted loudly, "God no!"

Chris looked at her, feigning a look of hurt. "Ouch, Elle." He sucked in a sharp breath as he placed a hand over his heart to be more dramatic.

Michelle rolled her eyes as she sat up in her bed. "No, Chris has just been friends with Fia and I since high school. He's like a brother."

Wes exaggerates a wince. "Ouch, man. That's a rough spot to be in."

Chris frowned, nodding his head. "I know, right?" Chris playfully pouted out his lips in a child-like manner.

I rolled my eyes. Boys would always be boys.

"Let's eat before the pizza get's cold," I placed the box on Michelle's bed and everyone happily dug in.

Not long later, we were all sprawled out in the room, chatting about random topics while getting to know each other since Wes didn't know my friends very well and vice-versa.

Wes and I sat on my bed, side by side and leaning against the wall while Chris sat on the ground with his back leaning against the side of Michelle's bed. Michelle laid on her side on her bed, facing Wes and I.

"Okay... would you rather never be able to walk again or never use technology again?" Michelle asked, staring at the wall thoughtfully as she came up with her question.

"Easy," I spoke quickly. "Never be able to walk again because with technology you'd be able to find a different way to walk anyways. Technology is evolving so much."

Michelle rolled her eyes, giving me an almost horrified look. "Of course the smartest person in the room who also happens to be a future doctor is going to connect those dots. I hadn't even thought about that."

I laughed, shaking my head. "It just made sense to me right away, Elle."

"Yeah, yeah," she huffed tiredly. "Where's Nate, by the way? I thought he was going to hang with us tonight."

My mood suddenly shifted when Nate got brought up. My frustration with him was still weighing me down because I had yet to figure out what was going on with him. I had hoped this 'bump in the road' would have passed by now, but Nate was still remaining to be difficult.

Everyone looked at me questioningly, all them wondering the same thing. I sighed, shrugging my shoulders tiredly. "He said he already had plans with the boys."

It didn't come as a surprise that he couldn't make any spare time to hang out with me.

Michelle quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. "And you let him run off with them?"

I gave Michelle a flat look, not understanding what she meant by that. "What am I supposed to do, Michelle? Keep a leash on him?"

"Not like he'd let you do that," Chris grumbled blandly, looking down at the ground. He didn't like Nate very much anymore and I couldn't blame him.

I let out a dry laugh. "If he wants to go out with the boys, I'm not going to stop him. God, I am so tired of arguing with him over everything. It's not like anything I say or want matters to him anyways."

I ignored the heavy feeling that settled in my chest with the talk of all this. As much as it hurt and bothered me that Nate continued to act like this, I was at a loss for what to do.

The logical idea would be to break up with him but I was having a hard time letting go of the long time we had been with each other, all the years being good. I at least needed to understand what changed his attitude towards me, get some closure.

Wes frowned as he looked at me, a hint of sympathy and sadness hiding behind his eyes. "The guy is my roommate. If you want, I could always shave off his eyebrows in his sleep or something." He shot me a cheeky grin, trying to lighten the mood.

Michelle's eyes lit up with excitement. "Hey... that's not such a bad idea."

I laughed, shaking my head as I swatted Wes's arm lightly. "Thank you but it's fine. We don't have to do anything like that."

Michelle sighed as she turned to lie on her back, looking at the ceiling in thought. "Who thought we'd be sitting here discussing relationship problems? I mean really, we're college freshmen. We should be out partying and having a good time."

"I second that," Chris nodded his head in agreement. "Although, after all the math I did today, the last thing I can think about is drinking. I just need a long nap."

I laughed, nodding my head as I agreed completely. I was drained, my head physically hurting from all the studying I had done today. "Same here. I'm beat."

Wes smiled softly at me, lighting gnawing at his bottom lip. "It is pretty late."

"You calling it a night already, Wes?" Michelle turned her head to look at him, shooting him a playful but challenging look.

Wes quirked an eyebrow, "No idea what you mean, Michelle. Sleep is for the weak."

Chris laughed, scrunching his face lightly. "Sleep is much needed actually. We spent seven hours studying today, I think we all deserve some rest."

I huffed out a deep breath, moving so my back was leaning against the headboard of the bed instead of the wall. I stretched out my legs so were resting on top of Wes's legs.

I almost felt a little deja vu, having been in almost the same position the day we had met.

"At least we don't have class tomorrow so we can sleep in. There's always a bright side."

"And the break is coming up soon," Michelle added. "What are your guys' plans for the break anyways?

I pursed out my lips, a look of distaste on my face. "You already know I have to face the wrath of my family. My sister's wedding isn't going to keep anyone busy enough to not question all my life choices."

"And Nate?" Chris asked, looking at me. "He's going with you?"

I shrugged, genuinely not having any idea. "I told him about the wedding two weeks ago and he said he was game. We know we live near each other anyways so we're going to same way. I'd assuming we'd split time between his family and mine."

Chris nodded. "My brothers and I are meeting up so we can all fly out to London together. Same old, every year at my Grandma's." He grinned softly.

I was happy he at least looked forward to spending time with his family.

"Michelle?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You never did tell me your plans."

Michelle smiled lightly, "Just heading back home, same as you. We keep it pretty close-knit. Just the immediate family but it's a good time."

"I miss your siblings. We can probably meet up at some point."

Michelle grinned brightly, "I am so game for that."

"What about you, man?" Chris nodded his head at Wes. "You got any plans?"

Wes shrugged softly, avoiding everyones gaze. "Honestly, I might just stay here on campus and get ahead of my work for after the break."

"What?" I frowned, looking at him with my eyebrows pulled together. I had no idea that Wes was planning on staying on campus instead of going home. "Why? Why would you want to stay here?"

Wes shrugged again, hesitating to meet my eyes. "I don't know. I don't feel like going back to an empty house, it's depressing honestly. My parents are going to be busy with work so I doubt I'll even see them. Why waste the time spending hours driving back home?"

I bit down on my tongue, only wanting to reach out and hug him because that made me feel very sad. I didn't want Wes to be stuck here, hauled up in his dorm during the holidays.

"You could always come to my place," I offered, laughing a little because the idea was actually absurd. "I mean, if I had the choice, I would stay on campus myself because my family is pure torture but maybe with your company it'll be a little more tolerable."

"How adorable," Michelle mumbled quietly, a smirk on her face.

I looked at her, narrowing my eyes. "Shut the fuck up," I grabbed a pillow off my bed and chucked it at her causing some chuckles out of the others.

Wes looked at me, grinning gratefully. "I am honoured but I think it's best I don't join you. Thanks for the offer."

"Why not?" Michelle pouted out her lips sadly, making a puppy dog face. "Why not meet her family and make you two official?"

"Michelle!" I gaped at her. "I have a boyfriend!"

Michelle shrugged innocently, giving me a sheepish look. "Hey, don't let your man stop you from finding your husband."

I groaned, looking away from her. I ignored the heat that had made it's way onto my face. "I'm going to ignore you now."

"Good idea," Chris laughed. "Not that I necessarily disagree with her."

"And now I'm ignoring you too, Chris," I muttered, rolling my eyes at the both of them for being so ridiculous.

I turned to look at Wes again, raising my eyebrows questioningly.

Wes sighed, shrugging his shoulders in confusion. "Really, you think taking a road trip with me and Nate is the best idea?"

I opened my mouth to respond but then shut it, seeing that Wes was right. I nodded slowly, "Yeah... now that I think about it, that would not be ideal." I looked at Wes and frowned, "If it makes you feel any better, I'd probably have a better time with you there." I offered him a small smile.

"God!" Michelle squeaked out, scrunching up her face. "I'm going to throw up."

Chris couldn't help his laughter himself, fully enjoying this too much. "Oh God, this is too sappy for me. Take about a cliche Christmas rom-com."

"Again, I am ignoring both of you!" I exclaimed with sarcasm dripping through my words, however, the blush that was covering my face could probably be seen miles away.

Wes smiled warmly at me, his eyes dancing with expression that was unreadable. He did look sincere though. "I got to say, sweetheart, I'm glad you're warming up to me. How much you melt my heart is indescribable."

I rolled my eyes, not knowing if he was being sarcastic or not but still, a smile rested on my lips.

"I'm just saying, Nate... well, that's going to be a hell of a road trip because he just drowns out my voice any time I say anything." I sighed, leaning my head back on the wall and looking at the ceiling. My relationship was just pure sad. "Not to mention how my parents love him while they think I'm a disgrace. Oh! And he kisses their asses so much, it's tormenting."

Michelle started laughing her ass off, for some reason finding the whole situation so funny. "God, Fia. One must wonder why on earth you're with him."

I rolled my eyes, chucking another pillow at her but this one she easily caught, only laughing more. "Shut up, Michelle. We are no longer allowed to discuss my relationship."

"Good because it's depressing as hell," Chris mumbled sheepishly, offering me a cheeky look. "Next topic - has anyone watched Game of Thrones?"

And like that, the rest of the night was continued with more laughs and random banter, spent with people I would never replace.