~Jinxx’s POV~
Olivia’s beauty captivated me from the moment she first walked into the record store. She’d come in weekly to ask for rare vinyl LPs and mentioned that her boyfriend Andy was an avid vinyl collector. I didn’t know she was still Andy’s girlfriend when we slept together last night. We had too much fun at a karaoke bar and I felt like I’d known her for years by the time we got back to her place. The TV was on but we weren’t really watching it, we started making out and it escalated quickly. She didn’t seem to notice her phone ringing, but it occurred to me that nobody calls you past midnight unless they’re either drunk or somebody’s dead.

When her phone went off a second time she was rubbing up against me, our shirts in a pile on the floor. I looked at the phone as she snaked a trail down my chest with her tongue and wondered why she ignored the calls, emotionally stuck between the euphoria of finally having my crush get wet for me and having this horrible sinking feeling that her boyfriend was calling her. When she unzipped my pants and her eyes met mine I wanted to feel her mouth on me so badly it hurt. When her phone rang a third time she left the room briefly so I answered the call.

I didn’t recognize Andy’s voice when I answered her phone. It sounded like a drunken dude with really loud music in the background, so I told him he had the wrong number but I didn’t end the call. Blame the bro code. Blame the whiskey. Blame my huge crush on Olivia.

She returned to the room naked and the rest happened pretty quickly. I was so wasted that I went soft after a couple of minutes, but I’ll never forget laying there and seeing her hair bouncing over her shoulders as she rode me.

“You lasted longer than Andy.” She said.

“Who’s Andy?” My heart sank.

“My fiancé.” She giggled.

I got up to get out of her bed and out of her life when she dug her nails into my wrist, “Where do you think you’re going?” She pouted and pulled me back down to bed.

The second time we made love I knew she was Andy’s fiancé. But if my drummer buddy CC hadn’t told me to meet him at the diner last night, none of this would’ve happened.


~Emily’s POV~
‘What we perceive is more than simply the sum of its individual parts.’ I’ve read the caption of Figure 4.31 about a hundred times and stared at the stupid picture of little rainbow colored people in yoga poses for more than an hour. This stuff just isn’t sinking in, I’ve read it over and over and I feel like a robot. How many times do I have to skim this page before I get my degree?

I slam the heavy hardcover book shut and sigh. This isn’t me being angry about terminology; this is me worrying about Andy. I talked to Chris hours ago, maybe the two of them are asleep in his Hospital room right now but I can’t sleep. He said I could call him but I don’t want to wake up Andy. I stared at my closed textbook and rested my head on the cold, hard surface. The coldness of the book felt good against my hot cheeks that have been perpetually tear-drenched for hours now. At some point I fell asleep on my book.

When my alarm went off I had a text from Chris.

‘Andy and Ollie broke up. This time it’s final. ;)’ I screamed when I read it. I know I shouldn’t be happy, I mean he must be really upset. But at the same time you couldn’t have smacked the smile off my face with a wrecking ball.

‘OMG is he okay?’ I texted back.

‘He will be. Get some sleep <3’ His text made me smile.

‘I’m getting ready for class.’ I looked at my bright red hair in the mirror and was confused for a moment. The word revolution popped into my head and I smiled. Ashley was right, things were changing.

‘Forget school! Stay home today ;)’ He wrote.

Andy and Olivia finally broke up, I have to tell somebody. This is the biggest news ever and I always share really big news with Andy.

I sighed. ‘I miss him so much.’ I texted.

‘I’ll tell him?’ He wrote.

‘Okay. I’m so worried about him, I can’t sleep or eat :(‘ I admitted.

‘LOL that’s love.’ He wrote.

‘Nope.’ I denied.

‘No worries. He’s in good hands. Have a good day.’ Every time he ends our conversations I get this feeling that everything will be okay somehow.

~

I barely sat down in sociology when Ashley peeked up from his phone. “Somebody’s happy.” He said quietly.

“Andy broke up with his girlfriend!” I announced way too eagerly.

He gave a knowing nod. “Must be the hair.”

I twisted a tuft of hair around my finger and smiled. “No, she’s a horrible person.” I beamed and expected his smile to reflect mine.

When he didn’t smile back my happiness ceased. That’s when I realized he still looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “How are you?” I asked, emphasizing the word ‘are’.

“Going through a bad breakup.” He said quietly. He’d been staring blankly at his phone until he shook his head and shoved the phone into his backpack. “At least you’ve got some good news?” He seemed to be asking me instead of reflecting on what I’d told him.

I mentally facepalmed when I realized I came bouncing into class and blurted out that Andy was single because I was dying to tell somebody, anybody, and hadn’t noticed that he looked like his world had just ended. The instructor closed the door and cleared her throat. “Let’s get something to eat after class?” I brushed my hand over his forearm.

He avoided my gaze. “Yeah.” He seemed unphased.

He really didn’t look good. I wonder if this is how Andy looked in class the last time he went. I bit my lip and tried to think of something to say. “Ash.” I waved my hand in the row of space between our desks. “Things will get better.”

He shook his head as though he snapped out of his train of thought and smiled at me. “Thanks.” He looked me in the eyes.

I brushed my hair back behind my ear and held his gaze for a moment. He perched his chin on his hand and smiled slightly. I found myself scanning his eyes to guess what he was thinking. Then I thought of Andy in the Hospital, shook my head and looked at the front of the class. From the corner of my eye I saw Ashley sit up in his desk and face forward. I also noticed him looking at me from the corner of his eyes. I smiled and felt my face blush furiously, breaking into a huge smile and giggling. He let out a momentary nervous chuckle and bit his lip.

I have no idea what we learned in class. But I know the contour of Ashley’s cheekbones and jawline well enough to sketch it from memory.

Notes