The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa bumped Zoe with her shoulder.

"We're taking things slow. You know what that means, right?" Alyssa teased.

Zoe was the type to go, go, go. She knew what she wanted, and she didn't stop until she got it. Alyssa wanted to be like that in some instances.

In others, especially circumstances that she wasn't used to or didn't want to mess up, she was going to take a slower approach. It was safer. She hadn't fully abandoned her cautious mindset yet.

Zoe playfully rolled her eyes at Alyssa.

"Yeah, yeah. Love doesn't know time, though, and it refuses to be silenced," she replied.

That was oddly philosophical of Zoe to say. She did have a point, though. Alyssa and Elias could go as slow as they wanted to physically, but they had no control over their feelings and how quickly they developed.

She just hoped hers didn't outpace Elias' feelings that much. She wanted them to be on the same page.

"Alright, Socrates. I'll keep that in mind," Alyssa replied as they shared an amused smile.

Once Alyssa reached her building for her class, her and Zoe parted ways. Alyssa wished she could better express her gratitude to Zoe for helping her through this. Her friends were so incredible.

They made up for the gap in her life that was supposed to be for her family. Somehow, she had gotten lucky enough to find two people who made her life feel so full. She just hoped that she never lost them.

*****************

Elias; Come outside.

Alyssa narrowed her eyes slightly at the text she had just received from Elias. She had been sitting in her dorm room, looking over some notes as final week approached.

She planned to study as much as possible during the weeks ahead so that she could finish this semester strong. She couldn't ignore Elias when he called, though.

She slipped on her sneakers, pairing them with the grey tank top and black shorts that she had been lounging in.

She headed out of her room and to the entrance of the dorm building to see Elias standing outside of the glass doors with a bundle of white roses in his hand.

With wide eyes, Alyssa opened the door and stepped outside to meet him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as he moved closer to her.

"Giving my girl flowers," Elias said in a matter-of-fact manner. He handed them to her with a smile. "You've been working so hard lately. I wanted to bring you a pick-me-up."

Alyssa brought the white roses up closer to her nose to take in their subtle scent. She couldn't believe that he had gone out of his way to get her flowers just to lift her spirits, even after all the time they had been spending apart.

"You're so sweet," she told him sincerely as she smiled at him. She had missed him so much. It felt like every part of her longed for him.

Elias shook his head.

"Nah, I just really like you," he said before leaning forward to press a soft kiss against her lips. When he pulled away, he smiled. "Studying for psychology?"

"I was about to get to it," Alyssa told him. She was brushing up on her microbiology notes, but she was ready to move on to a new subject.

She had a lot of material to cover before finals week arrived, which was right after Thanksgiving break.

She nearly cringed at the thought of Thanksgiving break. If she was going to stay in the dorms, she had to let her resident assistant know ahead of time.

She didn't think that going home was a good decision for her, but it would suck to spend the holiday all by herself.

"Me too. I was about to head to the library. I just wanted to stop by real quick," Elias replied as he motioned to his backpack.

Alyssa perked up slightly when she heard that he was about to study too. She really needed to study, but she also really wanted to hang out with him.

Maybe she could do both if they actually focused on studying and didn't get distracted by anything else. That was easier said than done, though.

"Want to come study with me in the dorm?" she asked him. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to do right now when she was really trying to concentrate, but she didn't want him to go.

Besides, they were studying the same thing, and she was his tutor when he needed her help. Maybe he would need help with something.

Elias looked surprised at her offer.

"Are you sure? I know you've been buckling down lately," he asked.

Alyssa nodded as she tilted her head toward the dorm building. It was nice of him to check, but she had already made up her mind. She wanted him to stay.

"Come on. We can run through some flashcards together," she replied. She was going to focus hard.

Even his charming smile or nice body couldn't distract her from doing what she needed to do.

"That sounds great," Elias replied, looking excited. He handed his license off to her as they breezed through check-in before heading to her dorm room.

Once the door shut behind them, he turned to her. "I promise I won't try to distract you."

"You always distract me," Alyssa laughed softly. He didn't even have to do anything, and she would feel entranced by him.

She placed the flowers on her desk, drifting her fingers along their soft petals momentarily. She needed a vase for them.

"Just don't look at me," Elias chuckled as he slid his backpack off of his shoulders. He hopped up on her bed with his psychology book in his lap.

"Why would I want to do that?" Alyssa asked as she sat beside him. Her eyes roamed over him, taking him in.

She still couldn't get over how cute he was, how bright his smile glowed. She had a hot guy in her bed, and she had to study. She internally groaned.

Elias wagged his finger at her.

"We're here to study. Nothing else," he told her.

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