43

The morning started the way it always did when Adeline decided to ruin my life; tense and unbearable. She sleeps here way more than she should. She has a perfectly grand house with all her privacy in the world, but she decides to stay with my dad and I and take over my own privacy.

She'd cornered me in the kitchen as I tried to grab my coffee, her voice dripping with mock concern.

"Victoria, doll" she said, blocking my path to the door. "I hope you haven't forgotten about our little agreement. Cameron's waiting for that date."

My hand tightened around my coffee mug. "I'm not going on that date, Adeline."

Her smile didn't waver, but her tone sharpened. "Do you really want to risk Daniela losing everything? Her job? Her reputation? All because you refuse to co-operate?"

Luckily for me, the air somehow at university felt lighter. Now that Daniela and I are starting to build up our relationship again, I just feel so much better. Its like I could breathe again being here, away from the place I once called home. But now it was taken over by Adeline, and my dad loved her staying with us for the days she had been there.

Eleanor was already standing outside the law building, waiting for me and Iris.

She sent me a smile, "Hey, Vic!" She kicked herself off the wall towards me.

Her smile made me smile and I stepped into her embrace once she opened her arms for me.

Definitely feel better with my friends around.

I looked around over her shoulder, waiting for Iris to come up and slap my ass or maybe say something snarky. But I didn't hear her voice.

I pulled back. "Where's Iris?"

Eleanor glanced around, frowning. "No idea. She said she'd meet us here, but she's probably running late."

"No, that can't be right." A frown spread on my face too. "Iris' normally here first before me. She makes sure she's early, especially for law. Mrs. Abramson has been giving her warnings for being late. Iris wouldn't risk it, she's been careful ever since."

After a few minutes of waiting, we decided to split up and search for her. Eleanor headed towards the cafeteria, while I wandered the hallways. We had a few minutes before class started, so we needed to find her in the given time.

As I neared the bathrooms down the hall, I caught a glimpse of someone slipping inside, glancing over their shoulder. It was Iris. She looked around, almost making sure nobody is following her.

She darted a quick look over her shoulder before disappearing into the restroom.

I hesitated for a moment before following her.

I made sure to keep my distance before speeding up.

I pushed the bathroom door open cautiously, the faint sound of shuffling and muffled whispers catching my attention.

I paused, frowning, but didn't see anything. "Iris?" I called out, stepping inside.

The sounds stopped, and the bathroom fell silent, except for the faint drip of water from one of the sinks that someone didn't close properly. My eyes darted around, noticing nothing out of place, but my gut told me otherwise.

"Iris, are you in here?" I tried again, louder this time.

A few seconds passed, and then I heard a loud shuffle from one of the stalls. My frown deepened as I moved closer to the rows.

"Uh, yeah! I'm here!" Iris' voice called out, a little too high-pitched.

I stopped in front of the stall she was in. "Are you okay? Eleanor and I have been looking for you."

There was a pause, followed by more muffled movement. "I'm fine! Just, uh... had to fix something real quick!"

"Iris..." I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. "What are you even doing in there?"

Another pause. Then, before she could answer, I heard a hushed whisper from someone else in the stall with her.

"Iris!" I whisper yell, "Who the hell is in there with you?"

"Okay, okay, relax!" Iris finally said, sighing heavily. The stall door creaked open slightly, and she peeked out. "Don't freak out, alright?"

She looked out of breath.

I waited with wide eyes, gesturing her to open it.

As the stall door swung open, I blinked, unable to fully process what I was seeing and my jaw fell to the ground.

Carol stood there, her face flushed, panting, clearly caught off guard. Her hair was slightly messy, and her shirt was half-tucked, the top two buttons still undone as she hurriedly worked to fasten them. Then there were the hickeys. Hickeys. Several of them dotted her neck, vivid and fresh, standing out against her skin. My gaze darted to her lips, swollen like someone who'd been roughly kissed, and recently.

Iris leaned against the stall's, metal walls, with a proud, innocent smile on her face. Her hair was a mess too, like someone had run their hands through it too many times in a rush.

I blinked again, my jaw still hanging open as I looked back and forth between the two of them.

Carol stepped towards Iris, flashing an awkward smile. "Hey, Victoria."

Another blink. "Hi... Carol."

She turned to Iris and her eyes softened. "I'll call you?"

"You do that." Iris' smirk turned into a sweet smile.

Iris quickly kissed her cheek, which made her smile.

Carol slipped past me quickly, her head down, practically bolting out of the bathroom like it was on fire. The door shut behind her, leaving me and Iris alone.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the closed door.

A snort escaped before I could stop it. Then another. And suddenly, I was laughing so hard I had to walk to the sink, out the stall, and lean against it to keep myself upright.

Iris followed me out and stood by my side. She looked at herself in the mirror and got out her chapstick from her pocket before smearing it on her lips.

"Yeah, Yeah. Laugh it up." She said, trying to sound annoyed, but I knew better.

She was trying her best not to smile.

"You and Carol, huh?" I smiled, "That's so ironic! What happened to the 'she's not hanging out with us,' or the, 'I hate that bitch.'"

"I told you. She's... not bad."

"Not bad?" I mock, "What I just saw, it looked more than 'not bad.'"

She moved on from Xavier pretty fast.

Iris put her chapstick away and turned to me. She folded her arms, leaning against another sink. I could tell she's happy, seeing how she held back that smile. She masked her happiness by a sarcastic eyeroll.

I nudged her in the hip with my elbow, but she didn't flinch.

"You have to tell me then." I said, very interested, "How did this start... when? This time, I need all the details."

Finally, Iris' smile crept through.

"When they helped us get back to New York, I realized that she's actually kind. She's not like the other pretty blondes. I mean, come on, one in the morning, a flight to another country, trying her best to persuade her dad, and she helped us. Who else would do that?"

I listened closely, even myself growing happy, seeing her happy.

"The next day she messaged me and we talked for about two hours. She asked me what happened, why we needed a flight back. Now, don't worry, I didn't tell her. I just said we had problems with our flight and needed to get back asap."

"From that day, we just... began talking." She shrugged.

"I knew Xavier and I weren't doing so well anymore. So I ended things when I started realizing I kind of... like... Carol. And now we're here, making out in the stalls."

I stared at Iris, my head tilting slightly as I processed everything she just said-- my smile didn't stop growing.

"And Carol's keeping it a secret from Cheryl and Bethany," Iris added. "So I'd appreciate it if you kept it a secret as well."

"Not even Eleanor?" I ask.

"Not even she can know."

I nodded. "You kept mine... so I'll keep yours."

I gestured to the door with a tiny head nod, and Iris got the idea. She quickly fixed her hair, and threw her backpack on her shoulder while I walk to the exit.

"So?" Iris started, catching up to me as we both walk down the hallway. "Did you and miss hot stuff get it on in the classroom?"

A shiver went down my spine. "I-Iris!"

Iris shrugged innocently, walking right next to my side.

She hummed while thinking, "Office?"

"What, no! We did none of that stuff."

Like we summoned her, Daniela was walking down the hallway. Her head was down while scanning through a file, licking her finger as she turned a page.

Iris stopped as she also saw the brunette walking towards us, but too distracted to notice us staring. Iris smiled widely, her hands flying up in the air and I knew what she wanted to do.

But before she could shout for professor, waving hello, I pushed her away around the corner and continued walking.

Iris frowned, looking at me while I storm off down the hall, trying to match my speed.

"What was that about?" She asked with a frown. "Oh shit, did you two... like, break up?"

"Wha--"

"Why does all my favorite couples break up!" Iris pouted, "First, me and Xavier. I mean, we weren't my favorite, but... I guess he was good to me. Then there was my favorite cartoon characters."

"Iris, we didn't break up." I said, "We're actually doing better. She literally apologized for telling me that she loved me."

"Aw. That's... sad."

That guilty feeling came back to me. "I'll make it up to her."

"Girl, you better." Iris said, nudging my shoulder. "You need to give her flowers or something, maybe a naked picture of you."

Iris and I thought about ways I could make it up to Daniela. The first objective on the list, stop ignoring her. I got that one down already. I'd say I did a good job yesterday. Secondly, I give her all my attention. That's going to be hard since I have a witch back at my house trying to ruin what Daniela and I built, sending her goblin to university to make Daniela jealous.

And third, sex.

Gulp.

We caught up to Eleanor and we entered law together. Thankfully Mrs. Abramson was the late one and we didn't get in trouble.

I couldn't focus on my work, I was just thinking about her.

Her words yesterday replayed in my head.

"I shouldn't have said it, and... I'm sorry."

There she was in my mind, apologizing for feeling that way. "I should've taken it slower with you." I've been waiting days on days, weeks on weeks, almost two months to be with her. That was long and slow. I waited long enough before we kissed, before we ended up together. We've already been taking it slow.

Except that time in the bathroom at Santorini, but we both wanted it.

Suddenly, a strict voice from up front called my name, dragging me out of my thoughts.

My head snapped up, realizing I've been chewing on my pencil.

My eyes fell on Mrs. Abramson, her hands on her hips.

"Miss Rivera, are you with us?" Mrs. Abramson questioned sternly.

I looked to my side where Iris shot me a concerned glance. Eleanor at the back looked confused too.

I nodded at the professor, not being able to speak from embarrassment. When I wanted to go back to my work, she called my name again, this time followed by her clearing her throat.

She glared into my soul. "No, you didn't. If you did, you would've heard professor Garcia calling for you."

My eyes widen at that name and my gaze followed Mrs. Abramson's to the door.

There she stood, peeking into the classroom. Her green eyes staring at me like a hawk.

I look back at professor Abramson. "Go." She said, nodding to Daniela.

In a flash, I packed up. So fast that I dropped my pencil on the floor and Iris picked it up, holding it low under the table. When I leaned down to grab it, she didn't let go, and looked at me.

"What's going on?" Iris whispered to me.

I shook my head and mouthed "I don't know."

I pulled the pencil out of her grip and stood up.

Rushing up front, I felt everyone stare at me before slipping out the door with Garcia by my side. I didn't even look at her, just kept my head down low as I walk down the hallway. Far enough for us to talk in private.

Daniela walked by my side, walking through the Hallway of Doom. "What were you thinking about?" She asked.

I looked up to her, her being in front of me, leading me. I stare into the back of her head.

"Huh?" My voice was just above a whisper.

She looked over her shoulder towards me, her eyes soft, yet amused. "You didn't hear me calling for you. What were you thinking about?"

I bit my bottom lip.

"Ugh, you know... stuff." I shrugged.

"Stuff?" She turned back in her path, nearing her office. My mom's office. "Does this 'stuff' involves us?"

The hallways were quiet, no students up here. The other professors and lecturers in their offices, doors closed.

Me not talking.

That was until I took a deep breath in and gathered my sanity.

"Yeah." I breathed out.

All she did was let go of a small hum and immediately my thoughts ran wild.

We got to her office and she unlocked it, holding the door open for me. Inside was cool from her newly installed air conditioner, on a chilly setting. I swung my bag down my shoulder and place it against her desk and walked around while she shuts the door. I walked to the typewriter, staring at it for a while.

She walked behind me to her laptop, bringing it towards me as I made my way to the leather couch against the wall.

I flopped down on it, stretching myself out.

When Daniela stood there, looking down at me with her laptop in her hands, I sat up slightly. She plopped down next to me, then I lowered my head onto her lap.

She smiled softly, placing her laptop on my stomach.

The hurt visible in her eyes.

Hoping a smile would help, I flashed one back before looking to her laptop facing me.

She reached over me and opened a link to a news program from Greece.

"Take a look at this." She said.

A video played from outside the bar where me and Iris went. It was that exact night when I was pissed at Daniela. The exact time too when the cops arrived. When the first person was thrown through the window into the street for picking a fight with a very large, built, man.

In the camera footage, the police surrounded the entrance then entered the bar.

Clear as day, me and Iris were walking out, had enough to drink, but bumped into the officers.

They cuffed us and pulled us for questioning on the sidewalk while the rest of them arrested the people throwing hands, wrecking the place, and doing cocaine.

In the very end, it was the people doing drugs that got arrested.

"If someone here gets their hands on this, Vic..." Daniela spoke softly, implying that if someone sees this news program, I will be in deep trouble, Iris too.

But also, Daniela could get fired for 'not looking after us.' She's only a few years older for crying out loud.

My heart sunk and I closed her laptop, not wanting to look at it anymore. Instead, I tilt my head up to her as she looks down at me.

"Where-- How did you get that?" I frowned, "Greece's news program?"

Daniela huffed out a breath. She reached down and caressed my cheek. My eyes almost flutter shut.

"I just googled what happened. Bar accident, the date, Santorini. Got the link to that." She must really be paranoid. "If I could find it, so can your dad."

I gulp. "Why would he specifically type in that words to Google? Let alone go on another country's news program."

"Adeline would definitely do it." She whispered, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Hearing that name flipped a switch in me. The blood drained from my face and I felt lightheaded, but quickly recovered as I felt both her hands on me. Her other hand came down and run across my bottom lip while her other thumb caressed my cheek.

Before I could even realize how emotional I got, tears filled my eyes.

Daniela noticed immediately and quickly pulled me up that I was sitting. She then pulled me into her lap, so that I'm straddling her.

My head collapsed in the crook of her neck, and I burst out into tears.

All Daniela did was be there for me. She held my head against her and her other hand rubbed my back in circles, doing her best to comfort me.

"She's ruining everything!" I sobbed, my voice muffled against her neck.

Daniela sighed softly. "It's okay. We're going to be okay."