CAMPUS HEARTS

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8

I kept sketching random designs across page after page. Some were elegant. Some were terrible. Some looked like they belonged in a fashion show. Others looked like I had drawn them while half asleep.

At this point, if someone walked into this room and saw the mountain of sketches scattered around me, they would probably think I had completely lost my mind.

Honestly, they wouldn't be entirely wrong. I stared at the latest drawing for a few seconds before groaning.

It wasn't right. None of them were. Nothing was matching the image in my head. Frustration surged through me. With an irritated sigh, I flung the sketchbook across the room.

It landed on the floor with a loud thud. I sank deeper into my chair and rubbed my face.

Why was this so hard?

The moment Rachel Forbes had given me the opportunity, I had imagined ideas flowing effortlessly. Instead, I was stuck. Completely stuck.

Just then, Molly walked into the apartment carrying several grocery bags.

She took one look at me and immediately understood what kind of mood I was in. Without saying anything, she carried the groceries into the kitchen. "You don't need to kill yourself over it," she called out. "The perfect design will come eventually."

I knew she was right, this was probably the fashion version of writer's block. Maybe I was suffering from design block. I almost laughed at the thought. Pretty sure that wasn't an actual thing.

Still, it felt real enough. I remained silent. Mostly because I was too frustrated to respond. A moment later, Molly spoke again. "Have you talked to Simon?"

That immediately got my attention. I sat up and turned toward the kitchen. "Whatever for?"

She stared at me as if I had asked the most ridiculous question imaginable. "To tell him you're not actually dating Charles."

I frowned. "What?"

"The dude thinks you cheated on him."

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair. "Good. Maybe it'll finally convince him to move on."

Molly looked horrified. "Kathy!"

"What?" I groaned. "It's been a month, he should move the f**k on " Seriously. A whole month. If Simon still believed the world revolved around our breakup, then that sounded like his problem. Not mine.

"You do realize you're talking about my brother, right?"

I sighed. "Exactly why we should drop the subject."

Molly crossed her arms. "Katherine—"

"No." I pointed toward the kitchen. "I'm exhausted, I'm frustrated, and talking about Simon is giving me emotional stress." I paused. "No offense."

"Oh, offense taken," Molly yelled back. I groaned. Of course. "You don't get to treat my brother like garbage."

That was it. I was done. If I stayed here any longer, I'd never get any work done. I stood up, grabbed my boots, and headed toward the door. As I slipped them on, I looked back at her.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm actually your friend or just some unfortunate middle ground between you and your brother."

Molly opened her mouth. I didn't stick around to hear the response. I stepped outside and shut the door behind me.

---

I slipped on my headphones and headed down the stairs. The broken elevator was still broken.

Shocking. Absolutely shocking. By now, I was convinced the building owners had forgotten it even existed.

Once I reached the ground floor, I headed toward my favorite place on campus.

The music room.

Whenever I was stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, or simply tired of people, the music room always helped.

There was usually always someone playing an instrument. Or singing. Or composing something. Music had a strange way of calming me down.

By the time I reached the room, I already felt slightly better. I opened the door and stepped inside. Just as I expected, someone was playing the piano.

The melody was powerful. Aggressive. Almost angry. I paused. The tune sounded familiar. Very familiar.

Curious, I walked closer. The moment I saw the pianist, I smiled.

Rebecca.

Of course it was Rebecca.

I climbed onto the stage and leaned casually against the piano while watching her play. She practically attacked the keys. Every note seemed to carry a personal grudge.

When she finally finished, she looked up and spotted me. Her face instantly brightened. "Girl," she said dramatically, "I'm so happy you're here. I was losing my mind."

I laughed. "Funny. That's exactly where I was twenty minutes ago."

Rebecca nodded in understanding. Then she gave me a knowing look. "We need to go clubbing."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"We need to go clubbing, cause I want to get layed." She repeated it like it was the solution to all of life's problems. Then she added: "Tonight."

I already knew where this conversation was heading. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

I pointed at myself. "I have a design competition to win."

Rebecca waved a dismissive hand. "Exactly."

I blinked. "What?"

"You need to relax." She stood up from the piano bench. "The perfect design won't appear while you're sitting in your room trying to force it." She pointed at me. "Your brain needs freedom."

I pointed back. "My brain needs sleep."

Rebecca ignored me. "As a professional party expert, I can confidently say that clubbing is the cure."

I stared at her. "You are not a professional anything."

She looked offended. "Rude."

I laughed despite myself. Then another thought occurred to me. "Wait."

She paused. "What?"

"I thought you said you wanted to hook up with somebody tonight."

Rebecca shrugged. "So?"

I stared at her. "You have a boyfriend."

"Nah."

I frowned. "You literally have Maxwell."

"We're not exclusive." I nearly choked. Rebecca shrugged again. "We can hook up with whoever we want." Then she pointed directly at me. "And you're coming with me."

I sighed. Apparently my opinion no longer mattered. "Why can't Ruby go with you?"

Rebecca immediately looked disgusted. "No."

"What happened now?"

"We're fighting."

I laughed. Again. "Oh."

She crossed her arms. "She's being a major pain."

I nodded. "Sounds serious."

"It is."

I smiled. "I think Molly and I are having our own fight too."

Rebecca's eyes widened dramatically. Then she grabbed my shoulders. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"You two are finally acting like real women." I stared at her. She continued confidently. "Women fight. Then they forgive each other. Then they fight again."

I laughed.."What kind of logic is that?"

"The correct kind." She stood up and stretched. "You know, sometimes I think about ending our friendship."

I blinked. "What?"

She immediately pointed toward Ruby's direction—even though Ruby wasn't there. "But then I remember she's rich and pays for half our fun activities." I burst out laughing. Rebecca placed a hand over her chest. "It's a difficult burden."

"Sure."

"If I leave, she'll probably kick me out."

"Definitely."

Rebecca nodded. "Exactly." Then she looked around. "Honestly, even the school dorms might be better than Fido."

I gasped dramatically. "Now that's a lie."

She pointed toward the ceiling. "The elevator has been broken for an entire semester."

Unfortunately, she had a point. The elevator was practically a campus legend at this point. I sighed. "I hate that you're making sense."

Rebecca grinned triumphantly. "So we're going clubbing?"

I rolled my eyes. Then I finally gave up. "I guess we're going clubbing."

She let out a victory scream. "YES!"

Several students outside the room probably heard it. Rebecca didn't care. She hurried around gathering her things. "Give me a second."

As she packed, she started singing. A completely random song. One I had never heard before. Which was impressive because I listened to a lot of music.

Rebecca had a strange talent for inventing songs on the spot. Half the time, they made no sense. The other half somehow got stuck in your head. It was weirdly adorable.

Eventually she finished packing. "Let's go."

She grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the exit.

---

As we walked back toward Fido, we both found ourselves singing. Well... Attempting to sing.

"Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande, had been stuck in my head all week.

By the time we reached the pathway leading toward the fruit garden near Fido, I was laughing so hard at Rebecca's terrible singing that I almost missed the voice.

Almost. A deep voice suddenly spoke from nearby.

"You never replied to my message, girlfriend."

I froze. My heart immediately betrayed me. I knew that voice.

And somehow, before I even turned around, I already knew exactly who it belonged to.