Now It's My Time to Strike Back

So, we ended up at the cafeteria as usual and went through the Subway line, this time getting our usual subs and about a dozen cookies as well as a bottle of diet Coke (for Nick) and a bottle of water (for me).

Luckily, we didn’t spot Vic anywhere so we resumed our walk back to our dorm. Neither of us spoke at first so once again, I broke the silence.

“It’s a beautiful night tonight”, I said casually, my eyes gazing up towards the stars.

“Yeah, it is”, Nick agreed glimpsing at the sky as well as the stars twinkled in the night sky.

Somehow, we ended up coming to a halt just outside the dorm building and just gazed at the sky. My mind was swirling with thoughts. Who would have thought that I was going to be sitting out here this night with Nick at my side without us arguing at one another? I sure didn’t; not in a million years.

Nick’s voice caught my attention as I turned to face him, listening to his words.

“Why, Rose?” he began, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

I laughed lightly, shaking my head slightly.

“You’re in a bad mood and since you’re my roommate, I want to try to help you feel better”, I replied easily.

It seemed as though we were talking about him being sick, but I knew otherwise.

“You should tell Mel and I should tell Vic”, he said suddenly, catching me off guard.

“T-tell them? I’m sure Mel will handle it, but Vic? No, Nick. If Vic finds out she’ll-”, I began, but he cut across me.

“She’ll what?” he asked, shutting me up.

I bit my bottom lip trying to think of an excuse other than telling him that she threatened me. I wasn’t afraid of Vic or what she was capable of; I was moreso worried about Nick. Ugh. Why do I keep doing that?

“She’ll what?” he repeated, staring fully at me, not even facing the field, but me.

I swallowed my saliva before speaking.

“It-it’s nothing. Just tell her”, I said, feeling stupid afterwards.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“You’re the one who suggested that we should tell them, so I suppose so”, I answered heatedly.

“Yeah, I did. Let’s do it now”, he said abruptly, catching me off guard again.

I stammered in protest, but he pulled out his phone, dialing the number while I stammered. I grabbed his phone, hanging up on whoever it was before I realized my actions.

“I-I’m sorry”, I got out as we sat there in silence.

“I-I just-I can’t deal with Vic right now. I-I don’t need her ruining things”, I tried explaining, but it didn’t even make sense to me.

“Ruining things how? What are you talking about, Rose?” he asked, staring intensely at me.

I looked into his eyes feeling as though he wanted me to tell him and I-I couldn’t stop the words from flowing out of my mouth.

“Y-You know Vic doesn’t want me around you. She-she would ruin our reputation if she found out we were roommates”, I stammered, clearing my throat at the end.

“So, she said this to you”, he assumed.

“Yes”, I answered honestly.

“So what should we do about it?” he asked. I widened my eyes, realizing what he was suggesting.

“No, no, no! Nick, I’m not going to let this happen! You and I are just roommates and if I have to drill that into Vic’s head, then so be it. I can’t let this drama start up again this year. I just can’t”, I rambled, slowing down at the end.

“I’ll tell her and I’ll take full responsibility as to what may or might happen afterwards. Deal?” he asked, surprising me again.

I stared at him finding myself trying to read him-to see what he was thinking, but there were so many emotions in his eyes that I couldn’t know what he was truly thinking. I opened my mouth, wanting to say three words that I did last year on his birthday for the first time, but I stopped, staring at him.

“We should call them now. It’s better to get it over with now than later”, I said, pulling out my cellphone as I began walking to our dorm room.

I heard frantic footsteps following me, indicating that Nick was following me.

“Are you sure-?” he began, but I cut across him.

“Yes”, I answered. I pressed 3 on my cell phone, waiting for it to dial as the person answered the phone.

“Hey, Rosie. What’s up?” Mel asked.

“I-I have to tell you something”, I said in a solemn tone, sighing afterwards.

“Oh my gosh! Please don’t tell me you’re on a date with your new roommate already?” she asked.

I wrinkled my brows in confusion at her statement before responding.

“No, well, I mean-I wasn’t completely honest with you earlier”, I said, biting my lip hard for a few moments.

“What do you mean? About your roommate?” she asked in confusion.

“Y-yeah. My roommate is Nick”, I got out.

There was a long pause; a long, silent pause between us before Mel spoke.

“Uh, the fuck? You’re not going to get that changed?” she asked incredulously.

“I can’t, Mel. There aren’t any other available rooms”, I tried, but she wouldn’t have it.

“That’s bullshit, Rose! You haven’t even tried moving, have you? And what about Vic? I thought everything was going to be drama-free and that you weren’t going to have anything to do with Nick!” she exclaimed heatedly.

“It shouldn’t be about whether or not I’ve tried! I can’t change it! Even Ms. Thorne said I couldn’t! And about Vic, I’ll deal with it”, I replied just as heatedly.

“Whatever. You know you’re not over Nick”, she said, her words stabbing me in the heart. When did Mel get this cold-hearted?

“I am over him!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah right. I bet if you kissed him right now you would probably have a make-out session which would lead to something else which then would cause more problems”, she said.

“Why the fuck would you even suggest that?!” I exclaimed, my voice raising.

“BECAUSE IT’S TRUE, ROSE! IT’S TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT IS!” she yelled, catching me off guard.

Mel’s never yelled at me before.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Are you on your period or something?!” I asked incredulously.

“It just seems like no matter how many times I advise or talk to you, all you do is let shit go in one ear and out the other. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do when you’re in tears or coming to me telling me about you, Vic, and Nick and how you guys are arguing or your feelings have been hurt in some way, shape, or form? Answer me that, Rose because I sure as hell don’t know”, she ranted.

Her words sunk into my mind for a few moments before I answered her.

“I won’t let things get that far. I’ll take responsibility for whatever my actions are or may be towards the both of them. Just please support my decision even if you don’t like it”, I said in a calm tone, holding a hand to my head.

Silence fell between us again before she spoke.

“OK. I’m your best friend and I love you, sis”, she said finally after a while.

“Thanks”, I said, heaving a sigh afterwards.

“Alright. Thanks for telling me. Love you, Rosie!” she exclaimed happily.

“Love you, too, Melanie. Bye”, I replied. I waited until she said bye before hanging up.

I sighed as I stared at Nick only to see him staring at me in slight shock. I honestly didn’t know what he would say.

“How could you do that?” he asked, catching me off guard.

“Do what?” I asked, slightly confused.

“Defend me like that”, he answered as though he were surprised.

“It’s not a big problem”, I said, lying through my teeth.

“Yes, it is”, he answered, unlocking the door, then entered the bathroom without a backwards glance.

I saw him pulling out his phone. This probably wasn’t going to end well.