To Love And Back.

It seemed like never happened between John and I and I really couldn’t complain.
I knew, though, that John and Erin were usually hanging out on campus because she always asked him to show her around. Of course I didn’t like the idea of her trying to get her hands on him, but I really also didn’t like the idea of arguing again with John, so I always tried to think John was enough smart to ask someone else to go with them and hang. I trusted him.

My new year at ASU was slowly starting and I really didn’t care about studying at all. My mind was always thinking of John in one way or another and that really wasn’t healthy. Most of all, my mind was in constant state of worry, and that was the worst part.

I had this new class starting that morning and I wasn’t even interested in it, even if I was the one chosing it: marketing for tourism. I usually was on time for classes, but that day I would have really wanted to stay in bed all day, maybe because I woke up with John by my side.

“What time is it again?” I said yawning, hugging him while he was looking the time on the alarm clock positioned on his bedside table.

“It says 9 am” I got up like a fury and started dressing up, swearing and going back and forth to and from the bathroom. John was still sleepy, and didn’t understand why I got so nervous.

“Everything’s alright babe?” he asked from bed.

“I’m late for the new class, I was supposed to be there now”

“Call in sick” he said yawning and pulling the blankets up his face.

I puffed “You can’t call in sick, we’re not working” I got closer to him, all dressed back and prepared, pulled down the blankets and kiss him on the lips quickly “see you later, yeah?”

John moaned something similar to a goodbye and got back sleeping, while I was running down the stairs. Before I could go out the Theta Chi house, someone bumped in me.
I was about to yell to whoever it was but when I recognized Kennedy, I obviously shut up.

“Well, good morning” he said “I guess you’re as late as I am?”

“Are you up for a run?”

“Totally”

We both started to run like mad to get on time to classes but of course we got late.
When I entered the big room I didn’t find anyone but a guy who was reading some papers, sat on the chair behind the professor’s desk. He spotted me and I thought I interrupted him.

“I’m sorry, I was looking for professor Forbes class?”

“It skipped to 11am” at that moment I felt relieved “you’re way early, but you might want to take a seat in the first rows so you can actually follow the lesson”

“Ehm... sure” I usually do not like when people tell me what to do but I thought that guy might be someone important and not a normal student like me, so I felt frightened.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” I asked, both curious and confused.

“My fault, I’m professor Forbes assistant, Chris” he gave me his big hand and I took it. This guy, or should I say man, had probably 30 years old and was definitely good looking.
Like, objectivly.

“I’m Andrea, nice to meet you” he smiled and I thought a lot of girls would have liked the class itself. “So, are you from here or...?” I asked, noticing his weird accent.

“Actually not, I’m australian”

“I kind of recognized the accent” he giggled

“Happens everytime” we smiled to each others but when all that niceness became too awkward we both went silent. It’s not like we were flirting, but I rarely get confidence to someone I barely know.

“Do you want something to drink? I’m going to grab a coffee, it’s not even 10am, are you going to wait here all alone for more than an hour?”

At the beginning I thought he was trying to hit on me, because I don’t normally ask someone to drink something with me if I don’t know them, but maybe he was just new and wanted some company, so I decided to go with him to the cafeteria and have a coffee with him.
It wasn’t like I was doing something bad, right?

“So, what brings you here?” I asked as we were ordering our coffees.

“my dad’s job most of all” at first I didn’t understand what he was talking about, so he had to explain it to me “I’m professor Forbes son”

“That explains a lot”

“I usually try not to tell people because it happens they think I’m spoiled or whatever”

I couldn’t deny I thought the same at first, but that guy didn’t seem a bad person.
“I guess you got that a lot”

“Yes, and I totally understand that, but it’s not like I’m using my dad to get a carreer y’know? I really like what I do and it happens that my dad is a professor of that subject. I studied marketing in college back in Melbourne because I wanted to, not because my dad obliged me to” I just nodded and found that the guy was very keen into what he was doing.

“You didn’t need to justify” he shrugged his shoulders “but thanks for letting me know the whole story”

“It’s ok. Thanks for listening to my monologue” I giggled and started drinking the hot beverage. He did the same and before we went back, still with the paper glasses in our hands, he wanted to pay also for me. I really tried to tell him he didn’t have to but he was very determined to do it, as a reward for listening to his speech.
“Don’t worry Andrea, it’s not like I’m buying you a car, it’s two dollars I can afford that”

“I just don’t like when people pay for me”

“Does your boyfriend know?” I knew that was going to happen.

“Yes he does” I’m sure he didn’t expect I had a boyfriend, because guys always hope that you don’t when they indirectly ask you something about it. I could see he was surprised.

“So you do have a boyfriend” I nodded “who is the lucky guy?”

“He studies here at ASU as well” I really didn’t want to talk about my relationship with a stranger, especially if he was a good looking one who made me feel under pressure by staring at me with his blue eyes. “Do you think your dad is going to be here soon?”

He got I want to change topic, so he looked to his watch “yeah, I guess in ten minutes”

We entered the classroom to notice we weren’t alone anymore. I smiled at him and took a seat in the second row. After twenty minutes professor Forbed arrived and so all the other students. The class was full and from what the old man said, the subject really sounded cool, unlike what I thought of it. The lesson lasted two hours and sometimes I could spot Chris’ eyes on me. I hoped I was wrong, but when I was about to leave the room he stopped me and told me he was available for any questions I got about the subject. That was kind of him, but I also thought he clearly wanted me to call him or something. I’m not saying this because I think every guy on campus wanted me as Andy, but because I know how a boy’s mind works.
Zac used to ask me to go to the library with him just to get a chance to go out together.
Chris was obviously trying to tell me –inbetween the lines- that he wanted to get to know me better. The question was: did I want to get to know him better?

I tried to call John, hoping he was up, to know if he wanted to have lunch together, but I got his voice mail message instead. Weird, I thought.

“Hey is Johno here, I’m probably busy right now or maybe I don’t want to talk to you. Both ways, leave me a message and I will decide if to call you back or not”

“Hey, how come you have your phone off? Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to have lunch with me, but I guess you don’t so I’ll see you tonight. Bye”

I put the phone in my bag and felt a little disappointed, because I really wanted to see John, and it was weird he had his phone off. I turned back and bumped into someone I really didn’t want to see, instead.

“Could you be more clumsy” she said.

“Oh, it’s you”

“It’s really not nice to see you again”

“Same here”

The tension was so high that everyone could have noticed it. Erin was the last person I wanted to step into in that moment, but of course I was everything but lucky.

“How are things between you and John?”

“None of your business”

“How grumpy”

“Guess whose fault is it”

She grinned “Whatever. There’s something I need to be right now”

“Where exactly? To hell?” she laughed like she was amused of that little discussion we were having. She sighed.

“None of your business” I shook my head grinning “you should worry about your boyfriend and not about where I’m going. I guess he’s kind of mad at you”

“Why would he be mad at me, let’s hear this”

“Because he thinks you are having an affair with a very hot guy who was buying you a coffee at the cafeteria this morning” I couldn’t imagine she was there, and most of all I should have been more careful. She was playing a dirty game “you should watch your back from now on”

“Tell me why I shouldn’t break your nose right now”

“Easy. Because if John knew, and believe me I would be the one to tell him what you did, he really would break up with you. He knows me since ever and cares about me, that’s why he will never stop talking to me. And you know what? as soon you will hurt him anyway I will be the one cheering him up” I felt the rage invading my whole body, and all I wanted was slap her in that face. She wasn’t really giving up and most of all she was trying in every way to get John to believe her and not me. “See you soon Andrea”

She walked away leaving me with no other words left. I was angry and most of all I was worried. She had such an impact on John that I was afraid John really believed her.
That’s why he had his phone off, I reminded.
All I could do right there and then was running to the Theta Chi house and try to fix what Erin was trying to broke. And that’s what I did.