Ander

I'm leaving the building after my lecture and spot my brother's car. My first thought is to continue walking and completely pretend like I haven't seen him. It's of no use because he's seen me.

He comes out of his car and sprints a little to catch up with me. “Aren't you a little too far away from your part of this campus?"

“Andrez is in this school. I saw him not long ago."

I stop walking and stare at my brother. He looks at me and sighs. “You already know? Why am I not surprised?"

“I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't done anything. He's the sixth person in our dorm. I didn't know till I woke up next to him." I've already reached the parking spot where my bike is parked. I hop on it and secure my helmet in place.

“I've told him to stay away from you. Do same." Archie is actually warning me. The fucker actually possessed such audacity.

I scoffed. "If anything, please don't act innocent. It doesn't suit you. Also, he's in the same room with my boyfriend. We can't ignore ourselves. The guys are going to catch on.“

Archie places his hand on his waist and sighs. “I don't care whatever happens. But you better listen to me, history isn't going to repeat itself. You're old enough to get arrested."

“Sure."

I put my bike to drive and am out of my brother's face in seconds. The jokes on him because I do whatever I want to do. I drive back to the dorms. I can hear voices from the door so I don't bother searching for my keys. Kyle, Jesse and Adrez are in the living room. From the look on Andrez's face, it's obvious he was dragged to be out here. He's still the same stupid fuck.

“Hey babe," I beam. I grab my boyfriend's shoulders from behind and kiss the side of his face. He angles his face so it's his lips I kiss. Adrez is staring at us. I can almost feel him breaking. “How was school?"

He shrugs. "Same old same old. Remember you're on grocery duty. You and Vicky. “

I turn to Vicky. "You heard the man. Get up and let's go. “

There are two shopping marts on our campus. I take him to the one farther from our dorms. My first instinct was to get on my bike and make him walk behind me, but I've been nicer since high school. We walk side by side. I'm on my phone but through my peripheral vision, I can see Andrez smiling.

“So you go by Vicky now."

He looks at me, blinks and smiles. “Yes. New school, new life. New me." There's something in his eyes that makes me disgusted. Hopes, happiness. I almost puke. He doesn't deserve to be happy. Not after what he did.

I scoff. "Oh so we're just going to pretend that nothing happened? Cool. If you're okay with it, then I am.“ I can feel Andrez stiffen beside me. I scoff. “Stop overreacting. I haven't forgotten if for any reason, you have. “

"I'm sorry, “ he whispers. It's so quiet, I almost cannot hear him. His apologies aren't important. They weren't when the incident happened, and they're most definitely not now.

We reach the supermarket and it's a little bit busy by this time of the day. Students are roaming around in their little circles. I snatch one of the baskets from the pile and toss it at Andrez. He doesn't catch it and it falls.

" Klutz. I heard you're back to being a slut for my brother. And you've barely resumed. “

"I ha-haven't done anything. Archer was the one who approached me first. He asked I should stay away from you. “ He's playing with the basket, probably to make him feel better or less like a fool.

I snatch a few bags of chips and toss it in the basket. I'm not precise like Jesse so doing things like checking the expiry date or prices bore me. I pick whatever looks fancy and edible.

"So, are you going to stay away from me? You know, listen to Archie?"

He shakes his head no and I'm almost tempted to pat it. I stretch my hand but instead of touching him, pick a carton of milk. “Pick up the pace Andrez. There's a lot of things we need to get."

After I almost buy half the store, we're on our way back. I'm grateful Andrez doesn't try to engage me in small talk like he tried to do in high school. Now, he just walks quietly beside me, sometimes whispering to himself. Because I carried the bags, when we return, I ask him to empty them. He doesn't know where anything is, do Magnus offers to help him.

I go to my boyfriend's room, where he's typing away on his computer. I plop on the bed and Jesse frowns a little. Instead of getting up, I nestle my head in his lap.

“What are you doing?, “ I ask tracing the freckles on his shoulders. He loves when I do it, no matter how many times he complains .

"There were some errors in your paper, but I'm correcting them now. I'll get you the edited version tomorrow or thereabout."

“Is my boyfriend the greatest or what? You're amazing!" Jesse bends to kiss me chastely before continuing with helping me. I keep myself busy by running my fingers through his hair. It's a huge turn on and that's an amazing bonus.

“Babe?," he calls after some time of silence.

“Mm?" I think he's going to talk about the effect my fingers have on him, so I intensify my movement. Making them incredibly sensual.

“What was your relationship with Vicky like?"

My fingers freeze. I sit up straight, crisscross opposite my boyfriend. “Why are you asking?"

“I'm just curious really."

“Andrez and I weren't particularly friends. We weren't even supposed to be together, but because he performed excellently, he was moved to my class. Archie was closer to him than me. There's no need to be jealous."

He reaches out to hit me, but I kiss his fingers. He lets go when he's flustered enough. "I wasn't jealous. I'm just curious. Also, I know that you're mine now. Mine and mine alone.“

I rush to him, tackling and straddling him. Jesse smiles as I kiss his face. I intentionally do not go anywhere near his lips. He puckers them, as if asking for my attention.

"Do you want a kiss huh? “

He nods oh so slightly, one could miss it if they weren't staring intently at Jesse like I am right now. My lips don't get to touch his because Andrez is opening the door. The old shit is so loud, I'm sure Russians heard it. Jesse wants to move but I've pinned his arms securely to either side of his head.

“What can we help you with? We don't do threesomes."

Even with just the glow of the lamp lighting up the room, I can still see the blush in his cheeks. He's about to say something, but Jesse does first. “It's his room to babe. He has every right to be here."

Jesse wriggles his way from under me. I'm still glaring at Andrez, but it's not the reason for which Jesse thinks it is. "Stop being so pissed," he grabs my hand ready to pull me out of the room. I follow eventually. “I'm sure you're tired Vicky. You can have the room for yourself. Ander and I will watch tv."

I'm dragged out of a room that is most definitely not mine not by my own free will. I'm seated on the couch, a beer in my hand, my boyfriend snuggled up beside me, and thinking. About what I should do. If I should even do anything at all.