Chapter 3

“Autumn, I've been looking for you everywhere" Allison said with a little hiccup at the end. She'd been having so much fun till she remembered her first time party goer bestie wasn't in sight. She exhaled deeply, placing both hands on her thighs in relief before moving past the person in front of her, who had apparently been speaking to Autumn.

“I think I've gotta go" Autumn muttered apologeticly as Allison kept tugging on his top for them to leave. She even started giggling and her eyes rolled around in a funny way. “Hey could we…..” he was cut off by Allison pushing him towards the door. Vegas stayed completely rooted to the ground, completely dumbfounded by the spectacle he'd just witnessed. 

‘Who was that?’ he wondered as he placed his left hand on his shirt, feeling the soaked fabric in his hands. As unbelievable as that was, the fact that he just got treated like some nobody by that stranger felt more aggravating.

“Clairemont, bro where've you been" he heard from behind him. Julian, of course. “Dude what happened to your shirt?" Remmy asked coming closer, reaching for the end of his sleeve. “Some dummy just… you know what, let's get outta here first, I'm done with this place” he said, glaring at the entrance where the boy had just make his escape through.

He angrily disposed the glass he'd been holding, proceeding to shove past a couple of people on his way to the entrance. He took out his phone to send a quick text to his butler, reminding him that he wasn't going to be home tonight since he had made plans earlier to sleep over at Remmy's condo. Apparently, Remmy's been camping out there, away from his parents since they were currently in town. Thus the idea for the party to be at his place.

It's a wonder how Remmy still turned out a pretty chill college guy given his upbringing. His older sisters acted so uptight, always giving in to their strict parents, though Remmy was honestly the most mature and reasonable among the three of them.

He'd drifted further into his thoughts, getting jolted back suddenly after his right foot struck a huge stone close to the parking spot. Julian gave him a confused stare, given his rather weird vibe so far. He ignored him, moving to the left as he let himself into his car. He ran a hand through his hair, staring at the side mirror, illuminated by the street lights. 

He started his car driving behind Julian's, though his mind seemed to drift back to the stranger who'd ruined his shirt a couple of minutes ago. “Autumn.." he whispered like a secret, remembering what the fussy girl had called him. He hadn't seen much of his face given the party lights but he'd noticed his eyes, those brown eyes, and a little mole just above his lips. 

“I'll make him pay big time!” he thundered, hitting his right hand on the dashboard, seemingly frustrated at his thoughts. For now he was badly in need of a shower.

…..

Meanwhile, Autumn woke up with a stir, trying to remember where he was. After rubbing his eyes about 5 times, he scanned the room noticing it was still dark outside and he was still in his party outfit. He scrambled around the bed looking for his phone which laid at the other side of the bed. “3:45”, he announced to no one in particular, rubbing his hands on his face. 

He felt hot and he'd gotten mascara on his hands, remembering he hadn't wiped it off. The memories kept flooding in as he gradually remembered how Allison's Chauffeur had dropped him off before taking Allison home. He also remembered how she had fallen asleep in the car and he'd stumbled upstairs fiddling with his keys for a few minutes.

He got up from the side of the bed, walking towards the door to check if he had locked it. He confirmed this twisting the handle which refused to open. “Great" he exhaled, glad that he'd unconsciously been careful.

Though there hadn't been any weird accident, he hated feeling exposed, hated the feeling that someone could just invade his privacy and possibly hurt him. A feeling he wasn't new to. He thought about how hard he'd had to convince his mother into letting him accept the dorm arrangement he'd been given on campus. Made him feel like he was maturing, that he could protect himself, finally…

He shook off his thoughts once more, jumping into the bathroom to get a rinse. After peeling off his clothes which he tossed to the side of the door, he turned on the shower, letting the water settle on his body. ‘What a night' he shuddered feeling a bit cold, thinking about the guy he'd bumped into earlier. He remembered how pissed off he'd looked and hoped they wouldn't run into each other again.

“He probably wouldn't remember my face" he declared calmly, he was practically invisible at school after all and given the designer he'd ruined, he sure hoped not. On the other hand, he'd surprisingly had a not so terrible time. His cheeks burned thinking about the flirty bartender, disappointed that he hadn't gotten the chance to tell Allison about it.

After getting out of the shower and changing into one of his comfy nightwear, he decided to watch a movie so he could fall asleep but decided to find an outfit for class the next day instead. After an hour of digging through his closet, he settled for a white tank top, yellow v-neck sweather and brown pants. Just then, his attention suddenly went to the blue box at the last layer of his closet. The one his mom had given him the day he moved into his dorm.

How hesitant she had been before shoving it into his arms, before giving him a bone crushing hug. Although he had seemed really excited to live on his own, he felt a bit lost without her. Felt so scared by the fact that he had to protect himself now. He reached out for the lid but felt his stomach tighten and his brows dripping with sweat. He couldn't look at that right now, not tonight. 

‘Perhaps tomorrow’ he thought, as he pushed the closet close, jumping into bed to scroll on TikTok, hoping to fall asleep to one of those cute cat videos.