The haymans.

Cole’s POV.

I sat up quietly on the edge of the bed. My eyelids felt heavy. I was in my room.

I must have been very tired yesterday; I can’t remember falling asleep.

“Cole”

Shit, I forgot. Stella came over last night. As usual.

“Stella.” I replied without looking back.

She leaned forward and hugged me from behind. Her bare chest brushed against my skin while her hand roamed my chest. I could feel her hot breath against my skin.

She was meant to have been gone by now. That was how we always did it.

"So," she started, “I have been thinking..."

Oh no. There she goes again. Anytime she starts a sentence this way, it’s always something.

“When are you going to make us official?”

My eyes shot up. Huh.

I turned around this time. "Us?"

“Yeah, I mean this has been going on for quite a while. I thought we had something."

I stood up quickly. Scavenging for my boxers.

My duvet was wrapped around her body while she leant on one elbow, a smirk on her face. Waiting for an answer.

I slipped on my boxers and gazed at her.

“I thought we were having fun, Stella."

“What?” She sat up quickly.

“I told you, I don’t do relationships. I don’t believe in commitment.”

Silence.

“I can’t give you any of that.”

Her features morphed into a glare so sharp it could have sliced through concrete.

“Ugh! I knew it.” She slid out through the edge of the bed with the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders.

“You are just like the other frat guys. It’s always fun with you all.” She said, bending to pick up pieces of clothing scattered all over the floor.

"Here," I said, handing her a bra.

“Ugh!” She yanked it from my hand.

My fingers ran through my thick brown hair. “Come on, you are sleeping with like five other frat guys. Why me?"

She said nothing, just made her way towards the bathroom.

“Does this mean this is the end?” I called out.

She slammed the door hard.

“I guess that’s a yes?”

I slipped on a shirt and joggers and walked to the kitchen. I was famished.

The frat house was unusually quiet.

Which meant something was wrong.

I stepped over a traffic cone sitting in the hallway.

Nobody knew where it came from.

Nobody knew why it was there.

At this point, it was basically a member of the fraternity.

The smell of stale pizza and cheap beer lingered in the air as I made my way downstairs.

A guy was asleep on the couch.

Another was asleep on the floor.

A third was asleep on the pool table.

Honestly, I was impressed by that one.

I opened the fridge.

Empty.

Of course.

Except for half a lemon, three energy drinks, and something growing in a plastic container that looked intelligent enough to pay rent.

I shut the door.

The house was a disaster.

And somehow, I loved it.

No one cared what clothes you wore.

No one cared if you failed an exam.

No one cared if you came home at three in the morning covered in paint or mud or regret.

The place was loud.

Annoying.

Chaotic.

But it was the closest thing to freedom I’d ever found.

“Morning, sunshine.”

I looked up to see Mason shuffling into the kitchen.

His hair looked like he’d lost a fight with a lawnmower.

“Why do you look like you’ve been dumped?” I asked.

He pointed toward the stairs.

“Because I have.”

A pillow came flying from the second floor and hit him in the face.

I grinned.

Yep.

Everything was normal again.

Everyone went quiet as Stella made her way down the stairs to the front door.

“No hard feelings, Stel," I called out.

"Whatever," she muttered.

Manson popped open a can of soda and turned to me. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I guess she just woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Mason chuckled.

“Yo! Fred…what’s today?”

"Wednesday, man.” Fred yelled from the living room.

I have a tutorial with Sally today. I grabbed an apple instead.

Halfway up the stairs, I caught myself thinking about her again.

Which was odd.

I didn’t think about girls after I left them.

That was usually how it worked.

But Sally wasn’t really stuck in my head because she was pretty.

It was the way she looked at people. Like she was trying to break them open and read them.

I frowned.

Weird.

I barely knew the girl.

Still, I found myself checking the time.

Maybe tutoring her, or tutoring me, wouldn’t be as boring as I thought.

******

My eyes scanned the quiet library.

I can’t remember the last time I came to a library. Fifth grade? When Mom would make it mandatory, I came with her because she was studying for her law exam.

Where is she?

I squinted.

Found her! Her head was lowered, buried deep into a book. Her hair fell over her face as she tucked it behind her ear.

She flipped through those pages as if a golden treasure lay in either of them.

Her glasses slipped from her nose, and she pushed them back with an index finger.

I walked through the tables. Some blond girl on one of the sides winked at me, and I winked back.

The girls, they just love me.

"Hey," I said, pushing a stool back and taking a seat right in front of Sally.

She glanced at the time. “You are 30 minutes late.”

I grinned. "Who is counting, Sally?"

She leaned back, clearly annoyed. “If you are going to work with me. You are going to need to be disciplined and keep to time. I have a lot going on, you know."

My grin widened even more. "Sure."

She reached for a small journal inside her bag and trailed a page with her pen. “We are starting with…(don't know that information yet).

I arched a brow. “What’s that? I thought we got rid of one of those?”

Her eyes rolled. “I have a bunch of these for different occasions. This one’s for study. That one was for daily activities.”

I folded my arms across my chest. "Why am I not surprised?"

“Haha, very funny.” She slides the textbook to me and moves her chair closer to me. Leaning forward. “So…”

I drag her chair closer to mine so we are just inches apart. “There, I don’t bite, hun.”

They ignored me.

“Open to chapter three.”

I obeyed.

Mostly because the look she was giving me suggested violence.

"Symbolism", she whispered.

I frowned.

“What’s symbolism again?”

Her eyes widened.

“You cannot be serious.”

“I’m very serious.”

She flipped open the book.

“The bluebird represents freedom.”

“It’s a bird.”

“It’s a symbol.”

“It’s still a bird.”

She closed her eyes.

“This is going to be a very long semester.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll carry us.”

“You are literally failing.”

Before I could respond, a voice interrupted us.

“Sally?”

We both looked up.

Justin stood a few feet away holding a backpack over one shoulder.

His eyes moved from Sally.

To me.

His brows furrowed slightly.

“I thought you were supposed to tutor me today.”

Sally froze.

“Oh no.”

She looked at the journal.

Then at her phone.

Then back at him.

“Oh my God.”

I burst out laughing.

“You didn’t have that in your journal?”

She shot me a look that promised murder.

Justin pulled out a chair anyway.

“I can sit, right?”

That was new.

Sally nodded too fast.

“Yes. Yes, of course. Sit.”

He sat opposite us.

He sat opposite her.

Which meant I was now part of whatever this was.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Justin nodded, like he actually understood what was going on.

Justin pointed at the bird on the page. “The blue bird, the symbol of freedom.”

Sally turned to him like he had just solved world hunger.

“Yes. Exactly.”

I stared at them. She looked at him like he was the only one in the room.

Oh.

“Look at that,” I said. "The teacher's pet arrived.”

Justin stared right at me. “Better than failing”

Sally rubbed her forehead.

“This is meant to be MY tutoring session. " I glanced at Sally. “I didn’t know this was going to be a group project.”

Silence.

Justin checked his phone.

“Practice,” he said suddenly, standing.

Sally blinked.

“Oh.”

He slung his bag over his shoulder.

“See you later.”

“I would call you later, Justin.” She winced.

“Don’t stress it," he said with an edge.

When he was out of sight, she glared at me.

“You’re supposed to be helping me.”

I drummed my fingers against the table.

“You’re trying too hard, love.”

She went still.

I reached for her journal and closed it shut. Leaning back so I could look at her properly.

“You don’t even like him. You just like how he ignores you.”