Vienna's breath caught in her throat as Vienna's boyfriend and roommate scrambled away from each other, both breathing heavily. It was obvious what they had just been caught doing, and the thought made her nauseous.

"Oh I'm going to be sick," she said, her voice breaking.

"Vienna, I-" stammered Joshua, his face pale.

"Don't," she cut him off. "I don't want to hear it."

"I can explain," he said.

"Explain what?" Vienna's hands clenched into fists. "Explain how you're screwing my roommate?"

Neither Joshua nor Ivory responded, their excuses left unsaid. Without another word, Vienna turned and left, the door slamming shut behind her. She could feel her heart breaking as she left the building, her breaths sharp and uneven. Her mind swirled with disbelief, anger, and a sadness so deep it threatened to consume her.

So that was why Joshua had been acting so differently. Why Ivory always seemed to know more about him than she let on. Why she hadn't told Vienna about the guy she had been seeing. Vienna had never felt a betrayal like this one. How could her boyfriend of three years, the boy she thought she was going to marry one day, do this to her? And with one of her best friends.

Sure, Joshua had been growing distant from her, but they were both incredibly busy. Vienna had figured he was still upset about the physics study sessions and was putting space between them to figure himself out. Apparently that space was the exact size and shape of Ivory Winslow.

Vienna thought back to the night of her and Joshua's anniversary. He had bought her yellow flowers– Ivory's favorite color. And the red wine? Ivory's favorite too. Had he done it to intentionally hint to Vienna of what was going on, or was he so caught up in both girls that he genuinely could not tell the two apart anymore?

Vienna was contemplating everything so hard, she didn't even know where she was going. One second she was in the hallway outside of her room, the next, she was walking quickly past the fountain in the center of campus. She was heading toward the other first-year dormitory, but she couldn't decide where to go from there. Vienna wasn't sure she could trust Rosalie. She and Ivory were the closest of the three, and it was possible that she had known about the affair the entire time. Vienna couldn't see her.

Vienna instead headed to the second floor, where Marshall and Pepe's room was. She could talk to Pepe. They had grown closer over the last few weeks, Pepe choosing to sit with Vienna and her friends at lunch more and more often. And she knew he would be there, as he would have just returned from dropping her off at her dormitory.

Pepe opened the door, looking slightly surprised to see Vienna there in front of him. He was wearing plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt, his dark hair damp and slightly tousled.

"Is Mars here?" asked Vienna, her voice raw.

Pepe shook his head, looking at the girl with concern in his brown eyes. "He went up to Rosalie's. Are you okay? What happened?"

The questions unraveled Vienna's composure. Tears finally fell down her cheeks, and she stepped past Pepe into the room without waiting for an invitation. Pepe shut the door behind him, his movements careful as if afraid to startle her.

"I can't go back," Vienna choked out, her voice muffled as she pressed her hands to her face. "I found Ivory with Joshua."

Pepe's jaw tightened.

"He what?"

Vienna shook her head, unable to say more. Pepe hesitated for a moment before gently guiding her to sit on the couch. He grabbed a box of tissues from his desk and handed it to her, sitting beside her while keeping a respectful distance.

"I didn't know where else to go. I can't trust Rosalie right now, and since Marshall's with her right now, maybe I can't trust him either," whispered Vienna, clutching a tissue in her trembling hand. "I feel so stupid, Pepe."

"You're not stupid," Pepe assured firmly. "He's the idiot, Vienna. You didn't deserve that."

Vienna finally looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. She probably looked terrible right now, but she also didn't really care. "Why do people do that? Why pretend to care when they don't?"

Pepe's gaze softened. "I can't speak for him, but I know one thing for sure. Anyone who could hurt you like that doesn't deserve you."

His words broke something in her. She leaned into him, her head resting against his shoulder as her tears soaked through his shirt. Pepe hesitated for a moment before shifting closer to her and wrapping his arms around her, his hold protective and warm.

"I've got you," he murmured, his voice quiet and steady, "Take all the time you need."

Minutes passed in silence broken only by the occasional sob. When Vienna's breathing steadied, Pepe pulled away slightly to look down at her. "Do you want to talk about it? Or just sit here? Because if you don't want to-"

Vienna dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue. "No, it's okay. I don't even know what to say though. I trusted him. I thought we were happy, you know? In love." Her voice cracked again, and Pepe squeezed her shoulder gently.

"It's okay to be angry, Vienna," said Pepe. "And it's okay to not have the words yet. Just let it out when you're ready."

She nodded slowly. Pepe got up for a moment and grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge. He unscrewed the cap and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she murmured, flinching when their hands touched as she took the bottle from him. She sipped it slowly, her hands shaky.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" he asked quietly. "I can sleep on the couch, or-"

"No, you don't have to do that," Vienna interrupted, shaking her head. "I don't want to be alone, but I'll just-" Her voice trailed off as she gestured vaguely to the couch, and Pepe shook his head.

"You can take the bed," he insisted. "It's fine, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Thanks," said Vienna softly. "I just don't want to be alone right now."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Pepe. "Let me know if you need anything."

Vienna lowered her head onto Pepe's shoulder once more. His quiet presence was relaxing, his steady breathing and the warmth of his hand resting lightly over hers grounding her.

"Is it alright if I get up for a second? I'm going to find you something to wear to bed," he said, brushing his thumb gently over the back of Vienna's hand. She nodded.

Pepe got up and rummaged through his dresser, emerging with a pair of sweatpants and a thick hoodie. "Are these okay? The radiator's still shot, so it's absolutely freezing in here, in case you haven't noticed."

Vienna had in fact, not noticed. But he was right. The dorm room was almost mind-numbingly cold. No wonder Marshall had been spending so much time in Rosalie's room recently.

"I'm going to go brush my teeth, you can change while I'm gone. And hold on, I think I have a spare toothbrush somewhere you can use." Pepe searched through a bin in his desk drawer that contained spare toiletries. He passed her a new toothbrush, still encased in its packaging. "There's a girls' bathroom on the first floor if you don't want to risk running into Rosalie upstairs."

Vienna didn't say anything, but nodded in appreciation. She waited until Pepe had left the room before changing into the makeshift pajamas. Both the sweatpants and hoodie were much too large, but they were warm and comfortable. Vienna pulled the hood over her hair and trudged downstairs to brush her teeth.

She looked in the bathroom mirror and groaned. She looked absolutely horrible. Her eyes were red from tears, the skin around them puffy. Her cheeks were blotchy. She wished she had access to her skincare routine, but there was no way she was walking back across campus to face her bitch of a roommate and the dick that was her now ex-boyfriend. So instead, Vienna splashed some cold water on her face, hoping it would at least help her feel better, even if it did nothing for her appearance. She ended up getting water down the front of Pepe's sweatshirt, which almost made her feel worse.

Vienna sighed, bracing her hands against the porcelain sink. Her breath shook as she tried to force her tears back once more. She wasn't about to start crying in the communal bathroom, so she walked back upstairs to Pepe's room, angling her head down so she wouldn't have to face anyone who might be lingering in the hallway. She didn't want to talk to anyone, especially since the too-big clothing made it obvious she was sleeping over in a dormitory she wasn't technically allowed to be in. Joshua lived down the hall. People who knew her would assume she was just going there. But would she be able to stay composed long enough for someone to ask her about it? Vienna didn't want to know the answer to that question.