Laura had finished moving out the last of the items in the guest room as Nikolai was arriving home. She was waiting for him to address her upon entry, but he enters the home silently.

Nikolai wastes no time removing his shoes. The damn things were compressing his feet anyway.

He can feel his heart racing faster than its normal pace. His breath is rapid and his hands can't seem to stop shaking. Was this a heart attack? No, his chest was tight but not in the same way, this felt less like pressure pushing in, and more like his skin was buzzing with a warm circuit-like sensation.

He's already halfway into the foyer and nearly lunging across the living room as he walks past Laura. She swiftly adjusts her posture to greet him, but he brushes past her with a great gust. Laura continues speaking to his back as he makes a sharp right turn down the hallway. His mind is hyper focused on getting to the room. He leaves a trail of his belongings behind him and heads directly to his quarters.

Laura blinks with a stirred yet stoic gaze toward the items on the floor. That's not like him, the panoramic window doesn't get much light this time of day. She resigned to her tasks.

Now in a space where he can get some peace and serenity, Nikolai turned his attention to his nerves. He removes his tie and belt hanging them over his closet door, and once close enough to the bed, he falls face first into his pillow. Having access to such a controlled space, He only shuffles a little before getting comfortable. His heart begins to subside.

That wasn't something he'd felt in a long time, not the Im-so-happy-I-did-that way, it felt more like the Im-never-doing-that-again way. He felt like a nervous teenager all over again. He was happy but he was also petrified. The blaring alarms in his mind remind him of heartbreak and the blistering pains of loss. But he finds himself able to breathe. Deeply. Proudly. He had conquererd fear, and thus conquerered himself.

When he takes his deepest boldest whispering gulp of air her exhales a force of exuberance that releases his teensest of vessels and most aggrivated muscle. He settles his mind, and lay his bustling thoughts away to their prespective places in his minds filing cabinets. Emptying his mind of the ruckus and hustle of the day was no grievance for him, but he couldn't empty his mind of Morgan.

As the humidifier and lavender oil diffuser helped set the atmosphere of sleep, coaxing his body to relax, and pulled his eyes to a close, he found himself having quite a pleasant dreamscape.

He dreamt about her freckles, each one a precious blessing. Marvelous speckles of walnut colored constellations on her magnificent cinnamon skin. This vision of her in a flowing sky blue dress adorned with fine daisy embroidery overlaid on the top layer. Her ashy gray and red Ombre curls waving in the gentle current of wind. Billowing sleeves that exposed her shoulders, and a graceful silver necklace and yellow choker highlighting her collarbones.

He could see her, and yet, he couldn't move. The two of them were standing by the edge of a stream, looking into water as different wildlife swam by. She would gasp and point with glee as she pointed at turtles, frogs, and even some small fish. The tall grass and surrounding wild flowers would shush at every gentle push from the air, just as Morgan's hair would also spring to life. Nikolai heard a soft muffled voice calling from across the water and as a reflection on the water's surface revealed itself, a great joy springs a sudden warmth into his heart.

His mouth moves, but no sound is exerted. He begins to step forward, but is halted by the woman standing on the other side. Her dress is a shimmering blush and jade. The bodice had a plunging neckline, and a trim of golden lace. Her hands were thin, and had a gold lace ring on each hand that connected to her gown on either side. She was a different kind of porcelain, a precious apache clay. Her smile was thin yet kind and understanding, and her cheeks were slightly sunken in. Her eyes were as blue as the water in the stream, and her strong braided cords of black hair had curled ends that danced to her waist.

". . . ."

His lips move, but nothing comes out.

The woman gently shakes her head, and her open palm guides him gracefully, as she motions to Morgan, who was gazing up at him.

Morgan had a smile on her face that seemed to have made the sun smile too. The rays of light consuming everything around like a slow motion flash bang.

"Nikolai."

The muffled voice is clearer, but not completely.

He smiles at Morgan and reaches out to place his hand upon her cheek. It feels so surreal, like he can feel the very energy of the universe being pushed and pulled, and as his vision and consciousness finally begin to work together, he slowly comes to reality.

"Nikolai?"

He feels a hand on his left shoulder, and a push, then a pull, as if he were being shaken.

"Nikolai, are you okay?" Laura shook him again this time a little faster.

He groans and blinks, his vision of Morgan is replaced by the concerned look on Laura's face. Her hazel eyes filled with worry.

"Ugh... What is it? I'm up, I'm up."

Laura waits for Nikolai to sit up, and she places her backhand against his forehead.

"You've been asleep for hours."

"Hours? What time is it?" He rubs his face and tries to come to his senses.

"Sir, it's almost midnight." Laura swivels her torso to the nightstand and carefully holds a saucer with a teacup, offering it to him to drink.

"You missed your outings with Sidney and Margaret." She hands them to Nikolai

"I told them you'd have to reschedule since you were under the weather and you have a fever." Laura grabs her cloth from her lap and dabs the sweat from Nikolais' forehead.

"You must've had some nightmare, you haven't reached for me like that in a while."

Nikolai says nothing and takes the tea, placing the cup and saucer back on the nightstand. He's a little embarrassed, but better to be touching Laura's face than anyone else's. He knows she wouldn't take it personally.

"I'm just tired." he sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. "Ill need you to change the sheets. Would you mind doing it before you leave?''

"Of course sir." Laura stands up and heads to the linen room to fetch new sheets and pillowcases.

After a few more moments of sitting in silence, Nikolai sits up and walks around the room to the dividing wall and turns the corner to go into the bathroom. He touches the panel on the wall to his right and the shower turns on. He considered soaking, but was always terrified he'd fall asleep or drown.

He stood in the shower allowing the rain to cascade his body, trickles of water outlining his ribcage and back. He slicked his hair out of his face and hovered over the drain watching the water pull into it, hoping too his nerves and sickness would go with it. He would simply watch. no touching unless expressly asked.

He mentally prepared himself for daytime as it would be soon approaching.

The Worst she could do is say no, right?

A few days pass and Nikolai finally manages to find a moment of leisure while in between his lectures. He had tried going to lunch but wasn't willing to fight all the other campus traffic just to get a meal. He decided it's probably best to just go through the day without a meal, a decision he would regret after he begins to notice a sharp decrease in his energy. This choice only further prooves him foolish as once 16:00 rolls around, The campus dining hall had already closed.  He b-lines for the vending machines in the admin lounge but the options dont offer him any relief, as all the present foods with either overpriced, or offered no nutritional value whatsoever. Growing increasingly discouraged he begins his trek back to his academic department. Figuring it would be faster, her takes a route that cuts across the campus, shortening his path to his classroom.  As he wandered into the cullinary academics building his nostrils are delightfully awakened by a perfume of baked goods.

He followed the scent like a hungry bloodhound, hoping that whatever was being baked was plentiful and available for him to partake by some slim chance. Prayerfully whoever was cooking would be gracious enough to share. He swiveled his eyes to wvwry possible door until he honed in on the precise location. Peeking his head into the classroom, He could overhear two individuals as they hovered over a rubbish bin.

Owen was there standing confidently at the ready to replace the bag that Morgan had pulled. He raised the bag in a swift and calculated motion then, with a bitter laugh, further confirmed the terrible-tasting treat sample with a shudder. Morgan was hoping to try a new dessert for the competition but the chocolate didn't temper correctly, and the flavors didn't marry well.

"Back to the drawing board." Morgan laughed as she tied up the garbage bag after removing it from the bin. She then removed the item from the list, scratching through the paper with an ink pen she lets out a deflated groan. 

"White chocolate dragonfruit truffle is a dead-end." 

She was beyond frustrated, it seemed none of her ideas were working, she was fogged in her mind about so many worries and concerns at home and work. Even on her eighth attempt she just couldnt seem to focus or get the balance correct. Morgan was in a cerebral whirlwind trying to figure out where she went wrong, which wasnt like her to do, at lease not to this extent. It was typical for her to make mistakes here and there, but eight times was far too many for her to just sit back and accept with a confident heart and spirit. 

Owen lathers his hands with sanitzer then notices Morgans crushed attitude. Her quick flick of the palm from her left eye to her thigh. She had tried to wipe a tear and conceal her pain from making so many mistakes, but Owen knew she was trying her best. He knew that she was enduring a lot of unseen strain and strife, he was determined to help her achieve her goals, so he came up with an idea. Perhaps taking a break and coming back to the task at hand was a better course of action than hammering away at this task in a repetitive and fruitless manner. 

"You know what? Screw the drawing board." He takes her slightly dampened hand and with a sly and curious manner, he inquires about Morgans admirer.  

"I wanna know if you've met your mystery man again!" Owen slinked over to his friend akin to an accordion-like motion. Morgan rolls her eys and with her free hand, she attempts to conceal her smile.

"Owen, I told you, He's not into me like that, we only just met, he's just an acquaintance." Morgan tries to hide her smile but fails and Owen jeers at her.

"Just you watch, one of these days he's gonna just show up when you're not looking for it and he's gonna say-"

"Hey, Morgan!"

Their attention is pulled away from one another and the two recognize the figure upon turning toward the rear entrance. Wearing Champagne dress trousers, Coniac belt, an Ice blue dress shirt and similarly colored Coniac brown dress shoes, Nikolai approaches with zeal and swagger. Owen's eyes spread to his whites as his jaw decends with elation. He starts to pat Morgan on her shoulders and swivels her out from behind the desk, pointing her in Nikolais direction. He began pushing her ahead of him and closing the space between the two of them. Even thoughMorgan isn't opposed to this, using her eyebrows to say what her mouth cannot she makes it clear that Owen is going to regret forcing her to face Nikolai this way.

"What are you doing here? Isn't it your lab hours right now?" She nervously approached.

"It is but, I smelled something amazing and had to come see what the source was. I should've known it was you making something so delectable." He takes in the redolence with excitmen, then he licks his chops. "It smells delightful!"

Owens mouth was in a delighted and radiant smile as Morgan approached him, was absolutely enthralled and excited at this catch of a well dressed man addressing his best friend. The two were off in their own conversation and Owen took this as an opportunity to give the two a chance to talk alone, but he wouldn't be far off, he'd be standing just outside in the hall.

The two engage in some standard salutatuions as the pair make their way back to the front of the classroom, Nikolai happily walks toward the display case and waves toward Owen prior to approaching, acknowledging his presence and hoping to make his acquaintance as well. While in transit Nikolai can feel his stomach respond to the sights of the snacks within the case, squelching in high pitches and forcing him to react.

"I'm Nikolai, nice to meet you!" He happily shakes Owen's hand and nods.

Owen was cordial in kind, but he could tell that Nikolai had a fancy for Morgan, and inferred that his presence was moot. He wasted no time leaving the room, so he made his greeting short.

"I'm Owen and I'm Morgans' best friend, it's nice to meet you sir!" Owen gives Morgan a motivated look with his gaze, nodding his head and egging her on, further encouraging his scholar sister. Morgan laughed nervously as Owen continued to hype her up silently. 

"Nice to meet you Owen. It's always nice to see that a professor has made a connection with their students." Nikolai stopped himself in his tracks. He points to the open Binder on the table in front of Owen "Is this a bad time? I didn't see any study hours posted." He motions to the door that he had just walked through and turns to look as Owen speaks out.

"NOPE! Not at all, Class is over." Owen shouted as he grabbed his binder and attache, neatly closing the rolled case and ensuring any sharp points are safley concealed. "I'll just wait for you outside, Morgan."

He hastily walked outside the room and waited by the door out in the hallway. He chuckles as he passes Nikolai and mutters just loud enough for him to hear as he passed him by. "Speak of the Devil..."