(song: "Where Did I Go" - Jorja Smith)

Three weeks passed. . .

During that time Gardner took Natalie out on several dates. He took her to see obscure foreign independent films that she didn't find fun or entertaining. He introduced Natalie to his circle of friends as his girlfriend, a title she always wanted from him.

His friends were mostly uptight and pretentious personality types that spent most of their time talking about sciences and name-dropping their favorite lecturers.

When they would have quieter dates where Natalie could sit with him and watch shows, it was always in Natalie's dorm and never his. She found that odd, but dismissed it most of the time.

He watched the films she selected with indifference. Their tastes were so vastly different that she'd always let him chose what they'd watch or do. Given the choice to pick what Natalie wanted instead of Gardner, she began to realize he had no interest in anything she enjoyed.

Gardner made no advancements beyond kissing Natalie's cheek, or holding her hand. There was no passion or flame. It really wasn't much different than how they'd been before they became official. She had the label, but none of the actions that were supposed to come with it.

It was a lovely morning in February. Natalie carried in her laundry basket with freshly washed sweaters and linens and set it down on her bed. Virginia stood in front of a standing mirror trying on a pair of sexy knee-high boots.

"Steve loves me in these boots, he can't take his eyes off me for a second." Virginia shared as she twisted her figure to accentuate her legs.

"Is it normal for a guy to make a girl his girlfriend and not kiss her after they've been together for three weeks?" Natalie asked while she folded a turtle neck. "I thought he was old-fashioned at first, but when I bring it up to him he says he loves me too much and wants to take things slow."

Virginia crossed her arms and looked much more fierce with her features. "Okay see, something isn't right there. He's willing to admit that he loves you before he's even kissed you? Run for the hills, Nat."

"I think it's because we've been friends for so long he has gotten too comfortable with us having platonic intimacy level." Natalie's eyes darkened a little.

When Kaden had looked at her, she knew he wanted her. He didn't have to say it, she felt it as strongly as she could feel his touch. With Gardner, it was a total guessing game.

"Fine, I'm going to help you Natalie, but you have to be willing to listen to me okay?" Virginia searched through the three small shelves on her side of the room and pulled out a sexy red dress with a low-plunge v-neck. "I'm going to help you take your relationship to the next level. He won't be able to resist you."

Natalie laughed at the dress. There was no way she was going to wear that.

"Virginia, I don't have the body type to pull off a dress like that. I have no boobs and no butt."

"Natalie, do you want to upgrade your status or not?" Virginia tossed the dress at her. "There's no such thing as a body-type that can't wear a sexy dress. You wear the dress, it doesn't wear you. You can hide it under your heavy overcoat. Go to his dorm room and surprise him, have his roommate leave and pounce on him like a snow leopard. After that, your relationship is going to be full of hot and steamy passion."

There was no denying how lovely the dress was, Natalie just hoped she'd be able to pull it off.

"Okay, but can you help me do my makeup too?" Natalie asked with a hopeful voice.

Virginia smiled like magic words had been spoken. "Let me get my makeup bag!"

After two hours of shaving, plucking, and full-face makeup Natalie squeezed into Virginia's tight-fitting dress. It may have not looked as curvy on her figure as it did on Virginia's, but it still was sexy. Natalie couldn't stop looking at her own reflection. She looked ready to walk a red carpet at an award show.

She waited until about 8 PM before she decided to go to Gardner's room. As she stood by the door she took a moment to steady her breaths and check her hair and makeup. It was now or never. If she couldn't seduce him into kissing her she had no idea what would work.

Her closed fist reached up to knock and that's when she heard something being tossed against the wall followed by yelling.

Natalie pressed her ears against the crack of the door to listen in.

"You are such a liar Gardner!" A male voice shouted out. "I am going to request to be placed with a different roommate. I can't stay in here with you if you're going to refuse to acknowledge that you are gay and in love with me! I deserve more than to be someone's secret."

"What would you have me do? Do you think I wanted to be gay? My family would never accept that." Gardner yelled back.

"So basically you're making that poor girl be your beard so you can look good in public and around your family? How do you think she'd feel if she knew that every night you come back here and end up in my bed, hm?"

Natalie slowly withdrew from the door. Her legs felt numb and she stumbled slightly. How could she have been so stupid? The answer was so painfully obvious all along. Gardner had never once shown a romantic interest in any girl. He also had never made any advances beyond platonic ones.

It was all an illusion.

Her four years of loving him and wanting him were a waste.

He wasn't oblivious either, he knew she liked him and he just kept her around for the appearances out of convenience.

Kaden was right all along. He must have known, but felt it wasn't his right to reveal Gardner's secret before he was ready to come out. Gardner hadn't been ready to face his truth, and neither had Natalie.

All the signs had been there, but she refused to see them.

Natalie crumpled down to the floor and rested her back against the wall. Students walked past her carefully and whispered to each other. They probably knew too. What if everyone had secretly known and she was just some kind of cruel joke?

A normal girlfriend would have been totally broken over discovering her boyfriend had used her. Natalie felt hurt that Gardner hadn't told her the truth, but she wasn't hurt over losing the relationship. She had tried to make it work, but her heart had not been fully invested in Gardner anymore than his was in her.

Ever since the moment she met tattoo-boy, everything had changed.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized she had to find Kaden and apologize to him. That thought grew until it gave her legs the strength to stand and run.

She knew exactly where to find him. . .