It had been a month since I last saw Finn. A whole month of silence after that night. I told myself it was just a one-night stand, that I shouldn't expect anything more. But the memory of his touch, his smile, and the way he looked at me lingered. The absence of any word from him gnawed at my mind.

As I sat in my criminal law class, my thoughts drifted back to that night with Finn. Mr. Johnson's monotone voice droned on in the background, a dull hum I barely registered. My mind was elsewhere, lost in a loop of what-ifs and lingering glances.

"It's been a month," I thought, feeling a pang of disappointment. "Why haven't I heard anything?"

I stared at the notebook in front of me, its pages filled with half-hearted notes and doodles. The memory of Finn's arms around me, his lips on mine, played like a movie in my head.

But since then, nothing. No calls, no texts. Just silence.

"Lily, could you explain the difference between Mens Rea and Actus Reus?" Mr. Johnson's voice suddenly sharpened, his tone carries a hint of impatience, drawing my attention back to the classroom.

I blinked, snapping back to reality. "I...uh, sorry, I..."

My feeble attempt at a response was drowned out by a classmate's eager interjection. "Actus Reus refers to the physical act of committing a crime, whereas Mens Rea is the mental intent to commit the crime," he recited confidently.

Mr. Johnson, without missing a beat, added a sarcastic remark, "Thank you, Mr. Thompson, for rescuing Miss Garcia from her reverie. Perhaps she should be more attentive next time."

Kam's stifled giggle beside me only added to my frustration. I felt my cheeks heat up, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance swirling inside me. I shot Kam a glare, but she just smirked, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

With the class finally over, we make our way to the campus café, where I try to shake off the lingering tension.

"Intense class, huh?" I laugh.

She chuckles. "More like intense daydreaming on your part.

I roll my eyes, as we both make our way to the till. "Can I please have a caramel latte, with a slice of lemon drizzle cake?" I ask, Kam orders as well. I leave Kam to get the drinks and snacks so I can get us a booth.

She walks over and brings the drinks and snacks.

"Still no word from Finn?" she asks taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

I force a nonchalant shrug. "Nope, and frankly, I'm fine with that. One night was enough," I reply, pretending not to care.

Kam sees through my façade with ease. "You're a terrible liar, Lily," she remarks with her teasing tone

Unable to keep the charade, I relent. "Yeah, well, what about you and Shawn?" I deflect, eager to change the subject.

She looks flushed, "erm this isn't about me" she quickly replies, laughing.

"Sure," I say rolling my eyes, whilst I start getting up from my seat. "Bathroom, be back in a sec" I continue

I finish up in the bathroom and head out. I feel myself collide with someone, sending my bag to the ground

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I stammered, bending down to gather my scattered belongings.

"No harm done," a familiar voice replied, sending a shiver down my spine.

As I looked up, I found myself staring into the eyes of Adam, my heart crushing in my chest.

"Adam..." I whispered, my voice trailing off as a flood of emotions washed over me.

"Lily," he acknowledged coolly, his tone devoid of warmth.

The shock of seeing him after all this time left me speechless, a whirlwind of emotions swirling inside me.

"It's been a while," I finally managed, trying to mask the tremor in my voice.

"Yeah," he replied, his gaze distant, as if I were a mere stranger to him.

My stomach tightened with a mix of anxiety and longing, memories flooding back in a rush.

"Well, I should get going," I mumbled.

"Take care," Adam said dismissively, already turning away before I could say another word.

At that moment, I felt a pang of hurt and resentment, realizing that the person I once knew was now nothing more than a ghost from my past. I knew he'd applied for this university, but I hoped the next time we'd see it would be different.

Thinking back to that period, my world shrank to the four walls of my bedroom. Food lost its taste, sleep left me like a cruel joke, and the worry on my mum's face only served to deepen my despair.

I hear a faint voice saying my name.

"LILY" Kam half-yells bringing me back to reality. She turns around to apologise to the other customers for her minor abrupt outburst.

When did I get to the table and sit down?

I turn and look at her, she scans my face with clear worry and confusion all over hers.

"What's up, why are you crying," Kam asks.

I hadn't realized but I'm full-on crying, tears streaming down my cheeks. My eyes are red, and my cheeks are puffy.

Kam helps me pack up my things and hers, getting the beverages to go, and then we head to my room. The walk seems long and depressing,

"Okay, calm down and tell me what the hell is going on Lily" Kam calmly asks.

Right now, my head's all fuzzy with rage more than sadness. I gave him a year of my life, which may seem small, but it meant a lot, I truly loved him.

I tell her everything, from the breakup to a few minutes ago.

Kam pulls me in for a hug, "It's ok", I hold her arm crying for what seems like an eternity.

Suddenly the door opens, "Sorry, am I interrupting something" a girl shyly asks. She's holding a suitcase and boxes on the floor of the doorway. "I think this is my room, 203, isn't it?" she mumbles whilst grappling with a paper.

I was wondering when my roommate would show up, given it's been a month since resumption.

Kam and I get up from the floor and I walk towards the girl at the door.

The girl is petite yet has an elegant figure. She has long jet-black hair, and complexion so fair and flawless with almond-shaped dark brown eyes.

"Sorry about that, I'm Lily, your new roommate," I say wiping the tears from my eyes "And that's Kam my friend" gesturing to Kam and she waves.

"I'm Jennie" she smiles as she walks in with her boxes, and we help her.

"You resumed late, any reason in particular if you don't mind me asking?" I ask.

"Nothing serious, I was on vacation and just didn't want to cut it short because of school" she laughs.

Kam and I exchanged glances after she said that and stifled a giggle.

"Are you okay, I know we just met but what I walked in on seemed quite intense?" she asked concerned.

"It's all good, don't worry" I smile.

Well, it is and isn't, but I'll manage.

I hear a buzz and Kam picks up her phone. Looks like she's got a text message.

"Lil, we're going out this evening. You too Jennie, if you'd like" Kam states

"Kam, I don't-" Before I could protest, she chucks a pillow at me.

"I'm not hearing it and that's the end of it," she says sternly.

For someone who's a year younger than me, she sure as hell is goddamn scary.

She turns to Jennie, "So what do say?" she asks

"I mean, if I'm not intruding, then why not" Jennie smiles and they both divulge into a conversation about what to wear etc

"Hi," I wave at trying to get their attention, "Kam where are you taking us to?" I say whilst rolling my eyes sarcastically

"We're heading to a games night this evening, a friend messaged and asked if I was interested and to bring friends" she shrugs. "Alright, I'm going to head out for my next class, Lil message me when you're both ready" she hugs me before leaving.

As I settled onto my bed, I watched Jennie bustling about, unpacking her belongings, cardboard boxes lay scattered around her,

"So, Jennie," I called out over the rustle of paper and the clink of hangers, "what are you studying?"

Jennie paused in her unpacking, a smile gracing her lips as she turned to face me, a stray strand of hair falling across her forehead. "I'm studying English Literature," she replied, her voice tinged with excitement.

I chuckled.

Patting the space beside me on the bed, I say "Take a break and tell me more about yourself. We can tackle the unpacking together later."

Jennie grinned, setting aside a stack of books before joining me on the bed, she launched into tales of her hometown, and her love for literature.

I glance at my phone and see a message from Kam

'I hope you're ready xx'

Shit, we got carried away and forgot to get ready.

"Jennie, I'm going to start getting ready" I start "Will you be changing or you're good" I further ask.

"No, I'm good" She smiles

I turn to my wardrobe and change into something a bit comfier. I opt for ripped loose-fitted denim jeans and a tank top.

We walk out of the room and meet Kam at the intersection.

"So where's this games night?" I ask

"It's at a friend's house, we may need to get a cab there" she laughs

"As long as you're paying" I laugh and pull Jennie away from Kam teasingly.

*******

As Jennie, Kam, and I got to the house, the aroma of popcorn mingled with the sound of laughter, setting the perfect vibes for a game night.

I really needed this distraction after my encounter with Adam earlier.

My gaze swept across the room, scanning faces until it landed on Finn.

Well, if it isn't the human equivalent of a plot twist—just when you think the story's over, he waltzes back in.