I stare at my keyboard and allow my fingers to idle above the digits. My fingers take their time in typing out the number written at the top of my old Chem study guide. I make my way to the message box and hesitate yet again, only to type out the two numbers. My thumb hovers above the send button before I huff quietly and drop my phone onto my chest.

Do I really need to text him? Giving him my number gives him the power to contact me as often as he wants. It won't just be running into him once or twice a week coincidentally. What if I get attached to him? I've never been friends with someone I want to sleep with. The last thing I need is to get used to this boy. He'll probably realize I'm not as cool as he made me out to be and stop talking to me, which will definitely hurt.

I stare at my screen and let out a frustrated groan. I should just do it. I mean, we're friends anyway. Besides, I'm the queen of making bad decisions; what's one more? I pick up the phone, unlock it, and press send.

Felicity: 93

Immediately after it delivers, I chuck my phone to the other side of my bed and lock my eyes on the ceiling. It takes all of two minutes for me to get a response. I feel the vibration travel across my bed and glance at my orange case. When I give in and snatch my phone, I half expect him to be asking who the hell is texting him these random numbers at 11:30PM on a Sunday night but am proven wrong.

Cameron: It was definitely my last minute quizzing that helped.

I smile at my phone and hate myself for it. I allow myself to have this; at least he can't see me. I roll my eyes and type a reply, figuring he texted me back fast enough to get a quick response.

Felicity: Eh...I'm not too sure about that.

Cameron: You're probably right. Either way, I knew you could do it.

Felicity: Why thank you.

Cameron: You know what this calls for? Celebratory lunch tomorrow!

Cameron: As friends, of course.

I stare at his message and repress the urge to roll my eyes and smile. Of course he manages to turn any situation into a date proposal.

Felicity: What a shame; I have to work. I can't harshly reject you and send you running away from me.

Cameron: Dinner?

Felicity: Oh no, it seems as though I'm dozing off and falling asleep before I can answer your invitation.

Cameron: So it's not a no?

Felicity: But it's not a yes.

Cameron: I'll try again soon. Goodnight Flizzy.

I stare at his message and ignore the way a small smile spreads to my lips. I allow my fingers to hover over the keyboard before typing out a reply.

Felicity: Don't call me that.

I really shouldn't get used to this boy. I really, really shouldn't. We want different things from each other and settling for a friendship realistically won't cut it. I know it won't be long before we start to clash and the longer it takes, the more it's going to hurt. I shove those thoughts to the back of my mind as I tuck my phone under my pillow and let the small grin sit on my face.

+++

I'm sitting at work in a slightly frustrated state. I've been here for an hour and not a single person has even popped in. In fact, my boss hasn't even checked in with me to give me any tasks to complete. I've just been studying. Sometimes I wonder why this job even exists in the first place. All I do are small office tasks that she can definitely do herself. She may as well get rid of the middle man altogether and just put a sign on her door asking students to knock when they're ready to be seen.

I'm especially grumpy because I forgot my food in the fridge at home. So here I am, hungry and bored. I texted Mel and Gen to see if one of them could bring it but they both either have class or are too out of the way. My phone buzzes and I jump up hopefully. Maybe Mel or Gen decided they'd be good friends and bring me something to eat! My eyes fall on my phone only to find that it's Cameron. I stare at the text in a state of diffidence. A spark of excitement forms in my chest but is sideswiped by my constant state of suspicion as I skim his message.

Cameron: Going to lunch...alone :(

I allow myself to chuckle at the strand of words as I read it in his voice. I decide to make him feel a bit better by telling him about my situation.

Felicity: At least you get to eat. I forgot my food at home.

I wait four minutes before checking my phone only to find that he read my message. Wow, I'll just pretend that didn't hurt. I toss my device back onto the table and return my focus to my textbook, which I read and reread for the next twenty minutes. I can barely concentrate though because of how loud my stomach is grumbling. I don't look up until I hear the door opening, which signals that a student is here for their appointment.

I tear my gaze away from my textbook and watch as Cameron approaches my desk with a large paper bag. The smell of pizza infiltrates my nose and I immediately lean forward in slight desire, which gets a boyish chuckle from him. "What's that?" I attempt to seem casual but I'm positive my hunger is visible in my eyes.

"Lunch." He takes a chair from the waiting area and plops it in front of my desk.

"Your lunch?" I'm hesitant as he settles down. If he's going to be an asshole and eat in front of me, I'll just kick him out and block his number.

"Our lunch," he clarifies as he takes a seat. I silently admire the dark blue crewneck sweater hanging off his shoulders and the khaki pants covering his lower half. I can't see his shoes from here but I reckon they're nice judging from our past encounters. He reaches into the bag and starts unloading it onto my desk as I shove my textbooks and notebooks out of the way.

"I'm so hungry." I pull myself closer to the table and wait patiently for my food. I want to groan in delight when I see the familiar individual pieces of pizza from the Student Union. He slides one of the large pieces over to me and I repress the urge to sigh in pleasure.

"I figured I couldn't let you starve." He shrugs playfully as he continues to take out items from the bag. He plops a small bin of bread-sticks and two cans of soda in the space between us. "I didn't know what kind you liked but you look like a Dr. Pepper kind of girl."

"I'm literally an anything kind of girl right now," I confess as I lead the pizza into my mouth and take in a large bite of it. I exhale noisily and he watches me with a small smirk on his face. I wait until I'm finished chewing to nod at him. "This is some good shit, man."

He lets out a loud laugh as before biting into a bread-stick. We eat in silence for the most part, other than the hushed chewing noises and my moans of satisfaction. I practically inhale my pizza and half the bread-sticks. He watches me eat and I don't even bother trying to look cute as I do. Once I finish, I stretch out with a wide grin and pat my stomach. "Are you full?" he wonders with the same entertained smile and I nod slowly.

"Mmhmm." I let out a yawn. "Thank you."

"Anytime," he assures me as he tosses our trash in the bag. He managed to finish a few seconds after me, which means he must've been pretty hungry, too.

"So how much do I owe you?" I ask him before taking a sip of my Dr. Pepper, which is actually my favorite soda. I won't let him know that, though.

"Nothing." His dismissive wave of his hand causes me to tilt my head. I quirk a brow in a way of asking if he's sure and his face quickly falls into one of blatant flirtation. This should be good. "You don't owe me anything but...you could always let me take you out."

"You want me to repay you...by letting you spend more money on me?" I attempt to compute as I place one of my short nails on my lip.

"It's not about the money." Another dismissive hand wave. I would beg to differ if it didn't make me sound like a cheapskate. If it wasn't about the money, I wouldn't be stuck at this boring job day in and day out.

"Why do you want to take me on a date so bad anyway?" It's not like anyone's getting lucky afterwards.

"I didn't say it was a date," he replies matter-of-factly. "You don't date, remember?"

"So you want to take me out...as a friend?" I noisily sip from the dark can. He gives me a short nod and a weak shrug, which gets a laugh from me. "Sounds like you're desperate for friends, Cameron."

"Sounds like you're right, Flizzy." I point a finger at him and he only grins widely in response. My eyes skim his features appreciatively. His long eyelashes cascade around his dark eyes, which search my face excitedly, and his rounded nose is dotted with freckles that travel across his cheeks like flowers over a field. I'm so distracted by admiring his face that I barely hear the words that come out of his mouth. Luckily for me, I was admiring his plump, dark pink lips enough to make out what he said. "So can we be friends?"

"Aren't we already friends?" He gives me a slightly exasperated sigh as if my response isn't sufficient enough.

"I mean real friends, Flizzy," he tugs lightly at one of the curls on his head, "as in we hang out and talk."

"Ah, so you do want genuine friendship. I was under the impression that you only want to be my friend because you're interested in me." I wag my finger and he shakes his head.

"I'm trying to be your friend so we can get to know each other. If you decide you don't like me then I'll move on and we can either still be friends or you can cut me off." So he has this all planned out, huh?

"You're a persistent fellow, aren't you?" I mumble with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Not usually." An alarm on his phone interrupts us before I can ask what he means by that. He stares at it for a second before letting out a strained sigh. "Unfortunately, I have to go. I have an exam study session."

"A shame, really." I kind of mean it. It's nice to have some company around here. But of course, I'd never tell him that for obvious reasons.

"So...dinner?" he proposes with a grin and rises to his feet. I let out a loud guffaw as he moves the chair back to the waiting area.

"That'd be two meals with you in one day." I shake my head at that idea.

"That doesn't sound too bad, right?" he wonders as he grabs our trash.

I roll my eyes at him and nod. "Good luck on your exam, whenever it is. If you're in need of some last minute studying, let me know."

His eyebrows rise on his face and before I can tell him I'm joking, he gives me a quick nod. "I'll hold you to that, definitely." He pulls open the door with a pleased beam.

"I better not hear from you until I coincidentally run into you at a party this weekend, Cam!" I call after him. The door shuts and I sigh noisily, only to be startled by it opening again.

"Cam?" he asks with those same raised brows.

"It was a waste of breath to say your entire name," I retort defensively and he smirks at me.

"Sure...Flizzy. My exams in two days so expect that text sometime soon." The door closes again only to be shoved open a few seconds later. "Or would you prefer a phone call?"

"Go away Cameron before I block your number." My piercing gaze doesn't disrupt his grin as he leaves me alone in the office for the rest of my shift.

+++

"How's Ashton?" I prompt Mel as I join her and Gen at the dinner table. She grins widely and I can tell she was waiting for one of us to ask. The day after the party was...eventful, to say the least. I expressed my annoyance with Gen, who apologized profusely. Mel waited all of ten minutes for the tension to disperse before telling us all about everything she has in common with Ashton. She said they plan on hanging out soon and that she can't wait to see where this goes. For a moment, I felt jealous that she could experience such an emotion without being skeptical that he'll lose interest in her and leave.

"He's good! We're planning a date for this weekend!" The grin on her face is refreshing.

"Tell him to bring Axel." I scoff and look to Gen, who is already prepared with a rebuttal.

"Only if he brings Cameron." Like I said, she doesn't skip a beat. I laugh at the thought of the triple date really happening and let out a breathy laugh.

"Oooh, yeah, we could all go bowling!" Mel starts to plan with a hopeful grin on her face.

"No." I shut that down immediately.

"Yeah, wouldn't that be fun?" she continues to insist with a vigorous nod. "We could do girls against guys and the losers have to buy the winners dinner!"

"Or we can do it couple style," here Gen goes, "and the team member that scored the least amount of points buys the other dinner."

"Guys, we're not doing this." My dismissive head shakes go unnoticed as they continue to bounce ideas off of each other.

"I think it's a great idea, Mel," Gen concurs with a loving nod at our small friend.

"I'll ask Ashton tonight." Mel looks from Gen to me and after noticing my dry look, she frowns. "I'm too nervous to hang out with him alone like that anyway. Having you guys there will help."

I groan loudly as I stare at Mel, who gives me a pleading look. I turn to Gen to see who she's siding with and she gives me a knowing grin, which results in me giving in with a loud sigh. "Fine, whatever, but make sure Cameron knows it's not a date."

"Sure thing." Without another word, Mel practically snatches her phone from the table. I shake my head and pick at my pasta, wondering why the hell I do so much for these girls.

It takes all of ten minutes for my phone to buzz with a text message and my friends look at me with curious expressions on their faces. "I wonder who that could be..." Gen trails before taking a long sip of her lemonade. Heaving a sigh, I remove my phone from the table.

Cameron: So what are you wearing on Saturday? I was thinking we could color coordinate.

Cameron: I have to admit, I didn't think Gen would really do it. Tell her I said thanks.

I stare at my friends as they pass my phone around and giggle girlishly. "He's so cute," Mel coos as she hands back my phone. "Don't hurt him."

I scowl at her before staring at his message. I purse my lips before locking it...and then unlocking it...and then locking it again. I look up at my friends, who have been watching me struggle with a response. "Help me think of something to say." Mel lets out a loud laugh at my worry.

"Are you sure you don't like him?" Immediately after hearing her words, I offer up an annoyed scowl.

"Forget I asked." I unlock my phone once again and enter our conversation.

Felicity: It's not a date, Cameron.

I lock my phone and put it back on the table, ignoring the vibration that travels through the wood a few moments later. My friends giggle to themselves as we continue eating and I repress the urge to sigh. Great, now my Saturday night is going to be spent working on my emotional regulation.