Harley was frowning as she led Reese outside and away from the desperate looking Chris. She flopped down in a chair, but still managed to make it look incredibly graceful. Reese took the one next to her.

"Okay, that was weird," Harley said.

Reese couldn't deny it. "The whole situation is weird. I mean, think about it. Some incredibly hot guy suddenly decides he desperately wants to date me?"

"Why would that be the weird part?" Harley asked, rolling her eyes. "You're so self-critical."

"Well, when has anyone ever paid that much attention to me?"

Harley scoffed. "You're way too hard on yourself. Of course guys don't chase you all the time, because you don't look like you want them to. They're not stupid, they tend to do what they calculate will be effective. They mistake my superficial friendliness for interest, which is why they're always hitting on me."

"Also you're drop dead gorgeous." It was a statement of fact.

"You say that like you're hideous or something, which you clearly aren't. You should deal with your complex." Harley sank back into the chair as if arguing with Reese's negative self-perception was exhausting. After a moment where they were both lost in their thoughts, she spoke again. "You know, that's what I liked about Chris. He'd definitely into me physically, but he also seemed really interested in what I had to say, and not just because he was trying to figure out his way into my pants. It's a shame he's being so sketchy now." She sighed, her frown deepening. "Well, I'm not putting up with that shit."

Reese frowned. Harley had looked so happy with him, and she'd hate to see her throw that away because of Reese. "At least give him a chance."

"I already did. People don't change."

Reese shrugged. "People change a little." Maybe not like they did in books with a beautifully sastisfying character arc, but determination could take people a long way if they decided they wanted to change. "And maybe, just maybe, Nathan really was just saying he liked me, and Chris put it together from what Keith said. He looked completely broken up that you were upset with him."

Harley nodded. "Well, maybe. It's incredibly unlikely."

"But not impossible." Reese shot Harley a challenging look.

Harley scoffed. "I love you, but I will never take your perception of probability seriously."

"That's another math insult, right?"

"The fact you even had to ask proves my point. Honestly, if you should have a complex about anything, it's your terrible math skills, not unjustified insecurity about your appearance."

"You're awful," Reese said, rolling her eyes. "It's not that I'm bad at math, it's that you're too good so your perception is off."

"Thank you." Harley blew a kiss in Reese's direction.

"That wasn't a compliment."

Harley smiled wickedly. "Are insults math related? Because I'm noticing some parallels."

Reese just smiled back. "I'm noticing how you're avoiding talking about Chris right now."

"I absolutely am not."

"It's because you've got all those 'yucky' feelings."

Harley just groaned, but she didn't deny it.

"You looked happy with him. I've never seen you like that, so maybe your first impression of him was right. You're usually a good judge of character, so maybe he was telling the truth." Chris hadn't done anything that bad, other than knowing Keith and Nathan, and that wasn't a crime.

"He does make me feel calm and excited all at once. Like I said, weird." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. 

"I don't think it's that weird."

"Maybe you're just being swayed by memories of the mysterious Nathan. Has he arrived yet?"

"Not that I've seen. I hope he isn't going to ghost me." A pang of pain hit her chest at the thought. How was she already so quickly invested?

Harley smiled. "Well, since Chris knows him, I can go find him and kick him in the shin if he does."

"I appreciate the thought." She met her friend's eyes. "You know, Chris looked really upset when you left. If you think you might want him, maybe go easy on the poor guy. He's clearly smitten."

"Smitten." Harley scoffed again, but it didn't properly hide her smile at the idea. Yeah, she had it bad. Reese hid her smile better than her friend.

"Go inside, I'll follow you in a minute," Reese said. She gave Harley a little nudge. She moved reluctantly, shaking her head like a stubborn mule.

After Harley disappeared into the house, Reese sat back and watched the people around her mingle. No one seemed to be paying her any mind, and she was perfectly content with that. As she had noticed inside, an unusual number of the people milling around were stunningly attractive. It really was  like she fell into a book, maybe they were all supernaturally beautiful. Maybe Nathan was whatever the male version of a siren was, that would explain her strong attraction to him.

Even though the crowd looked better than average, they mainly seemed to act like anyone else from her college, flirting and generally having a good time messing around. Did the guys seen unnaturally strong? Maybe a bit, but they also all looked like football players. Maybe Chris and Keith both played and that's how they knew each other. It was more plausible than all her other silly thoughts.

She watched one guy overtly hitting on a gorgeous black-haired woman in a slinky dress, and she wasn't making it easy on him. She clearly enjoyed the attention, but it was obvious from just a glance that he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Reese wondered why anyone would want eyes on them that badly, but then again, she had enjoyed Nathan's attention, even if it had been unexpected and awkward, short, and maybe only a one time thing.

She shooed away thoughts of him. It was already almost midnight, and he hadn't shown up yet. He probably had reconsidered, if what Chris had suggested was even true. She checked her phone, and there were no messages from him, although there was one from Irene asking where Reese was and if she wanted to play pool. She shot a quick text back gently refusing the offer.

She turned her attention back to watching the black-haired girl again. She was laughing, but somehow still standoffish. Reese didn't really understand what she was getting out of the situation.

Nathan flitted through her mind again. A pang of disappointment swept through her again. She was starting to feel depressed about Nathan being a no show, and she didn't want to be that way over a guy she barely even knew. She made her way back inside and searched out her friends. Before too long she found Irene in the games room, and she ended up hanging out with her for a while having another drink. It was past her usual bedtime, and Reese was getting tired, but she didn't want to ruin her friends' fun by complaining about how much she longed for her bed.

However, she definitely didn't argue when another of their roommates came up and suggested to Irene that they go home. Irene seemed like she had been enjoying herself, but she also seemed to be winding down. "I'll give you a ride, let me just check on the others. I doubt Harley is ready to leave yet. How about you, Reese? You going to stay or come back with me?"

Reese checked her phone. It was a quarter to one. She doubted he was coming this late since he hadn't shown up yet. Who was insane enough to come to a party at one in the morning. The thought made her way too sad considering he was just some guy. She shouldn't have invited him out in the first place. She should have just stayed home and read. Lesson learned.

Well, at least Harley was happy. "Yeah, I'm tired."

It wasn't a lie.

It took another twenty minutes for Irene to round up anyone who wanted to come and herd them towards the car. Reese pretended she was only tired rather than dejected, but it was hard. She looked mournfully back towards the house.

And her eyes caught on Nathan. Her heart pounded frantically at the first glimpse, and redoubled when she saw that he wasn't alone. The black-haired woman who she had been people-watching in the backyard was talking with him, and placed her hand lightly on his arm with an alluring smile.

Reese stopped in her tracks, jealousy like she had never known swelling inside her, although with something that felt suspiciously like betrayal. Which was insane, because she barely knew him. He could talk to whomever, do whatever to whomever he wanted and it was none of Reese's business.

She shouldn't care. But still she did. She stopped dead in her tracks, and another friend of Harley's not expecting the sudden halt—and not particularly coordinated after multiple drinks—ran straight into her back. Reese catapulted forwards towards the ground.

If she had truly been a character in one of the books she liked to read, strong arms would have caught her before she hit the ground. Instead, she hit the dirt, her knees taking the bulk of her downward momentum, and her outstretched hands taking the rest. Her finger twisted painfully, and tears sprung to her eyes.

Now she just really needed to get home, where she could tend her wounds and hide in her dorm room for the rest of the weekend or maybe the rest of her life, whichever seemed better. She scrambled to her feet and towards the car, not even really hearing everyone's words of concern as she tried to ignore the pain of her skinned extremities.

"I am so sorry!" Erin cried, sounding genuinely upset.

"You have nothing to apologize for," she said, trying to keep her voice steady and hide her tears. Erin's frantic response washed over her, not registering.

"Reese?"

She froze, for just a second, at the sound of the deep voice that had already burrowed way too deep in her memory. Then she wrenched the car door open, wincing at her harsh treatment of Irene's property and the pain in her injured hand. She'd have to apologize later to her roommate, but for now, she just needed to escape. The pain was irrelevant.

"Reese, how hurt are you? Let me check your injury." She was too upset to register the concern in his voice.

"No thanks, I'm fine." She held herself still as she tried not to sniffle. She couldn't help it. It was waiting all night for him, and then seeing him flirting with the beautiful attention seeker, and then falling and looking like a fool in front of him. She really should have stayed home.

"Please?"

She shook her head, pulling the door shut more slowly than she opened it, but not by much. Her hand stung, why did she keep using it? Then she turned her head away, because she didn't want him to see how upset she felt. She told herself that nothing was wrong, but that didn't stop her from feeling an insane maelstrom of emotions whirling through her. She should blame it on the drinks she had consumed, but that small annoying voice in the back of her head contradicted that convenient lie.

Everyone else got in, and Irene glanced back at her. "You sure you don't want to stay?"

She was almost tempted not to leave. But she felt too wounded to face him and the call to go and hide in her room was very strong. "Yeah."

Irene shrugged slightly, and put the car into gear. "Well, if you're sure."

"I'm sure." She wasn't at all sure.

The ride home was awkward. Erin kept apologizing. Twice Irene suggested she could go back with her after dropping the others off and treating her injuries, as if she could see how conflicted Reese was. The other two in the vehicle were happily chattering, completely at odds with her mood.

Reese's phone was dinging, but she didn't bother to look at it, using her sore hands as an excuse to avoid any more awkwardness. The ride felt like it took forever, and she could have cried with relief once they got back to the dorm. Erin insisted on going back to her room to help her clean her wounds.

Reese wasn't keen on letting a drunk person at her raw hands, but Erin refused to see that it wasn't her fault. Finally Reese let her come along to make Erin feel better. Once she was sitting on her bed, she let Erin fetch things for her while she began the painful process of picking rocks out of her skin on her own. The alcohol she'd consumed dulled the pain a little, but definitely not enough.

Irene knocked on her door to see if she needed help, and she let her in, although she kept working on it herself. It would only hurt more if she let someone help her. Once she was finished, she promised them that she would be fine. Both left with dubious expressions. 

Reese curled up in her bed as soon as she was alone.

The pain in her chest was more nagging than the pain from her fall.