Athena
God, I'm so relieved yet somehow, the feeling of someone hovering around me in the dark is unavoidable. I feel watched. Still,
It has been a week since I met up with Elliot and a week after Owen's spasm episode and so far, I have never felt so secure and at home in college than I've ever been these past few months. Well, except I think I haven't seen the last of Elliot. On another note, thankfully, classes are halted for a few days since students need all the time in the world to recharge after that horrendous midterm season. I just love academic breaks. I just hope no one ruins it.
I was up and about in our dorm room, sketching some messy drawing of Maxie, referencing a photo Aunt Lydia sent me. Maxie was adorably tucked into my bed at home and my aunt took a photo of it. My polka dotted blanket was also around my socked feet and I had Chromatica blasting through my headphones, my head bopping along to Lady Gaga slaying my life once again.
For once, things were good.
Ever since I shot down Elliot last week, he never contacted me through my number or any of my social media accounts. He was silent. That side of him was what I feared the most since it was the same one that lured me into his trap, that sly fox he is.
Shaking my head, I focused my attention on drawing Maxie on my battered up sketchpad and as if on cue, Owen came rolling out from the bathroom, wearing a Haikyuu jersey and some comfy green shorts. He had a soft, white towel in hand that he used to dry off his dark, brown hair. He then looked at me, his icy eyes glowing warm as he connected with mine.
"What are you looking at?" he asked with a soft smirk.
I shook my head and threw my sketchpad to the side of my bed and put down my headphones, letting Lady Gaga sing into nothingness. She shouldn't worry though, I always come back listening to her songs ever since I was a kid.
"Nothing. Don't you think you're being too much of a nerd though?" I asked, sitting on the corner of my bed as I slung my legs back and forth, watching him pack some extra clothes into his navy blue backpack.
After he finished folding the clothes in, he later spun his chair to face me and tilted his head to the side. Owen had a confused look on his face as he later eyed his white and baby blue shirt, with the number one plastered in the middle.
"Why? Is it the shirt?" he asked innocently. I smiled at him and sighed as I stood up and went toward Owen, putting a hand on his shoulder. I subtly held the fabric of his shirt in my fingers and I let myself feel it for a moment. They were indeed fit for work outs and if I didn't know better, I would think Owen would really be on some real volleyball team if it weren't for the chair. At least there's the Paralympics but I doubt Owen would immerse himself in sports since he always avoids people and any sort of interaction.
"Probably. You really need to get more clothes that do not advertise fandoms. I still have your Ravenclaw hoodie back at home. I still have a lot of fandom clothes to steal from you." I noted, putting on a playful smile.
Owen shot me an offended look and I raised my arms slightly in submission. He shot me a quick glare before looking all down bashfully on his attire.
"How dare you speak that way to my choice of clothes. I never judged you for wearing almost the same type of shoes everyday. C'mon, Docs? They're not as practical as you think they are. Boots?" he said, smiling ever so playfully at me with that cunning look in his eye.
"Says the person who wears the same pair of Converses every time." I muttered to myself as I kept a small smile on my face to deepen his confusion. Owen couldn't have heard that. He kept looking at me weirdly as he fixes himself.
"What?" he asked, tilting his head a bit like the soft puppy he is.
I grinned wider and shrugged.
"Loser. It was nothing. So, what's today's agenda?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
Without a second to think, Owen flickered his eyes toward me for a while before turning back to the contents of his backpack before zipping it close. He later swung it over the handles of his chair and sighed.
"I, have to go to PT. Sophie would kill me if I won't go today." He said as he turned away from me and went back inside the bathroom to finger comb his hair back, opening up his features that showcased his eyes more. Smilingly, I followed him in and hugged him from the back, bending down a bit so his dark, wavy hair tickles my face.
From the mirror, Owen kept smiling at me as he fixed his looks before he turned to me again.
"You don't have to come with me, Athena. I mean, you've got a lot going for you and I don't want to become more of a burden." he whispered in my ear before laying a soft kiss on my cheek. I giggled and wrapped him tighter in my arms and sighed.
I guess I could use the time to tie up some more loose ends.
I guess I'll be busy today.
Owen eventually started to pull his chair out of the bathroom and went out. He was now around the door, checking his dirty white rubber shoes for anything out of the blue which I was guessing were untied shoelaces or something.
I was behind him all the time. As he grabbed his keys and turned to me one last time, I quickly stole a peck on his cheek and cupped his face with one hand.
"Just so you know, you were never a burden to me, got that?" I said, pointing a finger at him.
Owen simply gave me a look and rolled his eyes, smiling a little to himself. I just love these little bursts of confidence that he has from time to time. It's honestly so sexy.
"Yes, mother. I understand. Now, I have to go. See you after a few hours, I guess?" he said as he opened the door out of our room.
Standing straighter, I shrugged and waved a quick hand.
Something tells me I was about to have even bigger plans than whatever will go down during his therapy sessions. He doesn't have to know what I'm doing if I'm doing this for myself. I don't want anyone else to be mixed into my problems. It would be better if he would not be involved at all.
"Sure. See you." I said smilingly. Owen winked his right eye at me, before shoving in his gloves into his fingers and secured them quickly. And with that, Owen proceeded to push himself away from me and went out. I waited for a few more minutes stuck inside our room to make sure he was really out of the dorm before I rolled out my agenda for today.
It seems I might have to trespass over some boundaries to make things right and for that, it would be easier if I start with her.
Maya.
I was getting a feeling from her from the moment we met that she had her eye on Owen. She had always had. It was a no brainer fact that she likes him more than merely on a friendly basis. And to get close to him at the moment Owen was trying his hardest to be sociable to others, including her.
She may think she has gotten past my radar but she thought wrong. She hasn't. Yet.
I let 10 quick minutes pass by first before I finally went out to storm through Fitz's room. It was dark inside when I opened his door, not even considering to knock on it. If I don't want to lose any more important people in my life, I need to to do something drastic about it.
"What-- Athena? Are you mad? I'm sleeping," he said as he frantically grabbed his thick black glasses and pushed them up his nose to look at me frustratingly.
Fitz looked tired. And I'm extremely sorry for barging into his room without knocking or texting first. I raised my hands in apology and bobbed my head real quick the same way the Japanese do. He kept rubbing his curly black hair with a hand over and over and I was starting to think he might have developed a headache because of me. And I'm sorry for that as well.
"Sorry. It's really important." I emphasized as I turned back to close his door shut and looked at him wide-eyed.
"More important than me getting a full eight hour sleep?" Fitz answered groggily with an accusing look on his face.
"Maybe?" I said.
I didn't know whether he would take part in what I had been thinking lately. I was not sure of it. Fitz liked Maya and I don't know if his mind would be capable of overwhelming the desires of his heart.
Eventually, he sat up on his bed and looked at me.
"Fine. Go on. Talk." he said, flicking a wrist at me as he cleared his throat and looked at me sternly.
Inhaling sharply, I paced towards Fitz's red gaming chair by the side of his bed and leaned a bit toward his direction. I wanted to make sure my suspicions aren't for naught and I wanted to make sure I wasn't overstepping too much.
"So tell me, what happened over that little coffee date you went with Maya last time? Did she say anything important?" I started.
I didn't want to scare Fitz away and I didn't want to look like a bad friend for forgetting about him. He was unproblematic. He was good. Fitz was one of the few people I met to have more good in him than bad in here and it would hurt to lose him because I annoyed him or worse, scared him away.
Fitz scrunched his brows together and seemed to think. It was not too soon before he sighed and shook his head.
"I don't know, you woke the shit out of me and I can't think straight." he said.
"Try to remember. What did she say? How did she act? Was it weird or something?" I interrogated. It was good to start off with the finer details about her. It was wise to play unbiased too since Fitz does have a soft spot for Maya. Everyone does, even Owen. Eventually, Fitz nodded quickly and sat straighter.
"Weird, yes. She acted pretty weird. Aside from that, she sounded pretty normal to me." he said, shrugging.
The mental picture I had was getting clearer. Her intentions, were still, not as clear as I want them to be. It was all so confusing to me.
"How weird?" I asked, leaning closer.
"I dunno, like, it was so sudden, you know? I had just walked into the lobby and the next thing I knew, Maya pulled me aside and asked me out for coffee. What surprised me the most was how dang good I sounded when I agreed. I was on FIRE." Fitz sputtered dreamily. Although I know being asked to go somewhere by someone you have a huge crush on is a big deal and would surely boost one's confidence, Maya doing it sounded totally unusual.
She wasn't that type of girl who would go get the men. She was the type of girl who men would grovel for. I've seen it in the way people look at her around here and acts like she's some charitable queen hanging out with a nerd, a kid in a wheelchair, and me. Whoever I am.
"Okay, okay. Did she tell you why she asked you out for coffee? At that specific day and time? After my midterms?" I asked suspiciously.
I remembered Owen telling me how he was genuinely happy Fitz and Maya finally bonded; just the two of them. He said it was before he went out of the dormitory where he met the pair before he tried to ask me out somewhere after my midterms. I honestly would've loved to spend time with him after my test but Elliot was here. He was back and I did not want to lose my chance of tying loose ends with him. And now, I've gotta tie loose ends with her.
Some things just don't add up.
"No reason. She pulled me over to this small café over by the west side of campus. It was hella full of students and weirdly, there was this huge guy there. I don't think I've seen him before." Fitz said, with his eyes narrowed a little as he tried to remember what took place between him and Maya. And now, there was a third person involved. I'm just not sure if what I'm thinking is right or not but I wished it wasn't.
"Huge, guy?" I said, sensing my voice go small as a chill ran down my spine.
There was only one person I knew to develop his body as big and as lean as possible. It was no doubt it was him. I felt my chest pounding hard on me and my breath was quick.
"Yeah. Like, yea tall and yea high? Very high. He was literally huge, he could pass out as security or something." he said, gesturing how big exactly the guy he saw was.
It's him. There's not a soul who would tell me otherwise. Among the average student population at university, there was rarely a guy above six feet who had biceps bigger than a Subway sandwich and a figure so lean he could replace a DC character in the movies.
"Does he have his hair tied?" I asked, pacing my breath. I was starting to control it by counting numbers in my head in intervals of three. One, Two, Three.
It was a simple exercise I was taught whenever I sense something coming up and somehow, it calmed me down a little. It was not soon when my breathing was close to normal and I could function as usual again.
"Uh, yeah? I remember it was brown, I think. I don't know, I don't remember much from strangers." he said, shrugging. Fitz's eyes were starting to look worried and confused at the same time, I don't know if I could elaborate more on the guy he saw at the café with Maya. And then it hit me.
"Fitz, why did Maya invite you over to that specific café?" I asked curiously, starting to hear that tone of normalcy I have whenever I speak. Good, I thought. One less problem away from the others inside my head.
Fitz pressed a hand against his head and sighed. He was blind to the things Owen and I know and I felt sorry not telling him anything about what is happening.
Still, something tells me Fitz deserves to know. He deserves the truth behind all this, at least, from my point of view. Owen may not tell the story in full since he had just heard it once from me a few years ago and it was best he was kept out of the mess I have brought with me to college.
"I seriously don't know. Why are you asking all these things? Do you know that big guy?" he asked.
Sighing, I transferred from his separate gaming chair and went on his bedside, placing a hand on his shoulder as I shook my head.
"Oh Fitz, you are in for a ride if I'll tell you all I know about him."