Chapter 7 More Trouble

"Come on, Nate," I sighed, speaking to him on the phone. "You've rain-checked three times already." "I know," Nate grumbled through the phone. "I've just been busy, Fia. I have to prioritize school work and sports, you know." "I know," I mumbled, feeling guilty now. I wasn't trying to be a clingy girlfriend who needed constant attention but again, it was like Nate couldn't find five minutes to spare for me. "I just want to see you. I don't even remember the last time we hung out." Nate sighed dramatically. "How about I meet you at the party tonight? Are you going to be there?" I let out an exasperated breath as I felt a headache coming along. I felt too exhausted to go to a party tonight. "Well, you and I were supposed to have some down time together but sure, I can meet you there." "Great. I'll see you then, Fia." "B-" I was cut off by the line going dead, Nate not even giving me a second to say goodbye properly. I groaned, throwing my phone across the room and grabbing a pillow to scream into. I was beyond frustrated, no longer knowing how to deal with Nate. I thought we would go back to normal but things still felt like they were too complicated and anything but like a relationship. "Woah," Michelle mused, looking at me with wide eyes from where she sat on her own bed. "I take the phone call didn't go too well?" I placed the pillow down, looking at her with the most dull look on my face. "That obvious?" Michelle let out a small laugh, shrugging her shoulders. "You don't have to take it out on your phone, Fi." I groaned again, flopping down onto my bed and staring at the ceiling while hugging a pillow to my chest. "I hate to say it but sometimes I miss high school." Michelle scoffed at my comment, a look of disbelief on her face. She walked over, pushing me to move over as she sat down beside me on my bed. "Why the hell would you ever miss high school?" I shrugged weakly. "I feel like ever since we left high school, Nate's changed so much. He was never this distant and dismissive. Now it's like everything else in the world is so important, he can't offer me a few seconds of his day." Part of me felt bad because I didn't want to be asking for too much. The other part of me thought what the hell, I really was not asking for much. He couldn't be bothered to take twenty minutes out of his day between classes to grab some coffee with me. Michelle frowned, running a hand through my hair in a motherly manner. "Have you ever considered maybe dating someone who does give you attention and treat you like they truly never want to lose you? Perhaps someone like... Wes." By the end of her statement, Michelle continued trailing off until her voice was in a whisper when she said Wes's name. I snapped my neck to her, looking at her with wide and horrified eyes. "Michelle!" I gaped at her. "Wes and I are just friends! How can even say that? Do you know Wes?" Where the hell was that idea coming from? Michelle only gave me a cheeky grin. "He's a good guy, to you at least." I rolled my eyes, looking back to the ceiling as I started thinking. Wes was a good guy, that I knew. I loved his company and simply having him in my life but that was only because we were solely friends and nothing more. Wes was a good friend but when it came to dating and committing, that was a whole different story. "Wes is not exactly a boyfriend-material type of guy, Michelle." Michelle scoffed, raising her eyebrows questioningly. "Why not? He's a great friend to you. His actions show that he would be an even better boyfriend?" I blew air out into my cheeks, not wanting to read into Michelle's words because then my feelings and thoughts would spin out of control. "Not going to happen," I told her bluntly. "Wes doesn't even believe in commitment. He thinks we should be exploring our options and going out to have fun. Not settling down so soon. Hence why he's a serial dater." "But-" "No," I cut her off, giving her a pointed look. "You can't be serious." "Fine," Michelle grumbled as she took the hint that this was no longer a conversation I would divulge in. She stood up and clapped her hands together, smiling wickedly. "Now, if we're going to this party, let's get you looking finer than ever. Show Nate what he's missing out on." After letting Michelle do her magic and dress me up, seeing as I had nothing to lose from it, we headed to the party together. I had to admit, I looked pretty darn good. "Ah, the college glory days we won't be able to look back at and reminisce because we're going to get too drunk to remember." Chris beamed a smile as he toasted Michelle and I in the kitchen, clinking his plastic solo cup against ours. I laughed as I sipped on my drink. "We'll be left with the blur of memories." "That's the way it goes," Chris shot me a cheeky grin. "Where's that boyfriend of yours?" "Didn't he say he was going to meet you here?" Michelle asked, glancing around to see if she could spot Nate. I shrugged, chugging down some of my drink. "Yes, so speaking of, I should go find him." "Good luck," Michelle called out from behind me, a wary look on her face. "Give me a shout if you need someone to punch him in the face!" Chris added, saluting me as I walked off, laughing at my very supportive friends. "Fia!" I glanced over to see Emily calling me over. She was sitting with Nate and some of the others. "Hey," I smiled, walking over to greet some of our friends. "Found you," I mumbled to Nate, leaning down to peck his lips. He smiled slightly, kissing me for a split second before pulling away. "Yeah, you're here." "I told you I would be," I laughed awkwardly. Nate only nodded his head, not even looking at me. What the hell? His bitch ass is not doing this again. I used every bit of courage in myself to keep my frustration at bay and try to be patient with Nate. "Girl, you look so good tonight," Emily grinned, taking a look at my outfit and the way my hair was done differently. Michelle and her magic. "Thanks," I smiled faintly. Seems like my boyfriend was out of compliments to give me. Oh wait, he didn't bother looking at me to notice. "Do you want a drink?" I asked Nate, trying to start up a conversation since he didn't look like he had any intention of bothering with me. I don't know why he had told me to come meet him here when he wasn't bothering to look me in the eye. "Yeah," he beamed suddenly. "A beer's good." My eyebrows pulled together. "Uh... okay. You don't want to join me?" Nate shrugged nonchalantly. "We're all hanging out, Fia. Just grab us some drinks and join us." I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I slowly got to my feet. I forced a smile onto my face, not wanting to start an argument. Maybe if I take one for the team and put up with him, we could slowly fall back into a comfortable and content place without constantly being annoyed with each other. I dragged my feet back to the kitchen to get his royal highness a beer. "Back already?" Michelle mumbled, placing her empty shot glass down. Both her and Chris looked at me with confused looks on their faces. I laughed dryly as I opened the fridge to get a beer. "Apparently I am now a personal waitress." I was trying to stay patient with Nate and not start up an argument but that didn't mean I was any less annoyed. Chris clenched his jaw, anger flashing across his eyes. "Fia, I swear to God I will go knock his out if you give me the go-ahead." I shook my head sternly, turning to look at my friends. "It's all good. It's not a big deal, Chris although I do appreciate it." They continued to give me wary looks as I headed back to Nate. I returned to the lounge room where they all sat, handing Nate his drink before sitting with the others. "Where have you been lately, Fia?" Tom turned to ask me. "You haven't joined us at the cafe or when we hang in the dorms." I glanced at Nate, having no idea what Tom was talking about. A month ago, I was always invited and told about when they were all hanging out but lately I hadn't heard about any plans. I didn't fail to notice the stern look Nate was sending Tom, telling him with his eyes to shut up. I pursed my lips, trying to control the frustration that was building inside me. All I knew for sure was that Nate was not receiving the boyfriend of the year award by a long shot. "I didn't know there were any plans," I told Tom honestly. Tom and some of the others looked between Nate and I, confused. "Oh," Tom mumbled. "Anyways, how are classes going?" I could easily tell he was trying to change the subject so I let him, not wanting to dwell or make things any more awkward. We all had been hanging out for some time now, just talking and chilling. I leaned closer to Nate to speak to him only. "Do you want to head out? Maybe stop by the cafe for a bit?" Nate pursed his lips, giving me an odd look. "Why? We're having a good time with everyone." "I know," I mumbled softly, keeping my voice quiet. "I just thought you wanted to hang out with me for a bit since we've hardly seen each other. We can catch up." Nate exhaled slowly, seeming reluctant. "I don't feel like leaving right now, Fia." I nodded my head slowly, understanding that like usual, Nate was the least bit interested in me. "Well hey, can you maybe give me a ride back to my dorm? I'm tired and have an early class. You can come back after you drop me off, you don't have to leave or anything." Nate run a hand down his face, annoyance evident on his features. "Really, Fia?" I blinked, feeling embarrassed. "Michelle's drunk so I can't ask her." I didn't want to come to this party in the first place. The only reason I did was because Nate told me to and I thought that meant him and I could actually talk and hang out and spend some time together - like normal people in a relationship do. Instead, I was making forced small talk about school and sport and classes with our mutual friends while Nate hardly spoke a word to me. Nate clenched his jaw, growing more irritated by the second. I could tell he wanted me to get the fuck out of his hair. "I'm just trying to have a good night, Fia. I didn't sign up to be an Uber driver." "Nate," I exasperaeted, my eyebrows pulling together as I shook my head at him. I felt a pang in my chest, suddenly feeling the urge to cry. He was hurting me and he didn't seem to care. "I didn't mean it like that." I could tell the others were trying to ignore us, to act like they couldn't hear the harshness coming from Nate. As quiet as I was trying to be, Nate's annoyance could be spotted from miles away. I didn't even understand why he was acting like this in the first place. What was I doing so wrong that was getting him so fed up with me? When Nate didn't bother to respond to me, I stood to my feet. I kept my teeth gritting, the frustration in me ready to snap at any second if I didn't get out of here quick. "It was good to see you guys," I forced a smile onto my face. "I have to head out. I'll see you guys around." The others mumbled goodbyes to me as I started heading away, pulling out my phone so I could really call an Uber although the dorms were hardly a ten minute drive away. I felt shaky and uneasy. Nate was being a world class prick and as much as I tried to fix it, there was nothing I could do. I didn't understand it. I didn't understand where it was coming from. I wracked my mind to think of what it was that I was doing wrong. Something I was doing to bother him that perhaps I couldn't notice. "Fia?" I looked up to see Wes walking towards me. "Hey, you're here. What's up?" I shook my head softly as I kept my gaze on my phone. "I'm headed out, Wes." I started walking again, trying to get out of the house before I snapped at anyone. Nate had killed my mood and made me feel like shit. The last thing I wanted to do was take out my frustration and hurt on Wes. "Hey," Wes caught up to me, walking with me. "What's wrong? Why are you leaving so soon?" I shrugged and tried to brush him off, not in the mood to talk to or be around anyone right now. "I just want to leave, Wes." As soon as we stepped outside the house, Wes gently took hold of my arm. "Fia, stop. What's wrong? Are you okay?" "I don't want to talk about it!" I snapped, not being able to contain my frustration any longer. I knew I was annoyed at Nate and it made me feel even more shitty to take it out on Wes but I couldn't help it. My blood felt like it was boiling, I felt like I would start crying any second and that only angered me more. Wes didn't budge or take a step back. He kept a hold on me, peering at me intently with his warm ice-blue eyes. "Fia," he exhaled softly. "I just want to make sure you're okay. We don't have to talk about whatever it is." I exhaled slowly through my nose, trying to calm myself down. I shook my head sheepishly, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Wes. I didn't mean to snap at you." "You can lash out on me all you want," he told me calmly. "I much rather you take it out on me rather than on yourself somehow." A fuzzy feeling exploded in my stomach from his words. I shook my head, still feeling shitty. "No, that's not fair. You shouldn't have to deal with my problems." Wes nudged me lightly, a grin playing on his lips. "I don't mind, really. It would be an honour to be bothered by you." I couldn't help but chuckle, shoving him softly. "Now you might be the one enlarging my ego, Weston." Wes rolled his eyes at my use of his full name. "Cancel that Uber. Let's get out of here." My eyebrows furrowed. "What? Where are we going?" Wes shrugged calmly as he started pulling me along with him. "We'll figure that out. Let's go."