Lexi's In A New City

Chapter 28

The following Friday night had Nikita and Lexi's dorm packed with many students drinking and dancing to loud rap music. There was a ton of food displayed in the main room— multiple bowls of chips, a cheese ball with crackers, and a large chocolate cake that already had about a quarter of it already consumed. Both the main room and the kitchen were a mess of used plates, gross cutlery, filthy napkins, and empty or half-drunk bottles of beer. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Lexi was an exception. She'd help Nikita get everything ready prior to people showing up, so she couldn't help but survey the damage done to her dorm as she milled about the main room. Nothing seemed to be broken or damaged, but she knew that there was going to be one hell of a mess to clean up in the morning. On top of that, the worry of getting in trouble by the RA was her wishing she was somewhere else.

I could leave for the library or something,she thought, but I really don't want Nikita to notice. God, I hope this thing ends soon.

Lexi sat on the futon, which was surprisingly clean considering the circumstances. She'd only been sitting alone for a minute when Felipe casually sat beside her.

"You enjoying yourself?"

"Sure am!" Lexi lied with a fake smile.

"Glad to hear that," Felipe said. "You and Nikita know how to throw one hell of a party."

"I have to give Nikita all the credit, honestly. This is for her birthday, after all."

"Good point. Say, do you want a drink?"

"Er, no thanks. I don't feel like getting drunk tonight. Sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it! Oh, and by the way...you look fine as helltonight."

Lexi rolled her eyes without a second thought. "Don't even think about it, Felipe."

"Don't even think about what?"

"About getting a chance to have sex with me, because it's not gonna happen."

Felipe sighed. "You're so damn stubborn."

"And you're so damn persistent."

Suddenly, Nikita plopped down on the futon beside Felipe. She had a bottle of beer in her hand, and had a silly grin plastered on her lips. Lexi could tell that she was more than a little intoxicated.

"Oh, thank God you're here!" she exclaimed with a nervous laugh.

"Someone's trying to get some action?" Nikita asked.

"Trying...but failing miserably."

"You're so mean to me," Felipe fake whined.

"Aww, don't be so sad," Nikita said. "I can make you feel better."

Felipe looked confused, but soon perked up when her hand went to his groin. He grinned in a wicked fashion.

"Better?"

"Hell yeah."

The two students were so absorbed in their flirting that they no longer paid any attention to Lexi, who was beginning to get uncomfortable. It felt like a repeat of what had taken place at DeShawn's Halloween party, and she wasn't too keen on reliving it. She crept backwards on the futon until she ran out of real estate. She promptly decided that she had had enough, and picked herself off the futon. She then walked straight out of her dorm, and then the building itself. She didn't care if anyone spotted her leaving— she just needed to get the hell out of that disgusting environment.

***

Isaac was enjoying himself at Nikita's party by drinking too much beer while hanging out with Cassie. He hadn't paid attention to how much she'd been drinking because it didn't seem like something to worry about. He wanted nothing more than to have a great time, but that was about to change.

He didn't realize that Cassie had suddenly left the kitchen, where the couple had been hanging out. But he did notice a familiar voice screeching about something. He downed the rest of his drink before stumbling out to the living room. He sobered up quite a bit when he saw what everyone else saw.

Cassie was standing over Nikita, who was sitting on a futon with Felipe. Nikita looked pissed, but didn't look fearful of what was unfolding in front of her. It had been Cassie who'd begun cursing and yelling for seemingly no reason.

"You're such a fucking slut!" she screamed. "How can you whore yourself to every guy in this room?!?!"

"Who the fuck said I was even doing that?" Nikita asked.

"Everyone knows that you've fucked almost everyone here! Even youknow it!" Cassie sneered.

Nikita scoffed, unfazed by the false accusations. "Jesus Christ, you're such a fucking drama queen. Do you always have to start a fight over nothing? Get a life!"

"You BITCH!!!"

Before Nikita could react, Cassie lunged at her to attack. Isaac and another guy— someone he didn't recognize— pounced on her to keep her back. Isaac soon had his hands full with Cassie, who was flailing her arms and legs about while continuing to scream profanities. She was still in a fury by the time he had her in her dorm. She seemed to return to reality when she noticed where she was, causing her to stop screaming in favour of pouting.

"What the hell?!" Isaac shouted. "You were about to get into a fucking fight, Cassie! What were you thinking?!"

"But Nikita's a slut!"

"Even if she was, why would you try and fight her?! You could've gotten arrested!"

"Whatever. It would've been so worth it."

Realizing just how drunk his girlfriend was, Isaac gave up trying to reason with her. He sighed just as the door to Cassie's dorm opened. He'd never been happier to see Mariana in his life.

"Mariana, did you see what happened?!" Cassie asked in an excited voice.

"I did," she replied, unmoved by her best friend's excitement. "I think you need to go to bed now."

Cassie pouted again, but she didn't fight her over it. As she stumbled to the bathroom, Mariana turned her attention to Isaac.

"I got this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Isaac nodded. "I'll be back to check on Cassie sometime tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks, Isaac."

"Anytime," he said before sauntering out.

He proceeded to head back to Nikita and Lexi's dorm, but was surprised to see a flood of people exiting. He saw a couple RAs near the door, but managed to sneak past them to head towards the front door. He spotted DeShawn standing not far from the dorm, and asked him what was going on.

"The RAs broke the party up," DeShawn revealed. "But everyone's getting off with just a warning."

Isaac sighed, annoyed that his night had been ruined because of Cassie's drunken meltdown, and now this. He nodded at his friend before leaving him behind. He didn't even bother trying to find Felipe, as he figured that his roommate was most likely off to another woman's dorm. All he wanted was to go home and sleep off tonight.

***

After spending time in a local hangout spot on campus, Lexi decided that she needed to head back to her dorm. It was almost pitch black by now, and she knew how unsafe it was to be out so late. She walked up to her dormitory and saw a lot of students milling about on the premises. Many were returning to their places, while a few lingered nearby to smoke cigarettes or chat amongst themselves. She spotted Isaac walking towards her, presumably to return to his dormitory. They locked eyes while walking to their respective destinations.

"The party got broken up by the RAs," Isaac revealed.

"Thanks for the heads up," Lexi replied.

Isaac nodded as he walked past her. Lexi hesitated to speak again, but spoke up just before he was out of earshot.

"Hey."

Isaac whirled around so that they were looking at each other again.

"We really should talk soon."

She didn't even wait for him to respond; she just strolled into her dorm without saying another word.