The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa didn\'t even fret about Kaleigh and Olivia as she strode into her psychology class the next morning. She knew that they wouldn\'t dare try to bother her after what happened last night. If they did decide to, Elias was only two rows down from them. She sat in her usual seat and got set up for class. Her eyes shifted around every so often to look for Elias and Zoe.

It was nice to have people to look forward to seeing. It made her classes far more enjoyable. When she spotted Elias heading to his seat, she lifted her hand in a small wave.

Elias cracked a smile and lifted his cup of tea to her before sitting down.

"Can\'t start my day without it," he said as he turned around in his seat to peer at her. He briefly glanced behind her at Kaleigh and Olivia with a smirk.

"Are you an addict?" Alyssa laughed softly. She knew plenty of people with a caffeine addiction, but she didn\'t think she knew anyone that liked tea as much as he did.

"Maybe," Elias joked before taking a long sip and turning back around as Dr. Pierce took the stage.

Alyssa smiled to herself as she opened her notebook up. Once again, her heart was fluttering just by talking to him. She wondered if that would ever go away, if she would ever get used to him. She had a feeling that wouldn\'t happen for a long while.

"Let\'s get started with the next chapter, folks! This one is one of my favorites," Dr. Pierce announced cheerily as he started his PowerPoint presentation.

As Dr. Pierce launched into an explanation about sleep cycles, Alyssa glanced around and realized that Zoe wasn\'t here today. A frown crossed her face as she tried to focus back on the lecture. She hoped everything was fine with Zoe. Maybe she was sick or maybe she just didn\'t feel like going to class. The latter was probably the most likely answer.

Everything was going fine with the lecture until Dr. Pierce wanted people to partner up and discuss the chapter. He encouraged discussion and collaboration. When it came to academics, Alyssa fared better alone. What made it worse was that her usual partner wasn\'t in class today.

The thought of having to awkwardly search for another partner made her internally groan. She glanced around her to see if anyone needed a partner, but everyone was already talking to someone on her row. She could hear laughter from behind her, and she guessed that she was a spectacle to Kaleigh and Olivia right now. They didn\'t have to worry about things like this.

"Are you lost?"

Alyssa turned to look at the row in front of her to see Elias smiling up at her.

"My friend isn\'t here today," she explained so that she didn\'t seem that pathetic.

Elias effortlessly stepped over one of the chairs to climb into her row. He settled in the seat next to her with his notes in his hands.

"The universe is pulling us back together," he said as he angled his body to face her.

That reminded Alyssa to send a silent thank you to the universe for doing so. She must\'ve been doing something right lately.

"It looks like it," Alyssa replied as she subtly smoothed down her white tank top over her black shorts. She had woken up a little earlier this morning to add a few waves to her red hair. She felt a little silly for doing so, but it was nice taking the time to actually doll herself up a little.