Today was the first day of Ava's college trip. The school has arranged a bus to take the students to X city. It was a three-day trip that will take them out of the city and into the mountains. They were supposed to get in touch with nature.

Kelly and Ava were late. They almost didn't catch the bus because Kelly got up late, she had a late shift at the cafe the night before and didn't come home until the wee hours of the morning.

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Hardin had been eagerly waiting for the trip. He decided that he will confess to Ava on this trip. This is his last year, and he will complete his studies in a few months, and as soon as he starts working, there wouldn't be much time to hang out or connect with Ava.

He was reserving an empty seat next to him on the bus just for that purpose. He wanted Ava to sit next to him.

The professor scolded Ava and Kelly when they came running late to the bus.

And as soon as Hardin saw Ava enter the bus, he waved his hand to let her know he saved her a seat.

"Did you save us both a seat?" Kelly asked, then when she saw it was only for Ava, she said, "Ava is sitting with me, we have a lot to talk about." It was a long trip and she wanted to chit chat with Ava. She did not know about Hardin's feelings for Ava, she just wanted to enjoy the trip with her best friend.

"Kelly, you two are always together. Ava is my friend too, so let me sit with her," Hardin said.

"No way," Kelly held Ava's hand and dragged her to their seats. Hardin was pissed. So far none of his plans are falling through. So he closed his eyes and put his earphones on so no one can disturb him.

Lily was watching a few seats away and saw what happened, she still couldn't believe that he rejected her.

She wondered what Ava had that she didn't? She was as beautiful as Ava, and she wanted to convince him that it was better to be in a relationship with her. This was going to be her chance to accomplish that, three days wouldn't be enough, but it would be a stepping stone to finally capture his heart.

All she needs to do is to show Hardin all her good qualities and show him how much she truly cared for him, but she had a big obstacle in the form of Ava, and she needed to do something about it.

Lily sat next to Hardin and put her hand on his shoulder to let him know she wanted to talk to him.

Hardin opened his eyes and was irritated by Lily's presence. "I want to be alone ", he said as he turned towards the window.

"What music are you listening to?" Ignoring his rude comment.

When he removed one of his earphones, she got excited thinking they were going to listen to music together.

"I'm not listening to music anymore," he said sarcastically. She felt angry. Why was he always humiliating her? Why can't he be nice to her?

"Where are you going?" she asked when he got up from his seat. He continued to ignore her and went to find where Ava was sitting.

Hardin asked to switch seats with a girl who was sitting in the seat in front of Ava. And the girl couldn't say no. He was after all the college's heartthrob, and giving her attention was enough to make her swoon.

He sat there so he could talk to Ava.

"Wow, you can't stay away. Admit it, you want to sit with us," Kelly teased Hardin.

"Kelly, stop it!" Ava said. She didn't want him to feel awkward.

"I got an internship in Z company, and if they get satisfied with my performance, they said they could offer me a job," Hardin said to Ava. He wanted her to know of his good news. If they were going to be together, he wanted to share all his stories with her.

The internship was compulsory for a student to graduate. And since the seniors only take a few subjects during their last semester, they take their internships during that time as well.

"Oh, Congratulations! That sounds very good. You'd probably get hired right away. You are a very good student," Ava said happily.

"Wow, buddy congrats!" Kelly said.

"I may not be able to come to college regularly from next semester," Hardin said, waiting for Ava's reaction, but it seemed like she did not understand what he meant, "I will miss hanging out with you," he continued.

He wanted to know whether Ava would miss him or not, he was still waiting for her reaction and hoped that she had feelings for him to help him decide if he was going to pursue her.

"Don't worry, we can hang out when you come to school, or you can always call us," Ava said casually.

She never gave him a second glance because he was just someone who she went to school with. She wasn't really interested in hanging out with him outside of school, the comment was just out of courtesy.

Hardin was disappointed by her response, he knew that she just gave the comment to be polite. She didn't even sound sad that he was leaving.

The whole resort was booked for the students, and the teachers separated the women from the men's quarters. Everybody was given an hour to freshen up before they all convened for lunch.

Ava shared a room with Kelly and took a hot bath to freshen up. The bus ride took half the day, and she was tired, but then she remembered Tristan wanted her to let him know as soon as she got to the venue, so she texted him.

Within one minute, she got a response. It was as if Tristan was holding the cell phone and was eagerly waiting for her message.

"Good," Tristan replied back. She was getting used to his one-word messages, and it didn't bother her as much.

"I'm going to have lunch now. Did you have your lunch?" Ava texted.

"No, in a meeting," Tristan texted.

"You're not supposed to use your phone during the meeting," she texted.

"I'm the boss, and I can do anything," she sighed after reading his response. It was classic Tristan. He was dominating as always.

"You are setting a bad example for your employees," she texted.

��Who care's?" he texted back. Ava can just hear his arrogant voice.

"What if they make mistakes?" she asked.

"Then I will fire them," he texted as if it was something so obvious.

"Do the people in the meeting know who you are texting?" she asked.

"No they don't," he did not care what others thought of him, but everyone in the meeting knew that he was probably texting a woman because he never used his phone during the meeting, but now he was constantly checking his phone.

When the message came he took his phone like all his prayers had been answered, and he had a smile on his face the whole time he was texting.

"Okay, continue with your meeting and don't forget to have lunch. I have to go. Take care," Ava texted and went to have lunch.

Tristan was worried about her safety, so he checked the forecast again, and he was glad that it showed it was going to be good for the next three days. He was relieved that she got there safely.

While Tristan was busy, the presenter skipped a slide while giving the presentation thinking Tristan wouldn't notice.

"Give another presentation next week, your report is incomplete," Tristan said sternly and left the conference room. Even though he was texting during the meeting, he never missed a single detail during the presentation.

The guy started sweating, it was difficult to stand and give the presentation in front of Tristan the first time, and now he will have to do it again. It will be more difficult because he had to collect more in-depth financial reports to satisfy Tristan.

After having lunch, the students were given a few hours to rest or roam around the resort. And since Kelly had a hobby in photography she got her camera to capture a few amazing pictures, some scenic pictures, and some of the sunset. Ava, on the other hand, opted for a nap.

For the night activities, somebody had organized a bonfire, and everyone was gathered at the lawn.

Lily made it a point to seek out Hardin, she was not done in pursuing him. But Hardin detested her ever since she tried to seduce him in the classroom. He felt that she was cheap for using her sexuality to trap a guy.

When she seduced him, he remembered that person who ruined his family. The shadow of that person was still in his life and left him awake most nights.

Hardin knew that Lily would do whatever she wanted, and even though he had rejected her several times she would not stop, so he just stood watching the fire, not caring about her. He wanted someone else.

When the music started playing, the students danced around the bonfire.

"Hardin, let's go dance," she suggested, but he just stood there silently.

"Why don't you talk to me?" Lily was frustrated and screamed while he acted like he had nothing to do with her.

"Fine, I won't bother you anymore," she said with tears in her eyes.

Hardin knew they were fake tears, she was using her tears to take advantage of him, again.