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Alette's POV

I took a bite of my eggs benedict, listening intently to Josephine's story about her rude professor.

I had officially attended my first ever lectures in person, and I was still riding the wave of adrenaline from it.

I was only slightly anxious, the amount of people milling around campus and in lecture halls was too much to handle, but Jojo had suggested that I go out to brunch to celebrate.

She invited Niesha and Marah, and we all sat in a popular brunch spot that was frequented by the students.

"He's just so frustrating! Like he hates all of the work I do, and then when I ask him for help he talks in riddles? I mean I know its philosophy but like please help me!" Josephine let out an angry huff, shovelling pancakes into her mouth.

I giggled at her angry state, and placed a hand on her arm, patting it for comfort, "Maybe a tutor could help?" I consoled.

She shook her head, stabbing at her food with a fork, "I've tried that, but it was no help."

"I feel so horrible for you Josie, I've heard he was strict but I didn't realize it was this bad," Neisha said.

"Yeah honestly, he seems tough, but if he's singling you out in a large class like that, then there's definitely an issue," Marah added.

"The worst part is, this is just a course I have to take as an elective, it doesn't even count for any of my credits, I just need a humanities course," she grumbled.

"Gross, I'm sorry Jo, is there any way we can help?" I asked, feeling horrible for her considering she was one of the smartest people I knew, and if she was struggling, then this professor must truly be terrible.

"Yeah let us know Josie," Marah said kindly.

"You could always go and get some....extra credit," Niesha sang, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Nish!" Marah smacked her on the arm.

"What?" Niesha giggled, "Come on guys, everyone knows he's like beyond hot."

"He's a pain the butt is what he is," Josephine said, her face hidden by her giant cup of coffee.

"Well he can be a pain in my butt any day," Niesha smirked.

"Nish I swear to God you're something else," Marah said exasperatedly.

"Sorry okay, I'm single and lonely, let a girl dream," Niesha sighed dramatically.

I giggled at her antics and Josephine nudged my shoulder, "Faye wouldn't know anything about that now would she," she smiled teasingly.

I blushed, looking down at my plate.

"Oh my goodness you're with someone? Love that for you!" Niesha gushed.

I nodded shyly, "Y-Yeah he's the best."

"Aw Faye's blushing," Marah teased.

"She's literally always red when she's around him," Josephine said poking me in the side.

"My gosh please Jo," I mumbled, completely embarrassed.

My phone buzzed and I picked it up, my heart rate increasin when I saw who had messaged.

"See I know for a fact it's him because she's turning bright red," Josephine said matter-of-factly.

Marah and Niesha smiled widely as I unlocked my phone and checked my messages.

I had sent him updates throughout the morning, as he requested, and then I sent him a picture of myself with my food doing a little thumbs up when he texted asking whether or not I had eaten.

My lovebug was definitely not a man of many words. I quickly typed out a reply as the girls started a new conversation.

I blushed crimson and locked my phone, placing it face down on the table.

The sound made them all look at me, and Josephine's eyes drifted down to my phone.

She smirked and looked at me, "I don't even want to know what he said."

"Oh my goodness Jo, it wasn't anything like that," I whispered, mortified.

"Faye you're so cute! You're all red, he must've said something naughty," Niesha teased.

"Like I said, she's literally red all the time when they're together, the chemistry between them is insane," Josephine stated, "I feel like I'm intruding on a private moment each time I'm around them, that man is so intense."

"He's not intense, he's just....quiet," I mumbled, smiling slightly.

"He always looks like he wants to straight up propose to you every millisecond," Josephine poked my nose and I swatted her hand away.

"Girl I better be invited to the wedding, I haven't even seen you guys together and I can already tell how cute you are," Marah said smiling.

I was about to explode and Josephine finally took mercy on me, laughing and poking my side.

"Oh Faye I was going to ask, where did you get that top? It's so pretty," Niesha asked.

"Thank you Niesha," I smiled, "I'll send you a link to it, it's from this online store!" I smoothed down my pale yellow blouse and loose denim jeans.

We finished our brunch and paid, walking out of the restaurant.

"It was so nice seeing you guys today!" Niesha said, giving Jojo and I a hug.

"Yes we have to do this again! Even just grabbing coffee between classes," Marah said, hugging me, "And Faye, congrats on your first in person day yay!"

Niesha cheered along with her, and I smiled warmly, feeling so grateful for being around such kind people.

I had never had friends before Tai and Josephine. My childhood was mainly littered with bullies, and a few acquaintances.

Josephine and I said our goodbyes, and we walked towards the parking lot on campus, Josephine holding my hand tightly.

I smiled, thankful, knowing that she was doing it to make me feel less anxious.

"Jo, you don't have to stay with me while I wait for Reece, you'll be late for your class," I told her when we arrived at the place where Ares told me he would pick me up.

Josephine checked her watch, and waved me off, "I'll speed walk Faye, don't worry."

"Jojo, it's the middle of the day, I'll be okay I swear," I told her, bumping her shoulder lightly. I didn't feel as anxious at this moment, but I did really appreciate her waiting with me.

She bit her lip, looking at her watch, "You're sure? Because I really don't mind waiting, even if I'm a few minutes late, the professor already hates me so who cares you know."

I giggled, "I'll be okay, Reece said he would be here on time."

Josephine looked around at the handful of people milling around, absorbed in their own conversations, and nodded hesitantly, "Text me while you wait, and text me when he gets here and text me when you get back his place," Josephine gave me a squish, and I said my goodbyes and she walked away, muttering about her professor.

I took deep breaths, trying to block out all of the sounds around me, and unlocked my phone, seeing his message.

I sighed in relief, holding my textbooks tightly to my chest, and craned my neck to check for Reece's car.

I fumbled with the corner of my textbooks, feeling extremely fatigued and anxious all of a sudden.

I was proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone today and attending classes and going out to socialize, but I wanted to feel safe now; away from the people and the noise.

I wanted a hug from my Reece.

I looked down at my feet, telling myself he would be here soon, when I felt someone walk up to stand beside me.

"Hey, how are you?" a masculine voice said, making me lift my head up slightly.

A blonde haired boy, with blue eyes stood smiling at me. He was taller than me, and had a stocky build; he wore a pair of khaki shorts and a sweatshirt with the school logo printed on it.

"H-Hi," I mumbled, looking back down, really wanting to be left alone.

"I've never seen you here before," he said, "Thought I'd come and say hi and maybe get your number? We could go get a drink or something?" he smirked lazily, running a hand through his hair.

I shook my head immediately, "N-No thank you, I'm not interested," I said, wishing my voice didn't sound so small.

My phone buzzed, giving me a distraction and I opened the message.

I typed out the message with shaky fingers, uncomfortably aware at how close the boy was getting to me.

"Oh damn so it's like that huh? You're just going to ignore me?"

I looked at him, confused, "N-No I'm just not interested?"

"I bet I can change your mind," he grinned, showing his teeth.

I shook my head again about to deny it when I noticed Reece parking his car down the street.

A wave of calm washed over me, and I quickly sidestepped the boy, walking over to where the car was.

Before I could get any further, a harsh hand grabbed onto my arm and yanked me back.

"I was talking to you," the boy said, his tone not a nice as it was before.

The force that he was using to grab my arm hurt, but the fear that the situation invoked in me was what made my eyes water.

"P-Please d-don't touch me," I whimpered out, feeling completely frozen.

"Don't disrespect me by walking away when I'm talking to you, I was just having some fun, now come on and give me your num-"

"She asked you to stop."

The dark voice cut off the words of the boy. I felt my heart jump when I saw Reece standing behind the boy.

The blonde boy spun around at the voice and I felt him let go of my arm once he saw the lethal looking man behind him.

"I-I..." the blonde stuttered whilst looking at Reece, someone who was bigger than him in every way.

"She asked you to let go, and you didn't listen."

Ares' voice was calm, and that's what made it so terrifying.

"S-Sorry man I didn't know she was with someone," the blonde gulped, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Doesn't matter if she's with someone or not, when she asks you to stop. You. Stop."

He gritted his words out, the anger rolling off of him.

The blonde opened his mouth to say something but Reece held up his hand.

"Get the hell out of my face," Ares spat, sounding deadly.

The boy sputtered for a moment and I finally unfroze, moving swiftly into Reece's arms. I clutched his arm tightly as the boy began walking away.

I wanted to so badly hug him, hold onto him for comfort, but the altercation had caught the attention of some people, and I didn't want any more attention coming our way.

Reece waited a few more moments, watching the boy leave, and then finally, he wrapped his arm around my waist, and prodded me forwards. His tight grip on my waist helped keep me grounded, made me feel as though I was here in this moment; he didn't let me slip away into bad memories.

I tucked my head into his body, and he pulled out his phone. I let him guide me to that car, not looking where I was going with my head down.

"Jakob, get me the vehicle registration for the licence plate I just sent you, I need a name" Reece growled into his phone.

Hanging up the phone, he helped me into the car, grabbing my textbooks and bag from me.

I still hadn't looked up.

He came into the driver's side and sat down; I felt his eyes on me, as I stared into my lap, my mind and body a swirling storm.

I felt excruciating numbness and yet extremely sensitive at the same time.

"Alette," his whisper shook me out of my reverie.

I finally looked up at him, and the dam broke.

I leaned across the console and placed my head on his upper thigh, placing my hand on his knee, holding on tight.

I closed my eyes as a few tears leaked out. He didn't say anything, letting me find my own way back into a comfortable place; he rubbed my back with his big hand, gently applying pressure, reminding me of his presence. The middle console of the car dug into my ribs, but as I felt his strong leg under my cheek, his hand on my back, I found myself revelling in the comfort of the moment.

"You're with me. You're safe and nothing will hurt you," he whispered, leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

He let me sit in silence for a few minutes, stroking my hair as I hooked my arms around his leg.

With my eyes still closed, I opened my mouth to speak, my voice still scratchy and exhausted.

"Every time I take one step forwards, I end up having to take ten steps back."

"Minor setback baby, " he leaned down to kiss my head again, "Success and recovery isn't linear."

"Yeah I know," I mumbled against his leg, "But I just did so good today, I was so proud of myself for being out of my comfort zone and then h-he..." I trailed off, sighing heavily. I was tired.

"I tried to be strong but h-he didn't l-listen and then I froze," I said quietly, tracing patterns onto his leg.

His hand that lay on my waist tightened, "I know baby, I'm sorry he didn't listen, I'm proud of you for how strong you were."

I sat up, finally looking into his beautiful eyes.

I leaned forwards and he met me halfway. I felt myself melt into his touch when our lips met.

We broke away, and he leaned his forehead on mine, "You're okay Alette?"

I leaned forwards again, giving him a peck, "I am now."

We sat back into our respective seats and I buckled in my seatbelt.

He pulled out of the parking spot, his hand firmly on my leg. He glanced over at me as I bit my lip whilst looking out the window. Giving my thigh a firm squeeze, he directed my attention onto him.

"I can tell your thoughts are drifting my angel, why don't you tell me about the good things that happened today hm?"

It was unbelievable how well this man knew me sometimes.

I grabbed his hand and gave it a kiss; I intertwined our fingers, and then using my other arm, and wrapped it around his, hugging his arm to myself.

Clearing my throat, I told him about my day as he drove us.

He nodded along, asking questions about my lectures and classes, asking how I felt about being on campus and about lunch with the girls.

Even whilst he was driving, he was beyond attentive to me, and it made me feel as though someone had wrapped me up in the warmest blanket.

Aresius Adler was perfect.

He parked whilst I was asking him about his day and I looked around confused. He pecked my forehead, and pointed out of the window at the...ice cream store!

I whipped my head around to look at him, a smile on my face.

"Let's get some sugar in your body baby, I know that'll cheer you up."

He wasn't real.

I nodded, feeling overwhelmed at how amazing he was, and unbuckled my seatbelt. He opened the door for me, and grabbed my hand as we walked to Lickety Split.

I looked up at him as we walked, "Do you remember the first time we came here?" I asked him, smiling fondly.

He nodded, his eyes shining.

"You ate the ice cream off of my spoon," I mumbled shyly, remembering the butterflies I had felt when he did that.

"Yeah..." he started, then smirked slightly, "You looked so shocked, I thought you would pass out," his voice was low and my cheeks turned red.

"That was only b-because you were eating all my i-ice cream," I said, my voice rising slightly at my lie.

He glanced over at me, his smirk getting more prominent, "That's why you kept feeding it to me right?"

My eyes narrowed and I stuck my tongue out at him; he chuckled lowly, and we walked into the store.

I ordered a scoop of the pineapple sorbet, because the colour matched my shirt, and a scoop of the strawberry shortcake. Extra sprinkles too.

The older woman that was working cashed us out, I paid this time much to my brooding man's chagrin, and we walked back to the car. I happily ate my ice cream and my mood lifted astronomically.

The power of food.

"You didn't get anything again Reecie," I mumbled, concentrating on picking up a pink sprinkle for my next bite, as he held onto my waist, guiding me back to the car, "Do you not like sweet stuff?"

"Only you."

My eyes widened and I looked up at him, feeling heat creeping up on my neck.

Goodness gracious.

He opened the car door for me, and I sat down in my seat. He unfolded the extra napkins that he had gotten, and placed them on my lap, making eye contact with me the whole time.

The ice cream wasn't the only thing that was melting today.

Not only was he sweet enough to remember that I was scared of spilling the ice cream, he made sure to grab extra napkins and lay them protectively over my clothes.

I was the luckiest girl.

He sat in his own seat and began driving back to his place. I loaded up a spoon of ice cream and brought it to his lips, because I wanted him to try the flavours of course.

When he inched his hands forwards to grab the spoon from me, I immediately said, "No!"

He glanced at me, the smile on his lips unmistakable.

"I-I just...um you're d-driving so I can do it," I couldn't even get the sentence out.

"Hm," he said, opening his mouth, the knowing smile still on his face.

We ate the ice cream while he drove, and once it was finished, I placed the ice cream cup and the napkins in the cup holder to throw away later.

I rambled on about my child language acquisition class and he listened, asking questions to clarify, when my phone rang.

I looked at the screen, seeing Selina's name flashing on it. I quickly pressed the answer button and said hello.

"Hi Selina, how are you?"

"Hi Faye," she rushed out through a noisy background, "I'm so sorry to call you out of the blue, but I just had a quick favour to ask."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" my brows furrowed at her fretful tone. Reece glanced over at me when he heard my questions, and raised his brow.

"Everything is fi- Rowan no bebé don't do that, just lay still please!" she called out as I heard a clatter, "Sorry Faye, everything is fine, Rowan just like twisted his ankle at school, and its swelling up now so I'm going to take him to the hospital."

"Oh my goodness is he okay?" I asked her, biting my lip in worry.

"He's okay, it's numb right now I think, but Oscar is on call for surgeries tonight, and their regular babysitter is on vacation, so do you think you could watch Lucia for me for a few hours? I just don't want to take her into the emergency room, I don't know how long it could take," she inquired breathlessly, sounding as though she was running around.

"Oh of course that would be totally fine don't worry, just give me a second," I put the call on mute and turned to Reece, "Would you be okay if Selina dropped Lucia off? Rowan's hurt and needs to go to the emergency room," I whispered to him.

He looked at me his featured laced with concern; he nodded once, "Of course, does she want me to go to the emergency room with her? Is Row okay?"

I nodded, "He's fine right now she said, I'll let her know," I squeezed his hand and unmuted my call, "Hi Selina, you can drop Lucia off at Ares' house, or do you want us to pick her up?"

"You're a lifesaver, thank you so much! I'll drop her off, it's on the way don't worry, see you in a bit," she sighed and we said goodbye, ending the call.

I bit my lip, bouncing my leg nervously, "You think he'll be okay?" I asked Reece, my whisper uncertain.