"I appreciate you taking me out tonight. I really needed it." Olivia smiled and caused me to mirror her.

We were at the club because I decided that I should take her out. I wanted to take her out for an official date but I wanted to wait until later before I took it any further. I'm still unsure of how she feels for me so I need to test my luck tonight.

"I'm happy to. I like to spend time with you." I give her a charming smile. Her cheeks flush a little and she grins.

"I need to use the restroom, I'll be right back." She said while taking her phone and walking to the bathroom across the dance floor.

I'm scrolling through social media when a soft female voice comes from behind me, "Carter!"

I turn back and see an old childhood friend. "Amber?" I question, eyeing her up and down, "You go to Boston State?"

She lets out a giggle while flipping her dark hair over her shoulder, "I do now! Isn't this exciting?"

"It's cool..." I shrug. I didn't want to admit it to her but I haven't really missed her. She was always so clingy and it was always getting on my nerves. She even had a crush on me, and I'm assuming that it hasn't went away.

Amber lets out a squeal of excitement and leaps forward to hug me. I hug her back, trying to be polite. "Why'd you transfer?" I asked.

"I just missed my best friend so much!" Yep, she still likes me.

"That's nice." I reply awkwardly.

A couple minutes of awkward silence later, Olivia is walking back from the bathroom and she has an utterly confused expression on her face. Amber turns back before she can say anything and asks her, "Do we know you?"

"I'm Olivia." She responded shyly, "Carter's friend."

Amber quickly turns on her heels to face me and raises her left eyebrow. She moves closer to me and wraps her arm around my shoulders in a possessive way. Olivia gives her a small smile before sitting back down beside me. "I'm Amber. Carter's best friend." She emphasizes the words 'best friend' to make a point.

"Correction," I interrupt, "was my best friend. Now you're a piece of the past." I glare in her direction as she frowns at me dramatically. I glance to Olivia who is now looking down at her lap and messing with her fingers. It turns into a deep stare for a few short moments until Amber blocks my vision.

"Don't act like you didn't miss me," she smirked, "You love me!"

I gave her a harsh glare that made my eyebrows feel a little numb, "Maybe I used to." With those words being out in the open she turned to sashay away. Ugh, the classic mean girl move.

Olivia looked up and commented, "Amber seems like a.... nice person." She knew nothing of it but she was just so innocent. Never wants to at all effect someone in a bad way.

"No, Olivia." I said, my voice softening, "You don't know the half of it." The edge of my lips lifted into a half-smile that caused her to give me a full smile back.

"If you say so."

The remainder of the night was spent talking and sometimes laughing our butts off. We danced once or twice but mostly we just stayed where we were and enjoyed the others company. But the whole night, my mind kept drifting back to Cole. If he knew about my feelings towards her, I'd be turned into a human pretzel. A dead human pretzel.

**************

Olivia shoots me a sideways glance when she notices me swirling the drink in my cup. "Is something wrong?" She sounded genuinely concerned, "You seem a little off."

"I'm just thinking about Amber. I haven't seen her for years, it's kind of alarming." I reply without making any kind of eye contact.

"She's a childhood friend?"

"Yes." I said sternly, more than what I'd meant for it to be. "She used to have a crush on me. It - it wasn't mutual."

"Used to?" She laughed, "I'd say she still does."

I finally looked up at her and let out a soft chuckle, "It's possible, huh?"

"Uh-huh!" She chirped happily at me while pushing her hands onto her lap, making her look extra excited.

We eventually leave and I drive her home. When we arrive at the dorms, I immediately offer to walk her up to the doors because I'd rather her be safe.

"I'm not a child, Carter. I know how to defend myself." Her hand gripped onto my arm as she gave me a reassuring grin. I smiled back and let out a sigh.

"Alright, alright. You are an adult now. I should probably start treating you like one."

"Thank you very much." She gave me a wide smile like a two year old would before exiting the car and walking up the stairs to where she lives. I watch as she enters and when I see the door shut completely, I turn my eyes back to the steering wheel in front of me for a few moments. Then I realized that I was sitting outside like a stalker so I drove back into the road and made my way home.

As I enter my dorm, I quickly make my way to my room. I could see Cole from the corner of my eyes but I ignored him and went straight to bed.

A few thoughts of Olivia lingered in my mind, including some strayed ones of Amber as my mind went black, and sleep overtook me.

************

❤️❤️❤️