Cole

I quickly hop into my car after Melody and Mr. Carter have driven off. I can still just barely see their car by the exit of the parking lot. I'm generally not into cars, but their car is a ridiculously nice one. It serves as a blunt reminder of the completely different life Melody lives back in California. It's easy to forget sometimes, she's so humble and sweet that you'd never think she was unbelievably rich and successful. It's probably gonna suck a little when she leaves, but it's whatever - life goes on.

Right?

I quickly shake the thought from my mind. Scrolling through my phone, I backup the audio file to The Green and Gold's cloud. After all the hoops I jumped through to get this interview, I'm not taking any chances. I'll transcribe and upload the interview before the meeting tonight so Michael won't want to murder me anymore.

I sit there for a moment, waiting for the usual sense of relief and satisfaction after finishing a difficult article to sink in. Something's off though, I don't feel it. Instead, I have trouble stopping a goofy grin from spreading on my face every time I think about Melody and the last hour together.

I groan and rest my forehead against the steering wheel, pinching my eyes shut. Who is this mushy idiot and what the hell has he done with Cole?

-----

It takes a frustratingly long time to transcribe the interview. I find myself constantly having to replay parts. My typing keeps slowing down until I'm just sitting there, zoned out listening to Melody's voice - her soft and pleasant voice. I've barely transcribed half the interview, even though I've probably replayed the entire recording at least five times now.

Someone knocks on my door. "Cole, we're starting in five."

Dammit. "Alright, thanks," I call. I force myself to use every ounce of concentration in me to finish writing. I quickly upload the file and send Michael a quick message to let him know it's finished.

The entire board is already sitting in the den by the time I get downstairs. Most of us already live here but even the guys who don't are earlier than me.

"Nice of you to join us Cole," Luke, Kappa Sigma's president, teases. 

He's standing next to the projector, waiting patiently. Meetings are kind of a pain in the ass. I don't know how Luke manages to always look so cheerful during them. 

"Sorry, I was doing a newspaper thing." I quickly sit down on the sofa next to Mark. He has his laptop out, ready to take meeting minutes.

Luke dims the lights and turns on the projector. Today's meeting itinerary is displayed on it. "Alright, let's start with the big thing. We have to plan the winter formal. Let's start with deciding on the venue."

Everyone groans. Attending events is fun and all, but doing the actual planning sucks. I never really even wanted this position. A bunch of people had bugged me to run, so I did, just to get them off my back - figuring I wouldn't win anyways. I did nowhere near as much campaigning as the other guys, but I somehow won.

Laura hinted at one point that a bunch of the sorority girls might've had something to do with it. I really didn't care enough to try and find out what happened.

-----

I rub my eyes and squint at my phone. It's somehow only been an hour since we started. Everyone is lazily slumped in their seats and trying to hide their yawns as the painful brainstorming drags on.

"How about we rent a yacht and party there?" Chris, our event chair, suggests.

Jake, our treasurer, rolls his eyes. "We can't afford that. We're still recovering from the ridiculous Halloween party, remember?"

We all cringe a bit as we recall that night. We blew our budget on alcohol and then had to pay to replace the hotel furniture that was destroyed in the drunken chaos. I spent most of that night sitting on the floor in the bathroom. The smell of lime and tequila still make me feel sick.

Chris groans and leans back in his chair. He looks at his phone. "We're gonna miss Alpha Gam's party tonight at this rate."

Luke pinches the bridge of his nose. "Alright, this is clearly going nowhere. Let's move on with the meeting. We can take time to clear our heads, and we'll meet again to talk about the formal tomorrow morning."

Everyone nods in agreement.

-----

"Alright, meeting adjourned."

Everyone sighs in relief as Luke turns the lights back on and the projector off. The den slowly empties as everyone either heads back upstairs or out the front door to claim the remaining hours of their Saturday night. Before I can get up, Mark nudges me with his elbow. 

"Where have you been going in the mornings by the way?" He gives me a smirk and wiggles his eyebrows.

My heart skips a beat. I highly doubt Melody would want people to know about her, or us. Whatever we are. I scramble to come up with an explanation but my mind is blank. "Uh, what? No where. I have class at eight," I mumble.

"You're so full of shit dude," he laughs and shoves me. "You're saying you need two hours to get ready for class? Your room is right next to mine and you're so goddamn loud when you get up at like six in the morning."

I give his arm a firm punch. "It's none of your damn business."

Jake comes over and sits down next to me. "You've been waking me up too. Why the hell do you have like ten alarms that go off every two minutes?" He studies me for a moment before he groans and shakes his head. "It's a girl, isn't it. You meet that early? Is she crazy?"

I avoid looking at their shit-eating grins as I feel my face beginning to heat up. They'd never let me live it down if they knew what I've been doing. It's nearly been a year and we still tease Jake about joining the gardening club for a month, just to get closer to this really hot girl who was the club's president.

"Aww, you're blushing," Mark mocks me and pinches my cheek.

I glare at him and bat his hand away. "You guys are the worst. She's just a... friend."

"Yeah right," Mark snorts, "and knowing you, she'll be gone within a week or two."

I want to be offended but even I can't deny that there's some truth to his words. My track record hasn't been the greatest since starting university here. I'm pretty sure I've been with at least three girls from each sorority.

"Whatever you say Cole," Jake teases in a singsong voice. "Anyways, I'm heading back upstairs." 

He gets up, and his footsteps grow faint as he heads down the hall. We suddenly hear the doorbell ring, then the soft click of the lock and rattling of the chain.

"Hi Jake, is Cole here?"

I feel my stomach sink as I immediately recognize that shrill, honeyed voice. I hop behind the couch to hide. Footsteps echo down the hall, and Jake peeks around the corner towards the den. He looks and me, and I quickly shake my head. He nods before disappearing again and walks back to the front door.

"Uh, sorry Laura, he's not here right now."

"I'm so sure," she scoffs. 

I hear quick, clicking footsteps that pause at the entrance of the den, and I quickly duck back behind the sofa.

"Hey Laura, just me here," Mark greets her from the sofa. I hear him lightly tap his laptop. "Just doing some work."

"Bullshit," she snaps. My heart pounds as I hear her footsteps come closer. I desperately look around, but there's nowhere else I can hide. I press my back against the sofa and close my eyes, trying to blend in as much as possible. It doesn't work though, I warily open one eye and find myself looking at Laura's dark brown boots. My eyes slowly trail upwards towards her face. Her eyebrows are angrily knitted together and she impatiently taps her high-heeled boot on the floor. 

"Oh... hey Laura," I greet her with a sheepish grin.

She looks at me with her lips tightly pursed into a scowl. "What are you doing down there?"

I pat the floor blindly. "I just uh, dropped my contact lens."

She crosses her arms. "You don't even wear glasses."

"Oh, yeah you're right." I awkwardly stand up. "I forgot."

She takes a step closer to me and bats her long eyelashes. "Anyways, I've missed you, Cole." 

I gulp as she rests her hands on my chest, drawing slow, soft circles with her index finger. It spreads a familiar burning heat through my body, completely different to the gentle warmth I get from Melody. Snap out of it Cole. I firmly grip her wrists and take her hands off my chest. I hold them down at her sides.

"Laura, stop," I stay firmly. 

She scowls. "There's another girl, isn't there? Who is she?" she demands. 

"Like I already said, it's none of your business," I retort. "And I swear to god, you better not go looking for her. Leave her out of this." It almost makes me shudder, picturing the chaos that would ensue if Laura got her claws on Melody.

"What the hell has happened to you Cole?" Laura sneers. 

She tries to wriggle out of my grip but I don't let go. Her nails are scarily long and sharp. I know through experience the damage they can do to me.

Mark looks up from his laptop and raises an eyebrow. "Even I'll admit that it's a little odd, Cole," he remarks. "It's not like you to be so secretive and protective over a girl." 

Whose side is he on? "Not helping," I growl through gritted teeth. "It's different with her, ok? I care...about..." My sentence slowly trails off as I realize the implication behind my words. Even I have more of a heart than that, but it's clearly too late. 

Laura suddenly stops moving and her lower lip trembles for a moment. "So, you didn't care about me?"

There's a prolonged, tense pause as she stares at me. Her eyes water but I know she's too stubborn to let the tears fall. "Laura, I think you should leave," I murmur.

She aggressively tugs her hands out of my grip. "Fine." She heads down the hall, flipping her bright red hair over her shoulder. It doesn't take long for her to change back to her usual self. The fiery look in her eyes quickly reappears. "She better watch her back," she hisses before slamming the door shut behind her. 

--------------------------------

If you've read my other stories you'll know how much I love writing about exes haha. Anyone else have nightmare ex stories? 🙄

Thanks for reading! :)