"Hey, I'm going to use the washroom." They all nod as I stand up. I must've drank too much water earlier before dinner. I get fidgety when I'm nervous and I needed something to keep my hands occupied. Unfortunately, the only thing available was the glass of water sitting in front of me.

I make it halfway across the room before I hear someone calling my name, it's just barely audible over the music. I turn, it's a familiar looking redhead, though I can't remember why she looks familiar. Was she at the party?

Whoever she is, she looks angry.

"This is all your fault!" she shouts when she comes up to me. She gives me a hard shove. Luckily, she's barely taller than me and I only stumble back a little.

I stare at her blankly. "I...don't know who you are. Please leave me alone." I try walking around her but she blocks my path. It's times like these where I wish mom had put me in some sort of martial arts class like I wanted, instead of ballet.

She takes a step closer to me, and I instinctively take a quick step back. I can almost feel the torrid, angry heat coming off of her. "Oh don't give me that crap. You can pretend to be this innocent airhead all you want, but you know what my problem is," she sneers. "It's because of you that Cole and I can't be together."

I begin to connect the dots. Redhead? Cole? Slightly insane? "You're Laura," I murmur, suddenly remembering the scene at the restaurant. She thinks Cole doesn't want to date her because of me?

"Well no shit! You're going to pay for this," she growls, shooting daggers at me with her piercing eyes.

Before I can even react, she splashes the wine from her glass towards me. I hop back, but it still splatters the bottom half of my dress. My jaw drops and my safety deposit flashes before my eyes. She takes a step closer and lunges at me with her terrifyingly sharp nails.

My brain barely has time to comprehend what in the world is happening before she freezes in place and shrieks. The front of her dress suddenly resembles one of someone with a stab wound to the chest. She watches in horror as the red splotch begins to slowly spread. I turn around. Based on her empty glass, it looks like Ophelia splashed her wine onto Laura.

"What the hell is your problem?" Ophelia snaps. Two of the girls from the table, Susanna and Mei, quickly rush over and pull Laura away from me.

"Cole is mine! You stole him," she hisses, furiously trying to claw and kick her way out of the grip of the girls holding her back. "He stopped calling and texting me." She scrunches up her face, using a high pitched mocking tone, "he was always so busy with you."

"It...it's not like that," I stammer. This can't have anything to do with me, Cole's love life is none of my business. I glance around, everyone is still happily partying. Somehow, no one has noticed this mess.

"Liar!" As a last feeble attempt, she throws her now empty wine glass at me. With her arms constricted, it doesn't even get close to me. It shatters on the ground between us instead. That seems to catch the party's attention though, as I notice people beginning to stare.

"Leave Melody alone you psycho!" One of the other girls, Ayumi, dumps her drink on top of Laura's head. Her makeup drips down her face, leaving her looking like a wet raccoon. I watch slack jawed as Mei and Susanna drag and literally kick Laura out of the ballroom. She lands flat on her face in the hall outside.

As the adrenaline fades, I notice a stinging feeling coming from my arm. I glance down at it, there are a couple scratches from Laura's nails that are slowly leaking blood.

Onto the dress.

I'm definitely not getting that safety deposit back.

I don't even have a chance to say anything before the girls are whisking me away to the washroom. I briefly make eye contact with Cole on my way out. He just stares in disbelief while Jake is laughing.

-----

There's a little sitting area in the washroom, a room separated from the sinks and stalls. I'm pretty sure mom has one of these rooms in her bathroom too. It's warmly lit with a small chandelier and the furniture is all velvet. The walls are lined with vanities and various beauty products. I assume this is where people touch up their hair and makeup.

I can hear the faint background music being played over some speakers. What kind of place plays music in the bathroom? I try not to roll my eyes when I recognize the song. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. How horribly ironic.

The girls plop me down onto the light pink sofa and inspect the damage. I feel a bit embarrassed, having so much attention on me. "It's really no big deal, I'm-"

Sarah kneels down and her eyes widen as she examines the dress. "Oh my god, this is a Carolina Herrera dress!"

How does everyone seem to know? Is there some sort of biological dress gene I'm missing?

She looks devastated, bringing her palms to her cheeks. "The wine ruined it! Laura is going to pay, literally!"

"Calm down Sarah." Ophelia digs through her purse, taking out a small spray bottle. "This stain remover has been a godsend for me, I'm sure it'll work."

One of the other girls, Mei, grabs a small hand towel from the little basket next to the sink. She begins dabbing at the stains after Ophelia sprays.

I watch in awe as the two of them get to work on the dress, while the three other girls dig through the flowy material to find any hidden stains. "Y-you guys really don't have to do this," I stammer. Besides people who were paid to take care of me, I don't think I've ever had anyone care about me this much. I feel my eyes begin to well up with tears.

Since when do I get so emotional? I've probably felt more emotions in the past month than I have in my entire life. What a ridiculous rollercoaster of emotions I've been on.

"Aww Melody." Ayumi smiles and pulls me into a hug. She uses some tissue paper to carefully blot my tears away without ruining my makeup. "I know we've only known you for like, half an hour, but I can tell you're super sweet!"

They all nod in agreement. "Thank you," I say softly.

Susanna uses a warm, damp towel to wipe away the dried blood on my arm. She takes out a mini first aid kit from her purse and helps me disinfect the area before putting some bandages over the scratch. I recall her mentioning that she's a nursing student.

"So like we were saying before we were so rudely interrupted," Sarah says with a twinkle in her eye, "what's up with you and Cole?"

I feel myself blush as I recall our past month together. I've never met anyone who makes me as happy and comfortable as Cole has. On top of that, I can't believe some of the things I've done because of him. It's been an absolutely unforgettable month here.

Despite it all, we're just friends. I've still been too afraid to talk about it with him. What if I say the wrong thing and make things uncomfortable between us, ruining our friendship? It's almost physically painful. He's just so close, so tantalizingly close, yet so far at the same time.

And what are we supposed to do? We both know that this isn't my permanent home. It hurts my heart a little, but I know I'm not worth it. I pretended not to notice, but most of the girls who approached him earlier were blatantly flirting with him. He has all of these attractive sorority girls right here in Toronto who would be thrilled to date him. Why would he ever want to date someone about to leave? Let alone someone like me.

These feelings have been a nightmare to navigate, it feels as if my brain is at hopeless war with my heart. As much as I've been trying to ignore it, there's this little voice in my head that won't go away. You have feelings for him.

"We're um, just friends."

"Clearly not," Ophelia chortles, gesturing to my dress. "That was you he left Alpha Gam's party with, right?"

The night was a blurry mess, but that's one of the few things I remember from the party. "Yeah, but we just talked. We hang out sometimes, but it's always been platonic." Sometimes may be an understatement but they don't need to know that.

She blinks slowly a couple of times. "Seriously?" Ophelia shakes her head and runs her hand through her hair. "Jeez, what the hell happened to him?"

Ayumi chuckles. "I was about to warn you about him. He's built quite the reputation here." I can tell by the look in her eyes that she's definitely speaking from first-hand experience. "But it sounds like he's finally growing up."

Mei stops wiping for a moment and looks up at me. "I was at the table right next to yours. I couldn't believe that he didn't flirt with any of the girls who were clearly trying to get in his pants," she adds, looking bewildered.

"Whatever you two are, it sounds like you've definitely changed him for the better." Susanna gives my hand a comforting squeeze. "I really hope he's done the same for you."

I take a moment to reflect on the craziness of the past month and all of the things I've done. The Melody I was a month ago was terrified of absolutely everyone and everything. She would never believe any of this.

"Yeah, he really has," I say softly.

-----

I pause as we walk by the bar on our way back to the ballroom. "I think I need a drink after all of that."

They all laugh. "Ok, we'll wait," Ophelia says.

I shake my head. "No, go ahead without me, I'm probably leaving soon. Thank you again, for earlier." I glance down at the spotless dress. It's as good as new. "It was really nice meeting all of you."

They all give me tight hugs, wishing me the best. It makes me a bit sad, knowing I'll most likely never see any of them again. I've gotten used to having to say goodbye to people though. Soon they'll just become distant memories that I won't have time to ever think about again.

The bartender gives me a friendly grin as I approach the counter. "Hey there, what can I get you?"

"Pinot noir, please."

He nods and takes out a bottle as I take a seat on one of the bar stools. As I watch the rich, dark red liquid rise up the sides of the crystal clear glass, I notice the faintest sniveling nearby. Peering down the bar, five stools away, it takes me a moment to spot Laura. She's hunched over with a long pea coat draped over her shoulders and a winter scarf bundled around the lower half of her face, but her bright red hair is unmistakable. She's absentmindedly dragging the tip of her finger around the rim of her empty glass.

There's something off about her though. Her burning flames have been smothered, leaving her quiet and subdued. I slowly slide off the stool and hesitate for a moment, feeling like a deer about to walk straight into a wolf's den. My heart pounds and my head feels light and dizzy as I make my way over.

I quietly take a seat on the stool next to her. She peeks at me from the corner of her eyes before quickly turning back. There are still remnants of grey smudges underneath her eyes. "What do you want?" she sneers, keeping her eyes glued to the wall of liquor bottles behind the bar.

"I wanted to talk." Nobody deserves to be humiliated like that, despite what they may have done to get themselves there in the first place. "I'm sorry about what happened back there, Laura," I say softly. Everything had happened so quickly, it all just felt out of my control.

"I'm sure," she snorts. "Just go away."

I grit my teeth and take a deep breath. "I know how you feel, losing someone really sucks and moving on can be hard."

The bartender comes over to place my glass in front of me while Laura orders another shot. She finally turns her face to look at me, though she remains silent. There's scorn but the slightest bit of curiosity in her eyes.

I decide to interpret it as an invitation to continue. "Healing is... weird. Some days you're ok and you're doing just fine. Other days it still hurts like it's fresh," I say softly. "It's a painful and tedious process with no definitive time frame. You just have to keep going and know that when it's all over, you're going to be ok. I promise."

Laura chews on her lip and doesn't say anything for a bit. The bartender hands her the shot and says something about having to cut her off for the night. She simply shrugs and takes the shot before biting into the lime wedge, filling the air with the tart, citrusy scent.

"He... he can truly be a huge asshole sometimes," she mumbles. "Yet... Cole still has this sweet, soft side that he tries to hide from the guys. He's so kind and loving - but you already know that."

Boy do I ever. I'm still in disbelief about tonight.

Laura goes quiet for another moment as she rests her chin on her palm, and her eyes grow glassy. The way her gaze focuses on nothing in particular makes me feel as if she's forgotten I'm even here. "He treated me in ways no one else ever has. I just couldn't let him go."

I can't even begin to imagine how many girls Cole has left heartbroken like this. I cautiously reach over to give her arm a gentle squeeze. "I understand. The person you're meant to be with will never have to be chased. The right one won't run."

Laura quickly slides some money to the bartender across the counter. "For hers as well," she mumbles to the bartender and points at my drink. She gives me what can only be described as a half-hearted warm, yet cold, smile. "I'll see you around, Melody," she says with nothing but ambiguity in her tone as quickly slips off her stool and leaves.

I turn back to my drink and let out the tense breath I had been holding. The bartender gives me a sympathetic smile. What an unbelievable night.

"Er, Melody?"

My stomach sinks at the familiar husky voice. I feel a painful lump form in my throat as I quickly slide off the stool and try to leave. This really doesn't seem to be my night. "Sorry, I have to go," I murmur, avoiding eye contact.

"W-wait no," Chris stammers, and steps in front of me, blocking my path with his wide stature. "Listen Melody, I'm sorry about what happened at the party. I can uh, explain."

I stare at him blankly. "Go on."

He seems a bit taken aback. "Oh uh," he mumbles and avoids eye contact, "my girlfriend had just dumped me the previous night. I guess I was just feeling desperate."

I narrow my eyes at him and feel a fervid heat building up in me. I have no idea where this newfound confidence suddenly came from, but I'm not about to waste it. "That's a horrible reason. There's no excuse, in fact, to make it ok to take advantage of a girl," I berate. I try stepping around him to leave, but he blocks my escape route again.

"But you were going along with it," he says defensively.

"I was drunk!"

"Ok yes but-"

"Is there a problem here?"

Chris turns around and I peek around him. Cole's standing there, arms crossed, shooting daggers with icy blue eyes. I quickly squeeze myself through the newly formed gap between Chris and the stool and stand closely next to Cole. He places his arm defensively around my waist. I can practically feel the anger fuming from him.

Chris raises an eyebrow. "Why do you care, Cole? Are you two dating or what?"

"That's none of your concern." Cole narrows his eyes at him. "Just stay the hell away from her."

Chris just scoffs as we turn around and leave.

"You alright?" Cole whispers to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine...I forgot my drink though," I laugh.

He chuckles and places his hand on my back, leading us down the hall and away from the ballroom. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get the hell out of here."

"I couldn't agree more."

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

A slightly crazy chapter 😂

Thanks for reading!