I let out a groan, struggling to piece together the hazy memories of last night. Ugh, why did I drink so much? I pushed myself up from the bed, feeling a bit unsteady as I shuffled out of my room and into the living room. 

On the kitchen counter, I spotted a hangover pill and a bottle of water. Curiosity piqued, I examined them, pondering who might have placed them there. That’s when I noticed a tiny note taped to the back of the bottle. It simply read, ‘Take this.’ 

I jumped at the sound of a voice behind me. "Look who’s finally awake." It was Darla, giving me a pointed look as I approached her with the pills, water, and note in hand. 

"You startled me! Why were you just sitting there, staring like some kind of weirdo?" 

"You’re not in charge of the questions here; I am. First, take the pills." I complied, swallowing them down with a generous gulp of water. 

"Thanks for the pills." 

"Those aren’t mine," she replied, her glare still unwavering. 

"Then whose are they?" 

"Rex." My brow furrowed in confusion. 

"What were you doing with Rex yesterday?" she shot back as soon as I set the water down. 

"I wasn’t..." That's when the memories flooded back all at once. 

"Oh no, I got completely wasted last night. I said and did so many embarrassing things," I exclaimed, my eyes widening in realization. 

“No, that’s not quite the word. You were out cold from drinking yesterday. What on earth did you drink? And with Rex too? I had no idea you two were getting along!” 

“We’re not,” I replied with a sigh. “It’s a complicated story.” 

“Good thing we don’t have anything scheduled until 1 p.m.,” she said. I then began to recount how I ended up in that situation yesterday. 

“I had no clue Matt and Rex were acquainted. Why did he invite you along?” 

“Right? And then he just left us together. Rex started asking about Jess, and I felt a wave of anger and sadness wash over me. He’s really going to think I still have a crush on him now.” 

“Do you?” 

I fell silent, unable to respond, even though I knew the truth. I just couldn’t bring myself to voice it. 

That’s when it hit me. I had said something to him before I lost consciousness. I could still picture the faint frown that replaced his smirk just before everything went black. 

“Fuck, I think I messed things up, Darla.” 

“Why? What happened?” 

“I said something to him, but I can’t recall what it was. Whatever it was seemed to change his demeanor.” 

“Can’t you try to remember?” I shook my head. 

“Would it be weird to ask him?” I questioned. 

“Does it even matter? You were drunk; you probably just blurted out something silly. Don’t dwell on it.” 

“You’re right,” I sighed. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more significant than just something trivial. 

What on earth did I say? 

«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«

We were in class, some of us chatting and lounging around. Our professor just announced an exciting trip to a renowned multimillion-dollar enterprise known as 'Richardson Limited.' We’re set to visit next Tuesday. 

“Staring at the back of his head won’t make you remember what you said,” Darla chimed in. 

“I’m not,” I replied. 

“Sure you’re not,” she teased. 

Meanwhile, Rex and Mick were deep in conversation, discussing anything and everything. Their entrance had certainly caused another stir, well mostly Rex's. I was struggling to recall what I had said to Rex earlier, but my mind was blank. I noticed Matt was absent today; I wondered if he had returned home last night. 

“Aria just messaged me. She’s done for the day. If you’re free, want to join us?” 

I pulled my attention away from Rex and focused on her. “Where are you guys headed?” 

“Just to our usual hangout. Are you in?” 

“Yeah, sounds good,” I replied, standing up. As Darla and I made our way out, I caught Rex’s gaze lingering on me while Mick said something to him. 

We soon met up with Aria. “Hey, Casper!” she greeted, her smile beaming. 

Aria is petite, with shoulder-length hair swept into a messy bun, a few strands framing her black eyes and long lashes. 

“Hi, Aria.” 

"Darla said you're done for today. Want to join us?'" 

I glanced at Darla, who seemed to be focused on Aria. 

"Nah, I'm fine. I've got plans," I fibbed. 

"Oh," she replied, her voice tinged with disappointment. Darla looked at me confused, suggesting that she didn't understand my sudden change of heart. 

"What about tomorrow—" 

"Casper, I've been looking for you!" Samson interjected as he approached me. He slung his arms around my shoulders with a grin. "Can you help me out?" 

I seized this chance to escape Aria's gaze. "Sure, I'll catch you later, Darla. Bye, Aria," I said, following Samson. 

"So, what do you need my help with?" I asked. 

"We're almost there. Mickey decided to bring his friend to tutorials, so I need you to join us too." 

I nodded. "Are you still trying to annoy him on purpose?" 

"He's the one getting on my nerves. Don't you trust your buddy?" 

I rolled my eyes, "No, I definitely don’t. If he’s bringing his buddy, then you must have said or done something ridiculous—" and that’s when it dawned on me. "Wait, did you mention his friend?" 

"Yeah, we’re already here." As we stepped into the café, I caught sight of Rex and Mick deep in conversation. 

Before I could find a way to back out, we were at the table. Mick crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "So you brought your friend because you saw mine?" 

"Why would you think that?" Samson replied as he took a seat. I settled beside him, facing Rex, whose gaze was already fixed on me. 

"I bet he told you I brought my friend to annoy him or something equally absurd," Mick said to me. 

"Um, not exactly..." I replied, knowing he wasn't far from the truth.

Mick scoffed, "Oh, he definitely did." Then he turned to Samson. "Rex is here to meet someone. He’s not sticking with me." 

"I told you, I didn’t bring Casper here for that reason. He’s here to meet someone as well." 

I internally sighed. Samson was truly unbearable. "Yeah, he’s right. I’m meeting someone. I should get going. I think they’ve arrived." 

Mick eyed me with skepticism before nodding. "I’ll head out too." Rex stood up and followed me as I made my way outside. 

"So, who are you meeting?" 

I frowned, "None of your business." 

"Feisty! I miss the time when you were nice and sleepy, just like yesterday." 

"Well, yesterday is never coming back," I replied as I began to walk away. 

"Now that I think about it, shouldn't you be thanking me? You know, for giving you a ride home?" he remarked as he strolled alongside me. 

"I'm sure you enjoyed watching me drunk and unconscious, so no, I won't be thanking you," I replied. 

"Darla already thanked me, so you don't need to worry about it." 

I halted in my tracks. "Why are you following me? I thought you had plans with someone." 

He glanced at his watch. "They won't arrive for a bit, so it looks like you're stuck with me." 

I rolled my eyes and resumed walking, my mind drifting back to yesterday. I was really curious about what I might have said to him. 

I cleared my throat, "Um, did I say anything odd yesterday?" 

"You did quite a few strange and silly things. Which one are you interested in?" he teased. 

"Did I say something strange before I passed out?" 

"Why? Do you actually remember what you said?" 

"No, you idiot, that's why I'm asking!" 

He chuckled, "You were nice for exactly a minute and thirty seconds. So, I’m not telling you what you said." 

"Why are you being so stubborn?" 

"Look who's talking." He checked his watch again. "Well, I need to head out now. Catch you later, Casper." With that, he turned back toward where we had just come from. 

He walked into the café, leaving me puzzled. Didn’t he just say he was going my way? 

I walked a little further to the parking lot, then got in my car and drove back to the dorm. 

Later that night, as I went down to take out the trash, I ran into Matt, who was smoking. 

"Hey, I’m really sorry about last night. Something unexpected came up..." He said, a smile forming as he finished his thought. 

"It's okay," I replied. 

"Are you friends with Rex?" 

"Not exactly friends—more like acquaintances." 

"Oh," he paused for a moment, and that was my signal to head inside. 

"I was surprised when I ran into him. Honestly, I didn’t expect our paths to cross. I wasn’t keen on seeing him." 

This caught my attention. "Why's that?" 

"He had a crush on me. He confessed back in school." 

"Oh," I paused, surprised. This was definitely information I hadn’t anticipated. Rex had feelings for Matt since high school. Was Matt the reason Rex transferred here? I swallowed hard, a strange feeling bubbling up inside me. 

Matt took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Just a hunch, but I suspect I might be the reason he moved here," he said, almost as if he could read my thoughts. 

"Um..." I hesitated, not quite sure how to respond. 

"I'm sorry for dragging you into drinks with him. I really didn’t want to be alone with Rex." 

"You’re not interested in him?" I asked softly. 

He chuckled lightly, "Rex wears glasses while being a he’s a top." He laughed before adding, "He's not my type." 

He sounded like he was mocking Rex for wearing glasses.

"Besides, the only reason I haven’t shut him down is that he stood up for me against bullies. He’s like my hero. But dating him? That’s not happening," He looked into space, pondering. 

"I told him I’d think about it when he confessed. I only said that to keep him as a friend—to make sure he’d continue defending me from the bullies. But we’re not in high school anymore, right? I don’t need him around like that now." 

"I doubt Rex would've stop protecting you from those bullies even if you didn't date him." Why am I even sticking up for him? 

He shrugged. "Maybe you're right. Anyway, I’ll catch you later." He tossed the last cigarette to the ground, crushed it underfoot, and walked away. 

I let out a sigh, leaning against the wall. Rex has feelings for Matt. If I had admitted my feelings to him back in high school, he would have turned me down. 

That realization stings more than I care to admit.