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“Well, I invited her to the party this weekend,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders carelessly. “Maybe we’ll find out.”
Archer felt curiously drained when he finally closed the bedroom door behind him. There was something not quite right about the conversation he’d just had, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. Something to do with Morgan… he couldn’t help the weird feeling that he’d betrayed her, somehow. But he hadn’t, not really. And he had no intention of getting creepy with her at the party that weekend, either. That was just how guys talked. He’d had hundreds of conversations like that—a lot of them a lot more graphic and disgusting than that, too. So why did this one feel so uniquely wrong?
Archer had never in his life turned to homework as a distraction from his thoughts, but he still found himself sitting down at his desk to finish off the assignment, shaking his head. This was turning out to be quite a week. It was just stress, he told himself. Stress, and feeling trapped in this stupid place. The party that weekend would help, he was sure of it.
Nothing made him feel more like himself than getting so wasted he forgot his own name.
Chapter 7 - Morgan
It felt incredibly good to submit her first assignment for the astronomy class, anticlimactic as the moment of submission actually was. The whole class went by without the professor even mentioning the charts, and it was only at the last moment before dismissing them that he seemed to jolt awake with recognition and hurriedly instructed them to leave them on his desk as they all headed out. There were a few groans at that among the less organized students, and almost without her consent, Morgan felt her eyes flick over to where Archer was sitting. The sheaf of paper in his hands and the faint smile on his face told her that he’d finished the assignment on his own, and she felt a tinge of pride that she sternly flattened. He was a grown man, not her pupil. Him getting his set work done shouldn’t be a big deal.
Still, he met her eyes before she could force herself to look away, and mouthed a ‘thank you’ that made her smile despite herself. Well, she thought unwillingly, it wouldn’t be so bad to be friends, right? So long as he didn’t make a habit of relying on her for help with his homework. And it felt a lot better to be on good terms with her classmates, not nursing resentment over how unpleasant he’d been to her the first day they met. Holding grudges was a classic Scorpio tendency, something she’d encountered again and again during the assignment. It had been a surprisingly confronting assignment, reading about the negative traits associated with her sign, and acknowledging how many of them came to bear in her personality. Controlling, demanding, vengeful, distrustful… at first, she’d scoffed at the idea. She was an introvert, barely leaving her room to socialize, how could any of that apply to her?
But then again… refusing to interact with other people at all was an extreme kind of control, wasn’t it?
Lost in those thoughts, she headed back to her dorm… and she was halfway through her automatic process of moving as quickly through the living space as possible when she caught herself. Every day when she came home, her roommates greeted her cheerfully, and every day, she said a quick hello and then hid away for the rest of the night. She took a deep breath and set her bag down on the table instead. Her roommates looked up, and she braced herself, already feeling vulnerable. This was the first time in the month they’d been living together that she’d actually remained in their presence for more than a minute.
“Hey, Morgan. How was class?” That was Opal, she remembered from their brief introductions… a bright, cheerful girl with a short, spiky blonde haircut. On the couch next to her was Alina, who Morgan shared a bathroom with—her silky, waist-length dark hair clearly took a lot of maintenance, judging by how many bottles of product cluttered their sink. With all the courage she had at her disposal, Morgan moved over to join the two of them.
She was shocked by how quickly the afternoon flew by… and by the time their other roommate Keli arrived home, Morgan was feeling embarrassed that she’d waited this long to try to make friends with her housemates. Keli looked a little surprised to see her in the living room, but any awkwardness was quickly dispelled by Opal, who seemed to have a knack for easing social tension. Water sign magic, Morgan wondered? Or just practice?
“Morgan’s coming to the full moon party with us!” Opal said brightly. Morgan felt a rush of gratitude for her. The idea of attending the party had felt impossibly overwhelming. She’d been considering asking Callan if he was going, not wanting to be there alone and sticking out like a sore thumb, but she didn’t want to impose on him too much, not when he was clearly making his own friends and doing his own thing. Besides, something about the idea of bringing a guy to a party felt strange, somehow. But then her roommates had brought up the party and asked her, so casually, if she’d wanted to come along with them. And just like that, the insurmountable obstacle was gone.
“Amazing,” Keli said as she dumped her bag on the table, oblivious to the stationery and notes that spilled out of it. She was a whirlwind of a person, always losing things and running late, but her energy and charm were infectious. “We can get ready together! Do you know what you’re wearing?”
Morgan hesitated. “This?” She gestured down at herself. Keli tilted her head thoughtfully.
“You don’t want to wear something more fun? There aren’t heaps of excuses around here to change up the everyday outfits, you know?”
“Of course, you should wear whatever you’re comfortable in,” Alina said quietly. Keli nodded impatient agreement.
“Sure, but—you can be comfortable and still have fun. Warm summer night, down on the beach… it’s sundress weather, babes.”
“I don’t own any dresses,” Morgan said, feeling a little embarrassed. “Back home, it’s cold pretty much all year, so…”
“Oh, you can borrow one of mine. If you want,” Keli added quickly. “But I think we’re around the same size. Oh!” She almost shouted it, making the other girls jump. “Sorry. No, I have the perfect dress for you, it’s the exact color of your eyes—wait. I skipped the most important question of all. What are you doing with your hair?”
The next two hours passed in a whirlwind. Morgan had never felt so utterly out of her depth… and at the same time, she was amazed by how much warmth and support her roommates offered her. Why had she imagined that they’d be cold and aloof to her, that she’d struggle to fit in? Every time she braced herself to be judged, she was met with nothing but kindness. The dress Keli rummaged out of her overflowing and profoundly chaotic closet fitted Morgan as though it had been made for her. Alina, after asking careful permission, combed her hair out of its usual braids with incredible gentleness, then swept it into an unfamiliar but flattering updo that made Morgan catch her breath with shock when she saw herself in the mirror. And Opal, for her part, returned from her room with a collection of cosmetics that were a lot more fun to play with than Morgan had expected.
Getting ready was so much fun that Morgan had almost forgotten that they were actually on their way to a party. But there the four of them were, walking arm in arm down the pathway that wound through the forest. The night sky above them was cloudless for once, and the full moon was so bright that it almost felt like daylight. She’d wondered whether they’d have difficulty finding the party, but the distant sound of thumping music assured her that they’d have no trouble at all.
And again and again, her mind kept straying back to Archer. The last few hours spent with her housemates had been incredibly educational. Just hearing them gossip had filled her in on so much missing context that, in hindsight, explained why he’d been so ruffled by her lack of interest in who he was. Archer, it seemed, was genuinely a big deal. She was still getting her head around wealth and status in terms of their relationship with finance, but she was piecing it together now. Archer was the only son and heir apparent to the transport company his family ran. He might as well have been royalty. Every dragon on the campus wanted to get on his good side, because a relationship with Archer could easily be leveraged for benefit to their own career, their own accumulation of wealth…
She’d stayed quiet during the conversations, feeling oddly unwilling to discuss the time she’d spent with him in the library. From what she’d gathered, just about any dragon on campus would have killed for the opportunity to help Archer with his homework. So why hadn’t he gone to one of those, she wondered. Why had he come to the library alone? And the way he’d hesitated when she’d offered him help… it made sense now, she supposed. Was it lonely, living like that? Knowing that anyone who was kind to you very well might only be doing it for the benefit you could offer them?
She wasn’t coming to this party for him, she told herself firmly. She was here for herself—to challenge her social inhibitions, to experience everything that university life had to offer her, not just the academic side. And she was pleasantly surprised to realize that the crippling anxiety she’d expected to strike her on arrival simply didn’t turn up. Having her housemates with her was helping a lot. And so was the dress, she realized, feeling the evening breeze stir the skirts around her knees. The warm, humid night air against her skin, unimpeded by the thick fabric of the clothes she’d brought with her… she felt more at home than she had since she’d arrived.
The beach was definitely more crowded than she’d ever seen it. It seemed like just about every student on campus was here, and she even recognized a few staff members among the crowd, too. On the sand, most of the dragons were in their human shapes, but down by the water’s edge, she could see a few dozen in their winged forms, lounging in the water or chasing each other through the air. The moonlight shone on their scales, and she realized she hadn’t been flying since before she’d arrived here at the university. Maybe she’d join the dragons in the water a little later. Maybe she’d even muster up the courage to do some dancing, too.... baby steps, she reminded herself, glancing at the sandy dance floor and feeling a twinge of panic stirring. First things first. There was a long table set up by the tree line, and she made a beeline for it. Having a drink in her hand would make her feel less awkward.
The catering favored simplicity, she noticed with some amusement as she studied the options available. No food to speak of—this was clearly an after-dinner party, and she was glad that she and her housemates had snacked on leftovers while they were getting ready. But there were plenty of drinks available. Kegs of beer, dozens of bottles of wine with paper cups, and what could only be described as an absurd amount of punch, served in a container that could have doubled as a bathtub. She opted for a cup of wine instead.
“Probably a safe bet,” a familiar voice said behind her, and she smiled as she turned to see Callan with a matching cup in his own hand. “I think that punch is mostly spirits.”
“It’s good to see you,” she said warmly. With the classes they’d chosen, their respective schedules seemed purpose-designed to keep them apart. Aside from a few brief meetings in the dining hall and a sighting or two at the library, she’d seen very little of Callan since classes had started. “How are you finding it?”
“It’s a lot,” he said after a thoughtful pause. “I’m definitely exhausted. Getting adjusted to this place is a full-time job all on its own, and adding coursework on top of that…” He shook his head, and she nodded in fervent agreement.
“Seriously. I feel like I’ve learned more tonight about the social scene here than I’ve learned all term in my history class. And I’ve learned a stupid amount in my history class.”
