Chapter three

   I inspected myself in the mirror. My friends had made me look beautiful in a way I didn't think was possible. Teighlor picked my black dress that had straps going across the chest that looked like an upside down star and my favorite black  shorts to wear underneath. The shorts were basically like leggings but shorts that's why I bought them in the first place. They were mostly just to hide the bandage on my thigh and the cuts if I decided to take the bandage off at some point tonight.  I mostly loved this dress though because it really accentuated my breasts and I was almost a hundred percent sure that's why Teighlor chose it. She had also insisted I wear my favorite Demonia platform ankle boots that had crosses and pentacles on them. I hadn't worn them much when I dated Mark because they made me taller then him , even though they only added like four inches to my height. Mark hated me being taller then him so I just rarely wore them.

    Amber had straightened and defrizzed my hair which I didn't know was possible. She pulled half of it up into a pony tail that she then curled. She left two strands of hair left down to frame my face since my bangs were the same length as the rest of my hair. Over top the ponytail was the crescent moon hair clip my father had gotten me for Christmas a couple years ago. 

    Sam had impressed me the most though. She had done a Smokey eyeshadow with black and a tinge of purple that wasn't noticeable unless you were really looking at it. She had somehow managed perfect wings in under five minuets when it sometimes took me ten minuets to do. Even though I was noticeably lighter in skin tone than her she still managed to make it so that my acne wasn't even visible like at all. I seriously needed to know how she did that because my acne was a pain in my ass and made me feel so embarrassed. Thankfully though it only flared up around my period.

     I had picked out my favorite choker I had actually made myself to go with my outfit. I had also chosen to wear earrings in all four holes in each ear and my nose ring. It wasn't often I wore all my piercings mostly because I just hated putting them all in and then taking them all out. I also wore my favorite black bracelet set Teighlor had given me for my sixteenth birthday and my high school class ring. I looked at the ring my grandmother had given me for graduation, it was a gorgeous silver and sapphire rose ring that I had never worn because it meant too much to me. I decided today was a good day to wear it for the first time.

    "Oh wow. You look absolutely gorgeous!" Teaighlot practically squealed behind me. 

    "You really think so?" I asked turning around. She nodded. She had straightened her brown hair and it framed her petite face beautifully. She was wearing a red strapless cocktail dress that I'm pretty sure I had helped her pick out years ago. She had her favorite red heels on and wore the diamond earrings her mother had gotten her. She was simply stunning. 

    "What's better then gorgeous? Goddess? Cause whatever it is that's what you are." She smiled.

    "Letty no matter what don't doubt yourself ok? You're gorgeous dressed up or not. I know you don't think so but I would kill for eyes as blue as yours. Between your perfect curves, gorgeous blue eyes, raven black hair, impeccable pale skin you're more beautiful then you give yourself credit for."

    "That may be true but I still weight like two eighty." I said pointing to my stomach. She shrugged.

    "So what you're weight doesn't mean you're not beautiful. Just because you're goth doesn't mean you're not beautiful either. You're beautiful because you're you. There is only one of you and I'm glad that it's me who knows you and any guy would be lucky to have such a stunning, smart, fearless and loyal girl like you." I could feel myself blushing so I hugged her to hide it. 

    "You always know how to make me feel better don't you Ty." She laughed and hugged me tightly.

    "God any sweeter and I'd think I would get a cavity." Amber said laughing. I hadn't seen or heard her come in. She was wearing a gorgeous maroon dress with clear straps and rhinestones lining the top making her breasts look a little bigger she looked fierce with black eyeshadow and eyeliner. She had chosen no jewelry and open toed wedges. Her normally straight hair now had some beach waves in it.

    "Any hotter and I'm gonna have to get a friggin fire hose for you" Teighlor retorted studying her.

    "Are were over dressed?" The thought had never occurred to me until now.

    "No my sorority said cocktail formal clothes on the invite. It's our spring formal." Sam said entering the room. She wore a pale pink strapless dress with her hair up in a messy bun. She wore her favorite pearl necklace and earrings and very light makeup. She was so beautiful and probably the least flashy out of all of us. I looked at myself again in the mirror.

    " I'm over dressed compared to you Sam." I said looking back at her.  She shook her head. 

    "Nonsense. I sent a picture of you to my sorority president she said you look perfect." Sams sorority president said I looked perfect? Granted Tabitha and I didn't hate each other we weren't exactly friends either. She was always nice to me though.

     "Well if Tabitha approves then I guess I'm good."

    "We need to take a picture together guys. Letty hasn't dressed up this much since her first date with Mark." I looked at Teighlor. Had it really been that long since I had gotten super dressed up? No I dressed up for the holidays.

    "No it's not I get dressed up for the holidays." Teighlor shook her head.

    "You always wear that ugly teal dress he picked out for you that hides your figure, your hair is always up, he always forbade you to wear piercings and you only wore cover up and mascara." I frowned, I had forgotten about that. Not really wearing my piercings or make up around him I thought was of my own choosing, not because he hated it. Hearing Teighlor say that though reminded me of those conversations though.

     "Just more proof he's trash. Come on girls." Sam said angling her phone. We all leaned in and smiled.

    After a few photos we were heading across campus to Sams sorority. The loud music coming from inside made me question whether or not we were over dressed. Her sorority was huge but it was one of the smaller ones at our college. The front lawn was littered with different flower beds that made it smell very pleasant in the summer. The fountain was on tonight and someone had put a couple color changing lights in it because the lights were changing from blue to purple to red then orange,yellow, green, then back to blue. It actually looked better that way in my opinion. 

    Entering the main hall of the sorority house I saw how packed it was. Everyone was dressed up nicely like us but there were tons of people literally everywhere. Every seat was taken in the sitting room to the left and to the right the girls had turned the day room into a dance floor. I couldn't tell what the other rooms on the main floor were like because I literally couldn't see them. 

    Sam motioned for us to follow her to the dance floor so we did. I didn't like to dance so I positioned myself against the wall and watched my friends have fun. I wasn't a terrible dancer in anyones opinion, I just didn't like the attention. I didn't like other people bumping into me either, I always lost my balance when they did. It was mostly just because I didn't like the attention though. My anxiety started to creep up on me while watching my friends and I tried to think of positive things so that I could tune it out but it wasn't working. I wasn't a huge fan of places this crowded.

    "Hi there." A deep husky voice startled me out of my thoughts. I ignored whoever it was, I had no intentions on being hit on by some drunk dude. Especially if it was someone who I knew for a fact wouldn't even talk to me on a daily basis. "I didn't expect to see you again." Again? I looked at the guy standing to my left. It was the guy from the library. 

     Now that I wasn't fighting the urge to cry I actually managed to get a good look at him. He was significantly taller than me even with my shoes. His skin reminded me of milk chocolate and his hair was as black as mine but obviously much curlier. His eyes were a golden brown color and looking at them made me loose the ability to speak for a moment. He was very handsome and therefore most likely not interested in me.

     "Hi. Sorry about the other day, I wasn't in the greatest of moods when I bumped into you." I finally managed to say after a few moments. He smiled. Man did he have a sexy smile that just made his eyes light up.

    "No worries, you looked like you were having a bad day so I was hoping I would get to bump into you on a better day so I could properly thank you for showing me where the administration offices were." I shook my head.

     "It was no problem. I'm sorry I was a bit rude." He chuckled. His laughter was deep and rich and I loved the sound of it.

    "It's fine I didn't think you were rude at all. I'm Aiden by the way. I never got to properly introduce myself to you either." 

    "Nice to meet you Aiden. I'm Letitia but everyone calls me Letty." That made him smile.

    "Well Letty would you like a drink?"I scanned the room looking for my friends, they were still dancing and none had seemed to notice this guy talking to me. I also noticed a group of women practically eye fucking Aiden.

    "I don't think your groupies would like that very much." I said tilting my head in their direction. Aiden looked over at the group of girls and studied them for a moment. He looked back at me and smiled. 

    "They're not my type so I'm not even worried about what they think." I was almost speechless. I looked at the women. They were all thin and blonde haired, I couldn't make out much more then that from across the room. If they weren't his type what was?

    "Well if that's the case then yes I would love a drink." He leaned in close to me and my heart started to race. He smelt like the woods back home after it rained. Sweet, but musky. It was a scent I loved growing up and still loved now.

    "I'll be right back then, don't go anywhere. Wouldn't want to have to hunt you down." He said in a deep voice in my ear. My body tingled slightly. I just nodded and he walked off to get a drink. 

    Holy shit, what the hell was I doing? This man who I literally just met already had me speechless. I literally wanted to slap myself right now. I was never like this around men. He had that Alpha male energy to him though that just made me want to submit to anything he said. That was not good. I focused on watching my friends. I knew they were having fun and I didn't mind watching them. I loved seeing them so happy. After about a half hour I started to wonder where Aiden had gone. Maybe he was chatting up another girl. There were plenty here that were far better looking then me. I wasn't sure why but the thought made me feel a a little sad.

    "Sorry for the wait, the kitchen was packed and trying to order a drink took a while." His voice nearly made me jump out of my skin.

    "That's fine, it's pretty packed in here anyways." He smiled at me. I took the cup he handed me and looked at it.

    "I didn't think you were a beer type girl." He said as I took a sip. It tasted like an orange creamsicle but had a small bite to it which I knew was from vodka. It was actually really good.

    "You're right I'm not." I said after taking a few sips. I hoped the alcohol would kick in fast to calm my nerves. We stood in silence for a while and I kept sipping at my drink. I started to feel slightly buzzed half way through the cup. Odd vodka never made me buzzed that quickly. Within five minuets I had finished my drink and felt very light headed.

    "Wow you drank that fast. Are you alright?" Aiden asked as I leaned on the wall for support. I nodded.

    "Yeah, ummm what was in that?" I could hear some of my words slurring.

    "Orange soda, vanilla ice cream, two shots of vodka, some sugar and like four or five shots  of tequila. Why?" Oh hell. For some reason tequila was the only alcohol I really had no tolerance to. That explained everything. 

    "No reason I just feel really dizzy. I can't handle tequila very well." I said with a laugh. Oh no this wasn't good. I was a giggly drunk. I literally would laugh until I vomited and then continue laughing. I avoided getting drunk at all costs. Aiden sat his drink down and looked at me. Was he worried?

    "I'm sorry I should of asked what you like before getting you a drink. Come on let's go get some fresh air. One of the sorority girls told me there's a walking garden out back." He offered me his arm and I wrapped mine around it in hopes I wouldn't fall flat on my face. He was right though I needed fresh air bad. I couldn't help wonder why one of the girls had told him about the walking garden outback. I mean I knew about it but that's because I was here frequeantly.

     He led me through the party and out the Back door into the garden. I knew this garden well because Sam had invited us to a lot of her sororities events and a good number of times they had been in this garden. There was a slight breeze that made me aware of how little clothing I was wearing for an April night. I should have grabbed a sweater. As if reading my thoughts Aiden took his jacket off and wrapped it around my shoulders. Surprisingly it fit me. I looked up at him.

    "I think your friends would hate me if you got sick because of me. Not only that a real gentleman doesn't like seeing a lady cold." I smiled at him and continued to use his arm for support as we walked through the garden in hopes of finding a seat. I didn't believe much in chivalry but I wasn't one to complain. There was a good number of people outside, most of them shoving their tongues  down each other's throats. One couple we walked past I was sure was most likely having sex too because of the way they were grinding against each other while kissing. I just looked down at the walkway. 

    It took us getting all the way to the end of the garden, down by the woods, before Aiden finally stopped and insisted I sit down. I listened and sat there in silence looking up at the night sky. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he sat next to me and stared at me for a bit. Was he studying me? He eventually looked up at the sky too.

    "Are you fascinated by the night sky?" He finally said breaking the silence.

    "Yeah, I have been all my life. I actually wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger so I could go and be out there in space." 

    "So why didn't you?" He asked still looking at the sky.

    "Asthma. Can't be an astronaut if I can barely breath on earth sometimes as is." I saw him grin.

    "No i guess not. So what is your major then?" I was quiet for a bit. Why did he want to know about me? I wasn't a very interesting person in my opinion and half the time questioned why my friends even liked me.

    "Psychology." I finally answered after a good bit of time. He looked at me and started to study me again with those eyes. 

    "Interesting. It's not an easy field though. What made you want to choose it?" I thought back through all my child hood moments. My mother had been very abusive especially when she was drunk. I just shrugged though.

    "I didn't have the most accepting parents and didn't really have people I could turn to out of fear. The only person I trusted was Teighlors mom and she was a therapist. She helped me through a lot so I decided I wanted to help others who were going through what I did." Why was I telling him this? I mean it wasn't the whole story but it was still more than I would normally tell a stranger. He made me feel so relaxed, so vulnerable, so safe. That was a feeling I hadn't felt in a very long time.

    "I see. I think you'll be great at it." He said smiling at me. I looked at him. How could he tell?

    "What about you?" I asked.

    "I'm not a student. I'm actually here to replace one of the psychology professors who's retiring at the end of the semester. I was asked to come and observe the last couple of weeks of his classes and get a feel for the school. I start this summer though." A professor? He didn't look old enough to be a teacher. Then again looks can be deceiving.

    "Which class are you teaching so I know which one to avoid?" I asked with a slight laugh.

    "I'm not saying because I wouldn't want you to avoid me." I stopped smiling and looked away. Was he flirting with me? I went back to watching the night sky in silence. After what felt like an hour or so I heard voices approaching us.

    Across from where we were sitting another couple sat down, the girl squealed with laughter as the guy pulled her down onto his lap and they began to heavily make out. I paid them no attention at first but after fifteen minutes or so of hearing them moaning I was becoming slightly agitated that someone was literally that rude. I looked at them for a few minuets until I saw a face. My heart sank again and I felt sober all of a sudden. It was Mark. I looked down at the ground. Damn why did he have to ruin my good mood. 

    "Everything alright? You look really sad." Aiden asked placing a hand on my shoulder.

    "Yeah can we go back in though?" He stood up and offered me his hand. I accepted it and we began to walk back inside. I heard Mark and his new girlfriend stand up after we had walked by. Was he following me to try and make me jealous or upset? What an ass hole. So typically him though.

    "Do you know that guy?" Aiden asked as we reached the door and it became increasingly more obvious that they were following us around. No use in lieing.

     "He's my ex fiancé. We broke up last month." I could hear the pain in my voice. Why was I upset?

     "What an ass hole." I looked up at Aiden as he held the door for me. I walked back into the warmth of the sorority house and took his jacket off to hand it to him. He shook his head. "Hang onto it, you still have to walk back to your dorm, I don't want you to be cold." He was really thoughtful and kind to me for a stranger. Maybe he felt bad for me considering how sad I had probably just looked. Jeez I felt super pathetic right about now.

    We walked back to where we had been standing before going outside. I scanned the dance floor but didn't see any of my room mates. Where had they gone? A slow song started to play and Aiden offered me his hand.

    "Dance with me?" I looked around the room one more time for my friends. I didn't see them but I did see Mark across the room watching me. He looked pissed off. Fuck him.

    "I'm not a great dancer but sure." He smiled at me.

    "I'll teach you." The way he said it made me feel all tingly inside. Damn what was going on with me? I took his hand  and I felt a surge of energy flow through me. That was new. I let him lead me onto the dance floor. He placed one of my hands on his shoulder and wrapped his arm around my waist. My heart started to pound in my chest as he pulled me closer to him. He laced the fingers of his other hand through mine and we began to glide around in a dance. He was definitely a pro at this. 

    The world seemed to fade away as we dance. He spun me once and I got dizzy and almost lost my footing but he quickly caught me and held me up and continued to dance at the same time. The whole time I was aware of Mark just glaring at us but I didn't care. I was actually having fun. 

    The song ended and Aiden let go of me. I became aware of the many stares we were getting at that point but I couldn't figure out why. Aiden smiled at me and I felt like wrapping my arms around him but decided not to. He put his hand on my lower back and guided me off the dance floor as a faster song started to play. 

    "See that wasn't so bad was it?" He asked once we were standing along the wall again. I shook my head and smiled.

    "No I guess not" I said stifling a yawn. What the? I looked at the clock on the wall to our right. It read three thirty. Holy shit was it already morning? No wonder I hadn't been able to find my friends. Where had the time gone? It felt like we had just arrived at the party. 

    "Can I walk you back to your dorm?" Aiden asked looking at the time as well. I shook my head.

    "I'll be fine." He looked concerned again.

    "Letty I would feel better if you let me escort you. Your ex has been glaring at you for at least an hour or two now and looked super pissed when we started to dance and infuriated by the fourth song." Wait fourth song? How long had we been dancing? I ignored it and decided he was right and clearly concerned for my safety.

    "How do I know you're not a stalker?" I asked teasingly. He smiled and placed one hand on the wall above my  head and leaned in to my ear again. Damn did he smell good.

    "I don't stalk my prey little one, I hunt them. Besides I never do anything I don't have permission to do. You have my interest and I like to keep my interests safe." He said in a low voice. Well fuck was all I could think as I felt moisture between my legs. I looked him in the eyes. Our faces were not that far apart and I felt the urge to kiss him.

     "I'm not so easily hunted, I like to fight. But I would appreciate an escort because I don't trust him." I said trying to clear my head. Why was I flirting with him? I didn't know the first thing about this guy. He chuckled and stood up right. He offered me his arm again and I gladly accepted it again.

    We walked back to my dorm in silence. My head still spinning from what he had said before we left the party. I had reasoned to myself that he was only coming on to me because of the alcohol, he couldn't really be interested in me. Especially considering how attractive he was? Guys like him didn't go for girls like me. 

    We said our good nights outside my dorm and I headed back in, my mind still full of everything that had happened. I needed to focus on what I had to do before bed. Bed. The thought of it made me super sleepy all of a sudden. By the time I walked into mine and Teighlors room all I could think of was sleep. I took off my shoes and climbed into bed. I didn't care about anything else but sleep.