Chapter 62: Can I Ask You Something? [5 Dragon Bonus]
Adrian stared at his phone.
Rose: Hey
That was it.
Just Hey.
After last night, he’d expected either anger or silence. A casual greeting hadn’t exactly been on the list.
Maybe she’s not mad anymore.
He caught himself smiling at the screen and typed.
Adrian: Hey
His thumb hovered over the keyboard.
Before he could send anything else, another message appeared.
Rose: Daniel agreed to meet today. He thinks he’s meeting me. East student lot, 1.
His smile faded.
Oh. So she hadn’t texted because she wanted to talk.
She’d just wanted to give him the information. That felt like a let down He typed.
Adrian: I’ll be there.
He should have left it there. Instead, his thumb hovered over the keyboard again.
Adrian: How are you?
He looked at the words for a moment. It wasn’t a difficult question. Sending it somehow felt like one.
He sent it anyway.
A few seconds later, Rose replied.
Rose: Fine. Focus on Daniel.
Adrian read it twice. Something about the message felt off. He started typing a response, but Jenna’s voice cut through his thoughts.
"Are you..."
Adrian looked up. "Sorry... what?"
Jenna was already a few steps ahead of him.
"You coming?"
"Uh." He straightened. "Yeah. I’m right behind you."
He slipped his phone into his pocket and caught up with her. Jenna glanced at him.
"You okay?"
He did his best to look as casual as he could. For a second, it seemed to work. "Yeah. I’m good."
"You sure?" She gave him a look. "You don’t look good."
"Don’t worry about it..." Adrian looked at her as he forced a smile. "I’m fine."
Jenna held his gaze for another second. Whatever she saw didn’t seem to convince her, but she eventually shook her head.
"Okay." She pointed ahead. "East entrance."
"Got it."
Orientation turned out to be a little over an hour of introductions, instructions, and information that most people would probably forget before they reached the parking lot.
Adrian made an effort to remember the useful parts.
The academic calendar. The ID process. Attendance rules. The location of his first seminar.
About ten minutes in, though, his attention started wandering. His hand slipped into his pocket and found his phone.
There was a new message.
Rose: Thanks for checking.
Adrian stared at it. So she was reassuring him.
Probably.
He wasn’t sure if I’m good meant she actually was, or if she simply didn’t want him asking again.
He had no idea what to say to that.
Good sounded dismissive.* Glad to hear it* sounded like something he’d send in a formal email.
He locked the phone and put it away. He still had Daniel to deal with at one. And Dina.
The thoughts lasted for only a moment. His phone came out again.
Adrian: Are you free later today? Need to ask you something.
He sent it and waited. The message delivered but there was no reply. Hmm. She was probably busy. Yeah, that seemed right.
He put the phone away and returned his attention to the orientation.
By the time it finally ended, Adrian was ready to leave.
The heat outside made him miss the air conditioning almost immediately. He squinted toward the road.
Fuck. At this point, hot was an understatement. He turned to Jenna, she seemed not to notice. He didn’t say anything.
They started toward NorthGate.
The conversation shifted naturally to the university. Jenna pointed out a few places she’d noticed during orientation, while Adrian barely paid attention to it.
Not with the thought of the sophomore he was about to confront in a few hours. Or perhaps even...
His stomach growled, rudely interrupting his thoughts.
Jenna stopped talking. She stared at him while Adrian kept walking. Face forward. She opened her mouth.
"Don’t." He said
"I didn’t say anything." Jenna laughed as you muttered.
"Yeah. But I’m pretty sure you were about to give me a smug comment."
"C’mon, you think too low of me Adrian." She paused for a beat. "I was going to comment, but it was definitely gonna be funny."
He shaked his head. The hunger had been getting worse all morning. He’d learnt to stop accept nutritional multiplier, but getting hungry in less than four hours was something else.
Adrian glanced at her.
"Let’s get something to eat."
"At noon?"
"Yeah." Adrian shrugged. "I haven’t eaten yet."
Well he definitely wasn’t gonna tell her he was a glutton.
"So breakfast?"
Adrian nodded as he continued walking.
"Yup. Breakfast."
Jenna paused. "I don’t know..." she glanced ahead at nothing in particular. "I have class in a few minutes. I’m not sure I’m free."
Adrian. "Bills on me?"
Jenna smiled. "What do you know. I am free." She wrapped her hand around his. "What’re you waiting around for? C’mon."
She dragged Adrian ahead. It’s was almost comical how fast her answer had changed.
They eventually reached the café they’d visited with Drew during his blind date.
Adrian recognized it immediately. The moment he stepped in the caught the place, it was mostly empty just like last time. There was probably a reason.* The coffee was ass, so the food had to be too.*
They found a table and sat down. They were still settling down when a waiter approached with two menus.
"Good morning. Can I get you started with something to drink?"
"Water, please." The waiter nodded and turned to Jenna.
"Orange juice."
He nodded again and left.
Adrian opened the menu.
His eyes scanned the smaller options out of habit. He caught himself, smiled faintly and took his glance elsewhere.
The breakfast section had everything but real food. Fried eggs, sausage, toast, and pancakes. Thanks to his new found luffy hunger skills, he didn’t have to worry about health.
When the waiter returned, Adrian repeated his order and added a plate of fruit. Jenna stared at him, seemingly surprised he could order all that just for himself. Then she ordered something considerably more reasonable.
The food arrived a short while later.
Adrian didn’t waste time.
He ate steadily, paying little attention to anything except the food in front of him. The first plate disappeared quickly, and even then the hunger hadn’t completely settled.
By the time he reached the pancakes, though, the worst of it finally eased.
Jenna watched him for a moment.
"Damn."
Adrian swallowed, he looked at her. "What?"
"When was the last time you ate?"
"Um." He paused, searching his memory for an answer that wouldn’t sound ridiculous.
Jenna shook her head, still smiling, and returned to her food.
A moment passed.
"Adrian..."
He paused mid-bite and looked up.
She studied him for a second. "Can I ask you something?"