Chapter Five

Cory

"She's avoiding me."

I swing my bag over my shoulder and grab my keys before walking out of Adam's room with him. "She's not avoiding you. She's busy. Do you remember what it's like to start at a new school?"

"But we're supposed to do this together. I'm supposed to be helping her. She barely responds to my texts, and the couple of times I've swung by her room, she was either not there, or pretending not to be there."

"I'm telling you; you're overthinking this. We're only on the fourth day of classes. That's not even enough time for her to avoid you. She was fine last weekend; this is Delaney you're talking about. It seems like you guys are pretty much inseparable."

He takes my hand as we start heading to class, but I can tell this is really bugging him. "Do you want me to try and talk to her? I have my TA period today and she's in the lecture with professor Wilder. I bet you I can grab her before or after to make sure everything is good."

Adam smiles at me, and it's just ridiculous how cute this man is. "You"d do that for me?"

I pull him in for a kiss, unable to stand not doing it. "I"d do that, and a lot more. If this will help you relax, then it's nothing. She and I had a vibe going, right? It'll be fine."

"Thanks, babe. That would actually mean a lot to me. I haven't even gotten her schedule, so I have no idea where her classes are other than that one she discovered she"s in with Wilder and you."

By the time we make it to the building both of our first classes are in, I've managed to talk him off the ledge. He's calmer, but now I'm anxious for the role I promised to play. But like I said, it will be fine.

Thursdays and Fridays I have the same two classes, because they're longer ones. Which means today is the first day I"ve had this class this semester, and I'm surprised to feel a little bit giddy when I walk in and see Delaney tucked into the back corner, a big hoodie on, trying to obscure herself. Like anybody would ever look at her and not want to give her all their attention.

Her eyes flick up to me and it almost looks like I read a bit of panic in them, then her eyes flick to the door as if she"s considering running and I'm forced to revisit the idea that maybe she is avoiding Adam. The question is, why?

Her guards are standing up behind her, trying to blend in as well, but they're too alert for that to be a possibility. And much too beefcake-ish.

"I didn't know you were taking human behavior," I say as I drop into the seat next to her.

"Hey Cory," she says quietly. "Yeah, pretty much looking to work at the capitol building when I get my degree, so this is part of my plan."

"That makes sense. It's pretty cool you have that figured out already. I have no idea what I want to do when I graduate."

She gives me a tight smile but gone is the camaraderie we had the other night. Throwing all tact out the window, I just go straight for the jugular. "Are you avoiding Adam? Because he thinks you are."

"What why would I be doing that?"

She actually looks relieved when we're interrupted. "Aren't you the girl that dumped punch all over professor Wilder last weekend?"

Delaney tips her head back before addressing the woman that just sat in front of her and got nosy. "Never heard of her." She starts doodling on her page, clearly trying to end any and all interactions.

Not getting anywhere with her, I take the opportunity to check out the guys that squandered their opportunity with her. I'm not subtle at all as I spin sideways to stare the twins down, looking over them, looking for a reason they'd be dumb enough to let her go. I'm wondering how she's tolerating working with them after they stomped on her heart.

Objectively, they're very attractive people. If you're into the bodyguard look, that is. When one of them grunts at me, I take that as an opportunity to introduce myself. "I'm Cory," I say holding out my hand. "I"m dating Adam, in case you need context."

They both dart their eyes to Delaney and I can't tell if I caught a flinch from her when I said that or not, but they're even less friendly than she is.

"Wow. All three of you are just a bucket of fun today," I say as I turn to face forward.

I'm kind of pissed actually that she's being rude. I debate getting up and moving chairs even, but it seems the only one empty now is at the very front of the room, and there"s no way in hell I"m sitting up there.

Class starts then, so I guess I'll have to suffer through the three of them being silent and awkward together while I try and learn something.

"All right," the teacher announces. "I hope you like whoever sat next to you, because they'll be your partner for the semester for all of your projects. No, there are no reassignments. We're training you to work with people you might not know, that are different from you, that come from different walks of life, so you can be successful in this field of study. Take a few minutes please and exchange contact information because you're going to need it this semester."

The professor starts getting her notes organized while people around us start to do just that, so I turn back to Delaney. "You still have my number, or did you decide to delete it?"

Her eyes focus on me again, but this time they're different. She looks like she's in pain. She reaches out for my hand, pulling it onto her desk. "I'm sorry Cory. I'm not intentionally being rude to you. This is all just a lot for me. I'm not sure what Adam's told you, but I've been pretty isolated up until now. I'm finding that I'm getting really overwhelmed easily, personal drama notwithstanding. That's a whole other episode of the Delaney show."

"Come here," I say, standing up. I think she's actually just a bit taller than me, but that's okay. A hug works no matter how tall you are.

She hesitates for just a second before stepping away from her desk and wrapping her arms over my shoulders, sinking into me. She tucks her face against me, and I feel the need to apologize to her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make your burdens heavier. I guess it kind of hurt my feelings you were brushing me off. I thought you were really cool when we hung out last weekend, and I was excited to get to know you better."

"You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong, that's all on me." She steps away and sits back down, but I pick up my desk and scoot it a few inches closer to her.

"I'm kind of worried about you," I tell her.

She wipes a stray tear from her eye before tightening the hood of her sweatshirt around her face and wrapping the sleeves of it over her hands. "I"ll figure it out eventually," she tells me.

We don't get to talk the rest of the class because we're too busy taking notes, but when we step out of the hall to walk to the next class together, the one I TA for, Adam is directly in my path. He was planning on walking me there since he has a free period now, except that Delaney ducks into the bathroom right as I turn to greet him. His face looks stricken that she so clearly just dodged him, but I know that she just needs some space right now.

"Okay maybe she is avoiding you," I tell him as we start walking down the hallway. He looks behind us, but her guards are waiting in the hallway for her, so we don't have to worry about her getting there safely. Not that anything would possibly happen in these hallways, but it's still reassuring to know she's not alone.

"Did I do something?"

"There's clearly a conversation the two of you need to have, but I think you're gonna have to wait for her to be ready for it. She"s overwhelmed, she admitted that much."

"Shit, okay. But I can only give her so much space, Cory. I've been waiting forever for her to get here."

If this conversation had happened last week when Delaney was merely a fictional character in my own story, I think I would feel very insecure about how Adam is talking and feeling about her avoidance. But then she had to go and hang out with us and be all perfect, and it's almost like magic happened. I know sharing Delaney with me was a big deal for him, but I had crazy thoughts running through my mind for a few minutes when we were laying on Adam's floor with her between us. Like, really crazy.

"She's enrolled here now, Adam. She could decide to just leave, but that doesn't seem like her style. I'm not sure what all she's dealing with right now or know why she doesn"t want to see you or talk to you, but we're going to get this figured out. Surely you guys have had fights before?"

"Yeah, but this feels different."

He's fidgeting. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Can we talk about it tonight? It's nothing bad, I promise I just—"

"If that's what you want."

He nods, looking around the hall hoping she'll show up.

"I"ve got to get inside and see if Professor Wilder needs me to handle anything. You know she's going to come this way eventually if you want to stay for a minute…"

"Yeah, maybe. Okay."

"I'll see you after class?"

"Of course," he says before kissing me. He runs his hand along the bare skin on my waist, right where my shirt ends. Ever since he told me he loves crop tops, more have found their way into my wardrobe miraculously.

Professor Wilder definitely seems more tense than usual as I walk into the large auditorium style lecture hall, setting my bag down so I can help him with whatever needs to be done.

He"s normally a fairly broody person, but I feel like today he's trying to win an award for it. He's glaring out at the audience, maybe trying to intimidate all the students into leaving, but I have a feeling he's just waiting on the one person that seems to have us all tied up in knots. Not that I'm going to tell Professor Wilder that I know about his connection to Delaney, or admit that I have one of my own, but I'm morbidly curious to see how he's going to react to her. Maybe so I can report back to her later and compare notes.

We both almost miss her entrance because she sneaks in with a group of other people, but once again, her eyes seem to be leaking because I can see the movement as she wipes them with her sleeve. She's nothing like the vibrant woman I met last weekend, and I decide right then and there that she needs a friend.

I don't have history with her to muddy the waters, so it could be a fresh start for both of us.

Professor Wilder seems to take Delaney's entrance as his cue to start class, not even waiting for the doors to fully close behind the last few stragglers before he starts talking. "Welcome to Shifter History. If you enrolled in this class thinking it would be an easy A, you"ll probably be better off spending your time in your advisor's office switching to a different one. I know you're all adults, so I will not treat you like children. I expect you to show up on time, work ready to hand in.

"If you're in this class, it means you're in your upper levels, getting closer to graduation. The real world isn"t going to give you a pass if you forget your work. If you didn't read the syllabus online, then you"ve already lost some points because we're doing a pop quiz about it right now."

Well, fuck.

"If you're in the back row, I'm going to need you to trickle down to the front and fill these gaps for me. I will not tolerate students trying to hide back there because you're feeling emotional. You're here to learn, so whatever"s happening in your personal life does not follow you in here, am I clear? From now on, we will fill the seats from front to back and I have no problem rearranging students if I think it"s a better use of this space. I'm speaking to you, Miss Duncan. You do not get special treatment because of who your family is. You will come sit up here and you'll be ready to take this quiz. If you must have those two men follow you absolutely everywhere, they can stand off to the side where they won't distract my other students. If I feel like they become a distraction, I will kick you out of my class and you"ll lose participation points for the day."

My heart. What the hell is he doing? Delaney stands up slowly, eyes turning into ice chips as she gathers her bag. I watch August and Jackson flexing their fists, and I take a subconscious step back because the way they"re staring down Professor Wilder is terrifying. I don't know his game here, but I really don't think he's going to win it.

The whole class watches Delaney take a step down, and then another, and then gone is the sad girl as she transforms into somebody with a spine of steel, ready to throw down. With the volatile dynamic between them, I feel like this class is going to be better than any daytime TV show I've seen. I'm also terrified for how it's going to end.