Lucian had responded with a nod of his head to the first bit. He seemed confused, almost, when the woman stared at him closely, and he resisted the urge to clear his throat in an awkward manner. He seemed to loosen up when she noticed the college. “Yeah, actually, I do,” he answered with a nod. “I was about to head there now, actually. Do you go there?”
"Yeah, it's my first year." Morrigan stepped out of the way of an annoyed pedestrian, eyes following her briefly as she passed. Rubbing again at the coffee spots on her jacket, she cleared her throat a little; it was beginning to close up. "You?"
Lucian nodded his head slowly in understanding. “My third year, actually,” he said, glancing over at the pedestrian. He shifted his hold on his drink into his other hand and held it out for the woman to take. “I’m Lucian,” he introduced.
Morrigan took the hand, ignoring the slight shaking of her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Morrigan." She smiled politely. "What do you take? Classes, I mean."
Lucian shook her hand, giving her a kind smile before letting go. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” he responded. “I taken medicine, ap anatomy, psychology, ap calculus, american liturature, and my major, which is medical sciences. What about you?”
Morrigan blinked, impressed. Her stomach turned, but she kept her expression pleasant and open. “Forsenic sciences, forsenic psychology, advanced criminology, AP calculus, and history of English poetry.”
Lucian nodded his head slowly in understanding. “Well, we both have AP calculus. I was about to head to the university now for an exam,” he explained. He assumed that Morrigan would also be taking the same exam, but he would wait and see.
“Same here,” Morrigan faked a convincing smile. Her stomach twisted, as it always did when she talked to people, but she let nothing show, only flicked a strand of black hair out of her line of sight.
Lucian nodded and gave a friendly smile. “If you don’t already have a ride, I could give you one. It’s freezing, and it’s the least I could do consiering that I almost ruined your coat,” he offered.
Morrigan tensed up immediately. Don’t even think about accepting. A strange man is offering you a car ride. Who is older than you. Who you have never met before. But at the same time, she was afraid of offending him. She didn’t know anything about him, but on the other hand he was being so sincere… After a pause, Morrigan nodded and faked a smile.
“Sure, thanks.”
Lucian nodded his head a bit in response. “Alright, great,” he said. He knew how shady that sounded, obviously. But his parents had taught him respect, consent, and to not try anything with anyone he didn’t know. He motioned for her to follow him before making his way over to a nicer looking black car that ws parked on the side of the road. He unlocked the doors and pulled the drivers side door open.
Morrigan swallowed a hard lump of anxiety. Coming around the side of the car to the passenger seat, she sat down and buckled her seatbelt. She maintained a cool, relaxed stance and expression, even as her stomach twisted itself into a knot. This was a terrible idea. What are you doing??
Lucian got in and put his seatbelt on. Once he checked to see if Morrigan’s was on, he started the car and pulled out of the spot. “You can turn on whatever you wnat on the radio if you would like. I don’t listen to much music,” he said, glancing at her for a split second before concentrating his gaze back onto the road.
“Me neither,” she admitted, forcing her body to relax. After a stretch of silence, she spoke again. “Thank you for your offer, Lucian.”
Lucian gave a hum in response to the first bit. “Of course, it’s my pleasure. We were going to the same place anyways, so we might as well have done this,” he said. After a few more mintes of driving, he pulled into the campus parking lot and parked the car, shutting it off before getting out.
Morrigan's shoulders would have sagged with relief once she got out of the car if she hadn't already forced them into a relaxed position. "Thanks for the ride," she told him. And thanks for not being a creepy molester. Obviously she didn't say the second part out loud.
“You’re welcome,” Lucian responded. Once Morrigan was out of the car, he locked it before stuffing his keys into his coat pocket. He checked hsi watch, seeing that there was plenty of time to get to class to take the exam.
"What time is it?" Morrigan asked him, pulling her hair over one shoulder as a display of laid-back calm. She tugged on one of the locks, doing her best to act natural. Jesus, get your act together.
Lucian glanced over at Morrigan before he spoke. “About 11:45. We have 15 minutes or so before the exam starts. Plenty of time to get settled,” he answered. He brushed his hair away from his forehead and eyes. He had noticed how.. tense she seemed to be.
Morrigan nodded, gesturing towards the entrance to the university. “Let’s go in, then.” Usually she would have been a complete mess by now— on the inside at least— but there was something about the man that anchored her down a bit more, probably his atmosphere of calm. But socialization had never been her… forte, to say the least, and a calm demeanour wouldn’t keep her grounded for long, she could already feel herself slipping.
Lucian nodded, adjusting his grip on his laptop and bag. He began to walk, heading up a pathway to the doors of the university. He pulled open one of the doors, holding it open for Morrigan. He had been taught by his parents to have manners to everyone, especially women. Once she was inside, he followed her into the building.
Morrigan thanked him from opening the door, but her anxiety levels were rising the longer she talked to him. Finally, not far from their next class, she spotted a women's washroom and quickly excused herself.
Once inside, she allowed her walls to crumble, her polite facial expression morphing into one of panic and exhaustion. Rubbing at the bags under her eyes, she rolled up her sleeve and began scratching at her forearm to help ground herself.
Lucian had watched Morrigan step away. He let out a sigh before walking into the main lecture room. He slid into a seat and leaned back in the chair. He set his laotop on the desk, pulling up his notes for a bit of last minute studying.
By the time she had calmed down enough to breathe slowly and evenly, Morrigan's arm was pink and raw from all the scratching. She hastily tugged her sleeve back down and left the bathroom.
Once inside the classroom, a few desks behind Lucian, she pulled out her binder to review her notes.
Lucian’s foot tapped as he nudged his glasses up to see a bit better. He let out a sigh as he did his best to concentrate. He felt good about this exam, but there was always the possibility of forgetting things.
Skip or stay?)
(We might as well skip)
Sure, to when?)
(To after the exam, maybe?)
(Sure)
Morrigan zipped up her bag, her face a mask of stoic calm. If it weren’t for her shaking hands, it would have been extremely hard to guess that she was a nervous wreck on the inside and sure she had failed the exam.
Stupid. All your fault. You should have tried harder. Freaking disappointment.
The voice in her head scarily resembled her father’s, which only served to unsettle her further.