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Iris thanked him and walked back to the room from before, thinking perhaps he had just been late. When it was still empty, she began to panic. If he wasn't here, where was he? She hurried back to Dmitri and asked for Caden's phone number. Once she got it, she texted him. -Caden, this is Iris. Why aren't you here? Where are you?- She didn't want to sound pushy, but she was really getting worried now. |
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-home, was starting to forget myself tbh- He texted, sending a photo of Moscow. Caden wasn't sure how she got his number, but he rolled with it anyway as he ate a bagel. |
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Iris was confused at his message at first, but then she saw the picture. Her eyes widened. Okay, wow. That wasn't what she had been expecting. She pushed down the feelings that were threatening to overflow and texted back. -Wow it's beautiful. How long are you staying?- She desperately hoped the answer wasn't 'forever', but was ready if he did say it. 'Jeez, Iris, know a guy for two days and suddenly you're sad you might never see him again? Get a grip!' She chastised, making her way back to her room and sitting in her desk chair. |
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-about two weeks, really not too long :)- He texted back getting a ride out to the cheap hotel he was staying at. The landscape passed as they drove on, faint music playing in the background. |
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(Got any plot ideas?) . Seeing his message, Iris let out a breath of relief. -Oh, cool.- Was all she texted, spinning the chair around. She wasn't sure what to do with herself. The tutoring sessions with Caden had been one of the few things keeping her going, which was very strange. Normally she loved school, and she still did, but it was just so tiring all of a sudden. |
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(none really besides maybe him doing something that he thought was normal but then she thought it meant something and then he breaks it to her and shes just..idk?) -why, you miss me? lol- Caden texted, deciding that it was funny as they pulled into the drive of the hotel. He grabbed his bag and went to check in, seeing his room was on floor 5. |
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(Hm yeah that's pretty good. I don't have any others.) . Iris felt color rise to her cheeks at his writing. She wrote out a reply, looked at it, then deleted it all. She did this three more times, growing more frustrated with each. Finally, she shut off the phone and threw it on her bed, leaving no reply for Caden. She hunched over in the chair, shame and anger and confusion pulsing through her, making her so tired she could barely sit there any longer. |
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Caden put his phone up, heading up to his hotel room and flopping on the bed. Later he went to go shower, the hot water running over his shoulders as he thought about Iris. He found himself missing her. She was nice, really smart, and hadn't given him a dirty look once. That was seemingly a new record. Caden turned off the water, stepping out and drying off as he pulled on a pair of sweatpants. He went and shaved, ridding the stubble that'd been coming into place which had drove him to insanity. Did he like her? He didn't like her, that was nonsense. Iris only thought of him as a guy who needed help adjusting to English, nothing more than that. It was stupid for him to th- The blade nicked his skin, sending a sting through the spot it was at. Caden sighed, wiping the cut off and heading to bed early. |
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Iris finally quit the chair and lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Finally, after a long debate with herself, back and forth, and back and forth, she made a decision. It was clear that she was beginning to have a crush on Caden, and that it wasn't mutual. The best thing to do was forget about it, especially if he would be gone for two weeks or more. After all, she was just his tutor. No reason making it more than that. . She'd always been on the side when it came to relationships. She was more of a 'we're kind of friends and study together but that's it' sort of person. And she was happy with how it had turned out. She was never broken when someone left her, since they only ever hung out twice a week at most, and didn't have to worry about keeping up appearances; if they didn't like her, they could say that and leave. No problems. . But relationships of the deeper levels, like best friends, boyfriends, and the like, were too complicated and too much work. She'd never felt like that towards anyone and didn't want to start now, and hopefully ever. . Though her parents definitely thought differently. All Iris's mother cared about was Iris getting married and having kids, to, quote on quote, "continue the Monroe family line". All her father cared about was her mother, so therefore he agreed with her on everything. . Iris sighed, closing her eyes. With that decision out of the way, she could focus on more important things, such as finishing that science lab report and getting some food in her stomach. |
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Caden lay in bed for hours, restless. He still couldn't decide, did he like her? Absolutely. What? No he didn't, he did not. That wasn't true, it was fake nonsense from the back of his mind. -heyyy so i uh, i kinda like you like a lot- He sent the message, instantly deleating it and grateful his phone allowed him to. |
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Warming, with Sleet and Heavy Icing
