Tara stood there, her body tensed with her arms held in the air attempting to keep the soaked clothes off of her.
Standing before her was a red-haired male, his eyes wide with shock as he held an empty plastic cup.
Ellie's hand flew up to her mouth as her jaw fell open.
"Are you okay, Tara?!" She exclaimed, her words muffled against her hand.
The sound of Ellie's voice snapped him out of it.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to soak you." His tone was full of regret and embarrassment.
As he turned to place the empty cup on a nearby table, Tara ran inside towards the bathroom.
"Ah! Tara!" Ellie shouted, chasing after her.
She stopped for a quick moment, staring at the red head, "J-Jerk!"
"Hey wait a minute!" He shouted, following them in.
He ran after them until he was stopped by the big "WOMAN'S BATHROOM" sign on the door that slammed in his face.
"Damn." He ran his fingers through his medium length hair, his blue eyes full of contemplation as he considered his next move.
After a second or two, he raised his fist and knocked gently on the door.
"Hey, is everything alright in there?"
Ellie popped her head out and glared at him. She opened her mouth to say something with a pout on her lips, but she couldn't bring herself to.
He glanced past her to see Tara standing in front of the mirror, using a napkin to clean the drink out of her clothes.
Without hesitation, he slipped off his jacket and held it out for Ellie.
"Here. She can wear this. I'm sorry. I didn't see you guys when I came out an-"
Ellie shut the door in his face, then, a moment later, opened it again and grabbed the jacket from his hands.
He couldn't help but chuckle. After a few seconds of waiting, he decided to head out.
As he opened the café, he glanced behind him, staring at the women's bathroom.
Tara exited a few minutes later wearing his big bulky black jacket. It didn't go with her outfit, but at least it was warm and covered up her now see through shirt.
'Great…I finally get to look good and some guy ruins it by spilling all over me.'
Disappointment filled her mind as she looked around the café looking for him.
She scanned the small crowd, searching for that fiery red hair, but it was no use. He wasn't there.
"Do you want to grab a drink while we're here though?" Ellie asked, coming up beside her.
Tara shook her head, "No, I want to go somewhere else."
Part of her was hoping she'd run into him again. How else was she supposed to give him his jacket back later?
"There's another coffee shop more towards the lecture halls. We can go there if you want? Although, it's more of a 'get your order and go' type of place."
Tara nodded and pushed the door open, holding it for Ellie to walk out.
"That's actually better, we won't waste time on the tour by sitting down chit chatting."
Ellie looked at her awkwardly.
"Would that be bad…for us to chitchat?"
"No. I mean…I'd like to chitchat with you, but I'm talking about right now. We can come hang out here later."
Despite Ellie's nod in agreement, she couldn't help but feel like she'd offended her.
'This is something I'll have to work on. I guess social skills really didn't come with the body.'
The coffee shop that Ellie described was much farther away and not at all what Tara expected.
Half a mile away from the town where the labs. Situated right next to it was a small building in the same architectural style.
Sitting outside the door was a chalkboard menu that said "COFFEE" with a cute little coffee mascot smiling and waving.
When they entered, there was only enough room inside to wait for your order to be completed.
"What kind of coffee do you like?" Ellie asked, standing away from the counter as she waited.
Tara stared at the menu. She wasn't sure, she'd never really had coffee before.
She took a step forward, ignoring Ellie's question, and ordered a vanilla latte.
'That sounds good. Hopefully it'll taste alright?'
Ellie made an awkward face and stepped up to order after Tara.
As they waited as tall male with ash brown hair and glimmering green eyes walked in. He ordered an Americano without skipping a beat – most likely his usual.
There was something about him that was drawing Tara to him, but she wasn't sure what. All she knew was she found herself wanting him to look at her.
He leaned against the counter and tapped it with his fingertips, placing a hand on his hip as he did so.
As he turned towards Tara, he nodded his head and winked.
She felt her face get hot as Ellie gasped.
Tara lowered her head, her heart pounding.
'A wink?! He winked at me? ME?! Or was he winking at Ellie? It must've been at Ellie!'
The barista called their names, and the man seemed to pay extra attention, smiling to himself as Tara's name was called.
The girls grabbed their coffees and headed out, leaving him behind.
As soon as the door closed, Ellie grabbed Tara's hand and lead her inside the labs. Once she was sure they were out of earshot and the guy wouldn't pop up, she turned to face her.
"Stay away from that guy, alright?" Ellie said, her tone turning serious.
"Huh? Why? What's wrong with him?"
"He's a huge playboy. His name is Damon. Every girl wants him and they'll do anything to get him. It would be nothing but a bunch of drama."
"Oh."
Tara couldn't help but feel excited despite her flat response.
'All the girls are chasing him and yet he showed ME attention?'
"I don't know what they're all fussing about. He will get to them eventually."
"What do you mean, he'll get to them eventually?"
Ellie waved her hand and continued to show Tara the rest of the rooms.
"Forget it, forget it."
On the second floor, Ellie's phone began to ring.
"Oh! Do you mind if I get it?"
Tara shook her head, "Go ahead, I'll just check out the rooms myself and meet you back at the stairs?
Ellie nodded as she answered the call.
"Hi!" Her voice brightened as soon as she answered the call, and she practically skipped down the stairs.
Tara stared at the signs on the classrooms. She knew the real Tara was an art major and she'd no doubt have art classes as well – even if she wasn't very artsy herself.
Would she be taking any classes here?
Then, she spotted it, a room that was labeled "SCULPTING."
She opened the door, but as she did so a man with long black hair tied back with a baseball cap on top came out. He almost bumped into her.
Surprisingly, he grabbed her by the shoulders and moved her to the side without a word.
Her heart was aflutter as he grabbed her.
She turned around to say something, but he was already down the stairs.
As she stood there, contemplating if she should go after him or not, Ellie appeared.
"My friend Kai said to go meet him at the soccer field! Come on, I'll introduce you!"