The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa rolled her eyes at him in a playful manner. An uncontrollable smile tugged at her lips as they headed down the stairs together. He teased her in a way that didn't make her uncomfortable or embarrassed.

She couldn't count how many times people had made jokes or teased her because she was quiet or smart. They did it in a way that was almost humiliating to her. He didn't do that to her, though.

He acted lighthearted and kind, but he had a bit of an intimidating edge to him. She saw that when he faced off with Kaleigh and Olivia. She didn't want to get on his bad side. She enjoyed the side of him that she was seeing now and hoped she would see a lot more of it.

"So, tea. Not coffee?" Alyssa asked Elias as they strode into Osland Café. It was a small place with bright golden lights, dark wood accents, and a large chalkboard menu behind the ordering counter. A few students lingered in the round tables scattered around the café as jazz music lightly sounded from the speakers.

"Tea is better," Elias replied with a matter-of-fact shrug.

"All I've had is black tea," Alyssa said as she gazed at the chalkboard menu. There were all sorts of teas on the menu, including green tea, honey lemon tea, earl grey, and ginger tea. She had no idea which ones were good or not. She wasn't that big of a tea drinker. Coffee had been her lifesaver during her freshman year.

"You'd like the honey lemon. Sweet with a bit of a sharpness. Fitting, yeah?" Elias said as he nudged her.

It was nice that he thought she had an edge to her. She wished that she actually had one, but that took boldness that she didn't have. She was too nervous to always speak her mind. She didn't know how to tell people off if they were getting on her nerves. She was soft. She was weak.

"Fine. I'll try your tea," Alyssa smirked before walking up to the ordering counter. "Can I have a honey lemon tea, please?"

"Earl grey as well," Elias said as he handed the worker his debit card.

"I can pay for my own," Alyssa told him. She didn't want him to think he was obligated to pay for her drink.

"You made my night interesting. The least I can do is pay for your tea you might hate," Elias said as he flashed her a wink.

Warmth flushed across Alyssa's cheeks as she nodded. It was nice of him to pay for her tea. He was way nicer than he looked.

"Thank you," she told him as they walked to the side to wait for their tea to be made.

"I remember you from the cafeteria by the way," Elias said. "I'm good at remembering faces."

"I was kind of hoping you didn't," Alyssa replied. "Not a great first impression."

Elias chuckled as he peered at her. His brown eyes didn't seem so dark anymore. They were smooth and deep, luring her in.

"Don't worry. I thought it was cute," Elias assured her before stepping forward to take their teas from the barista. He handed her warm paper cup to her. "Cheers."

Alyssa could only manage a smile. She was a bit flustered because he basically called her cute. But that didn't actually mean anything, right? She was probably overthinking what he said. He just wanted to make her feel less bad about embarrassing herself.

"Let's take a walk," Elias told her as he motioned to the exit of the coffee shop.

Alyssa nodded before following him out of the shop and library to walk down the street heading toward the heart of campus. She loved how campus looked at night. It was quiet and softly lit with white streetlights. A perfect, peaceful atmosphere.

"Are you a psychology major?" Alyssa asked him. She felt like she had to ask. He seemed like he was good at reading people.

"Business. Some sort of science for you?" Elias replied.

Alyssa wasn't expecting business. She wondered what prompted him to choose that major. He didn't exactly look like the khaki pants or slacks type of guy.

"Biological sciences with a biomedical focus. Are you wanting to start a business or something?" Alyssa asked him. She figured he guessed right because of the organic chemistry book that she had open. No one would deal with that class unless it was required of them.