The Beautiful Monster

"How about this for the festival?" Elias asked as he walked into the living room from his bedroom. He held a black, short sleeve button down in his hand.

"Don't you have a tank top or something?" Alyssa laughed as she turned her head to look at him.

She had only seen him in so many casual clothes. He loved his button downs, and she loved seeing them on him.

It would be nice to see him in a tank top and shorts, though. She wanted him to be comfortable out there in the heat.

Elias scoffed as he shook his head.

"I don't believe in tank tops," he replied as he gazed at her. An amused smile then crossed his face. "You look pretty comfortable."

"I like being here," Alyssa replied as she held his gaze. Maybe she was doing a little bit of hinting right now, but come on! She knew that she loved him and wanted to be with him.

She wanted him with her during medical school and beyond. She just wished that he would ask her to live with him, to take that next step in their relationship.

Elias walked over to her and pressed a soft kiss against her head before straightening back up.

"Gotta go pack my toothbrush and stuff," he said before walking back into his bedroom.

Alyssa held in a sigh until he disappeared. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if he was ever going to ask her.

She supposed that she could ask him too, but that was basically asking him to move to New York with her.

That was a huge thing of her to ask, but she wanted to be with him.

If he said no and didn't want to move to New York, she wouldn't know what to do. He didn't seem to have any strong ties to his place except for his family, who she still hadn't met.

He assured her that they weren't great company, and she had experienced enough trauma when it came to family. She hadn't spoken to her mom since her dad's funeral.

She just hoped to hear good news soon. She hated feeling so lost, especially as all of her deadlines were starting to approach.

The clock was ticking, and she had to start making some decisions soon. She wanted to make some with Elias, but if she had to make them without him, then she would.

****************

"There she is!"

An excited smile broke out across Alyssa's face as she swung herself out of Elias' car. She rushed into Zoe's arms, hugging her tightly.

Even if they didn't have any classes together anymore, they tried to catch up whenever they could.

"I'm so glad you guys could come with us," Alyssa said as she glanced past Zoe's now dark brown hair at Cole, who was carrying his and Zoe's bags to Elias' car.

"Thanks for the invitation," Cole replied warmly before greeting Elias.

"The lineup at this festival seems really good," Alyssa commented as she turned back to Zoe.

"Hell yeah, and you know that we're gonna dress up," Zoe said excitedly as she played with a strand of Alyssa's hair. "I brought glitter!"

Alyssa smirked as she shook her head at Zoe.

"I bet you did, along with a bunch of other crazy things," she said before leading Zoe to the car. Being around Zoe for two years had definitely helped her crawl out of her shell a little more.

She tried new looks and things. Some things worked for her, like her highlights and crop tops, and some things didn't. She cringed at the thought of her colored contacts phase.

Zoe climbed into the backseat of Elias' car, settling next to her boyfriend. They had been going strong since they started hanging out after the party they met at. Alyssa couldn't be happier that her best friend finally met her match.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Elias asked once he got into the driver seat. He turned to look at everyone, making sure everyone was ready for a drive that was going to take a few hours.

"Ready!" Zoe quipped before happily clapping. "Get me away from this campus."

Cole chuckled as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"But you're coming right back next semester for grad school," he reminded her.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Zoe groaned as she tilted her head back. "But at least I'm not going to school even longer. Alyssa."

Alyssa smiled to herself as everyone else laughed. She would be in school longer than anyone else in this car, but she knew that she would learn a lot.

For what she wanted to do, she needed to learn everything that she could. She would be dealing with kids, so she wanted to be as perfect and knowledgeable as possible. She didn't care how long she had to go to school for.

"Well, I'll probably need a bunch of therapy by the time I get done with everything," Alyssa replied.

"I'll give you a discount," Zoe laughed.

"How generous," Elias smirked as he pulled onto the highway. He reached over and took Alyssa's hand, shooting her a quick smile before looking back at the road.

Alyssa smiled back, feeling warmth bloom through her. She was so excited for this trip, even if it was short and not too far away from campus.

It was an escape, and that was what she needed most before all of the stress came raining down on her.

"So, are you guys doing anything the night of graduation?" Cole asked.

Alyssa glanced over at Elias, who shook his head. They didn't have any plans set yet. It wasn't like she had any family to attend to after the ceremony.

Deep down, it made her a little sad, but she knew that any family that came would just ruin the day for her. She would rather spend her time with people who actually supported her.

"Nope. Are you guys doing anything?" Alyssa asked, figuring that was why he asked.

If anyone was going to plan something fun, it would be Zoe and Cole. They hosted small parties all the time at Zoe's apartment.

"Graduation party! It's going to be our best party yet," Zoe exclaimed as she sat up in our seat. "It might be the last party we'll all be at for a while."

Sadness washed over Alyssa as she nodded.