The Beautiful Monster

"I don't think I can with you by my side," Elias replied as he gave her a soft look. "You push me forward."

"You push me forward too. I feel like I would've still been so stuck if I hadn't met you. I was really trapped in my ways," Alyssa sighed as she thought back to her past self. She was glad that she had grown from last semester.

She didn't want to be that sad person any longer. She enjoyed being so happy and adventurous now.

Elias kissed her on the head before leading her out of the library.

"We all get like that sometimes. The good thing is that we're there for each other," Elias pointed out.

Alyssa nodded as she listened to him. He had a point. Even if they went back to their old ways or got caught in a bad rut, at least they weren't in that situation alone.

The other person could always pull them out. That comforted her. He would be there for her if she slipped up.

"Did you want to cook tonight or order take out?" she asked him. She loved making dinner plans with him. There was great food around town, or they cooked together and made something amazing.

"I have everything we need to make a mean eggplant parmesan," Elias told her, looking at her to see if she was interested at all in making that.

Alyssa's stomach nearly rumbled at the mere thought of that. She hadn't had a good pasta dish in a minute, and she was tired of eating at the cafeteria on campus.

It wasn't anywhere as good as what they cooked together. Plus, it was pretty attractive to sit there and watch him cook.

"That sounds perfect. Ugh, I'm starving," she muttered. She was so hungry after her classes. It was torture having to wait to get something to eat finally.

Elias chuckled as they headed toward the parking lot where his car was parked at.

"Don't worry. I'll feed you," he assured her.

Alyssa smiled and hurried along with him.

"Some of the professors are going to be talking about their research opportunities this week. I really hope I'm able to get in one for next year," she told him. She was pretty nervous.

Being able to do research alongside a professor would really help her when it came to applying to medical school.

It set the stage for her and helped separate her from the rest of the pack. She wanted to stand out, and her doing great research would help her do that.

Elias gave her an encouraging smile.

"I bet you'll be able to. Do you have any idea about what you want to do?" Elias asked her.

Alyssa hummed beneath her breath.

"Well, my focus will be pediatrics later on, but I need a strong biology base. I'm hoping one of the professors are doing something with stem cell research.

I can look into how stem cell-based treatments affect certain pediatric diseases," Alyssa replied. She had thought on it a little, but it would be up to what research the professors were doing. Things could change.

Elias had wide eyes.

"Woah. I didn't understand some of that, but that sounds really cool," he said warmly. "You're so smart."

Alyssa lifted her chin a little with a proud smile on her face. She liked being called smart. She worked really hard so that she could be called that, and it was actually true.

"So are you," she told him. They were smart in different ways. In fact, there were a few things where they were different, but they still fit together well. They were two different puzzle pieces that still locked together.

"Look at us. A couple of smarties," Elias smirked as he opened his passenger side door for her.

Alyssa got inside so that he could shut the door after her. Once he got in the driver's seat, she looked over at him.

"Let's keep it that way. I can't believe I failed that reading assignment," she muttered. The questions were weird and theoretical for some reason.

She got the wrong idea about the context of the reading because she thought too hard about it, and she failed.

It was ridiculous. The text could've been taken five different ways. Was there really a right way? How did they know?

"Someone is being a sore loser," Elias chuckled as he leered at her.

Alyssa rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was not being a sore loser. She was just confused on how she failed an assignment that was seemingly so easy.

She already didn't like this class. Her grade was lower than Elias' grade already! Okay, maybe she was being a bit of a sore loser.

"I'm not a loser yet. The semester isn't over," she pointed out. "Plus, I'm going to rock this first exam."

"Are we studying together or is that giving away too much to the enemy?" Elias asked her as he started his car. His engine rumbled loudly.

Alyssa shrugged as she eyed him. She didn't know if he deserved to use her flashcards. Then again, it didn't matter.

They learned the same information. It wasn't like she was able to keep any secrets from him.

"I suppose we can study together. I'm not taking it easy on you with my flashcards, though. They're in depth," she warned him.

Usually, she didn't have to go so hard with her flashcards, but her professor didn't teach anything straightforward it seemed like.

There was so much interpretation of text and photos. It drove Alyssa crazy. She liked looking at cold, hard facts. She wasn't all that creative-minded. Elias excelled in that department.

"Bring it," Elias replied with a bold look. He drove out of the parking lot toward his apartment.

"You asked for it. I just hope they even help us. I can't figure out how this lady wants us to think," Alyssa muttered. She kept overthinking things.

Elias chuckled as he glanced over at her.

"Just put yourself into the time period. Think about how they would've thought," Elias replied before shrugging. "That's what I do."

Alyssa didn't want to admit it because they were rivals, but he had a good point. She would use that strategy from now on.

Hopefully, she got better scores from it because she couldn't be failing these little reading assignments. They still made up a big chunk of her grade.

In case she didn't do too hot on the tests or papers, the homework would help pad her grade.

"When do you want to have our study session? The test is next week," she reminded him. She couldn't believe they were already getting around the time for their first tests. She had to kick it into gear before she got left behind.

"How about tomorrow night?" Elias asked her.

"Sounds like a plan," Alyssa replied. She didn't feel like studying tonight. She felt like cooking and maybe having a little fun in the bedroom. She could hardly control herself around him, especially since she knew how good he could make her feel.

"Maybe we can reward ourselves for working so hard afterwards."

"You're speaking my language," Elias chuckled. "Who says we have to wait until tomorrow, though?"

"Absolutely no one," Alyssa replied, liking where this was going. After their weird encounter the other day, it was nice to get back to normal, to desire each other like this without any oddness.

She kept her eyes forward, not wanting to pay much attention to the past.

Elias smiled, and Alyssa noticed that the car sped down the street just a little bit faster.