The Beautiful Monster

"Because you're beautiful, of course," the man said before sticking his hand out. "I'm Scott."

Alyssa shook his hand, wanting to be polite. She didn't care to be flirted with, but she would try to wrap up this conversation soon. She had things to do.

"Alyssa," she introduced herself.

"Let me guess… biology major?" Scott guessed as he peered at her with slightly narrowed eyes.

Alyssa's widened slightly.

"Yeah, how did you know?" she asked him, wondering if there was something obvious that stood out to him that she didn't know about.

Scott shrugged as he placed his finger against his lips.

"Just a good guess. What do you think I am?" he asked.

Alyssa looked up and down his tall body. Telling from how he carried himself and how he dressed, the answer seemed to jump out at her. 

"Business?" she asked. It was the first thing that came to her mind, and she had learned to trust her gut.

"Bingo," Scott chuckled as he smiled at her. "I figured you were smart."

"Thanks," Alyssa said, shifting awkwardly on her feet. He was nice at least, so she could stand to be nice back and carry on the conversation.

She didn't want to be rude or anything to him. Some people were just naturally social. "Are you a senior?"

Scott shook his head.

"Not yet. I just transferred here," he said.

"Pretty late in the year," Alyssa laughed softly. She wondered why he came here. He made a good choice.

Scott shrugged.

"I'm a fast learner," he said as he kept his eyes on her. "And a good observer."

Alyssa smiled as she glanced away, still feeling her face burn slightly. He was definitely a flirt. Some other girl would like that, but she was happy with Elias.

There was no other guy on the planet who could make her as happy as he could.

"Well, I hope you like it here. This is a great school," she told him. She would miss this place when she left, but it would always be here for her to visit later on.

She would recommend this place to anyone. However, she was excited to go to NYU. That would be a whole new experience and a whole new adventure.

"I'm liking it already," Scott commented.

Alyssa parted her lips to speak, but she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Elias storming toward her.

She gave him a confused look, wondering why he was here. He hardly ever came to the library.

"I've been texting you," Elias said as he stopped near Alyssa. He gave Scott a glare as he took Alyssa's hand.

"Oh, I left my phone on silent on the table," Alyssa explained as she pointed to the table. She forgot to check her messages, but she didn't think that he would message her.

She looked between Elias and Scott, noting the tension between them. She wondered if Elias was being protective over her or something.

"Let's go," Elias said sternly before pulling Alyssa away from Scott. He brought her over to the library table and started packing up her stuff for her.

"I have to print out my paper," Alyssa said as she held up her flash drive. She couldn't just pick up her things and leave. She had stuff to do before she could go to bed tonight.

Elias shoved his hand in his pocket and took out his keys. He placed them in her hand before giving Alyssa her backpack.

"Go wait in my car," he said.

Alyssa gave him a strange look.

"Why? I can go print out my own paper," she said, wondering why he was suddenly acting so weird. He didn't boss her around so much.

"I'll do it for you," Elias said firmly. He met her gaze for a few seconds, not budging.

Alyssa could tell that he wouldn't take no for an answer. She sighed and walked out of the library, glancing behind her every so often to try to catch a glimpse of Elias or Scott. She was completely weirded out.

She found his car in the parking lot across the street from the library. Once she unlocked it, she sat in the passenger seat and waited for him to get back, peering out of the windshield.

When she saw him walking back to the car with her paper in his hand, she crossed her arms over her chest. He owed her an explanation.

Elias swung himself into the car and handed her paper to her before starting the car.

"Wait. What was that about?" Alyssa asked him. He had never acted like that before when he saw her talking to a guy.

There was something about Scott that seemed to set him off, or he was randomly having a bad night.

Elias shook his head, remaining quiet as he pulled out onto the road.

"Elias," Alyssa said sternly. "Do you know him or something?"

Elias glanced over at her before sighing, remaining tense.

"I don't want you talking to him, okay? He's not a good person," he replied.

"Who is he?" Alyssa asked, trying to pry for more answers. She was tired of the vague ones he always gave her.

She always felt in the dark, and she was tired of not knowing anything about him or what was going through his head.

"He's… nothing. We're just not friends, okay? Just leave it at that," Elias said as he watched the road.

"He didn't seem bad. He was just being nice," Alyssa said, still not understanding why he was so upset. Did they have a falling out or something? She didn't understand the attitude from him. He never acted like this.

Elias scoffed as he shook his head.

"He's not nice. He's sneaky. Just… please don't talk to him, okay? He's bad news," he replied.

Alyssa stared at him before nodding. He seemed to genuinely not like Scott for some reason, so maybe she needed to avoid him.

She hadn't gotten a bad feeling from him, but maybe she missed something. She couldn't be sure, and Elias seemed very sure.

"Sure," she merely said as she sank back in her seat, still feeling upset. "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you back to my place," Elias said.

Alyssa lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" she asked. She expected him to drop her off at her dorm with how he was acting.

"I just want you with me. We can watch that movie you were talking about," Elias said as he reached over to hold her hand like usual.

It was hard to stay upset at him. He was always thoughtful and sweet, even when he had an attitude. Alyssa relaxed a little and twined her fingers with his.

"That sounds nice," she replied as she glanced at him. "Are you going to be in a better mood?"

Elias smirked as he looked at her.

"Hush," he teasingly chastised her. "Or I'll make you."

Alyssa laughed as she shook her head at him. She didn't mind the sound of that, but he would have to work for it tonight. She had a feeling that he wouldn't mind that at all.