The Beautiful Monster

Chapter 11 - Open Book

Elias shrugged as he tugged on the string to the tea bag in his cup.

"Probably so. I'm just not sure yet," Elias replied.

"Just going with the flow?" Alyssa asked with a small smile. It seemed like he was unsure of his future plans. Most people were like that, and Alyssa didn't blame them. Life could take them down all sorts of paths. Even if she had a plan, who said that would actually pan out for her?

"Something like that," Elias said as he returned the expression. He led her over to a lit up fountain near the middle of campus before pausing. Clear water softly gushed in an arc within the stone body of the fountain. He gestured to their tea. "Let's try it out."

Alyssa took a sip of her warm tea. Her eyes then widened at the sweet taste with a lemony undertone. It was delicate and smooth, making for a perfect relaxing drink.

"Okay, that's actually good," she admitted before taking a longer sip.

"See? The flavor is so rich. I have a whole list of teas that you need to try," Elias told her excitedly before sipping on his.

Alyssa didn't expect a night of sipping on tea and chatting about whatever came to mind, but it was really nice. It was better than sitting alone in her dorm room. She couldn't help but be proud of herself for putting herself out there like this. She had been nervous about it at first, but now she was just having fun.

"What other random things are you a fan of?" Alyssa asked him. He seemed intensely passionate about certain things, but she liked that. So many people hardly had any interests or passions. She was glad that she found so much passion in learning and pediatrics. She was hoping to develop more interests, though.

"Pasta. Haunted houses. Whatever catches my eye," Elias chuckled before nodding to her. "What catches your eye?"

The first thing that popped into Alyssa's head was him, but she didn't dare say that. He would somehow use that to charm her right back and make her a blushing mess. She was trying to keep her cool for the rest of the night.

"I like horror movies," Alyssa said. It took her a moment to think of some random thing she really liked, but she remembered that she was always excited to watch the latest horror movie release. Something about them just made reality not as scary as it usually was to her. Things could always be worse. She could be trapped in a cursed house or antagonized by monsters.

"Really? I would've guessed mystery or fantasy," Elias replied, seeming surprised at her words.

Alyssa supposed she didn't look much like the typical horror crowd.

"I think they're more therapeutic for me. I'm not into them for the gore and stuff," she explained. A lot of people liked those hardcore horror movies with lots of death and blood. She typically strayed away from those. Those weren't calming at all.

"You keep surprising me," Elias chuckled as they walked away from the fountain and toward the back of campus where the dorms were at.

"What kind of girl did you think I was?" Alyssa asked with a curious smile. She hoped that she was more interesting than he expected her to be.

"I don't know. That's why I wanted to get to know you," Elias pointed out as he lifted his eyebrows at her playfully.

Alyssa looked down at her tea bashfully. She had no idea why someone as cute and charming as him would want to spend a second getting to know her. This entire night was great, though. She felt like she was making use of her college experience and getting to know people.

"Well, I want to know more about you too," she replied. She knew there was so much more to find out about him below the surface.

"I'm an open book," Elias said as he extended his arms out. "You can ask me anything you'd like."

Alyssa had free rein to ask him whatever she wanted to. Of course, she wondered about him so much that she had no idea what exactly to ask him. She could ask about his favorite things, his past, his family, or his future. There were so many things to ask about.

"That's tough. You're a bit mysterious, you know," Alyssa laughed. She figured he already knew that, though. He owned that look.