Alexo gets Alena back to the dorm, but Emma takes over because she's her roommate.
Emma realizes her plan didn't work the way she wanted.
Alena woke slowly.
The first thing she noticed was the pounding in her head.
She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Why does my head hurt so much?"
She tried to sit up.
The room spun.
Alena immediately grabbed the edge of the bed.
"Whoa..."
Her breathing became heavier as fragments of the previous night began returning.
The party.
Emma.
The orange juice.
The strange warmth spreading through her body.
And then...
Green eyes.
Alena froze.
"Alexo."
The name escaped her lips before she even realized she'd said it.
She remembered seeing him.
Remembered talking to him.
Remembered being unusually bold.
But everything after that was broken into pieces.
She remembered holding his arm.
She remembered telling him he was handsome.
She remembered getting dangerously close to him.
Alena covered her face.
"Oh my goodness."
Her cheeks burned.
"What did I do?"
She tried desperately to remember more.
Nothing.
The harder she tried, the more confused she became.
Then another thought struck her.
Did I embarrass myself in front of him?
Her stomach twisted.
She pulled the blanket around herself.
"I can't face him."
Across the room, Emma stirred.
Alena immediately looked away.
For some reason, something about Emma made her uncomfortable.
She couldn't explain why.
But deep inside, something felt wrong.
The Morning After
By the time Alena arrived at class, she had convinced herself to keep her head down.
Don't look at anyone.
Don't talk about the party.
Don't think about Alexo.
Simple.
At least, that was the plan.
She walked into the classroom.
Immediately, she noticed the whispers.
Two girls sitting near the window looked at her and giggled.
Someone whispered something behind her.
Alena's stomach tightened.
Do they know?
She lowered her head.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up."
Alena stopped.
She knew that voice.
Slowly, she looked up.
Alexo was leaning against one of the desks.
His green eyes were fixed directly on her.
Her heart immediately began racing.
He smiled.
Not the intimidating smile she'd seen before.
A teasing one.
"Good morning."
"G-good morning."
She tried to walk past him.
"That's it?"
She stopped.
"What?"
He folded his arms.
"You're not going to say anything about last night?"
Alena's face went pale.
"I..."
Her mind went blank.
Alexo's smile widened.
"You were quite different last night."
Her cheeks turned bright red.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, really?"
He stepped closer.
"You don't remember?"
Alena looked away.
"No."
Alexo leaned slightly toward her.
"You were very confident."
She stared at him in horror.
"I was?"
He nodded.
"Very."
Alena wanted the floor to open beneath her.
"What did I do?"
Alexo watched her reaction.
For a moment, he looked like he was enjoying her embarrassment.
Then his expression changed.
"Nothing you should be ashamed of."
Alena looked at him.
"What?"
He shrugged.
"You were just... unusually friendly."
Her face became even hotter.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I don't know!"
Alexo laughed softly.
"You're apologizing without even knowing what you're apologizing for."
Alena frowned.
"This isn't funny."
His smile disappeared.
"I know."
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then Alexo said quietly,
"Something was wrong with you last night."
Alena's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
"You weren't yourself."
She swallowed.
"Did I... embarrass myself?"
"No."
His voice was unexpectedly serious.
"You were impaired."
Alena stared at him.
"What?"
Before he could explain, the bell rang.
Alexo stepped away.
"We'll talk later."
Then he walked away, leaving Alena standing there with a hundred questions racing through her mind.
During the break, Emma sat with several girls.
Her voice was just loud enough to be heard.
"I honestly don't know what happened to Alena last night."
One of the girls laughed.
"What did she do?"
Emma sighed dramatically.
"She was completely different."
"Different how?"
Emma lowered her voice.
"She wouldn't stop following Alexo."
The girls exchanged looks.
"Seriously?"
Emma nodded.
"She kept flirting with him."
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen."
None of it was true.
But Emma told the story so convincingly that nobody questioned her.
"And then?"
Emma shrugged.
"I don't know. I left them alone."
Across the room, Alena heard every word.
Her heart sank.
She wouldn't stop following him?
She felt sick.
That wasn't how she remembered it.
Or was it?
Her memories were too blurry.
Maybe Emma was telling the truth.
Maybe she really had behaved that way.
Alena lowered her eyes.
"Alena?"
She looked up.
Lexy stood beside her.
His usual playful expression was gone.
"You okay?"
She shook her head.
"No."
He sat beside her.
"What happened?"
Alena hesitated.
"I think I embarrassed myself last night."
Lexy's eyebrows furrowed.
"Who told you that?"
"I heard Emma talking."
His expression immediately hardened.
"Emma?"
Alena nodded.
"She said I was following Alexo around."
Lexy stared at her for a moment.
Then he sighed.
"Alena, listen to me."
She looked at him.
"You need to be careful around Emma."
"Why?"
Lexy glanced around before lowering his voice.
"Because Emma has liked Alexo for a long time."
Alena's eyes widened.
"What?"
"She has been trying to get his attention for months."
He paused.
"And when she saw the way he looked at you in class..."
Alena's stomach dropped.
"She noticed?"
"Everyone noticed."
Lexy's jaw tightened.
"She saw something she didn't like."
Alena stared at him.
"But why would she do anything to me?"
"Because you became competition without even realizing it."
Alena shook her head.
"No."
She looked toward Emma.
"I can't believe she'd do that."
Lexy reached for her hand.
"I'm not asking you to believe me."
His voice softened.
"I'm asking you to be careful."
Alena looked down.
The memory of Emma handing her the orange juice suddenly returned.
I figured a girl like you would prefer juice.
A chill ran through her.
She looked at Lexy.
"Lexy..."
"Hmm?"
"My drink."
His expression changed.
"What about it?"
"Emma gave it to me."
Silence.
Lexy's eyes narrowed.
"What exactly did she say?"
Alena repeated Emma's words.
"I know you're not the type to drink alcohol... so I brought you juice."
Lexy slowly stood.
His expression had changed completely.
"Alena..."
"What?"
"I think we need to find out exactly what was in that drink."
Meanwhile...
Emma stood in an empty corridor, talking quietly on the phone.
"I told you everything went according to plan."
She paused.
"No. She doesn't remember much."
A smile appeared on her face.
"Exactly. By tomorrow, everyone will think Alena was the one throwing herself at Alexo."
She laughed softly.
"You should have seen his face."
But Emma didn't realize someone was standing just around the corner.
Alexo.
He had heard every word.
His expression was unreadable.
But his green eyes had gone completely cold.
"Interesting."
Emma's voice continued from around the corner.
"I just need Alena to believe that she embarrassed herself."
Alexo's jaw tightened.
Now he knew.
It wasn't an accident.
It wasn't Alena's fault.
And Emma had just made a very serious mistake.
Because she'd forgotten one thing.
Alexo had been listening.