I cross my arms and let out a loud exhale, then start glaring at him.
"You like embarrassing me, huh?"
"Yes. It's pretty fun," he confesses without any shame, and I shake my head, a little incredulous at the nerve.
"And what's the deal with that nickname?" I ask, and he looks at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Your hair, obviously," he says and lightly tugs a strand fallen over my shoulder. I roll my eyes.
"Wow, you couldn't come up with anything more creative?"
"I thought about Pink too, but then it reminded me of that cartoon mouse," he explains, and I let my jaw drop. "Which do you prefer? Pink or Pinkie?"
"I prefer Charlie!" I exclaim, and he chews one last piece of pancake while pretending to think.
"You can't have everything, dear roommate. I'll stick with Pinkie," he decides, and I'm forced to stare at the ceiling to stop myself from telling him exactly where he can shove that Pinkie. Luckily, Ethan's voice also intervenes.
"Morning," he greets, coming straight toward me and placing a kiss on my cheek. "Sleep well?"
"Plenty, thanks," I assure, and Ethan smiles lightly.
"Good. I see you've already had breakfast too. Any pancakes left for me?"
"I didn't make any because they'd get cold, man, but the batter's ready," it's Logan who answers, and Ethan nods in agreement.
"Great, thanks," he thanks his friend and heads to the stove, though he looks back at me over his shoulder. "I'll eat and then we can head to campus to find out whether we'll be able to get into Lovelace, what do you think?"
"Perfect," I agree with a sheepish smile, because the fear of not being able to recover anything from my room comes rushing back. I swallow hard and try to control the anxiety for at least a few more moments.
Chapter 18
Logan
It was past one in the afternoon when we got to campus, since we'd woken up so late. Zac and Charlie's cousin were already waiting for us in the parking lot, where a whole operation seemed to have been set up. White tents had been put up and I recognize a few professors and university staff under the structure offering information and some supplies to the students.
Charlie goes straight into her cousin's arms while Ethan and I greet Zac. The girls exchange a few words, checking how each of them got through the night, and I only start really paying attention when Charlie asks what she knows about the building.
I watch the expression on Madison's face wilt completely.
"The firefighters still haven't confirmed what might have started it, but they're sure it began in Celeste's bathroom and from there it found fuel in her bookshelf," she says, and I try toremember whether Celeste was the name of the girl I hooked up with at the start of the semester, but I'm not too sure. If it was, her room was the last one in the hallway. "Lucky that neither she nor Michelle was there. Actually, most of our floor wasn't, and that's why it took so long for anyone to notice."
"Oh my God," Charlie exclaims and runs her hands through her hair nervously.
"Yeah. The one who smelled the smoke first was Dani, and she went around waking everyone up. She's still in the hospital under observation for inhaling too much smoke. The others have already been released. The one who got hurt the most was a freshman named Penelope, who fell coming down the stairs in a hurry and broke her arm."
"Oh, I know who she is. Poor thing!"
"And then..." The blonde stops to wipe away a tear. "The firefighters were helping in the neighboring town and took almost half an hour to arrive. Because of that the second floor burned almost completely," she finishes, letting more tears fall. An equally pained gasp comes out of Charlie, and I catch myself in anguish seeing the girl so devastated. I shove my hands in my pants pockets to stop myself from wanting to do the same as in the early morning and pull her into my arms.
"So we really did lose everything, then," she manages to say after a few moments. Maddie shakes her head.
"Some stuff might have survived, but they're not going to let us in today. They said the structure was too compromised. Not even the people who slept on the other floors were allowedin. They're going to install some iron support pillars and maybe tomorrow it'll be possible, but they didn't give any guarantees."
"What a nightmare!" Charlie exclaims, letting out a little of the frustration she must be feeling, and her cousin hugs her.
I trade a look with Ethan, and I think even he's feeling helpless in the face of the situation.
"Look, I don't think there's anything for us to keep doing here, right? Why don't we go to the mall and buy some basics for you two, and then you rest a bit at our place? We'll all find out about any important news," Ethan suggests, and I nod energetically in agreement.
