After the events of the weekend, Iris was thankful that she was in college and not high school. Otherwise, it would be what everyone at school was talking about. Thankfully, Iris could still walk around campus relatively invisibly.

However, the news of the little 'lesbian-duel' had spread around the black community on campus and Iris got the occasional knowing glance or double-take in her direction. Iris knew that it could be a lot worse. After all, 90% of the students she passed paid no attention to her.

Despite this, Iris couldn't help the anxiety eating her up from the inside as she sat in her classes. The only thing that seemed to keep her going was the encouraging texts she received from Adi throughout the day. But Iris knew that sitting in her room, skipping her classes, and rotting away all day wouldn't benefit her. She would only end up regretting skipping her classes, which would add to her anxiety. Classes right then were a much-needed distraction.

Iris saw Adi in biology class. The red-haired girl was seated in her usual position towards the front of the lecture hall. More than once, Iris had caught Adi looking at her. But each time, Iris kept her head straight ahead, pretending to be focused on whatever it was her professor was saying, pretending that she couldn't feel Adi's stare on her.

Adi wasn't the only one who tried to reach out to Iris after the party. Niki had dm'd her multiple times on Instagram, but Iris ignored her texts too. After the first few texts from Niki, Iris muted her messages altogether. Sure, she knew she was ignoring her all over again. But Niki deserved it just as much as Adi. Maybe even more, seeing as she had been the one to start the fight.

Despite this, Iris couldn't stop her mind from wandering to the night of the party and the conversation she was having with Niki before everything went south. It seemed like Niki wanted to reveal something to her, but Iris hadn't found out, and honestly didn't care right then.

After her classes for the day, Iris wanted more than anything to cancel her work shift and just go back to her apartment. However, Iris pushed through. The gym was packed when iris entered, and her anxiety was at an all-time high. Still, Iris persevered through it.

Iris avoided the weight room during her shift. Work was going by pretty smoothly until two guys walked past her. One of the guys had his hair in cornrows and on seeing Iris, he nudged his friend and whispered something in his ear.

Iris rolled her eyes, simultaneously letting out a sigh. She didn't need to hear what was being said to know he had recognized her from the party last week and was telling his friend about it.

Iris' shift could not end soon enough, and as soon as it did, she headed straight home. She was mentally and physically exhausted, which made her feel even more tired.

Korra wasn't done with classes for the day, leaving Iris alone in their apartment with her thoughts. They just seemed to swim around in her mind, growing bigger and more overwhelming by the second.

More than anything, Iris was confused. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her life had flipped in a matter of weeks, and Iris could not, for the life of her, figure out where exactly it went wrong. All Iris knew was that she desired peace and some form of normalcy.

Hell, if Iris knew that this was what junior year of college would be like, she would've thought twice before returning to campus this semester. She just wished she could have anticipated all this chaos beforehand.

Iris was lying, staring up at her plain ceiling in the way she had been doing recently when she heard a distant knock on her apartment door.

Iris' first thought was to ignore the knock, but she found herself getting out of bed and heading to her apartment's front door.

Iris wished she had at least looked through the peephole before opening the door, and now stood frozen in shock as she looked at Niki standing outside of her apartment.

"I figured that you'd just keep ignoring me until I actually showed up in person," Niki said to Iris' dumbfounded figure before her. Niki was dressed in Nike sweatpants and a sweatshirt, with the hood pulled over her head, concealing most of her face.

"How did you know where I live?" Iris asked, still slightly in shock at seeing Niki standing there.

"I figured it out," Niki simply said, offering no further explanation. "Can I come in?"

Iris hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure that she wanted Niki in her apartment right then. But then again, it was weird to keep her standing outside.

"Sure," Iris said, stepping aside for Niki to walk inside. 

Once inside, Iris led Niki to her bedroom. The last thing she needed was for Korra to get back and see Niki. Iris was not at all in the mood to provide explanations or risk Korra getting the wrong idea.

"Nice room," Niki said, doing a brief glance over Iris' bedroom.

Iris shuffled, suddenly feeling self-conscious. The fact she had Niki standing in her bedroom seemed surreal. A slight wave of embarrassment passed over her. This visit was very impromptu and Iris had not had time to put her room in order.

Niki finally pulled her hood down, exposing her face.

Iris had to clench her jaw to keep from gasping. Niki looked rough, to say the least. She had a black eye that was swollen, and a couple more bruises on her face. Seeing Niki standing before her in this condition was all the confirmation to Iris that the events of the party were real, and not made up as she had constantly tried to convince herself over the past few days.

Iris diverted her eyes, trying not to stare. The last thing she wanted was to make Niki feel more uncomfortable than she probably already did.

"I'm sorry about the party," Niki said.

Was she sorry about starting a fight or the fact that she had gotten beat up?

A feeling of guilt passed over Iris.

"It's fine," Iris simply replied, "you were drunk, you didn't mean for things to get out of hand."

Stop making excuses for her, a voice in Iris' head said. But she couldn't help herself. Iris desperately wished Niki would actually take responsibility for what had happened.

Instead, Niki nodded her head, agreeing with the excuse Iris had provided for her.

"Yeah, the alcohol really fucked me up."

Iris wondered if anything that Niki had said to her that night mattered at all, or if she was just talking under the influence as well.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Niki asked. It was direct, and Iris knew exactly who she was referring to.

"No."

Niki nodded her head, and Iris shuffled uncomfortably. The tension in the room was high.

"I noticed you brought her with you on the hike back at the start of the semester," Niki said.

Iris didn't even realize Niki had noticed that, and she remained silent, unsure of what to say. A few moments of silence passed between them. Iris felt uncomfortable. It wasn't the first time that she had felt uncomfortable around Niki. A part of her felt that this whole situation was strange, almost suspicious.

"I do want to get to know you," Niki suddenly said. "I was serious about what I said at the party. Do you want to see a movie in the theatres tonight?"

Niki had asked her suddenly, and it all felt off. Iris hadn't fully processed everything, and she wasn't sure if pursuing something romantic with Niki was the move right now.

But Iris looked into Niki's dark brown eyes, and just like that, a different part of her seemed to take over. The part of her that just couldn't seem to let go of the crush she had on Niki.

But this was different. Niki wasn't under the influence right then, so she must have meant what she said to Iris at the party. Right?

A feeling formed within Iris' heart. It was one of desire, want, and yearning. So, despite the part of her mind that seemed to tell her to be wary, Iris agreed.

When Niki called, she answered.

///

a.n

i'm sorry, pls don't beat me up