Shot down!  Caleb looked at Ambrose as he left in a hurry.  Ambrose had shot him down, and the offer for a date.  He couldn't truly blame him.  After all, he imagined if Ambrose had never met him, he'd never be in the situation they were all in.  A meeting with Sam would be nice to figure out what they were going to do about whatever the hell they were facing.  Even though he couldn't blame Ambrose for completely shooting him down, it still stung to hear the words fly out of his mouth so effortlessly.  Caleb watched him leave and for a moment he was slow in processing what had happened, but when his mind caught up he stood to his feet and sighed.  He should've kept his mouth shut and not said a word, now things would be awkward between them, he could feel it in the air.

Caleb walked slowly to the bathroom, not caring about the time.  He took a shower, got dressed in his normal attire and moved to leave his room, his backpack slung over his left shoulder.  As he walked he remembered the need to check on Alex.  He turned down the adjacent hallway and moved quickly before arriving at the teal door with a gold knocker.  He knocked a few times and waited, but no one answered.  Caleb tried the doorknob and was surprised to feel it turn completely allowing him entry into the dorm room.  He walked in slowly rounding the corner that led to Alex's bed.  This was a two person dorm room, to the left was Alex's area and to the right was his roommate.  Caleb moved slowly and cautiously before he entered Alex's living area.  He saw the guy asleep on his bed and sighed in relief.  When he felt a pair of hands on his shoulder he jumped and spun around allowing a flurry of curse words to spill forth.  He was relieved to see Ariana with a grin on her face.

"You're so easy Caleb," she said with a wink as she looked down at Alex.

"How'd he sleep?" Caleb asked surprised he hadn't disturbed Alex's sleep.  Alex turned slightly and remained asleep.

"I think he's mentally exhausted, so I came to sit with him to make sure he's okay, you can go to class Caleb," Ariana said.

"I don't know how to fix this, but..." Caleb began but Ariana placed a finger on his lips.

"It's okay Caleb, we're going to fix this, as a team.  We did this and we will fix this, but we have to be level headed," Ariana said removing her finger from his lips.  Caleb smiled and placed a soft hand on Ariana's shoulder.  

"Why haven't we hung out before?  Like I don't know you all that well, but it seems you know me," Caleb said with an inquisitive look on his face.  Ariana giggled and shook her head.

"You were a bet between me and a few of my friends.  I have made some serious money off of you, like dude you're very trustworthy and not at all easy to bed," Ariana spoke truthfully, "don't worry though, I'm just your average girl here.  So let's just say I know you through friends."

Caleb chuckled lightly and shook his head as he moved towards the exit.  "Take care of him Ariana," Caleb said with a wink.

"Oh you know my name?" Ariana asked with a confused look.

"You'd be surprised," Caleb replied as he exited the room and headed towards his first class.  He was late, but the instructor didn't seem to care all that much.  

Time flew by and before any of them realized it, it was lunch.  Lunch went by well.  Caleb visited Alex and realized that he was still shaken by the events but wanted to help in any way he could with the mission they were set out to complete.  After lunch, the classes went by rather smoothly until the last class of the day.  With the end of classes for the day, it was time for their meeting.  Sam had sent them all a text message and Caleb had managed to drop off his backpack in time to walk with Alex and Ariana to the underground meeting room.  Samantha was standing there surrounded by a wall of books.  

"Welcome," she said with a smirk as she noticed Ambrose wasn't with Caleb.  Her eyes narrowed but she clicked her heels against the cobblestone floor.  Caleb, Ariana, and Alex filed into the room and Caleb took a seat at a desk close to the wall of books.  

"What is this Sam?" Caleb asked.

"Underground Library, only a few instructors know about this place.  You wouldn't guess what I had to do to get some time here.  Was it hard to find?" 

"No, thankfully your directions were clear," Ariana replied.

"Good, good, let's wait on the others before we figure this shit out."

Caleb sighed and turned his head to look at the wall of books.  He was reading the titles and aurthors, in his own world as Sam noticed his distance and shook her head.  

[@Catmint]