I walk to the dorm room to hear crying and some shouting. I grow scared; what if someone was hurting Kat.

"Go away!" I hear her wail.

"Katt, you have to listen to me!" a male's voice pleads; I immediately recognize the voice as Neal's.

I open the door and step in, closing it quietly behind me. Kat's head snaps up and I can tell that she's been crying for a long time.

"Kat? Should I come back another time?" I ask softly, not wanting to make things worse.

"Yes, both of you, shoo!" she crys, waving her arms dramatically.

"Kat, can we please talk about this?" Neal, Kat's boyfriend of almost 4 years begs.

"No Neal, you've said enough." Kat whispers, looking to the ground.

I stare at both of them, their faces distorted in different emotions. I'm still unsure of what happened between the two of them, but I'm sure that Kat will tell me when she feels ready.

"I'll be out with Austin." I declare, taking a quick look at her, "Call if you need anything."

Kat nods her head slowly and I turn to Neal.

"You should go." I say firmly, sending him a quick glare.

"Sophia, leave, I need some time to talk with her." Neal explains, looking at me pleadingly.

"No means no." I reply, cringing at the fact that I copied Austin's little phrase from the night at The Rave.

Neal sighs and I see anger flash in his eyes, "Whatever." he spits, storming out the door.

I take one last glance at Kat before heading back into the streets of New York.

*

"Hey." Austin greets, nodding my way.

"Hey yourself." I reply putting my phone into my back pocket.

I called Austin ten minutes ago to tell him that my plans changed, and here he is now, standing before me.

"So where do you want to go?" Austin asks.

"I don't really have a preference." I answer quietly avoiding his gaze.

Today has been a long dramatic day and I really want to sleep, but Kat needs some time alone.

"I'm kind of tired." I mumble.

"My place isn't too far from here, if you want to lie down I can take you there." Austin offers.

"Ha, right." I laugh rolling my eyes.

"I'm not trying to hit on you or anything, I'm trying to be generous." he frowns trying to cath my gaze.

"Fine, let's just hang at your place." I agree, too tired to even care.

Austin nods and starts walking away from Julliard's campus. I follow him through the cold streets of New York until we reach a small brick building on the outskirts of Times Square. His small apartment has a nice view of the ocean and the bridge that croses over to the other side of New York.

"It's a nice place." I compliment taking a seat on his worn couch.

"Eh, it's comfortable enough. But nothing I can really share. It's much too small, so I hope you don't mind." Austin laughs uncomfortably.

"No, not at all. In fact, I quite like it." I say letting out a tired sigh.

"You can nap on my bed if you want, I'll stay out here." Austin offers.

"Oh, no, I don't want to do that to you." I respond shaking my head.

"Don't worry about it, I'm the one offering it. It's fine." he explains and I give in to my weariness.

"Alright." I agree, giving in.

I follow Austin out of the small living area and into an even smaller room. The sheets of his bed were thrown everywhere and clothes were piled by his closet.

"Sorry for the mess." Austin apologizes, noticing my staring.

"Oh, no, it's fine." I laugh, trying to bring up the mood.

Austin fixes his sheets and I sit down on his bed.

"Do you want something else to wear?" he asks.

"Oh, no, the bed is enough." I answer modestly.

"Don't be so defiant, just let me grab some clothes." Astin sighs before reaching into his nearby dresser.

He pulls out a folded pair of grey sweatpants and a black hoodie. He handes them to me carefully.

"Thank you." I say gratefully, taking them from his grip.

"Call if you need anything else." he says, leaving me alone in his room.

I peal my clothes off and change quickly, now sliding into his bed. The pillow is soft and I find myself drifting to sleep quickly, dreams of faces and emotions becoming a blur.