Amber was bright and early to class that Wednesday morning, and it had nothing to do with seeing Hunter. At least, that's what she told herself. There was an important discussion to be had, and what better time than before class to have it? One that ensured he wasn't being blackmailed. And if she found out that Hunter was doing the blackmailing? Well, she'll deal with that road when she crossed it. With that logic, Amber practically skipped her way to class, a smile lingering.

The morning started perfectly enough, with Amber in the same seat she sat on Monday morning. Humming softly under her breath, Amber settled her backpack next to her, unpacking the rest of her stuff, and, without shame, separated the items wide enough to take up two spaces. With a laptop, pen, and paper laid out, Amber sank back against the booth to flip through her phone, checking text messages from her parents, personal emails, and the news.

Soon, one after another, students entered, filling up the empty classroom, but none of them had fresh green eyes and dark red curls. Each time someone entered, she would look up with a hopeful expression only to turn back to her phone, disappointed.

At exactly 7:45am, the professor walked in, and Amber placed her phone on the desk, going to her laptop.

Five minutes later, the professor rambled about the first computer and graphical user interface and its clunky design. A good forty minutes later, it turned into the homework assignment due next week on deciphering the lines of zeros and ones, the language of the computer. Through it all, Amber kept glancing at the empty seat occupied by her backpack to the sprawled out items on the desk. Once in a while, Amber's eyes would settle on her cellphone, but she never grabbed it, no matter how tempted.

There's always tomorrow, Amber thought. I'll ask him what's going on tomorrow.

Hunter never showed up for Thursday's morning class either.

In her seat, Amber alternated between tapping her fingers, to her feet, before tapping her fingers again, eyes glued to her phone. Yesterday's temptation was now a craving that wouldn't go away. Amber fought it for as long as she could, but eventually, like a pang of hunger, she had to eat sometime. After a long while, she found herself unlocking the phone and bringing up Hunter's contact page before she could stop herself.

Morman Down There, Amber read with a grin. Then, as quickly as her courage appeared, it vanished, and she planted the phone down again on top of the desk. An internal struggle was happening, one that Amber couldn't explain. They'd only known each other for just a short while, so it shouldn't feel this...empty without him. It wasn't like they were the best or closest friends for Amber to even miss him when not around.

And yet...a void remained.

Only towards the end of the class did Amber's courage returned, just enough to where she typed him a message. To ask where he was. Sadly, that was the extent of her bravery. Amber faltered when it came time to hit Send and promised herself she'll give him an earful if he actually showed up in their second class this afternoon.

If not, she could always ask Nathan and Adam where their boss was at.

After all that effort, she switched off her phone, turning her eyes to the front once more.

Lunch came next, by herself, of course, and discovered she had no appetite. Lunch felt forever, so it came as a surprise to find there were still two and a half hours left, and with a sigh, Amber made her way to the library for some study time. On the way, Amber contemplated texting Hunter a few times, but those were just thoughts in the end.

Being a Thursday afternoon, Amber pretty much had the whole place to herself. The few students she spotted on the way were part of the staff, and they gave her a nod in acknowledgment as she strolled past the pixelated glass and found herself a seat behind a couple of bookshelves.

One hour and fifteen minutes later, Amber found herself outside the door to her afternoon class. It wasn't as if she couldn't wait for class to start. Javascript Basics was boring, but there was still something interesting about it. What that something was…well, Amber would have to process that another time.

Besides, it was much quieter here, with a lot more privacy than at the library. Bracing herself for whatever was inside, Amber pushed open the door, took a few steps, and...froze.

"Bosslady!"

It was Nathan. He sat on the table, both feet on the booth, waving an arm at her the moment she walked in. At his side was his trusty partner, Adam, with hips against the edge of the table and eyes centered on his phone.

Easily ignoring the quick pounding of her heart, Amber's eyes darted about the room to see if there was anyone else around.

"He's out the rest of the week," Nathan grinned knowingly.

Out the rest of the week? That means he wouldn't be in class tomorrow, either. Amber's heart sank, but she showed none of that as Nathan waved her over once more. "Come, come! He got you a present, though."

"A present?" Amber strolled over slowly, cautiously. "What sort of present?"

As soon as Amber got close enough, Adam moved to the outside aisle, giving her a clear view of a plastic cup filled with mocha and coconut milk. Her favorite. Gazing at it brought her back to an earlier time from this week, and Amber wondered why, even though just a few days had passed, it seemed like a lifetime? Something tug at the corner strings of her heart. For some odd reason, she felt annoyed and delighted all at once, but she couldn't understand why.

"Nathan," Amber finally spoke up after what seemed like forever. Her eyes remained on the cup as if she could conjure the person up just by looking at it. "What's… Hunter's favorite coffee drink?"

"His favorite coffee drink?" Nathan rubbed his chin. "Bossman doesn't have a favorite, but he always orders a double espresso macchiato with coconut milk."

Adam glanced up from his screen and gave Nathan an incredulous look. "You actually know what he orders? What are you? His secretary?"

"It's your fault!" Nathan glared at Adam. "If you would do your part every once in a while, I wouldn't have to grab coffee so much!"

Adam answered, but Amber tuned them out. From the corner of her eyes, she could see them in each other's face again, probably about ready to throw the other person on the floor, but she paid them no heed.

As it turns out, Hunter was also a fan of coconut milk.