Head Over Feet

[J]

Westley sighed, “I’m serious you really can’t text or call for the whole weekend, Hayley and I are having a special alone time weekend.” He could hear Maddie giggling, “Oh really? How cute, tell her to do that thing you know that I used to do with my—“Westley cut her off before she could say anything else, “Maddie! Don’t talk about that stuff, now I’m serious you really can’t text or call or even Facebook, nothing.”Maddie sighed loudly, “Okay, whatever. I promise I’ll behave, but… what if something happens? You’re the only one who I can depend on to answer in the middle of the night.” Westley sighed quietly, “Well, I’m sorry but it will just have to wait until Monday. I’m late I need to go, I’ll talk to you later, much later.” Maddie giggle again, “Okay I get it, I get it!” He sighed and hung up; he scanned his bedroom, what did he need to take to her dorm for the weekend? Clothes wasn’t necessary, he had a few random things there he could throw on if he needed to. However clothes were not part of their planned weekend activities; the only time he would need them was when they went to IHOP late Saturday night. He spotted the cord to his phone charger lying across his pillow, he definitely was going to need that; his phone wouldn’t last until Sunday on last night’s charge. He grabbed the plug and stuffed it into his back pocket, all he needed was a jacket and he was all set. “Brooklyn, I’m leaving!” He called out, shutting his bedroom door behind him, James was still and Brooklyn was getting ready to go out with Logan and Desiree. “Okay, love you!” She called back over the music she was playing in the shower. “Love you!” He shouted and hurried out the door and down a maze of hallways ad staircases to reach Hayley’s dorm. He had been dating Hayley for almost four months; he had hit it off immediately with her at one of Logan and Desiree’s monthly parties at the end of the recent school year.

He knocked loudly on the outer door to her dorm; she shared a two bedroom apartment with another girl, Bethany, who would be away for the weekend. He could hear her blasting Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream, he was a little late; hopefully she hadn’t noticed. He smiled as she whipped open the door, she looked hot. She was wearing only jeans and a low cut v-neck, her light brown hair down with a sexy wave. “Hey you.” She said smiling up at him, she was just shy of 5’7”, just tall enough that he didn’t need to lean too low to kiss her. “Hey.” She stepped forward and pulled him inside; he allowed her to do so and wrapped a strong arm around her. She stood on tiptoes to kiss him passionately a sample of things to come. He pulled away a little to peak into the kitchen in front of them, the counter and kitchen table was full of snacks. A tower of fun sized Twix bars caught his attention along with a pyramid of Oreos and bowls of different chips and dips. “Whoa! You weren’t kidding!” He said reaching out to grab a Twix from the top of the mountain. “She beamed, “There’s ice cream and sodas in the fridge and…” She opened the microwave to reveal to two Heroes, “Some real food before we stuff our intestines with crap.” She said giggling, “I feel so domestic!” He laughed, “There’s a thought.” Hayley was not the stay at home wife type; she was independent and wouldn’t have it any other way. He imagined that when she got married the husband would end up staying at home with the kids doing laundry, cooking and doing all the cleaning.

He grabbed another Twix and beckoned her closer, he tilted his face towards hers sticking the bar halfway into his mouth; she smiled and leaned forward and bit off the other half Lady and the Tramp style. She swallowed gazing at him confused, “Where’s your stuff?” She glanced behind him, he shrugged, “What stuff? I don’t need anything, just a plug.” He said chuckling holding up his phone along with the charger, she frowned a little and nodded. “You know where they are.” She said turning to grab the Heroes from the microwave, he headed into her room and plugged in the charger and his phone. He hoped Maddie wouldn’t call but if she did his phone wouldn’t be dead. Besides Brooklyn or James might need him and texting or calling was faster than running over to get him. He turned as Hayley took a flying leap onto her queen sized bed holding the Heroes and two bottles of Cola. He climbed onto the bed beside her and took the sandwiches from her, “You hungry now?” he asked wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, we need to stock up on carbs, we’ll be burning a lot of energy this weekend.” She said giggling, he smiled, “Yes I know.” He murmured nuzzling her neck; he wrapped his other arm around her middle and pressed her into the pillows. “How about a pre-game stretch?” He whispered, she giggled and snuggled closer to him.

~

“Westley…” Westley groaned, he was sleeping really hard and coming out of it was a little more difficult than he expected it to be. “Westley…” he could hear Hayley giggling and feel her cool hands running through his hair and tickling his chest. He chuckled and groaned again, “Five more minutes baby and then I’ll rock your world.” He said nuzzling her breasts, she giggled, “C’mon, I’m hungry I wanna go to IHOP!” She whined pulling his hair a little, “C’mon, can’t you hear the pancakes calling out to you?” His stomach growled the lat real food they had eaten was the sandwiches the night before, now thirty hours later they were filled with cookies, chips, candy and way too much whip cream. “Yeah…” He chuckled, “but then we hafta put clothes on… I hate clothes… we should join a nudist colony and then we never hafta wear them again” She giggled and shook her head, “Now way, do you know how many fat people join nudist colonies and besides all the women grow their hair freakishly long so you won’t get to see as much as you think.” She laughed, he finally opened his eyes and smiled, “You’re hair’s only at your shoulders, it would take a long time to cover up the girls.” He said kissing her lips, her stomach growled, “Alright fine I forfeit, let’s go eat!”

~

Westley smiled and stroked his hands over Hayley’s soft skin; she was lying on her stomach with him straddling her thighs. He was a little bummed that she had started her period on their weekend alone together but giving her massages was a nice middle ground. She let out a happy sigh and giggled when he allowed his hands to go lower than necessary. “Y’know I don’t get cramps in my a** baby.” She said giggling, he chuckled, “Hey I don’t know, I’ve never had a period, I’m beginning to think I’ll never get it!” She giggled and slapped his leg, “Stop it, laughing hurts.” He rubbed a little more before wondering if it was too much to ask her to roll over; he could massage her lower stomach wasn’t that where girls got their cramps anyways? He chuckled and made the decision for her lifting his weight off of her legs enough to turn to her over quickly; she burst out laughing as he came crashing down onto her hips. “Okay yeah, we’re not doing that on my period, that’s disgusting.” She said sitting up on her elbows; he nodded, and dipped his face lower to meet hers. “I know—“ his phone vibrated in his front pocket making her jump, he laughed, “Somebody likes you.” He pulled it out and frowned at the name on the screen. “Who is it?” Hayley asked she was playing with her comforter as if discovering it for the first time. He sighed, “Her again, don’t worry I promised no calls this weekend.” He said tossing his phone onto a comfy chair near her desk. She frowned and gave him a look, “This weekend?” She asked pointedly, he paused, “Well, I meant that… honey I can’t just stop talking to her, she doesn’t really have anyone else to talk to.” Hayley looked away, “Uh-huh…” Westley reached out stroked her hair but she flinched away. “Look is it too much to ask that you stop talking the ex-girlfriend that’s still hung up on you?” She tried to sit up but couldn’t, “Get up.” He slid off and sat on her bed, this is not the way he wanted their weekend to go. He had hoped that for their last weekend before school started that the two of them could spend alone time together before everything got busy. He cared for her maybe even loved her; but how could he cut out a girl that needed someone so badly she was willing to ask help from a guy she had cheated on? Hayley climbed off the bed and grabbed the t-shirt she had been wearing earlier, “I’m not gonna fight you on this anymore. If you can’t let her go, then… then…” Her hazel eyes darted back and forth and started to tear. Westley swallowed hard, here it comes… “No baby, please don’t…” He started to get up off of the bed, but she put her hands out in front of her. “No! Don’t “baby” me, don’t try to just kiss me and hold me and convince me that everything’s gonna be okay. I’m done with competing with her for your attention.” He started to speak but he had no idea what to say; he didn’t want to lose Hayley but he couldn’t be a jerk to Maddie, he still cared for her, maybe that was the problem. “You still love her…” Hayley said quietly, she was sitting in the comfy chair beside his phone, “How can you ever begin to love me when you still love her?”

He stared down at his lap, “I don’t know what to say, I don’t want to lose you; but I can’t… I’m not a jerk Hayley, I wish I could be sometimes but I just can’t. It seems so easy to just throw her away but it’s not. “Hayley shook her head and wiped at her eyes angrily, “Just go…” She said with a sniff, he slowly stood and stepped toward her, “Don’t make me go, I wanna stay with you.” He murmured bending down to face her, he reached out to touch her hair but she shoved him away again. “You either go, or call her right now and say goodbye, for good. You never answer her calls or her texts again.” His phone buzzed beside her, she looked down and shook her head. “Of course, it’s Brooklyn, see this is exactly what I’m talking about. These girls that just—“ She let out a high pitched growl and tossed his phone at him. “Y’know what honestly, I hate to say it, but I can’t stand that you live with her. She’s such a… a…” Westley was a fairly even tempered guy, he had a very long fuse that rarely lit, but she had gone too far. “Don’t you dare say anything about Brooklyn! I cannot believe that you would be jealous of her, we’re just friends!” He shouted, Hayley glared at him, “Oh really, so why won’t you tell me the truth behind all the rumors I’ve heard about the “Three Musketeers” or “The Triplets”; how do I know that you don’t leave here and run straight to that little sl*ts room.” Westley grabbed his jacket from his desk chair, “That’s it, we’re done, no one talks about my Brooklyn like that, do you know you are my first girlfriend she actually likes?! She told me that she wanted me to marry you! Of course I see now that she is a way better person than you could ever imagine to be!” He shouted and slammed her dorm room shut behind him. He stomped down the long hallway back to his section of the dorms; he shared an apartment with Brooklyn, James, and another student that hadn’t arrived yet. He fumed the entire way to his dorm and slammed open the door after an angry search for his room key. He grabbed the door just in time to keep it from hitting the wall and succeeded in slamming his hand in the middle of them. "Damn it!" He shouted kicking the door shut behind him and throwing his jacket onto the couch. He fumed for a few seconds before realizing it was almost five in the morning and he didn’t want to wake anyone. He had no idea if their other roommate had arrived and he wasn’t going to make the best first impression at this point.

He took a deep breath and sighed heavily, Brooklyn was probably awake, she was a fairly light sleeper, James had slept through a severe thunderstorm once, the fire alarm even went off but he just kept sleeping. Westley tiptoed to Brooklyn’s room and slowly opened the door; it was still a little squeaky he needed to fix that later. She was sitting up in bed waiting for him; he waved pathetically at her and removed his jeans before climbing into bed beside her. “Hey…” He muttered wrapping his arms around her tiny waist and laying his head onto her chest. She lay back onto her pillows and gently stroked his long blonde hair; this is what he needed love and acceptance the very definition of Brooklyn. “You smell good.” He whispered she always had the most unique scent, Logan and Desiree had actually manufactured a special scent just for her. It was a part of their new line called Friends Forever; each scent was catered to fit each of their personalities and then named after them. This is something Hayley didn't understand about their group; the five of them had known each other since highschool. He cared more about his friends than he did anyone else on the planet. Girls were important and a few of them had been really amazing ad he had almost given up everything for them. However in the end, his friends were the only ones that truely mattered. They were the only ones that would never leave or give up when things got a little rough. “We broke up…”

[Free]

It was her birthday and wrapping paper littered the floor of her bedroom where she’d opened his present in private after all the other guests had disappeared; gold and silver paper with tiny pink roses. The room around her was blurry. Maybe it wasn’t even her room at the apartment. It had all happened so fast, but here they were now; just him and her. Even her best friend James had disappeared a while ago. This was new, but they had expected it for a long time now. The lights were already set to a romantic dimness and all of a sudden they were in bed together, him on top. He reached his hand out for her face and kissed her. She opened her eyes. Westley. Clunk. Slam!

Brooklyn jumped and looked around. Her room was dark. Glancing at the digital clock next to her nightstand, she looked at the time. Ugh. It was early. Not quite early enough to get up, and she defiantly wished that she was still sleeping. She yawned and frowned as she looked toward her closed bedroom door. Something, or more probably someone, was out there. A nervous fluttering crept into her chest, until she realized that a burglar was likely to be more discrete. That, and the fact that she wasn’t sure what kind of burglar would be stupid enough to try and steal something from poor college kids, except poor college kids, and they were more likely to strike during holidays when no one was around. Brooklyn sat up. There was only one person it could be at the current hour, James would be dead asleep, and she could recognize his sounds. When you live with someone for long enough you start to recognize their tells: the sound of their footsteps, how they cough, and what kinds of noises they make while they walk and go about their days or nights. It was Westley.

The fact that he was home right now instead of wrapped around Hayley meant that something was wrong. Did they break up? Or is this just a fight? Brooklyn frowned. She liked Hayley and it seemed like Westley liked her too. They were pretty cute together. She’d never seen them argue about anything, but she knew that Hayley wasn’t too fond of Maddie and the fact that Westley didn’t seem to have the heart to just let her go. Brooklyn knew that she was probably a threat to Hayley on some level too. Westley didn’t talk about that much, but she could see the way Hayley looked at her sometimes, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that no girl wants to play seconds to the best friend, even if it’s all in her head. Brooklyn sometimes felt a little guilty because she knew that she was the reason that things sometimes didn’t go so well with James’s and Westley’s girlfriends sometimes…

There had been this one girl, Teressa. She’d been James’s girlfriend for about seven months, his longest relationship. She’d said, “I love you,” after only about two and a half weeks and the biggest surprise to everyone, especially James was that he’d said it back. And he meant it. At the time Brooklyn thought that she was about to lose her best friend in a way. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t always be there when she needed him, and it wouldn’t be that he wouldn’t answer her call at 2 o’ clock in the morning unless he slept through it by accident. It was more that he was giving his heart to Teressa, just a little at a time. He always answered her calls. And there had been at least two occasions when Brooklyn hadn’t wanted to listen to him when he’d said, “I’m sorry,” because she knew that it was a battle that she wasn’t going to win this time. Girlfriends had come and gone, but Brooklyn had been the only stable girl in their lives and she liked that. She liked being the only girl in the group, the only one that matter. It hadn’t ever really been that she was interested in having Westley or James for herself as boyfriends, but in a completely different, yet intimate way, they were hers and she dreaded to think that one day they might not be.

Teressa had been beautiful. James couldn’t stop talking about her. “Her eyes…have you seen her eyes? Have you smelled her hair?” Brooklyn laughed at the thought. Actually, it had been more like, “Yesterday, Teressa and I went to the park. Don’t look at me like that Brooklyn. We went to the park. And all we did was play around on the playground. I pushed her on the swings for a while and then I – No, it wasn’t like that, Brooklyn. We just played on the swings and I chased her across the monkey bars and watched her slide down the tall metal slide. Yes, just like we used to do in elementary school.” He’d sighed, looking at her. “I don’t even know why I bother with you sometimes.” He hadn’t meant it. She knew that. She really did, but it still hurt. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve never met anyone like her and it doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing, it honestly doesn’t. She gets this look in her eyes sometimes when we’re talking and I wonder what she’s thinking and I know it’s about me… No, I don’t think it’s like that… BROOKLYN!” She couldn’t help teasing him about it. Maybe she was jealous, but not in the way people seemed to think…

In the end though, Brooklyn knew that if Westley or James ever found the right girl, that that girl wouldn’t be worried about Brooklyn because that girl would know exactly where she stood and that no one could ever get in her way. And Brooklyn would just have to come to terms with the fact that things would change. Until then…

Brooklyn looked toward the door as it opened without a knock. Westley’s frame was outlined in the light coming in from a light shining through a window in the living room. He walked toward her and she smiled, “Hey.” He stepped toward her and crawled into bed with her, resting his head on her chest. She leaned back against her numerous pillows and ran her fingers slowly through his hair. She smiled at the compliment. She loved to hear stuff like that, just like any other girl. Her smile froze and her breath caught at his next words. She’d been expecting something like that because he was home, but it was stil surprising to hear. Her smile fell. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. There wasn’t anything that she could think of to say, other than, “You wanna talk about it?”

[J]

Westley sighed quietly when Brooklyn asked if he wanted to talk about it; at the moment he felt numb and a little hazy from not sleeping. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this break up, it had only been barely over a year since he and Maddie had split and already had he had gotten together with a new girl and messed things p with her. He really liked Hayley, she was feisty, beautiful and witty; she had a sweet side that she allowed him to see and let her guards down when they were alone. It was obvious that she was bothered by the fact that he couldn’t completely do the same. He wanted to be able to let his walls down and share everything with the girl he was with; but why share all of that with her when Brooklyn was right here? It was too easy to keep his distance from Hayley when he had Brooklyn to run home to, Brooklyn knew him through and through. She understood about his pain from Maddie and she didn’t get defensive when he texted Maddie in front of her. Maybe it had been wrong to even check his phone when he was alone with Hayley but he couldn’t help it. Maddie had a hold on his heart that was so powerful he sometimes was surprised by his actions. He had given her his heart within just a few days of being with her, and she still held on to it, pulling it out and dragging him down with her whenever she needed someone.

Maddie was an EMS at local hospital about an hour away; she no longer attended their college so she was given the night shift which was why she frequently needed him at inopportune times. She often called and texted him when she was on her break or when a particular patient had affected her emotionally. She had plenty of friends to call but she didn’t want to bother them and she knew if she called he would answer. He hated that about himself, why did he allow her to have such a power over him? He wasn’t a pushover, not really, he allowed some things people did slide but he hated it when people tried to walk all over him. Why did he allow himself to be her doormat and comforting shoulder? She never came around and he hoped that she wouldn’t. His relationship with her was similar to an alcoholic with alcohol; he loved the taste and the effect it had on him but now that he had been away or so long he wasn’t sure what to expect if he picked up that bottle again. “Maddie texted me and I had my phone in my pocket…” He murmured he was a little ashamed that he had put his phone into his pocket in the first place. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t, that was the problem. They had gone to IHOP around one and had filled up on coffee and blueberry pancakes. So naturally he had taken his phone with him since they had been in his jeans pocket already. He had forgotten all about it, well, he hadn’t but he liked to at least believe that he had. “It vibrated and she felt it and then asked me who it was…” He sighed heavily reliving the awful moment, her dark glare when he mentioned that he had asked Maddie to refrain from calling him that weekend. A small slip of the tongue, what would she have said if she knew he had been talking to Maddie on the phone note five minutes before heading over to her apartment?

“I told her that I had asked Maddie not to call this weekend, and then she said This weekend? and then we got into a huge fight…” He paused there was no way he was going to tell Brooklyn what Hayley had said about her or about how the fight had only turned ugly when she had texted him. “I guess it wouldn’t have been all that bad but… I saw her true colors tonight and she’s not someone that we need in our lives.” He said quietly and then sat up in bed scooting up so they were face to face. “I know you liked her, but… let’s just say she didn’t make the cut.” He smiled at her a little, “You’re beautiful you know that.” He kissed her cheek and settled back into her pillows, “C’mere.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, she snuggled onto his chest. “You’re the only girl I need anyways.”

[J]

Ryan rolled her slate blue eyes and sighed, “Hey I did not just drive halfway across the country to—“ Scott cut her off, “Hey now, nobody told you to drive straight through like a maniac.” He said laughing, “C’mon, don’t play the hermit card; all you ever do is write in your room, that’s not living! Come party with me tonight, I’ll find you a hot guy and you can get your year started out right.” Ryan shook her head, you know I write because I love it and I love to read too.” Scott snorted, “No honey, that’s what hermits do, I’m serious, no more alone time, you’ve been gone for a year in Colorado and it’s time to make your big return!” Ryan sighed Scott did not understand the meaning of the word no; “Okay fine, I’ll drop off my stuff at the dorm and then head over.” She could hear cheering in the background from his roommates when Scott shared the news. She hung up the phone and sighed she had just driven straight from Colorado back to school and the last thing she needed was a party. However she was still hyped up on Starbucks energy drinks and there was no way sleep was going to come anytime soon. She had over an hour left of driving, and still had to drop all of her things off at her new dorm, she wouldn’t reach the party until nearly eleven. She downed the last of the tall can of vanilla and tossed it in the backseat, alright here we go.

~

Ryan slipped into Scott’s apartment and gazed around, the apartment was packed, people dancing and drinking a huge group was gathered on the tiny porch smoking. She glanced at the drinks and shook her head, alcohol on top of energy drinks and coffee was not the best decision. “Ryan!” Cody, Scott’s boyfriend squeezed through the crowd to greet her. “Hey beautiful, where have you been all my life?” He shouted above a Lady Gaga song and grabbed her in a huge hug spilling his beer down the back of her shirt. She grimaced and tried to hide her annoyance, “Hey Code-man, I missed you!” She really had missed him, the great thing about befriending gay guys was that none of them pressured her into sex; they didn’t judge her past and always handed out compliments. He kissed her cheek, the funny thing about Cody, when he was wasted he became a little friendlier with the girls, specifically her. “Okay, we have so much gossip to catch up on!” He crowed sloshing his beer some more and staining the carpet below. “Baby, I think you’ve had enough.” She said taking it from him and downing the rest of the cup.” He giggled, “Sure sure, hey guess what!” He moved even closer pressing his warm cheek to hers to whisper-yell into her ear. “One of the triplets is here!” Ryan raised her eyebrows, “Really? Which one?” Rumors about the “Triplets” had spread around the school back in Freshman year when they had arrived. Two really hot guys and an even hotter girl considered themselves a couple. They stayed in the same dorm apartments every year were said to sleep in the same bed, all three at once, and still dated other people. She had seen them around a few times, she had even had a class with one of the guys, the tall blonde, Westley, but she had never gotten close enough to talk to them. She was fascinated that three people could stay together that way for this long and not drop each other or get into a huge fight and break up. It amazed her how close the three of them were, even better they were best friends with Logan Lebeau and Desiree Myst, everyone knew about them. They owned a huge design company Logan had inherited from his mother the international super model Layla Lebeau. The two of them had been on Opera and featured on major design shows on TV.

Cody grinned, “James, the smoldering hottie in the corner.” He said gesturing toward the pool table set up across the room near the Plasma hanging on the wall. Ryan swallowed and allowed herself to stare for a moment, god he was gorgeous. His dark hair hung in his face as he set up to take his turn at the pool game; “So is he?” Cody shook his head, “Not for me apparently.” He said sounding bummed, “Cody! What about Scott?” Cody shrugged, “Eh, y’know, this is college it’s supposed to be fun!” He glanced back at James and then at her, “Go get him, how much you wanna bet you can sneak in and infiltrate the Triplets? If anyone can do it, it’s you baby.” Cody said grabbing his cup back from her, “I’m thirsty and I think you should grab the tall dark handsome glass right over there.” He laughed and smacked her butt pushing her towards James. Ryan smiled and grabbed two beers, James was alone and his bottle could probably use a little freshening. She sauntered over to the table greeting people on her way, she grabbed a bar stool near the table and set up camp behind James bumping his elbow. “Oh, sorry.” She said laughing, and smiled up at him. “Need another?” She asked he shrugged and took it from her. She took a sip from her bottle and nodded toward the table, “Mind if I join?” Scott spoke up from the other side, “No way, she’ll steal all your money Silver; I’d keep her out of this!” He laughed and chalked his stick before missing a green ball. “Damn it!” He shouted and slammed his money down in front of James, “You’ve already won; maybe you can beat her.” Ryan smiled, “We’ll see.”

Ryan grabbed Scott’s cue from him and waited as James set up the balls, “So normally I realize that people bet with money, however I don’t have much to spare so how about the loser has to do something outrageous” He raised an eyebrow, as he meticulously set up the balls with the rack. “Like?” He asked removing the rack and hanging on its nail on the wall behind them; “Like…” She weighed her options, she wanted to impress him a little but at the same time she didn’t want to him to realize that’s what she was doing. “Monday morning starts the beginning of classes; we play three games loser has to walk “the line” completely in the buff at ten AM. Winner will be considerate and hand over the loser’s clothes at the other end of “the line” so no one has to go to class naked.” Ryan smiled and watched his reaction, he was so difficult to read, and usually she judged people fairly well, but his silver eyes were so mysterious. “The line” was a straight sidewalk that ran straight through all of the classroom buildings. The entire college would be able to witness this extra spectacular walk of shame. “And to make things a little more interesting, you miss your pocket and you have to take a drink. I’m good at pool, all the alcohol might give you a chance to win.”

~

Ryan shivered and snuggled into the warm body beside her; she began to drift off again, allowing her mind to wander a little. She took a deep breath and smiled, he smelled really good. He? She froze realizing this wasn’t a dream. She was curled up with some guy and she was not in her own bed. She cautiously slid away from him a little and tried to study his face in the dimly lit room. Thick navy curtains covered the single window; sunlight haloed the square window pane. She gasped mentally as she began to recognize him, James Silver; one of the infamous Triplets. He was gorgeous, his sharp features at peace in slumber. His sculptured chest rose and fell slowly as he breathed, she watched him for a moment, entranced. A soft vibration behind her snapped her out of it and made her jump. She whipped around and sighed in relief, his cell phone was perched on his desk. She glanced back at him; he slept on without a care in the world. She envied him, she was an extremely light sleeper; someone sneezing in the next room could awake her. She carefully rose from the bed and gathered her clothes. The black cotton t-shirt she was wearing must belong to James, odd, she didn’t usually wear clothing after nights like this. She started to remove it and the smiled, maybe she would keep it. It was a little immature and kind of strange nut why not? This was James Silver t-shirt, almost a souvenir, she was the only one that would know it belonged to him, but it was still really cool. She pulled on her jeans and quietly stepped out of the room, softly shutting the door behind her.

Ryan froze, her hand still wrapped around the doorknob, Brooklyn Masters was lounging in an overstuffed recliner sipping coffee. She was even more stunning in person, Ryan had seen tons of pictures of the Triplets, but she couldn’t believe how naturally beautiful Brooklyn really was. She had no make-up on, her hair was ruffled a little from sleep and she was wearing only a camisole and pajama shorts. Brooklyn flashed a smile, pearly whites completely perfect, if Ryan was any other girl she might hate her. Brooklyn tilted her head to the side giving her a once over, Ryan’s heart sped up a little. Did she notice I’m wearing James’ shirt? “Hey.” Brooklyn said her voice was beautiful too; everyone described her as “sexy-cute”, her voice matched. “Hi… Bye.” Ryan rushed for the door, tripping over a suitcase; she glanced down at it before grabbing the door handle. The bag was a generic black color with the name “Smalls” in neon fabric paint. It wasn’t until she was she stood on the porch with the door closed behind her did she realize that was her suitcase! Ryan whirled around searching for an apartment number, she gaped at them, was it possible that she lived here? No, no way. That couldn’t be right. There was no way she was lucky enough to share an apartment with the Triplets. Maybe she was remembering the number wrong, but even if she was how was her bag in there? She had unloaded her stuff from her jeep into her dorm last night. In her hurry to get to Scott’s party she had left the last one near the door.

She searched her pockets and pulled out her key. She hesitated; the door was clearly unlocked; she had just gone through it. However, this was the only way she could believe she really lived here. She slipped her key into the lock and turned it to the left; “righty tighty, lefty loosey.” She recited in her head, the deadbolt slid securely into place, she held her breath and unlocked it once again; she slowly stepped back into the apartment. Brooklyn watched her, dazzling green eyes curious. “Um, it looks like I live here…” She tucked her back into her pocket and ran her hand through her long auburn hair before grabbing her bag off the floor. “Oh okay, I’m Brooklyn by the way.” She said smiling brightly; Ryan smiled, “Yeah, I know, I mean…” You are such a dweeb! Get a grip! “I’m Ryan.” Brooklyn nodded and giggled, “Nice shirt.” Ryan glanced down at her chest self-consciously, “Oh.” Oh my god, she knows! A door opened behind Brooklyn, Westley Hunter shuffled out wearing only boxers. Ryan inhaled sharply, an angel fallen from heaven. He looked up at her and frowned in confusion, his dark green eyes scanning her from head to toe. “Hello…” He said Ryan smiled nervously; it wasn’t a secret that Westley wasn’t big on outsiders. “I’m Ryan, you’re new roommate.” Ryan said shifting her weight from one foot to the other, the coffee smelled incredible; would it be rude to run over and pour a cup? Brooklyn stood up and smiled at Westley, “Morning.” Ryan watched as Brooklyn easily tamed the lion, wrapping her slim arms around Westley and pressing her cheek to his chest. Westley softened and enveloped Brooklyn in his embrace.”How are you?” she asked, Westley shrugged, “Eh…” He kissed the top of her head and then turned his gaze back to Ryan, his guard back up. Ryan lowered her eyes and glanced around the room; her bedroom door was the only blank one. Westley had come out of the door that was painted with green vines and Brooklyn’s name in purple script. Had they slept together? It was highly possible, the Triplets were intertwined in ways no one would ever understand or even know about. “I’ll just go unpack.” Ryan said heading into her room wondering if they wouldn’t mind her painting her own door. She knew Westley was the artist of the group; maybe he would do it for her. Once she was shut inside her room she allowed herself to let everything sink in. She had slept with James Silver last night; she was wearing his t-shirt, and biggest shock of all: she was going to be living with Triplets all year! She grabbed one of her pillows and screamed into it, this was going to be the best year of her life!


Her phone buzzed in her back pocket bringing her back to reality, she checked the screen before sliding it open. It was a voicemail from Scott. “Hey doll, I got you a job interview at BJ’s for 3:30 this afternoon. I already told Big Mike all about you. So the interview is just a formality. Oh and, I saw who you left my party with last night. Cal me later with all icky details. Love you ho.” Ryan giggled nervously and looked around her room. Her bed was still bare and all of her possessions were still in suitcases and gym bags from her old sports team days. She needed to shower and have an amazing outfit on for her interview. It was a restaurant so she didn’t have to be too fancy but she did need to look hot and responsible at the same time. What she really needed was a girl friend who would tell her how to dress herself. She had almost no sense of style other than t-shirts and jeans. The only thing she could bare to spend fun money on was books and music. She dug through a few bags before deciding she needed serious help. Her bedroom door was still closed but she could hear Westley and Brooklyn talking in the living room. Was it too soon to ask Brooklyn to help her? Brooklyn was practically a fashion icon. No matter what she wore she always managed to make it look cool and effortless. No way, it was way too soon. Plus before anything else she needed to take a shower. Then she would simply pour herself some coffee and hope Brooklyn might ask her why she was wearing a towel dress to a job interview.

Ryan grabbed her shower bag and a few towels before slipping out of her bedroom. She was still wearing her jeans and James’ t-shirt, it was really a shame she would have to remove it. A white door painted with multi-colored bubbles stood between her room and Brooklyn’s. She opened the door and turned on the light. The mirror was bordered in pictures of Brooklyn and her friends, along with messages written in lipstick and dry erase marker. A tall glass stood beside the sink filled with markers, lip glosses, lipsticks, eye liners and make-up brushes. The walls were painted a mint green with purple vines growing towards the ceiling and around the bath fixtures. She smiled at a few of the messages on the mirror, most of them were obviously inside jokes. “James is a lesbian!” Caught her eye and made her ponder at it’s meaning, along with “Dezi’s armpits smell like sunflowers...” She giggled at a few others, “What? I’m not afraid of baked beans!” and “Brooklyn is a sexy wood nymph.” Ryan wondered if she was allowed to add to these, there were plenty of writing tools just calling out to her. She shook her head and decided she would wait a few more days. Whatever she wrote or drew had to be epic, all of them were going to see it. It had to be amazing otherwise, what was the point?

After her showered she wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out into the hallway and tiptoed toward the kitchen. Westley was lying on the couch with his head in Brooklyn’s lap, the image made her smile and wish she had her camera to capture such a sweet moment. She still could not get over that she was living with The Triplets. It was too good to be true. The three of them along with Logan and Desiree were kind of like he celebrities of their college. Everyone knew about them, talked about the wanted them to be at their parties and of course wanted to become friends with them. There was even youtube and facebook pages devoted to worshipping and capturing the group. Ryan was a huge fan, okay, more she was a little obsessed. She knew everything about them, she had even started the nickname “The Royals” when referring to all five. It fit perfectly, because they were really were like royalty. Once Brooklyn had woven feathers in her hair and by the next days at least a hundred girls had copied the technique. Ryan was fascinated by the groups closeness and how they interacted with each other. The Royals had been together for nearly ten years. It was a little odd to some that she knew as much as she did. For instance, she knew Westley and James had been best friends since they were really little and that they had never had a real fight before. That was pretty amazing, how was it possible that two people could be together for this long and never fight? Something like that could really renew a person’s faith in humanity. She also knew that Desiree lost her mother when she was only ten and had never truly recovered. Living with the Triplets would bring a whole new insight to their world and everything about them. She had even slept with James whom she had a major crush on ever since she first saw him. She really hoped who would be okay with her living here after last night. It was a little strange, they had gotten along great and ended up spending the night together but that didn’t mean he wanted her around all the time just yet. Even if she was thrilled with the idea.Ryan tried not to eavesdrop as she poured herself some coffee, stirring in a packet of hot chocolate. Her own “poor man’s mocha.”

“I don’t care, I have you B’bay, that’s all I need.” Westley was saying quietly. Ryan peaked at them and smiled, Westley was running a hand through Brooklyn’s hair. “This just means I get to spend more time with you.” He continued and Ryan’s “Royal Radar” spiked. What was Westley talking about? Did he and Hayley break up? Ryan had been in Colorado since the beginning of January but she knew that Westley and Hayley had been an item for nearly four months. Hayley was Westley’s first girlfriend after that awful Maddie girl had cheated on him. Ryan had a hard time understanding why Maddie had cheated on Westley. Westley was sweet, caring, and not to mention gorgeous. Why would Maddie feel the need to go elsewhere for love?

“Alright, I need more coffee.” Westley said sitting up, he looked at Ryan for a moment, she could feel him studying her. A flicker of fear ran through her, if Westley didn’t like her she was as good as gone. If one of the Royals didn’t approve of her, history had shown she wouldn’t last very long. “I’m gonna go wake up James.” Westley announced. Ryan felt herself panic a little, what was Westley’s going to say to James about her?

[J]

Westley stretched and flipped over his pillow, the cold side was always the best. A took a deep breath, mmmm Brooklyn, her scent was everywhere. He reached around for his phone, where was it? He opened his eyes and realized he wasn’t in his own room. He located his jeans on the floor and fished his cell out of one of the pockets. He had two texts from Maddie and none from Hayley; that was odd. Hayley was a big fan of “good morning” texts; he groaned remembering why she wasn’t texting him. What a night. He responded to Maddie’s texts, she would be asleep by now but she wouldn’t mind. He paused before sending, what was he doing? He had broken up with Hayley over Maddie, well a little bit Maddie, mostly Brooklyn. Now he was waking up and texting her before he even had his morning pee? What is wrong with me? He tossed his phone aside and rub his face with his hands; he needed coffee. He glared at his phone; it lay on the floor blinking innocently up at him. He groaned, he picked it up and pushed Send. “Why? Why do you have this hold on me?” He grumbled, he hated that even after an entire year of being apart from Maddie, she still had her hooks in him. She had been the one to dump him, she had cheated on him. It wasn’t fair that she got to constantly drag his heart around making him spills his guts at every turn. He was such an idiot, just now he had told her about his break up with Hayley. Why had he done that? She didn’t need to know, especially not before he told James or Logan or Desiree.

His phone lit up, Maddie’s face filled the screen, uh-oh. Against better judgment he picked up, “Hey.” He said, trying to clear the sleep from his throat. “Hey! I’m so glad you dumped her.” He frowned and shook his head, “You don’t have to sound so excited about it.” He fought the urge to throw the phone across the room; he couldn’t hang up on her and he knew it. She knew it too. “I’m sorry, but I mean c’mon, it was so bound to happen. You belong with…” She paused and his heart stopped, he wanted her to say it, but then again, he really didn’t. She giggled, “Desiree.” The name caught him off guard, “What?!” She laughed louder, “I’m kidding! I’m kidding, don’t worry, you’ll find somebody, and I’m sure Brooklyn will keep you company until you do.” Even though Maddie wasn’t in the room, he felt the need to glare, “That’s enough Maddie, go back to sleep; I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up feeling satisfied that he hadn’t waited for her to speak further and then realized he was still pathetic. “I’ll talk to you later?” Why? Why had he said that? He groaned and threw himself back onto the pillows; he laid there for few minutes stewing in self pity.

He jerked himself out of bed, he need to get out of this room; all he need was a little cuddle time with Brooklyn and he would feel a hundred times better. He froze; some girl was standing in his living room, “Hello…” The girl looked like a deer caught in headlights or maybe the little kid who had been caught eating cookies before dinner. She said her name, her voice cracked a bit at the end; why was she so nervous? It was far too early for this, if only she wasn’t their roommate; he would have kicked her out by now.“Morning.” Brooklyn said sweetly, she appeared and gave him a much needed hug. He smiled and held her, he felt a little better already. If only that girl, Ryan, wasn’t here. This was their dorm, their inner sanctum; this was the first time in two years they had had an extra person. Ryan quickly exited, good at least she knew he didn’t really want her around. “Apparently, I’m way crankier than I thought.” He said pouring himself a cup of coffee before lying on the couch. Brooklyn sat at one end with his head in her lap, she ran her fingers through his hair and he sighed heavily. “A roommate, really?” He looked up at Brooklyn he was trying to hold back a smile, “What?” She had that look on her face; she was good at keeping secrets, except the ones she wanted to tell him or James.

Logan’s deep brown eyes whipped open at the sound of his iPhone vibrating on his nightstand. He had been dozing on and off all night. The past week had been really hard for him and his family. He rarely cared about what his family was doing or going through except for Remy of course. However, his aunt Marina had passed away after struggling with a heart problem she was born with. She was the last female in the Lebeau family casting a dark cloud over the men. For some reason every woman a Lebeau man cared for passed away. The average amount of years was 12, Logan had done the math. 12 years that was nothing. 12 years was only as long as… As long as he had known and cared for Desiree. He had realized this a few years ago, but didn’t dare to believe is such hokum as a “family curse”. The men in his family muttered it lightly and pretended as if they didn’t all lose their woman after so many years. Logan’s mother had died when he was 13; his parents had only known and loved each other for 17 years. His mother, Layla had passed after being diagnosed with leukemia, she had only been sick for a few months. His father brother Henry had been married to Marina for nearly ten years; they had a shotgun wedding after becoming pregnant with their first child. It was strange how this “curse” seemed to work. The Lebeau me fell in love instantly and had a few happy years sometimes with marriage and children other times only caring about the girl and then she was gone. Marina had passed away leaving two sons and a broken husband. Henry was doing well; they had spent billions of dollars on heart transplants and doctors but all to no avail. She was gone.

Logan didn’t consider himself to be a selfish person, he probably was but if he didn’t care about himself who would? He had a select few close friends, everyone else was friendly acquaintances; everyone knew and adored him but only his elite group understood him at all. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with Henry or Marina or their sons whom, he couldn’t recall the names of. Most people would have considered him an a**hole for not caring about her passing, all he cared about was what her death meant for him and most of all, for Desiree. She had lost her mother at a young age too. It wasn’t fair, if there was a God why did he take both of their mothers? Why couldn’t He have left at least one, well actually if He was really God he would haven’t have taken either and would have saved Desiree’s brother as well. It occurred to him that the only reason why he had even met Desiree was because of her mother and brother passing. Her father had moved away from their old town and into Logan’s directly after the accident, escaping all of the memories. She and Logan had met and become friends almost instantly, she had resisted at first but that was only because she missed her brother and Logan reminded her of him.

Now years later, nearly twelve, the two were inseparable. He wasn’t “in love” they were far closer than that; they were best friends. Their intimate relationship envied by all. They spent nearly every moment together, after graduating high school they had decided to separate themselves from their parent’s mansions and move into their own. They each had their own suite but the two of them usually slept in Logan’s bed, Desiree hated sleeping alone, though she would never actually admit such a thing. The trust they had in one another went deeper than just being best friends. In the middle of their teen years they had discovered a new and strange way of protecting each other. The two of them had heard over and over the dangers of sleeping around, everything from self esteem to STDs. After some discussion they had made the decisions to become “friends with benefits”, they slept with each other but no one else. They dated whoever they wanted and could kiss and make out with whomever but all other physical intimacy was left for the two of them alone. This arrangement kept them satisfied and happy without having to worry about unwanted diseases, pregnancy, and a whole myriad of things that seemed to happen when people went “all the way” for just a good time. They kept this a secret; most people wouldn’t understand and didn’t deserve to know anyways. They hadn’t even told their three best friends, Brooklyn, James and Westley; some things were better left for just the two of them.

His phone vibrated again, arousing him once more from another restless doze; Desiree slept on. Her long silky legs wrapped around his right thigh, her cheek resting on his bare chest and her toned arms wrapped around his middle. He carefully untangled his left hand from her dark hair and reached behind his back to silence his phone. A message from Westley lit up the screen: I dumped Hayley last night. Logan sighed, he had seen that one coming, Westley was still hung up on Maddie. Yet another reason he and Desiree abstained from sleeping with other people, it messed you up in ways you wouldn’t have believed possible. Logan glanced at the time, nearly noon, finally. He couldn’t believe he was thinking that, but the night had lasted way too long in his opinion. He and Desiree had messed around for hours, but he hadn’t been able to completely focus on her. He kept on wanting to tell her about his irrational fear but for some reason he had kept it to himself and for far too long. Maybe he would tell her today, they didn’t keep secrets and he didn’t want to start now. “Dez…” He murmured and kissed her forehead and she stirred a little. He smiled and burrowed his way underneath her neck and gently nibbled the special spot that drove her wild. This would wake her up easily, and with a smile. Desiree was not a morning person; she hated alarms and being jolted awake. There were much better ways to wake a person and he knew all Desiree’s secrets spot by heart.

After Desiree opened her eyes and joined him in a quick morning delight he prepare coffee and the two of them sat in bed side by side. He took a gulp from his coffee and set his mug on his bedside table. “Alright, I need to talk to you about something.” He said looping his arm around her and pulling her close. (insert Desiree comment lol) “Now c’mon now, this is serious.” He said holding back a laugh, he settled back into his pillow lying on his side to face her. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while. I was hesitant to bring it up because honestly, it sounds a little far fetched.” He slid his hand across the covers to hold hers before he continued. “In my family, things are a little strange. I know you’ve noticed how there are practically no females. In fact Marina was the last one, besides you of course.” He said smiling at her. “It’s odd, I’ve never had any sisters, girl cousins or even aunts at least not blood related. I never met Leo’s mother because she died before I was born. Over the years some of the men have come up with a little joke about how there’s this “Lebeau Curse” that takes the women you love away from you just when you get comfortable. When I first heard it I laughed and thought not nothing of it. Then my mom died and I started to wonder. Years passed and I kind of forgot about it, but last week when Marina passed away... I don’t know, I’m starting to wonder if it’s something I need to be concerned about.”

“I’ve noticed a pattern, the average number of years is about twelve. My parents were together for a little over 17, they were the longest. I know we’re not “in love” but we are best friends, that’s almost the same thing. Irrationally, I’ve been starting to have this fear that something is going to happen to you.”

[Free]

Brooklyn squeezed her eye shut when he mentioned his phone. That phone. It was like an old dart where the poison just kept leaking. I love you, dude, but you have to find a way to let her go before she destroys you. It was Maddie's fault though, not the phone's.  If she would just leave him alone, things would work themselves out. But she kept him there, entangled in her web, a black widow.    Brooklyn listened and stroked Westley's hair. Poor Hayley.  As much as Brooklyn liked Hayley, she had to admit to herself now that Westley couldn't love her. Maddie was winning, like she always did. And he couldn't love someone else until he got his heart back. 

Brooklyn hadn't much cared for Maddie from the beginning. She was a little bland, and more interested in her work than people. Which was ironic since she was so passionate about entering the field of medicine so that she could help people. But it seemed like she was obsessed. Maddie'd never mentioned why she'd chosen medicine, but Brooklyn suspected it was personal. Something about the look in her eyes when she talked about it. It wasn't passion for living things exactly, but duty, obligation, perhaps desperation? Or was that determination? Either way, there she was at every one of Logan and Desiree's parties, at school. Brooklyn couldn't even walk around her own apartment without running into her. She never said anything about it to Westley though. He was gone. So, as his friend, she smiled, she did Maddie's makeup for parties and helped her pick out cute dresses. She made enough pancakes for everyone, including Maddie and she let Maddie stand between Westley and James for a photo once. "It's a height thing. You know, balance," the photographer'd said. So James had grabbed Brooklyn around the waist, and pulled her in front of him. 

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Westley was looking at her. 

Brooklyn smiled at him and snuggled closer. He put his arm around her. 

"You’re the only girl I need anyways.”

Brooklyn's body warmed at that comment, but the moment was short-lived. She knew he didn't mean it, as much as he though he did. He hadn't been hers, truly hers in a long time. Brooklyn looked down at Westley as he closed his eyes. Maybe that's the real reason she hated Maddie. Because she was the one girl that really took him and never gave him back. Brooklyn closed her eyes, but after fifteen minutes, she was still staring at the ceiling. So she carefully extricated herself from Westley and walked over to her closet. Luckily, he was a pretty sound sleeper. She pulled out some stretchy, fitting exercise pants and short with built-in bra. She quickly changed and headed out the door for a run. 

It was still dark outside, and the air was crisp, but a faint pink lay on the horizon. Hhh. Hhh. Hhh. She puff rhythmically. In through the nose, out through the mouth as she ran down the street. 

The place was still dark and quiet as Brooklyn let herself in. Coffee time! If something could pull her out of this, it was coffee. Mmm...maybe with carmel and whipped cream. After preparing enough coffee for the boys and herself, Brooklyn settled into a recliner with a cup, her feet curled under her and smiled as she breathed in the intoxicating aroma. She could already feel her spirits lifting. Yes, this is exactly what she needed. Coffee. 

Halfway through her cup, Brooklyn noticed a frightened deer standing in doorway to James's room, wearing one of his t-shirts. Brooklyn almost laughed, she smile bright  What a party! "Hey!"

"Hi-bye. "

Brooklyn continued to smile as she watched the girl awkwardly head for the door. Yes, she really looked uncomfortable!  She returned after a few moments. 

"Uh...it looks like I live here..."

Brooklyn almost spit out her coffee, but managed to maintain her composure. Do not laugh! Brooklyn willed herself to keep it together.  Of all the girls, James!  "Welcome to the island. I'm Brooklyn." Brooklyn waved. "There's coffee in the kitchen. "

"Yeah, I know. I mean-I'm Ryan."

Brooklyn couldn't hold it in any longer. "Nice shirt," she said with a wink. 

Ryan dropped her head. 

Suddenly, Westley appeared from the bedroom. Brooklyn bounded out of her chair and ran out to put her arms out him. "Gooood morning!"

He smiled a little down at her. "I see you've already had too much coffee this morning."

"Neverenough!"

After Ryan excused herself, Brooklyn poured a cup of coffee for Westley, adding a little cinnamon and whipped cream on top. "Just for you, honey.". He smiled at her and took the cup. 

“Apparently, I’m way crankier than I thought.”

"Oh, I'm sure Ryan'll forgive you once you flash her one of those smiles. Although, I think you may have misplaced yours of late. I haven't seen it since yesterday. 

Wesley stuck his tongue out at her and laughed. 

They sat on the couch. "A roommate, really?" Westley groaned. 

Brooklyn almost couldn't contain herself. She looked at him, a teasing look. An I've-got-something-juicy look. "You didn't notice?"

"Notice what?" Westley looked around. 

"You're such a guy!"

"Yep. What'd I miss?"

Brooklyn bounced a little, causing his coffee to come dangerously close to spilling. 

Brooklyn looked around, she smile about to leap off her face.   "She was wearing James's shirt..." Brooklyn poked pointedly at Westley, waiting for his reaction. Finally!

"So...you think you'll patch things up with Hayley now that you've had a little time to sleep on it?" Brooklyn guessed no, not with Maddie in the picture. 

“I don’t care, I have you B’bay, that’s all I need."

Brooklyn smiled and leaned into him. "Aw... It's hard to be upset with you for throwing things away with Hayley when you flatter me like that, sir."

[J]

Wesley steadied his mug as Brooklyn bounced, trying to contain her excitement. “She’s wearing James’ shirt...” He stared at Brooklyn, he hand’t slept more than a few hours since Thursday night and things were coming to him a little slowly. His jaw dropped as he realized what she meant. “Whoa! That’s unfortunate...” He murmured with a chuckle, James was going to flip his lid. They hand’t had a roommate since Freshman year. Who would have guessed a random one nightstand would end up living with them for the next year? Wesley frowned at Brooklyn’s question about his breakup with Hayley. “Uh... No, that ship has sailed.” How could he tell her? He wouldn’t, Hayley’s rude comment would only hurt Brooklyn. He wanted to protect Brooklyn from the things ignorant people said about her. Most of those people didn’t even know Brooklyn and if they did they wouldn’t speak of her that way.At least in this instance, he could shield her from jealous girls like Hayley. “I don’t care, I have you B’bay, that’s all I need.”Brooklyn smiled and snuggled closer to him.

“Alright, I need some more coffee.” He said rising from the couch, Brooklyn had made his first cup perfectly, he was already carving more. He paused when he saw Ryan standing in the kitchen wrapped in a bright yellow towel.He hid a smile, she was cute, but would she last? She had auburn hair with side swept bangs and was a little on the thin side, making her chest look bigger than it probably was. “I’m gonna go wake up James.” He announced extending his hand down to Brooklyn. “Coming my love?” Brooklyn took his hand and smiled, “Of course!”

Wesley rushed into James’ room with Brooklyn on his heels, he shut the door as she pounced onto James’ sleeping form. “Rise and shine!” Wesley shouted, jumping onto the bed and making it shake and hit the nightstand. Two books and James’ cell phone fell crashing to the floor. “Gotta work on that landing.” Wesley said looking at Brooklyn, they both laughed. Wesley wrapped an arm around his best friend. “Come on, you gotta wake up. There’s so much you don’t know about the world right now!”

[Free]

Without opening his eyes, James grabbed the first thing he could find: a little frog stuffed animal that Brooklyn had won at a fair, and tossed it in the direction of the disturbance. He didn’t move after that, but he knew that his sleep was over.

“Do either of you have any idea what time it is?” he grumbled almost too quietly to hear.

Brooklyn jumped onto his back. “Half past time to get up!” She laughed, and then reached down between his ribs. He grabbed her wrist, and pulled as he rolled over so she was behind him. Then, he grabbed his comforter so she couldn’t try to tickle him again.

" Our new roommate is here," Brooklyn chirped from behind him.

"Mmm," he groaned, keeping his eyes closed. Enrollment was up, so for the first time, they were forced to share their haven. Meeting this interloper did not interest him.

Brooklyn laughed. "Oh, come on! Get up! I think you're really gonna like her!" She paused for a moment, then added, "But then, maybe you already do!"

What the h* is she talking about? James finally opened his eyes and rolled over to face Brooklyn. She was smiling at him with one of her signature I-know-something-you-don’t-know-and-I-can-barely-keep-it-in looks.

He smiled a little, “What?”

Brooklyn paused, obviously trying to decide the best way to say what she was holding back. “You really know how to pick them.”

James frowned. That was an abrupt change of subject. “Oh my God. What did she do?”

Brooklyn just giggled. She was having way too much fun for whatever God-forsaken hour of the morning it was.

“Oh my God! Brooklyn, just tell me!” Most of the time her games were cute. Like when she was teasing Westley with information that he didn’t know. It wasn’t quite as cute when that same energy was directed at him. It almost seemed like sometimes that she thought they must be able to read it right off of her face.

“Oh nothing. I made you coffee.”

She was smiling was too much. He sat up. Fine. I’ll play along. He stood up, walked over to the door and peeked outside. Ryan sat curled up on their couch drinking a cup of coffee. So…she just makes herself right at home… Sure, it was a little weird. He certainly wouldn’t help himself to coffee at someone else’s house that he’d just met, but people were different. It certainly didn’t warrant Brooklyn’s attention.

He walked back over and sat down next to Brooklyn. “What? All I see is the girl I hooked up with last night helping herself to our kitchen. Which, need I remind you, is only a little weird when you compare it to what Jacob did when you brought him home.

Brooklyn stuck her tongue out at him. “Hey! At least I didn’t–” She cut hreself off.

James sighed. “Whatwhatwhat? Why don’t you just tell me what it is?”

“Did you see our new roommate out there?” She was looking at him intently.

“No, all I saw was this girl, Ryan. You know, the one who was in here last night.” He was looking at her pointedly. I know you know she was in here. It’s not a secret.

Brooklyn gasped. “That’s so funny. Our roommate has the same name!”

James froze, staring at her. He looked down at the floor, then back at Brooklyn. Why did she have to play these games so early in the morning? “You’re not saying that…because I met her at a party. I didn’t meet her on our porch. It’s not like I hit on girls just because they’re in the vacinity.”

Brooklyn just laughed.

“Oh my God! Don’t play games like that!” James jumped up and rushed to the door. He paused a moment before he got there, and took on a cool, calm strut. He walked out into the room and sat down on the couch next to Ryan. This is always the awkward part. How to make her leave?

“So…”

[J]

Ryan darted back to her bedroom. There was no telling how fast James would wake up or how he would react upon finding out they were roommates. She tossed her towel aside and grabbed some clothes, a pair of jeans and a superhero t-shirt. She sincerely hoped if anything that this living arrangement would improve her sense of style. The only thing she wanted out of clothes was for them to be on clearance. Not once had she ever paid for price for anything she wore, unless socks for a dollar a pair at Target meant full price. She grabbed a comb and raked it through her hair and then in a moment of brilliance sprayed herself with Carried Away her favorite scent. Scott was always talking about how susceptible boys were to how people smelled. “It will either turn him off or he’ll turn away.” She raced back into the living room and grabbed her mug again, they might notice but she was not going to talk with him wearing only a towel. They had slept together sure, but she had some dignity.

Ryan sat up a little straighter when she saw James coming out of his room. Her heart was pounding a million miles an hour and her throat was suddenly dry. She took a sip of coffee and tried to calm herself. Breathe, just breathe, he’s just a guy. This is not a big deal. No he’s not just a guy, he’s James silver! James slowly sat down on the couch leaving some distance between them. Ryan tried not to notice that he was only wearing boxers. It wasn’t the alcohol, he really is beautiful. “So...” Ryan bit back a smile at the sound of his voice. He was a man of few words, she had never been in any of his classes or close enough to him at a party to hear more than a monosyllable. Brooklyn was the voice of the group. She waited and when he didn’t say anything else she realized she might have to help him. They must have told him she was their other roommate, he didn’t seem to be taking it well. She was a little hurt but unsurprised. This group wasn’t known for taking on outsiders, they enjoyed their privacy.

“Look, I know this is weird. I certainly didn’t see it coming. I promise I will totally stay out of the way. I’m pretty much the type to hide away in my room anyways.” Oh my god, you did not just say that. Now he’s gonna think you’re a loner. No, now they’re going to think you’re a loner. They tell each other everything. Obviously. Ryan paused trying to think of something better to say when she heard a male laugh come out of James’ room. She blushed, of course Brooklyn and Westley were eavesdropping. James still hadn’t spoken, and she couldn’t bring herself to look up at him either. His abs and chest was really distracting her. “Okay, I guess I’ll go unpack.” Don’t give him a play by play. Give him space! She grabbed her mug and headed back to her room. She didn’t want to leave the room or even the dorm but it looked like they didn’t really want her here.

[Free]

"Look, I know this is weird. I certainly didn’t see it coming. I promise I will totally stay out of the way. I’m pretty much the type to hide away in my room anyways," Ryan said after a long pause. 

James just stared at her. Oh my God!  She's crazier than Jacob!  What do you mean you're going to hide in your room?!  You don't even live here!

He waited for her to say something, anything to let him know she was kidding. There was "Crazy Meg" from How I Met Your Mother, but that was TV, right. This had to be more like someone (Brooklyn or Westley) 's idea of a joke, right?

"Okay, I guess I’ll go unpack..." she said as she stood up and walked down the hall.

James watched her go. He was still tired and this really wasn't funny. He stood up and took a few large strides back into his bedroom and shut the door. 

Brooklyn gave him a mock-horror face. "Oh, Daddy, please don't punish us, we had no idea when we let the stranger in that he'd turn out to that wanted serial killer."

"Did you give her a room?!"

"No..." Brooklyn laughed. 

"Props on the commitment. Too early for games. I'm going back to bed," he said as let himself fall back onto his mattress. 

James watched as Brooklyn looked from him to Westley, then back again. 

"Uh...way to go on banging our new roommate before she even moved in...That's the kind of thing you can't 'undo'." Brooklyn laughed a little half-heartedly .

James lay with his eyes wide open. "Damnit!"  He lay there for a few more seconds, then sat up.

"Whatcha gonna do now?" Brooklyn peered at him curiously. 

"Find a new place to live. How does Logan feel about sublets or roommates?"

"Unless it's just one night, or you're Desiree, I think you're out of luck."

[Free]

[-I was gonna edit this and add more to it so that it actually seemed like a post, but it's like nine pages. So if we turn this into a story, we can edit it then. For now, I'm posting our texts as they were. lol.]

Westley chuckled. “So who’s ready for breakfast? I’m starvin’. That last thing I ate was… Well, anyways.”

"Oh yeah, me too!" Brooklyn said.

James sat on the edge of his bed, quiet.

Brooklyn put her arm around James. “Oh come on. It’s not that bad.”

“Yeah, it could be worse. I mean…Hmm..Well maybe not… By the way, Hayley and I broke up!”

The three of them looked up as the apartment door opened and shut. “Okay, well we either scared her off or she’s about to barricade the door before burning down the building.” Westley said, trying to get James to smile.

James looked over at Westley, “Aww…sorry..” He didn’t really know what to say after that. Brooklyn was the comforter. It wasn’t really his thing.

Brooklyn looked between James and Westley, then grabbed Westley’s hand so she could pull him over and put her arm around him too.

Westley hugged Brooklyn. “Eh. It’s okay. She didn’t really fit in with our family anyways. On the stupid side of things, I told Maddie already.”

Brooklyn’s smile dropped for a moment, but she forced it back up. They need something to cheer them up! Brooklyn laughed to herself. It would have to be big to get Westley to forget Hayley and James to forget he just splet with their new roommate. But what?

“What’s say we blow off the first day of school, hit the highway and go to…”

James laughed. “I don’t think avoiding her is going to make her go away.” He winked at Brooklyn. “You taught me that."

Brooklyn stuck her tongue out at him and smiled.

Westley sighed. “Yeah and I promised my mom I would actually go to class this year.” He shook his head. “Like it’s really gonna help.”

Westley turned towards the living room at the sound of his phone ringing. “That’s probably Logan…I hope.” He opened the door just in time to see Ryan heading out the front door. “And the new girl’s gone.” He said over his shoulder, grabbing his phone from the coffee table. The screen flashed a picture of Hayley. He frowned and hit “ignore.”

~

“Alright, I need to talk to you about something.” Logan was looking right at her.

“Oh my God! Are you breaking up with me?” Desiree laughed.

“Now c’mon. This is serious.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m being as serious as I think any morning should be.” She’d barely woken up. Didn’t he know that morning weren’t the time for serious discussions? He just looked at her though, so she rolled her eyes and kept quiet.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while. I was hesitant to bring it up because honestly it sounds a little far fetched.”

She resistant the urge to tell him that just because he saw a movie with aliens in it, didn’t mean they were real. They’d had a horror movie marathon the night before. It had seemed like the perfect introduction to the start of a new school year.

He continued and she just listened the way she knew he needed her to.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” She watched his face, trying to guage his reaction. He couldn’t really believe in a curse, could he? “Is this about one of those movies we saw last night? They can be pretty intense for the faint of heart.”

He didn’t exactly glare at her, but it looked like he might be heading that way, so she jumped in before he could say anything.

“You know curses aren’t real, right? Besides, even if that was true, we’re just friends. It’s not like we’re married or anything. I’m fine. My family has a long history of…well, more recently car crashes, but that doesn’t mean I believe that I’m going to end up the same way!”

She pushed the covered off of herself and stood up. She yawned and looked back at him. “What do you want to do with our last day of freedom?”

Logan sighed and leaned back against the headboard. “Oh, don’t worry! I feel much better now. Thanks for the concern!” he snapped. He tossed his phone on the bed. “Brooklyn invited us to breakfast and Westley broke up with Hayley.”

Desiree sighed and moved back onto the bed so she could sit next to him. “I just don’t ever think about stuff like that.” Desiree wasn’t usually in this good of a mood this early in the morning, and he was ruining it. Sure, wake me up like that and now let’s talk serious? “Why are you brining this up now? I’m not dying.”

"I just started to freak a little after Marina died. Chuck (one of Logans brothers) even made some joke about you bein the last girl and how I better watch out. he's an idiot and now i feel like one for even bringing this up." he sighed, I just don't want to loose you. I wouldnt be able to handle it. I mean sure I'd still have Brooklyn and the guys, but it just wouldnt be the same. I know we're not "in love" or married but i just got spooked."

This whole conversation was making her uncomfortable. It was bad enough he was fixating on her dying, but Desiree didn’t believe in curses or voodoo or psychics or aliens. And as far as she thought, Logan didn’t either. They were things to entertain and frighten little kids superstitious idiots. It was exactly the kind of thing they’d made fun of people for.

She held back the frown. It was weird now. She usually didn’t hide anything from him, but apparently he’d been hiding this, and his “curse” from her. She’d met Chuck, and sure he was an ass. Even at funerals, that didn’t change, but why had Logan?

It was a little odd that there aren’t really any women in his family, but that happens, right? Odds are, there’s a family out there of all women.

“You’re not gonna lose me.” She tried to smile, but she couldn’t quite make herself do it. “Um…I’ve actually got plans for breakfast. Forgot to mention it last night.”

Logan frowned. "I'm not going to lose you but you have plans I don't know about? Does that mean I’m also not invited?”

Desiree got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom.

“Oh, you know, my dad’s in town and he wants to pretend we’re still a family,” she said as she walked through the door. It wasn’t totally a lie. Her dad was in town. He was even at home right now. And he had even invited her for a meal, but he hadn’t been specific on which one.

She wasn’t even sure that she wanted to go. It was just so sad sitting down at a table for two, when it should be four. And he always looked so tired. Never mind the fact that he’d abandoned her years ago. Dinner now wasn’t going to make up for that.

She got dressed and pulled a compact out of her makeup bag, but it slipped through her fingers and hit the floor. Were her hands shaking? She jumped as it hit the stone with a crash. Why was this any different than the thousand other lies she’d told over the years? Because this one was to Logan?

Damn. She tried to pick it up off the floor, and cut her hand on something sharp. Dammit. The compact had shattered on impact. That’s what I get for buying something at Target with Brooklyn. She normally wouldn’t have wasted the money, but Brooklyn wasn’t going to let her leave unless she got something. Brooklyn had insisted this was “her color” and Desiree hadn’t been in the mood to point out that nothing they sold at Target was worth putting on your face.

Logan appeared in the doorway, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just dropped my compact. Watch your step. There’s glass all over the floor now,” Desiree said as she reached for some tissue for the cut on her hand.

Logan frowned as he watched Desiree blot a cut on her hand.

"You got something you need to tell me?" he asked as he shaved his face beside her in the mirror. She never ever spent time with her father. She was lying and dropping things. What was going on?

She should have known that wouldn’t work. She glared at him.

“What? Like how now I’m going to have bad luck for seven years or something? Well, that should put your mind at ease because you can’t have bad luck, if you’re dead!” She shoved her makeup back in its bag, put everything bad in the drawer it had come from and slammed the door shut. She stormed out of the bathroom.

Why did I lie to him? she asked herself as she walked back out through his bedroom. He’s just been so weird this morning. He can’t really expect me to want to hang out when he’s been hiding all this stuff about himself. At least, that’s the reason she was telling herself.

She took out her phone and sent a text message to Derek. Wanna hang out today? Then, she slipped it back into her pocket.

((Lol im laughing about how desiree not only went to Target but that she bought something. i have my break at 530.))

Logan watched dumbfounded as Desiree through a temper tantrum and left the bathroom.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he called out to her. He quickly rinsed his face and followed after her. "Look I can’t help it that for once I was worried about something. All I was trying to do is talk to you about it. And now you’re lying to me." He grabbed his wallet and keys. “I’m going to breakfast with the Triplets have fun living your double life," he spat out, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before heading out the door.

He texted Brooklyn to meet him at B&E's and shouted for a servant to have his car ready. It's only 2 pm and already my day sucks.

((SCENE))

((I like the end scene lol))

[[This has changed/been removed: Westley climbed into booth beside Brooklyn draping his arm across the top. He was staving, his stomach was about cave in. HE looked up as Logan burst throught the entrance to the resturaunt, making an elrderly couple jump. "Whoa... I thought i was the one who was supposed to be cranky." Westley as Logan dropped down loudly beside James.

"well, my morning sucks a**, how's yours?" logan asked.

"Where's Dez?"

"what like we're always together? Seriously, we have our own lives. Where's the waiter, im hungry." logan demanded.]]

Logan was already sitting in a booth when they arrived at the restaurant. Brooklyn waved energetically at him like she was trying to get him to pick her to join him. She rushed up to him and down right next to him. She put one arm around his neck, ignoring the glare.

"You're not going to believe what James did!" she laughed.

"Not him, too. " James whined as he sat down on the other side of the table.

Brooklyn looked around. "Hey, where's Desiree?" She noted his expression. "You okay?"

Logan sighed heavily.

"I have no idea where she is and no, we got in a fight. And no I don’t really wanna talk about." He turned to James. "So who's first? The guy who broke up with his hot girlfriend for the chick who cheated on him or the mystery story?"

Brooklyn glanced at Logan out of the corner of her eye and quickly pulled her arm off of him. "Oh! Mystery story! Mystery story!" Brooklyn squealed.

James: "You really don't need to tell everyone. It's not that interesting."

"Oh but it is! Okay, so James went to this party last night and hooked up with this girl. And heap he brings her back to his room.”

"You really don't need to tell everyone. It's not that interesting."
James looked pointedly at Brooklyn.

“Now this year, they're making us have a roommate because so many people enrolled they're running out o space." Brooklyn paused for dramatic effect and glanced at Logan.

"I take it this girl saw you guys–" Logan started.

"Better! She WAS our roommate and he only found out this morning!" Brooklyn said, bouncing in her chair.

James gave her a dirty look. "Thank you very much.”

Logan laughed. "is she hot?"

Westley chuckled. "Stacked."

"Nice. So where is she now? Did you make her cry and now she's burning all your clothes?"

James glared at Logan. "No."

"Oh come on, James. There will be plenty of moments for you to be awkward at home. Lets not make this one of them. " Brooklyn said, laughing.

"I think it's your turn to tell a story, Logan. What happened with you and Desiree?"

Logan frowned. He was going to have to make something up. He opened his mouth to speak when he saw Hayley stepping through the front doors.

"Uh-oh, here comes trouble,” he said.

Wesley and James both turned to look. Westley groaned.

"Great," he said.

Hayley had a slim Korean girl with her, the girls were walking arm in arm. Hayley gasped when she saw Logan. The Korean girl tried to lead her away, but Hayley broke free and made a beeline for their table.

((Westley told James what Hayley had said.))

"Um, hey Wes, look, I know you don’t really wanna talk to me, but you left your phone charger at my place," she said pulling it out of her pocket and holding it out to him. "I figured you might need it..."

Westley refused to look at her. "So what, you were just wandering around with it hoping to find me?"

Hayley dropped her hand. "I just¬–I wanted to say I'm sorry. To you and to Brooklyn. I know you tell her everything." She turned to Brooklyn. "I never should have said that about you…”

"Thanks Hayley. You can leave now." Westley snapped, grabbing the charger from her.

Brooklyn turned toward Westley. "Whoa! What was I doing in the middle of your fight? You said it was about Maddie..."

Hayley paled. "You didn't tell her?"

Westley stared at his plate. "Of course not. Why would I want to hurt my best friend over what you said?" he growled, glaring at Hayley, who took a step back.

"Um, I’m gonna go. Again, really sorry," she said.

Westley sighed and finally looked at Brooklyn.

"The fight was about Maddie at first. Hayley wanted me to cut it off with Maddie for good. She was sitting next to my phone and saw the picture of you and me on my lock screen and flipped out. She's just an insecure girl. She doesn’t understand us and if she has a problem with that, then we don’t need her in our lives."

"You lied." Brooklyn stood up and raced after Hayley just as she stepped out of the restaurant.

"Hey, Hayley, wait up. I know it's pretty much moot now, but I wanted you to know that there was never anything to worry about with me and Westley. We're just friends. Now, I don't think you should play seconds to Maddie, but I was never competing with you. I actually really liked you." Brooklyn smiled at her.

Hayley hesitated. "Thanks but... Even if you weren’t the issue, Maddie still is. I’ll bet he's already told her about the fight and that he's done with me. Not like she'll care, the b*tch." Hayley paused. "Sorry, I’m trying not to hate her… No, y’know what? I can hate her all I want now. That b*tch just ruined the best relationship I’ve ever had! GOD!"

"Yeah, that really sucks. He's a great guy." Brooklyn paused. "But you really need someone who's all in, and I guess he's not. Good luck though." Brooklyn gave a somewhat surprised Hayley a hug and headed back into the restaurant.

((gotta love her!))

Westley was waiting for Brooklyn as she stepped through the door.

"Hey, I heard that," he said stopping her. "I'm sorry, I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I was trying to protect you."

"I know," Brooklyn said, giving Westley a hug. "Just please don't lie to me. "

Westley held onto Brooklyn tightly. "Believe me, I hated doin’ it and obviously I suck at it," he said, trying to laugh. He got quiet for a second. "I can’t believe I’m really the best relationship she's ever had. I’m flattered and very confused by that..."

Brooklyn looked up at him and winked. "Yeah, me too."

"Hey!" he kept holding her with one hand and tickled her with the other. Her laughter echoed in the nearly empty restaurant, causing the hostess to give them a dirty look.

Logan waited until Brooklyn and Westley came back to the table before asking, "So you two wanna share with class? I gotta know, what did she say about our Brooklyn?"

Westley frowned. "Does it matter? The point is she said what she said and now we're done with her. She's gone. It's over."

Logan nodded and then sighed. "Yeah, I gotta know what she said. Don’t you wanna know?" he turned to Brookly and then glanced at James. "Hold on. He told you, didn’t he?" he said, pointing at James w/ his fork.

James looked up from his plate and shrugged. "No, he didn't. And no, I don't."

"I still think it’s your turn to tell a story," Brooklyn said.

"Wow, that bad huh?" There was no way James didn’t know. Logan was starting to think it might be better to keep it from Brooklyn. He didn’t want her to get hurt either. "Fine, Desiree said she was going to have lunch with her dad. We got into a fight about it ‘cause I know that can’t be true. I left her at the house and now here we are. Lunch without Dez."

Brooklyn patted Logan on the knee. "She'll be back later. You guys always work it out." She smiled at him. "You can hang with us today, if you want.”

Logan smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess you guys are okay," he said, laughing a little. "Hey, I’ve got an idea. I wanna meet this new roommate of yours. I mean its only proper. I’ll be seeing her around a lot now that she lives with you," he said, winking at Brooklyn. James was too easy to tease. "What's her name?"

James ignored Logan, and continued to glare into his food. What are the odds?

"Her name is Ryan. Don't know much about her yet... She wasn't very social. Maybe she's shy." She glanced at James, then back at Logan. "Maybe we should talk about something else. Like perhaps how you could have been more sensitive with Desiree this morning?" Brooklyn looked directly into Logan’s eyes, hoping to convey a point.

Logan was taken aback a little, but she was probably right. Already he felt a little guilty for yelling at her. He had started a heavy convo at an odd time. He really needed to work on that.

"Maybe... It's gonna okay. I have a brilliant plan on how to make it up to her." He pulled out his phone. No messages, not that he’d expected any.

Logan: Come home Dez, I wanna make up for my temporary insanity earlier.

"There, I texted her, happy?" Logan asked, letting Brooklyn read it. She wouldn’t know what he was planning so it didn’t matter.

Desiree: Don't worry about it. I'll see you later. Have fun with the triplets.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "I guess everything’s good now." He got up from the table. "Okay. I wanna go shopping. Brooklyn?"

Brooklyn sat up straighter. “What kind of question is that?” She paused for a moment. “You’re buying, right?”

He laughed a little. “I guess. You’re getting it next time though.”

[Free]

[New additions 10/15/20.]

His words stung. She watched him walk away. She heard the door slam behind him and his angry footsteps in the hall. F*off to you too!

If something had been in her hand, she probably would have thrown it at the door. She paced around their room for a little while, waiting for a response and hoping that Logan would just leave so she wouldn’t run into him. Why is he being such a baby?

After a few minutes, she got a text.

Derek: Sure. What did you have in mind?

She hoped that maybe spending some time with Derek might cheer her up. They’d met over the summer and hung out a little. She hadn’t exactly told Logan about him yet. She didn’t know why. But why should that matter? She and Logan were just friends, right?

This is so stupid. Thinking back to how the morning started, she found it hard to figure out how things had ended up this way.

Desiree put the phone back into her pocket and walked down the stairs outside where her car was waiting for by the front door, keys in the ignition.

Desiree: Meet me at Starbucks.

She climbed in, put it in gear and started down the driveway toward her father’s house. Derek didn’t know about her family’s money, and she wasn’t ready to tell him. She’d even bought a Camry so her car wouldn’t give her away.

~

He was already smiling as he climbed out of his truck.

"So what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, enveloping her in a hug.

"Bad morning." She pulled away from him.

"You wanna talk about it?"

“No.”

“Alright.”

That was one of the nice things about Derek. Unlike Brooklyn, Westley or even Logan, he just let her be when she needed it.

His eyes suddenly lit up. “I know exactly what you need.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to his truck, opening the passenger door for her.

She resisted the hand gently nudging her inside. She didn’t allow anyone to drive her except herself, Logan and their driver. Not after what had happened to her family.

“Why don’t I drive?” she said, turning to face him and forcing a smile to her lips. “I love driving.”

“You don’t know where we’re going.” He shook his head and laughed.

“You could direct me.”

“That would ruin the surprise.”

He looked amused, like this was a game, but it wasn’t. Not for her.

“Desiree, trust me. You’re gonna love it,” he said after a moment of silence. He gently nudged her toward the passenger seat.

She looked longingly at her Camry. As much as she hated that car, she’d rather drive it across the entire country than climb into the passenger seat of his Ram.

“I would really much rather drive,” she said. She knew she was being weird at this point. There was no way he wasn’t going to pick up on that. She was not in the mood to hear anyone say, “I’m so sorry,” especially not Derek.

“Come on,” he said, continuing the gentle pressure on the same of her back. “You don’t trust me?”

She sighed and climbed in, looking around. At least it was clean, even if the seat was worn and stained in places. Derek shut the door behind her and she instantly wanted to open it and run away. But how could she possibly explain that?

Something twisted in her stomach.

Derek climbed in, started the engine and they were off.

They drove in silence for several minutes. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out. A text from Logan was visible on the locked screen of her iPhone, right on top of the picture of the two of them together at the beach.

She suddenly felt guilty, like she was cheating on him or something, but that wasn't possible, right? They were friends. She looked back at Derek. His eyes were on the road. He had one hand on the steering wheel, and was resting his other arm on the console between them. A little part of her wanted to touch it, but she didn't.

She finally slid the lock open, and responded. Don't worry about it. I'll see you later. Have fun with the triplets..

~

“If you could only make one decision about your life, would it be about who you were married to or what job you had?” Derek asked.

Desiree stared intently out the window, watching fields breeze past. These kinds of questions were her least favorite, particularly in the company of people who were not Logan. Did it really matter? Part of the beauty of life was you always had choices.

“Come on, Desiree.” He glanced at her, an amused smile played across his lips. “I know you’re a private person, but you can answer this. I know you can.” The last sentence was in a sing-songy voice.

She rolled her eyes. Can and want to are different things.

“Work. I think I’d kill myself if I had to clean toilets every day.” She paused. “What about you?”

She watched him for a moment. With each mile that ticked by, she was finding it harder and harder to remember why she’d agree to let him drive. It was driving her insane how out of control she felt and his questions weren’t helping.

“Oh, it’s no contest. I wanna pick the girl that shares my bed.” He laughed. “In all seriousness, I know that with the right person, I can handle any job. I don’t think that even with the best job I could handle coming home to a whiny, self-involved Democrat who was repulsed by me.”

Desiree laughed. “Good point. Although I don’t think she would have married you if she was repulsed by you.” Pretty hard to be.

“Here we are,” he said. “My favorite spot. I like to come out here sometimes when I’ve got things I want to think over without having anyone bother me. No people, no signal. It’s beautiful.” He got out of the car, and came around to the other side and opened her door for her.

Desiree was surprised. The only people who usually did that for her were valets, or the people that worked in the garage at her house. Huh… As she stood up, and looked around, all she could see were tall, green trees. And behind him, a clear, blue lake. It was so clean-looking, she could see the sky, lonely cloud and all, reflected in the water. No gunk, no algae. It was beautiful.

He took her hand, and lead her over to a rock that overlooked the lake. The air was a little chilly out here, despite the fact that summer was still winding down.

“Where are we?” They’d been driving for hours and Desiree hadn’t really been paying attention to the road signs as much as she’d been paying attention to the fact that someone else was driving.

“Well, if I told you that, then you’d be able to find your home in a kind semi driver’s cab after escaping my lair.”

“Or I could just look it up in my phone.”

He winked at her. “No signal, remember?”

She laughed. “I see you thought of everything. So what are we doing here?” Nature wasn’t exactly her usual scene. The closest she’d been to camping was her family’s beach house or Logan’s lake house. Desiree took in a deep breath of the cool air. “I guess I can see why you come here. It’s beautiful…”

“You hate it, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Come on. You’re clearly a city girl. You’ve got it written all over. When you stepped out of the car, you kind of looked like Bambi making his way into the world for the first time.” He paused. “Or something that doesn’t make me sound gay.”

Desiree laughed. “It’s different, sure. But…beautiful.” Desiree turned away from him and looked back at the car. This was weird. She wasn’t usually this…open. Why can’t I keep it together?

He laughed. “You don’t exactly look comfortable.”

She turned back toward him. “It’s nothing. Like I said, just a rough day.”

“Well, then it’s my job to light it up.”

James sat on the couch. Brooklyn and Westley had already gone to bed. The Big Bang Theory was on the screen. Sheldon was being his usual obnoxious self. James was only half paying attention to the dialogue.

Okay. You're way over-thinking this. It's not that big of a deal. So she lives here. That doesn't mean I need to hang out with her. I've got my own room. How much time do we really spend at home anyway? We've got school and work and Brooklyn loves going out. It's not gonna be that big of a deal. All I have to do is get past this first initial phase of awkwardness and everything'll even out."

It was weird. He didn't usually let things bother him, but if there was on thing he needed, it was his space. Yes.

"Okay...how to speed that up? Invite her to breakfast with us? Maybe that'll give her the wrong idea. Give it a week, see what happens. Maybe start with being in the same room.

He felt a little like an idiot. There was no way she was fixating on this as much as he was. Let it go, do your own thing and shell do hers. No big deal.

He heard a noise outside the door: jiggling keys and keys in the lock. Screw that! He quickly turned off the tv and made a beeline for his room.

They’d spent the day wandering around the lake talking. Desiree sat cross-legged on the Derek’s favorite rock, leaning back against her hands so she could really take it all in.

“How do you have time to come out here?” she asked. It had been a pretty long drive. School might be a little closer, but it still wasn’t close.

He laughed. “My family has a place around here. I’ve always loved coming up here. During the summer, sometimes I’d come up here for weeks on end.”

Desiree thought about that. She hadn’t told him her favorite place. It was poised on the tip of her tongue, but she let the breath out. The moment had passed.

What are you doing? Sharing was not her strong suit. She liked to keep things private. No one needed to anything. Mysteries were fun, and besides, who needs someone looking at you with that Aw…sorry to hear about your family… or How are you feeling? She didn’t need that. She wasn’t damaged; she was fine.

Her father had tried to make her go to therapy after her mother and brother died in a car crash, but she had refused to tell the therapist anything. She wasted time with insignificant details about school, and trying to turn the conversation around on the therapist. The first one quit. After that, she finally convinced her father that, if he wasn’t going to go see someone, she shouldn’t have to either. He let it go.

Why then did it seem so easy to tell him things? I mean, not everything. She was holding a lot of secrets, but somehow, he’d gotten her into his truck. Somehow, he’d gotten her to answer all those questions.

The sun was setting and the world turned amber. Desiree glanced at the clock on her phone. It was getting late. With school tomorrow and that long drive, she should really be getting back. She sighed. She was not looking forward to the assault of questions when she got back. It hung over her. She turned it off. She could deal with everyone later. Besides, what was the first day of school?

“Don’t you have class tomorrow?” she asked, smiling at him.

He laughed, looking at his phone for the time too.

“Yeeah,” he sighed as he spoke. “And you’re right. I don’t get to come out here enough during the school year.” He looked back at her. “You wanna head back now and grab dinner to go, or actually sit down somewhere?”

~

Derek had taken her to one of his favorite restaurants, near one of his favorite spots. She was used to eating at cheaper places for the benefit of Brooklyn, Westley and James, but this place was different altogether. It was in the middle of nowhere, clearly meant to serve mostly locals, which gave it a sort of “rustic charm.” She tried to ignore the stains, scratches and peanut shells on the wooden floor. Did people really live like this?

Then she’d look at Derek. He’d be smiling, looking around with a familiar sort of calm, like he was home. And it made her smile. Somehow, in spite of herself, she found that she enjoyed dinner. Even if it was served on plates that were big and thick enough to be bases at a baseball game.

~

“You sure I can’t drop you off at home? It’s pretty late,” Derek asked, sending a concerned glance in her direction.

She yawned. It had been a long day.

“It’s a temping offer, but I have to pick up my car.” It felt a little weird. Driving that Camry was closer to borrowing one of the house help’s vehicles than hers. It just wasn’t a smooth ride and it didn’t accelerate like adrenaline.

By the time he’d dropped her off at “her car,” it was after midnight. She thought about going back home. Logan might still be up, waiting for her. But maybe he’d gone to bed. She knew he’d probably want her to answer the question of where she’d been all day, and she really didn’t want to have to lie to him again so she decided to just stay at her dads.

It had been a long day. It felt weird, having Logan on the outside like that, but right now, she couldn’t face him.

[J]

Ryan trudged up the stairs to her new dorm room. She had gotten the job at BJ’s as a daytime waitress and nighttime bartender. She had stayed after the interview to train and study the menu. Anything to avoid going back to the awkward apartment. Staying out of the house ensured that her room remained unpacked and a total mess, she was not looking forward to dealing with that. It was nearly eleven and she was exhausted. She juggled her soda and sweet potato fries as she unlocked the door. She froze, James was headed for his bedroom at a fast pace. She sincerely hoped she hadn’t just chased him into his room, what were the odds? This was his turf, she should be the one to hide away, at least in his mind. She sighed and dropped onto the couch and switched the TV on, “Yea!” She said aloud before catching herself, Big Bang Theory was on, she loved this show. She giggled as Amy said something “Lesbianesque” to Penny, she loved the way Amy spoke. She opened her to go bag and pulled out her fries. Screw James, this is my place too. If he wants to act like a child and stay in his room that was his problem. She laughed aloud again despite trying to keep herself quiet. She wanted to be respectful if others were sleeping but it was impossible to watch this show in silence.

~~~

Ryan slipped on a trench coat she had borrowed from Scott. She was doing her best to stay out of the Triplets way, but she had lost the bet Saturday night. She was not the type to back down. She lost fair and square, now she needed to follow through. She stepped out of her bedroom and into the living room. The boys were in the kitchen but Brooklyn was nowhere to be found. She almost wished Brooklyn were here, any sort of buffer would be helpful right about now. Ryan held her breath hoping she could slip out without them noticing. She would have to face James in a few minutes but she wanted to give him as much space as possible until then.

Westley spoke up just as she reached the door, “Are you a flasher?”

Ryan froze and forced herself to turn and face them. “Uh, no, I lost a bet the other night...” He probably already knows I might as well just say it out loud. “I have to walk the line in my birthday suit at 10.” She was terrified to do this, but she had lost, she had to do it. Her competitive nature was already pissed at her for loosing in the first place, there was no way she could chicken out.

Westley’s eyebrows rose, "Wait a minute, so you're really naked under that?"

Ryan nodded trying to sound nonchalant added, “Yeah, I’m trying to think of it as a celebration of the human body. Like art or something.” Oh very well spoken, not. She really was trying not to think about it all. Everyone was going to stop and stare at her. She could see it now, a huge crowd would gather and rumors would spread about the weird girl that walked the line naked. She may even be branded the “naked girl”. Se was proud of her physique but she certainly wasn’t thrilled to have everyone gawk at it or even worse take pictures! She hadn’t thought about that until this morning. The idea made her stomach twist, the smell of pop tarts was even making her nauseous. “Okay, well, see you guys later...”

Westley couldn’t believe it he was actually on time to class, early even. The teacher wasn’t here yet but a few students had already sat down at a few of the large tables. There were two stools per table making enough room for creativity. He scoped out a few spots before sitting down at an empty table, he almost hoped he get it all to himself. He checked his phone and responded to a few texts from his friends. The room began to fill up and a small blonde sat down at the table across from him. She had huge blue eyes and small heart shaped mouth that intrigued him. Her eyes reminded him of an anime character. He pulled out his sketchpad as the teacher sauntered into the room, he was unsurprised to see she was extremely bohemian. That was the great thing about art teachers, the were different than the normal college professors.

“MUSE!” Ms. Bohemian shouted silencing the classroom and making everyone turn to face the front. “The muse is the most important part of any art form!” She spoke each word forcefully and had an odd accent he couldn’t place. He wanted to laugh, Brooklyn would love this. Ms. Bohemian continued on about the importance of a muse and how you couldn’t find one, they found you. Right, whatever that was supposed to mean. Westley sighed, and glanced at the girl with big eyes, she was focused on the teacher while setting up her art tools. Westley tuned out the teacher and slid the pencil he kept behind his left ear and began to sketch out Big Eyes. He was so involved in sketching that he didn’t noticed everyone was moving around the room until Big Eyes got up. He looked around wondering what he had missed, obviously something important.

Big Eyes walked right up to his table, “Hi, are your eyes always green?” She asked, what kind of question was that? “Uh yeah...” He said, he really needed to find out what he was supposed to be doing. Big Eyes noticed his sketch, “Is that me?”

He hesitated, she was probably going to be really freaked out. “Well, yeah.”

“This is perfect.” She said smiling brightly and setting her work tools down beside him. “What are the odds huh?” She said laughing a little and shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, what?” He asked, this girl was bordering on crazy and he wanted to bolt. He had dated a crazy girl before and he wanted nothing to do with them, even if it was just sitting next to each other in class.

She stared at him in confusion, “Weren’t you paying attention? We were supposed to walk around the room and find someone who inspires us.” Oh... Okay I feel much better now. She’s not crazy.

“Oh, yeah, I uh can get really focused when I’m creating something. I tune everything else out and sometimes miss out on things. So... I inspire you?” He asked, odd what was so inspiring about him?

She smiled a little, “Yeah, I have this obsession with green eyes, totally typical nowadays but I can’t help it. I’m Alice by the way.” She said stretching out her hand to shake his. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent. “Westley.” He said smiling back at her. “So why were we supposed to find someone that inspires us?”

“Whoever we find is gonna be our “muse” for the semester, so hopefully we get along ‘cause you’re stuck with me.” She said giggling. He smiled, “I think I’ll be okay with that.” He’d just broken up with Hayley yesterday and already a new girl had practically fallen into his lap. As far as first days of school went, this was definitely in the top ten.

Logan awoke the next morning cranky and restless. Desire hadn’t come home and she had neglected to respond to his text message from the night before. He wondered if the others had heard from her. He wasn’t going to ask but he did have his first class of the day with Brooklyn. The two of them had Collection Brand Identity. He wondered if she was even going to show up to class. If Brooklyn happened to bring up Desiree he wouldn’t lie to her. He skipped breakfast and headed to school, he got to class just as Brooklyn was sitting down at a table made for two. He slid in beside her, “Hey, brought you a caramel latte.” He said hugging her and handing her the Starbucks to go cup. He took a sip of his own latte and glanced around the room. He loved fashion design but his only problem was being the only straight guy in class. They were plenty of women and tons of gay guys. “Ah great, it’s mohawk guy again.” He groaned shielding his face with his hand to avoid eye contact. “Every damn year!”

[Free]

James sat on a bar stool, eating Lucky Charms at the kitchen counter. He was hoping that Ryan had already left or that they would leave before she did any they wouldn’t have to see her. She’d done a pretty good job of making herself scare the other day. He couldn’t figure out which bothered him more: the strange girl invading their space, or the strange girl he’d had a one night stand with invading their space.

He heard Ryan’s door open, and then her footsteps in the hall. So much for her not being her.

He continued eating cereal, pretending not to notice her as she walked through their living room and made her way toward the door, until Westley asked a really weird question. Then he couldn’t help but look at her. What the…?

James raised his eyebrows. Wow. So she’s really gonna do it, huh? He actually smiled at the thought of it. Despite everything, that was kind of hot. He was also impressed when she likened it to art. He touched the camera strap slung across his chest. Yeah…art…

His mother ruined his daydream. Her voice echoed in his head about the treatment of women. He really shouldn’t let her do it.

She hesitated for a moment, then said goodbye and started walking toward the door.

He didn’t say anything right away. She walked past the couch. Okay, okay.

“Hey, uh…Ryan?”

She turned around and looked at him.

He felt a little foolish. He had been avoiding her since the incident, and now he was breaking his own rule of silence. “You don’t have to do that.”

She looked at him, surprisingly confident. “Yes, I do. A bet’s a bet. I lost.”

“I know, but we’d both been drinking. You don’t have to do it.”

“Yes, I do. If I’d lost, I don’t think I would have let you off that easy.”

“Maybe, but I just…wouldn’t feel right about it. If you walk or not, it won’t be because of the bet. It’s off.” He got up and rinsed his bowl in the sink. She was crazy if she still did it. He wasn’t sure which outcome to root for. He didn’t want to feel responsible for the situation, but if she wanted to walk the line naked... No. I really shouldn’t let her.

Brooklyn laughed quietly to herself. Up, ran, breakfast and showered and out the door before anyone is even awake. She liked to get up early and get things going. She’d scheduled all of her classes in a row so that she had class every day from 8 am to 11 am and had the rest of the day to work on homework and enjoy, perhaps get started on a few new design ideas. She’d had dreams of being a model when she was little, but at 5’2”, she was a far cry from Runway. Print ads were still a possibility, but she’d found that she really enjoyed putting outfits together, and now, designing them herself. She hadn’t been too keen learning sewing, but there was nothing in the world like walking through the halls at school or the mall sporting a Brooklyn original.

It was five minutes to 10 AM, late by her standards, as Brooklyn sat down in her last class of the morning. The classroom was segmented into tables for two or four. It was a design class and there was going to be a lot of group project, where students got to design and build their “look” and then someone had to model it. Brooklyn couldn’t believe that that was her midterm and final! Too much fun!

Logan joined her a second later and handed her a latte.

“Aww! Thanks!”

Brooklyn laughed as “Mohawk guy” found his seat with a thin girl dressed in black with lots of purple eyeliner. “I think he’s got a crush on you!” Brooklyn whispered loudly in a teasing tone. “He just wants to be near you.”

Logan gave her a look, so she changed the subject. “So how’d things work out with Desiree last night? Was everything “fine” like she said, or was she still upset about it? I’m sure you were able to smooth things over though. You’re like…" She looked down at her latte. "Caramel! Sweet, and seductive. I bet she couldn’t say no.” She smiled at him.

[J]

Logan sighed, “You’re right about the caramel but she wasn’t interested in my flavor today. She never came home. She didn’t respond to the text I sent her last night either.” He hated this, where was she? He was trying his hardest not to care, but this was so unlike her. He foolishly hoped she had spent the day with her dad and that magically their relationship was healed. He also hated that he had trouble sleeping the night before, he had always thought of her as the one with that issue. He had never realized how much he needed her there with him until he was alone. He gulped down the last of his latte, the teacher had entered the room but he ignored him. Everybody knew the first day was usually devoted to the syllabus with maybe a few “let’s all get to now one another” moments and a possible short lecture.


Westley walked to his next class with a little spring in his step. Screw Hayley it was only 24 hours later and he already had a girl hoping to be his next love interest. He was now on his way to greener pastures. He couldn’t wait to tell James, they had their next class together. He found his classroom and waited in the hall for James, apparently this was one of those teachers who enjoyed being late to class. Fine by him, that just meant less time pretending to listen. His phone buzzed in his pocket, he rolled his eyes. Maddie again. He was used to her texting him once or twice a day, possibly a phone call once a week. Ever since he had told her about breaking up with Hayley she had been talking to him almost nonstop. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. She had hurt him badly last year, how was he supposed to suddenly be okay with that? Although she wasn’t going to stop talking unless he stopped responding. Which according to his outbox he was the real problem here. If only he had refused that first phone call. That was the shout that caused the avalanche of regret. His friends never questioned him too hard about when he had first started talking to Maddie again and he preferred to keep his mouth shut about it. That first phone call had been something he often wished he could take back.

~

“So I’ll let you go, I’ll set you free. And when you see what you need to see--” Westley’s dark green eyes snapped open at the sound of Maddie’s ringer. She hadn’t called him since they’d broken up nearly a year ago. He slid open his phone, “Maddie?” He asked trying not to sound as if he’d been sleeping. Ridiculous, it was nearly 3AM. “Hi...” Maddie’s soft voice was quieter then normal, her greeting followed by a muffled sniff. He sat up, the tiny flicker that still burned for her inside him ignited at the sound of her voice. Forgetting himself he said, “Baby, what’s a matter?” He waited, his natural protective tendency for her was taking over. “Um... I just um... well...” He could hear her sniffling and taking in short quick breaths they way she did when she was trying not to cry. He got out of bed and grabbed a clean pair of jeans from his closet. “I’ll be right there.” He said sliding on a pair of shoes and grabbing his keys from the nightstand. “Okay...” She murmured followed by a soft click as she hung up. He slipped his phone into his pocket and quietly snuck out of the apartment. He didn’t want Brooklyn to wake up; she wouldn’t like this. James wouldn’t awaken if he slammed open his door and tackled him.

He cut the hour long drive in half by dangerously speeding along the highway. He had to get there before he had too much time to think about what he was doing. He shouldn’t be doing this. He would hate himself in the morning. Her apartment was on the bottom floor near the entrance to the complex; she lived only five minutes from the hospital where she worked. He could only hope she was upset about something at her job and not someone in her life. He knocked twice, it felt so odd to knock on her door. When she had lived at the college he had just walked in whenever he pleased. She opened the door, tears soaking her cheeks, dressed in only satin pajamas he didn’t recognize. It made him sick, just a few months ago he had known her whole wardrobe. Now she had a whole new life with some other guy. Some other guy she dressed for and... He couldn’t even think about the two of them together unclothed, he had nightmares about that.

“Oh Maddie...” He murmured taking her slim body into her arms. Holding her felt like slipping on a warm coat on a cold winter nights; comfortable, secure and familiar. She still smelled the same, coconut lime verbena from Bath and Body Works, like a beautiful summer day on the beach. She sobbed into his chest, soaking his t-shirt. “I’m sorry.” She blubbered, “I’m so sorry, I ever made you feel like this. I’m even more sorry I made you come here. I just, I didn’t know who else to call...” He shook his head and held her tighter, “No, don’t worry about that okay? I’m here now, everything’s gonna be okay.” He murmured and stroked her white blonde hair. He glanced around her apartment, he had only been here a few times. He had helped her move in and then visited her a few times before everything fell apart. She had quit school after getting an EMS job. It was a tiny studio apartment, one giant room served as the kitchen, bedroom, living room, it was dimly lit by a small light on above the stove.

Maddie continued to cry and he wondered how long it had been since she had slept, he knew she worked odd hours even though they hadn’t spoken in months. “Let’s sit down okay?” She nodded against him and he led her to the foot of her bed. He sat down beside her and she pressed her face into his neck, he swallowed hard. How many times had they shared this bed? Memories of their time together washed over him making him dizzy. Sitting here holding her like this, it felt like no time had passed at all and they were still together, still in love. A few moments passed by before her tears let up; her small arms were gripping him tight like she might never let him go. He hoped she wouldn’t, he had missed this, missed her. Everything about her was crying out to him and it was all he could to not take her into his arms and love her again. Her arms loosened a little, and she tilted her face and gazed up at him. Her blue eyes bright and red from crying, “Maddie, I...” Before he knew what was happening they were lying on her bed, bodies intertwined. He allowed himself to be pulled in by her. As much as he was going to hurt later, he wanted to savor these precious moments. It was so easy to be with her, to hold and kiss her they way he used to.

~

“I have to go... I have class soon...” He whispered and leaned in to kiss her one last time. “Okay...” Maddie whispered back and sighed sadly. “Westley...” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “This thing...” She waved at her bed and his heart sunk, why did she have to ruin it? Couldn’t she just let him walk on air for a day or at least a few hours? “Yeah... I figured.” He muttered pulling on his clothes. “I really have to go.” He said grabbing his keys and phone from where they had spilled out of his jeans.

“I’ll call you later, okay?” She said giving him a hopeful smile. He wished he could hate her, he should. She had been the one to cheat. She had left him for someone else. She had been the one to leave him high and dry. Then last night, months after not speaking a word to him she had called him, crying because that guy had done the same thing right back to her. He bit back a thousand words, “Sure.”

As he was seated in his parked car the reality of what he had just done sunk in. What was I thinking? He felt so ashamed that he had allowed her to take over like that. Ashamed that he hadn’t been able to control himself and to stop before making a big mistake. He folded his arms on the steering wheel and rested his forehead on them. It was nearly 6AM, he needed to head back to home and he had no alibi for being MIA all night. He could make it to class on time and if he hurried he would be able to bring Starbucks to James and Brooklyn and claim he had been working on a paper. He wished he could talk to one or both of them about this, but he was too ashamed. He didn’t want them to be disappointed in him; they would be understanding of course. He didn’t want them to know how weak and vulnerable he was when it came to Maddie. They knew he wasn’t over her, that much was obvious. He couldn’t believe he had let this happen; all he wanted was to take a shower, burn his clothes and forget this whole night. There wasn’t time for all that and taking one whiff of his shirt, he could smell Maddie. Her scent made him ache and his stomach churned. He had been with Hayley for nearly a month. He had cheated. He had always scoffed and looked down on people who cheated. Even one kiss was cheating, a look could even be considered cheating depending on circumstances. He had cheated whole heartedly. Even if he could tell his friends and they understood, he didn’t want them too. He didn’t understand why should they?
He started his car and headed back home. He wouldn’t tell them, not now, maybe not ever. He would just pretend as if this had never happened, he had pulled an all night for Finals. That was it.