College - Chapter 10

After the party had been going on for a while, Jake realized he had forgotten to bring an extra pack of cigarettes. He groaned and made himself stand up.
Jake wondered around campus for a while before walking to the building where the dorms were. 
He walked down the halls of the building until he found his room. Jake put his key in the locked door and turned it.
He casually pushed open the door, but what he saw almost caused the cigarette in his mouth to drop onto the floor.
Geoffry was sitting on Chris' bed, with Chris in his lap. Chris' arms were around Geoffry's neck and they were making out. The boys took absolutely no notice of Jake and were far less traumatized.
Jake stared at them, mouth hanging open, for a while, and decided that he didn't need his pack of cigarettes quite as bad as he had thought.
Jake slowly closed the door, feeling mentally scarred. Without a word, he went back to his roommate's high school reunion, in which his roommate was inconveniently missing.

Chris had been out of sight for quite a while now and I was starting to get worried. I asked Alice if she had seen 'her boyfriend' and she said she hadn't.
Just then, Jake came into the room. A guy who was wearing a Super Man t-shirt and glasses was with him. 

Feeling a bit intimidated by Jake, I walked up to him and said, "Jake?"
"What?" Jake said, seeming to be dazed and slightly caught off guard. He was probably drunk.
"Um..." I said nervously, "Have you seen my brother?"
Jake stared at me blankly. Yep, drunk. I didn't notice at first because he always smells like alcohol.
"Have you seen Chris?" I said slowly, "Your roommate? My brother?"
Jake swallowed and I could've sworn his pale face got slightly more pale.
"I, uh...." He said, "Yeah. He's in 'is room."
This guy was clearly hammered and no fun to talk to. I wished I could tell him to go take a nap, but I didn't want to get punched in the face and this guy was clearly capable of doing so.

The guy with glasses nodded and said, "Well, well, Jake. You know this young lady?"

Jake cocked his head and squinted at me stupidly, "Uh, she's my roommate's sister."

"I'm Angela." I said, holding out my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Angela." Said Jake's friend, shaking my hand, "I'm Brent, Jake's babysitter."

Jake punched Brent in the shoulder and Brent said half-heartedly, "Oh, I meant friend. I'm his friend."

Brent seemed much friendlier than Jake.

I smiled tightly and said, "Yeah, I should probably go look for my brother now."

Jake and Brent both looked uncomfortable.

"Is something wrong?" I said.

Brent cleared his throat and said, smiling tightly, "Uh, no. Nothing's wrong, it's just...."

Just then, Leo, Alice, Ayumi, and Mouse walked over to us.
Alice studied our expressions and said, "Is something wrong, Angie?"
I shook my head and smiled tightly, "No. Everything's fine. Oh, uh, this is Brent."

Brent smiled politely and Leo scowled at him.Daniel, who I remember as the captain of the football team, came over to us. He whistled at Mouse and she snarled at him. 
Not wanting to feel like he'd failed, Daniel turned his attention to me and grinned crookedly, "Hey, Angela. You sure have grown up. You're one good lookin' thing, aren't you?"
I smiled tightly and Leo scowled at Daniel.
Daniel snorted and said, "Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. You're with him?" 
He gestured to Leo and I blushed. I said, "Um, well, not...."
Back in high school, this is where Leo would've put his arm around me and earned a punch in the face in return.
Leo smirked and Daniel looked disturbed.
"So," Daniel said, "Is your little bro here, Angela?"

I shook my head, "I don't even know. He was here for a while, but he's been acting weird ever since Geoffry...."

Jake and Brent exchanged a nervous glance.I scowled when I put the pieces together. I almost swore, but that would be unladylike.
I got up and started to walk away.
"Angie-sama?" Ayumi said, "Where are you going?"
Without turning around, I said through clenched teeth, "Taking care of my brother. BRB."
Screw not hating Geoffry.


I stormed out of the room and jogged to the building where Chris and Jake's dorm was. Luckily, I had swiped a key from Chris a while ago, so I could get in if he said something stupid and Jake hurt him.
I ran down the hall and opened the door as fast as I could. I shoved the door open so quickly that it banged against the wall.
Sure enough, Chris and Geoffry were sitting on Chris' bed, making out. Geoffry had his arms around Chris' waist and Chris' shirt was half un-buttoned, which kind of surprised me.
Startled by the loud sound of the door hitting the wall, they both whirled to face me and the blood drained from there faces.
I smirked, wishing I had a camera. If only Chris and Geoffry could see the look on their faces; They looked like they had seen a ghost.
I chuckled to myself and, without a word, closed the door.
As I walked back to the party, I grinned to myself, proud to have succeeded in my mission.

I went back to my high school reunion party and sat down with my friends.
Leo studied my cheeky grin and said, "What's up?"
I shook my head.


"Nothing."

College - Chapter 9

Chris' jaw dropped and he made a gaspy-squeaky sort of sound. He drew his hands up to his face to cover up his flushed cheeks.
"Oh.... My.... God...." He said, eyes wide.
I said loudly, "Well, I may be stupid, but at least I'm not a stupid hypocrite."
I guess I was pretty surprised to see Geoffry, too. After our senior year, Geoffry, his mom, and his sister moved back to England. I never thought we would see him again.
Geoffry noticed us and his eyes lit up. He flashed us a breath-taking smile, accomplishing its goal of easily taking Chris' breath away.
Chris blushed deeper and grabbed my sleeve. Ah, just like old times.
Geoffry came over to us and smiled again. He said with his charming British accent, "Hi, Chris! It's been forever!"
Chris hugged him and sighed. 
They stood, hugging tightly, for a minute and Chris said, "Don't ever go back to England."
Geoffry laughed, "You are adorable."
Chris blushed and said, "I can't believe you're here."
Geoffry smiled another winning smile, "I flew here for this event, hoping to find some people that I remembered. Well, my day just got better. It's wonderful to see you again, Chris."
Chris' breath shorted out and he nodded, "You too...."
Geoffry's cheeks turned slightly pink and he smiled gently. 
He turned his attention to me and smiled, extending his hand.
I didn't know how to react. Should I hate him? Should I forget about what he did to my brother? Chris definitely seemed to be forgetting it.
I could see the slightest hint of hesitation in Geoffry's eyes, but it was barely there. It looked like he was ready to start a clean slate. I decided that my brother was probably lovestruck again and that hating the love of his life wouldn't help anything.
I silently smiled back and shook Geoffry's hand. He smiled politely and turned back to Chris.
When Chris saw that Geoffry's eyes were on him again, he sighed dreamily.
"Hi," Chris said cheesily.
"Hi," Geoffry said, beaming at him.
I didn't know whether to leave or not, but someone else came through the door, making up my mind for me.
A gorgeous girl (Why is everyone so attractive now?) with feathery dark brown hair that came down to her chin and big brown eyes stood in the doorway, looking around the room, a bit awkwardly.
The woman looked very familiar, but I had no idea who she was.
Leo came back over to us with Alice, Ayumi, and Jake.
Leo and Jake's jaws dropped and Leo said, "Who's she?"
I shook my head. Chris and I said at the same time, "I don't know."
Leo didn't even notice Geoffry, his eyes were on the girl, which was kind of pissing me off.
The girl spotted us and grinned. She came over to us and I exchanged a confused glance with Alice.
The girl then spoke to me, "Hey, Angie!"
Her voice was slightly husky and very familiar.
I gave her a 'do I know you' look and she said, "Ange, it's me."
Chris and I looked at each other and the girl said, "Mouse."
I tried not to look shocked, but my cover was pretty much blown by my comment.
"Mouse?" 
Mouse nodded, "Yes, Angie. Is something wrong?"
Leo's mouth was hanging open and he looked like he was about to throw up. 
Jake was checking Mouse out and she gave him a 'piss off' look.
Geoffry looked surprised and Chris looked unbearably calm.
Mouse turned her attention to Chris and he swallowed, trying not to look nervous. Leo, Alice, and I eyed them curiously.
Mouse walked up to Chris and pursed her lips. Chris swallowed again, but managed to not look entirely like he was going to wet himself.
Chris gritted his teeth nervously and tried to start a conversation, "Oh, Mouse, um... This is Ayumi, Angie's roommate, and this is Jake, my roommate."
Mouse eyed Jake then looked back at Chris. She said casually, gesturing to Jake, "So, Chris, is he your new boy toy?"
Chris's face flushed and his eyes widened. Mouse smirked slightly and, not willing to satisfy her, Chris laughed a loud, annoyingly fake laugh.
"I'm sorry, Mouse, I think you're mistaken." He said, putting his arm around Alice's waist, "Alice and I are together now."
Alice nodded stupidly and they both grinned.
Leo's jaw dropped and he gestured to Chris and Alice, "Wait, wait.... You two? Seriously?"
Chris nodded and said tightly, "Yes, Leo, we've been together for a while now. If you had been in touch, then you would've known."
He laughed another loud, stupid laugh and Alice joined him. Their chortling was kind of creepy, actually.
Mouse obviously didn't believe him, Jake eyed Chris and Alice suspiciously, Leo looked like he was mentally disturbed, and Ayumi was gritted her teeth, muttering something in 'Japanese', and glaring at Chris and Alice. Hmm....
I nodded and said, "Well, this has been nice."
Everyone nodded and Chris removed his arm from Alice's waist. She nodded awkwardly and, having nothing better to do, they both looked randomly around the room.
Jake wondered away from us, Alice and Mouse started talking (with Ayumi hanging around by them), Chris wondered off somewhere else, and I sat down with Leo.
"So," Leo said, "Is, uh, is Chris still on the down low?"
I tried not too roll my eyes. Maybe he wasn't that different from high school Leo. "What do you think?"
Leo shrugged and said defensively, "Sorry, he said he was dating Alice."
"No, no, it's fine." I said, "For some stupid reason, he told Jake that he was dating her. I don't know why."
Leo chuckled, "Weird."
I nodded, "Yeah, I know."
Leo looked at me and smiled, "You know, uh..."
"What?" I said anxiously.
Leo shook his head, "I was gonna say that you look really good, but I thought you would hit me if I did that."
I blushed and almsot laughed, "I wouldn't do that!"
Leo blushed too and smiled crookedly, "Cool."
I smiled, hating myself for being so easily entertained by this conversation. Chris was probably right that I was being completely ridiculous for liking Leo that way. Did I?

College - Chapter 8

Chris, Ayumi, Alice, Jake, and I were heading to our high school reunion, which was in a building that was on our college campus, not far from the dorms.
We got there and I looked around awkwardly. No one I knew well was there except for the people I had come with. Most of the people in the room were people that I remember as "The Jocks" and "The Cheerleaders", a.k.a. "The Kids Who Ruined High School For My Brother".
Jake whistled to one of the women. Gwen was her name, I think.
The girl smiled back at him and I thought, Wow, what Leo would've done to get a positive response from a girl back in high school.
I thought about Leo and almost missed him; I hadn't seen the bugger in a long time.
Just then, as if on cue, a tall guy with dark hair and dark brown eyes came into the room.
My jaw dropped and I felt my cheeks flush. I involuntarily grinned and Chris eyed me. 
He followed my gaze and his jaw dropped too, but in a different sort of way.
"Angie," Chris whispered, "That's Leo."
I nodded and said stupidly, "Yeah, it is."
Chris looked back and forth from me to Leo and hissed, "Are you crazy? Don't fall for that pig! Remember, he's the kid who always looked up girls' skirts in grade school!"
I nodded, not listening to my brother at all.
Then, Leo looked at us and beamed. 
I smiled and Chris eyed Leo, looking uncomfortable.
Leo came over to us, a huge grin on his face, "Hey, Angela! I haven't seen you in ages!"
He hugged me and I laughed. We both sighed and Chris and Alice exchanged a look.
Leo pulled away and put his hands on my shoulders, "Look at you! I can't believe how long it's been!"
"I know!" I said, "It's been, like, forever."
Leo smiled and we stared at each other for a while.
Chris and Alice looked at each other again and Chris cleared his throat.
Leo looked at him and didn't say anything. They stood in awkwardness for a bit and Chris held out his hand. 
Leo shook it and both of them looked extremely uncomfortable.
Leo then gave Alice a hug, and everyone was quiet for a while.
"So," Chris said, breaking the silence, "How has, uh.... How has Mouse been, Leo? Have you spoken to her much?"
Leo shook his head, "I don't know, I haven't seen her in a while. I doubt she even went to college."
There was yet another awkward silence, so Chris acted like Chris and said, "Oh, how rude of me! I'm sorry, this is Jake and this is Ayumi-chan. Jake, Ayumi, this is Leo. He was a friend of ours in high school."
Ayumi beamed, "Konichiwa, Leo-kun! Ikaga desu ka?"
Leo gave me a predictable 'what is she talking about' look and I shrugged. He smiled tightly and turned his attention to Jake.
They shook hands and yet another silence fell over us.
"Oh, Alice," Ayumi said, "Did you try the sandwiches at the refreshment table there? They're really good."
Alice shook her head, "No, I didn't."
Ayumi put her arm around Alice's shoulder and the other on her arm and said, "Okay, let me show you then."
Alice flinched when Ayumi touched her. I guess she still was a bit uncomfortable with that.
I eyed Ayumi as she showed Alice to the table.
Chris tapped my shoulder and said politely, "Excuse me, but if you two don't mind, I would like to have a word with my sister."
Jake and Leo nodded and wondered off.
Chris turned to me and said firmly, "Angela,"
Oh great.
"Okay, maybe you see a different person in Leo than I do," Chris said, "But don't be distracted by his good looks. He's a pig and you know it!"
"But," I said, "Maybe he's different now! Maybe he's changed!"
Chris shook his head, "Don't be so shallow, Angie. You're being very stupid right now."
I crossed my arms and opened my mouth to say something, but someone came into the room and got my attention.
A medium-tall figure with sparkling eyes,  blonde hair, and a gorgeous smile stood in the doorway. 


Geoffry Canning.

College - Chapter 7

Over break, our school didn't boot us out like some do and we got to stay in our dorms. Alice stayed Ayumi and I. Ayumi has been acting really weird lately. Like, more than usual....
I led Alice down the hall to my dorm and opened the door. Ayumi was, predictably, at her computer, watching anime. Yuri anime.
"Hey, Ayumi." I said.
Ayumi turned around, looking a bit surprised, "Oh, konichiwa."
Ayumi watched as I rolled out an air mattress so Alice could sleep in my bed. She watched as Alice climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep.
Ayumi smiled and hesitantly went back to her anime.
I sat up, "What was that?"
Ayumi turned around, "What do you mean?"
I eyed her and said, lying back down, "Never mind, 'Night."
Ayumi nodded and turned back to her computer.

College - Chapter 6

Alice was arriving today. I didn't understand why Chris was so nervous. They were, like, best friends!
Chris, Ayumi, and Jake were waiting to greet Alice and I. I had offered to pick Alice up at the airport. We had cheesily greeted each other with, "Oh my god, you cut your hair!" "Oh, my goodness, you're so tall!" "You curled it too, didn't you?" "Yes, thank you for noticing." "HI!!!"


Chris waved nervously and Alice's face lit up.
"Chris!" She beamed, running up to him and hugging him. 
Chris hugged her back and grinned, "Hi! I haven't seen you in forever!"
At least he was happy to see her.
They started babbling and I noticed that Ayumi was staring at Chris in a really not-Ayumi-like way. Crap.
When Chris and Alice broke apart, Chris kept his arm around her waist, catching her a bit by surprise. She glanced at him like he was crazy.
No one said anything for a while and Jake watched them expectantly.
"What?" Chris said nervously.
Jake gestured to Alice, "Aren't you gonna kiss her?"
Alice and I stared at Chris and he laughed nervously. What the heck was going on?
"Chris, what is he-" Alice started to say. Chris cut her off and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Alice looked more confused than anyone I've ever seen, I swear.
Jake rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Figures."
"Chris," Alice said, "Why did you do tha-"
"Oh, I guess boyfriends and girlfriends do things a bit differently where you're from, eh?" Chris said nervously, patting Alice's shoulder.
It took all my power not to throw my head in my hands when I realized what was going on. Well, they wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. Both Alice and Chris are terrible at lying.
Alice picked up on what was happening and nodded, "Yes, boyfriends and girlfriends do things differently where I'm from."
Chris smiled with relief and Alice went on, "Chris and I have been together for a while. Yes, we have known each other for a while too. We're in a relationship now and-"
Chris squeezed her shoulder and he said, "That's wonderful, Honey."
Alice nodded and mouthed, "We're together."
I rolled my eyes. Why is everyone I know terrible at lying? Well, I guess I don't know about Ayumi.
Ayumi kept sneaking glances at Chris and smiling. Weird, she had never shown any signs of having a crush on him before. I guess I had figured that she was too sucked into her own little world to date.... Maybe not.
"So," Chris said to Ayumi and Jake, quickly trying to start a different topic, "Would you two like to come with us to our high school reunion this weekend?"
"Sure. Yes. Hai." Ayumi said instantly.
All of us eyed her and she mumbled something in fake Japanese.
Jake shrugged, "Will there be girls?"
Chris was about to say something, but suddenly, all the color drained from his face.
Alice eyed him and said, "Chris, are you okay?"
Chris swallowed and nodded, "Yes and yes."
Jake smirked and shrugged again.
"Well," I said, "Jake can meet Leo if he comes."
It then occurred to me how long it had been since we had seen Leo. I almost.... Missed him.
Out of nowhere, Ayumi grabbed Alice's wrist and said, "Oh my gosh, strike of genius! I have the perfect cosplay for you!"
"Cosplay?" Alice said as Chris pulled Ayumi's hand away from her wrist.
"I'm sure Alice isn't interested. Arigato, Ayumi-chan." Chris said, putting his arm around Alice again.
Alice sighed, probably completely lost.
Ayumi shook her head, "No, really. It's perfect! Look at her hair and her.... She's perfect! I'm talking about the Mikuru Asihina cosplay!"
Chris and I exchanged a glance. For once, we both knew what she was talking about.
Chris blushed and I said, "The bunny one? You mean the red leotard and th-"
"Shh!" Ayumi said, smiling cheesily at Alice, "Yeah, it will be perfect."
"Um, no, thank you." Alice said politely, "Not really my thing."
Ayumi looked a bit disappointed and said, "Are you guys all going to your high school reunion thing?"
We nodded and Ayumi grinned. Skipping away, she called, "Jya na!"




Whatever that meant, if anything.

 The costume that Ayumi told Alice would be perfect for her.

College - Chapter 5

Chris sat on the torn up smoky-smelling couch in his dorm, on the opposite end as Jake.
"So," Jake said, lighting his millionth cigarette, "You have a girlfriend?"
Chris thought about how to answer. He decided that telling Jake that he wasn't interested in girls wasn't the best way to make friends and that it would be better to play it safe.
"Yes..." He said slowly.
"What's her name?" Jake said, not sounding like he believed Chris.
Without thinking, Chris said the first name that came to his mind; the name of his best friend, "Alice. H-her name is Alice."
Jake eyed him and said, "Is she pretty?"
Okay, Chris, Chris thought, Try to sound natural. Sound like a normal perverted college student.
"Heck yes!" He said, "She's beautiful!"
Jake raised an eyebrow at Chris and Chris said, "I mean, she's hot. She's really hot."
"What's she like?" Jake asked, seeming to test if Chris was lying or not.
"She has strawberry-blonde hair," Chris said, "And brown eyes. She's about the same height as me and she... Cleans a lot...."
Jake gave him a what's-wrong-with-you look and said, "Yeah?"
Chris nodded and Jake turned on the T.V.
After sitting in awkward silence for a few minutes, Chris sat down at his desk and started reading.




At about seven last night, I called Chris.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Chris." I said, "Sorry to bother you."
"It's fine." He said.
"Um, I'm sorry I was so rude to you and Ayumi yesterday. I was kind of a jerk."
There was silence on the other line for a bit and Chris said, "Thank you for apologizing."
I nodded, "Hey, Chris. Alice called me a few minutes ago."
Chris was quiet again for a second and he said, "Really?"
"Yeah," I said, "She's coming here over break. Isn't that awesome? Also, she's coming to the high school reunion."
Chris's breath shorted out and he didn't say anything/
"Chris?" I said cautiously, "Are you okay? I just told you that our best friend is coming to visit us."
"Uh, yeah, that's great!" Chris said, but he still sounded nervous.
I nodded again and Chris said, "When is she coming again?"
"Monday."
"M-Monday?" Chris said, "This Monday?"
"Yes!" I said, "What's wrong? You're killing me!"
"Nothing's wrong!" Chris said, hanging up the phone.
Sure, nothing was wrong. I didn't know what was wrong, but definitely something. Something was wrong.




Chris hung up the phone and Jake said, "What's wrong with you?"
Chris sat back in his chair, 




"My girlfriend is coming to visit."