The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 1

The cool, March wind whistled through the air and tousled the hair of hundreds of college students as they filed out of buildings. A tall blonde girl ran down the steps of a building. She was still seething from the Philosophy exam she had just taken. It was brutal, and she thought for sure that she would barely get a passing score on it.

“Hold up, Ayden!” a boy called out to her in a moderately deep tone.

The blonde girl turned and her frown immediately transformed into a smile when she saw her best friend following after her. The brown haired boy met her at the bottom of the steps where he stood an inch shorter than her. His indigo eyes looked into her light green ones before he scowled slightly.

“Remind me never to take another Philosophy class again,” the boy said in distaste.

Ayden chuckled and grabbed her friend at the crook of his elbow before they started to walk away down the concrete path.

“Carson,” she said, her voice coming out in her sweet lilt, “You’re a Philosophy major...”

The boy gave her a steely glare, but there was no malice behind it. “I don’t remember asking for your criticism, Ayd.”

Not intimidated at all by Carson’s snark, Ayden laughed once more. Pushing her blonde locks behind her ear so the wind would stop tossing them around, she said, “Okay, whatever. It’s your death wish.”

Carson dropped his act of anger and his bright blue eyes sparkled. He pulled his grey, knit scarf tighter around his neck in an effort to block out the cold. “I just hate midterms. They’re so stressful!”

Ayden gave the boy a look. “But you really know your stuff. I, on the other hand, do not. I don’t know why I let you talk me into taking an upper level Phil class.”

“One,” Carson said matter-of-factly, “you needed the elective, so don’t even. And two, so we could spend more time together, duh.”

Ayden shook her head at her friend’s sarcasm, but she had a smile on her face. “Right. Like we don’t already live together and see each other everyday.”

“Where’s Josiah?” Carson asked, changing the subject. He glanced around as they made their way through the campus. “I thought we were meeting him somewhere.”

Ayden nodded her head. “Yeah, he’s in the library. He got done with his English midterm early and sent me a text saying he’d be there.”

Carson quirked his lips. He picked up his pace until he was almost dragging Ayden along after him. “Good, let’s go. Are we doing anything tonight? I need to do something.”

Ayden was watching her friend curiously as they walked briskly down the sidewalk in the direction of the library. She didn’t like how anxious her best friend sounded. He didn’t usually act so stressed unless there was something going on.

“What’s up with you?” Ayden asked.

Carson shook his head. “Nothing. I just really don’t wanna be alone all night, since we both know you’ll be staying at Josiah’s tonight.”

The blonde eyed him. “Hey, I don’t sleep at his place that often. I’m your roommate, Carson. You’re my best friend.”

Carson smiled fondly at his friend. He loved Ayden precisely for this reason. Yeah, she had a gorgeous boyfriend who was nearly perfect, but she still had time for her best friend of nearly a decade. And the three of them hung out all the time without it being weird. Carson was technically a third wheel to their relationship--except for when he had his own boyfriend--but he never felt like it was a bad thing.