When In Doubt - Freshman Year

Chapter 16

Fuck that shit, he thought to himself. He needed a distraction.

"Yeah, we could grab dinner somewhere, or go see a movie if you want," he suggested. "But only if it's really shitty with a teen girl in a love triangle that seems more important than saving the world from whatever is trying to destroy it or whatever."

Madison chuckled. "Don't forget, one of the guys has to be a brooding werewolf or a brooding vampire."

Jared smacked himself in the forehead. "Dammit, how could I forget?"

Madison smiled. "Well, if you give me an hour or so to get settled back in, I can be back over here so we can head out?"

Jared nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me, see you then."

Madison said goodbye, and Jared couldn't help but notice how her gaze lingered over him once again as she'd backed away towards her side, so he couldn't help but appreciate the saw of her curvy hips as she walked away and went lower to check out her ass as an added bonus.

He'd closed his door and had begun to wonder about the opportunity their interesting little interaction had just created.

This night just might've just become much more interesting... Jared thought to himself as he'd put on a shirt and chinos for later.

Thankfully, the movie they'd decided on wasn't another YA bestseller turned into a movie; they saw a murder mystery thriller with a group of people stranded in a mansion on a hill during a storm. The setting wasn't too original, but Jared always enjoyed a classic whodunnit kind of murder mystery. It was a Tuesday, so the local theater had a student discount and the tickets were only $5 each.

Jared was always surprised at how much he'd enjoyed hanging out with Madison. She put on a hard front when he'd first met her, but as they'd gotten closer at practices and the few times they'd ended up at the same parties, he'd gotten to see she was incredibly smart, driven, and was pretty snappy with those clap backs if anyone annoyed her. She also wasn't afraid to say what no one would, and not a lot of people can handle honesty as much as they think they can.

He'd wondered why she still hung out with those girls, like Mandy more specifically. He may have been a little biased, but Madison didn't seem like the type of girl that would've been friends with a girl like Mandy Reinhardt. They both had such strong personalities; he wasn't surprised to hear from her that the two of them were feuding during the drive from the theater back towards campus.

"We left things unresolved before the break, so I honestly have no idea how things will play out when everyone else gets back," Madison sighed as she'd leaned against the window.

"Well, do you even want to make up with her?"

"I hate leaving anything messy and unfinished, Plus, the girls were my first friends at Stout. I'd hate to screw that up, but she's not making it any easier," Madison paused. "They love to go out as a whole group, and they always get so annoyed with me whenever I can't go with because I have an early practice, or I have too much schoolwork to worry about.

She turned towards him while he drove. "I feel like they're slowly pushing me out of the circle, and I feel like I'm hanging on by a thread without any way to to be able to fix it."

"Have you talked to them about it?"

Madison huffed. "No, they kept secrets from me, they posted that video of me, and made me feel guilty about confronting them, so I don't even know if it's worth it at this point."

Jared felt sympathetic as she'd looked out his window, disappointment and loneliness plain to see in her exression. He didn't know what to say to make her feel any better; he wasn't used to seeing her other than the strong, confident girl he always saw her as. He'd caught a glimpse of the outside streetlights as they'd traveled across her features while he drove, and revealed a tear that had fallen down her cheek.