"Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end." – Joanne Harris
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COLLAGE the place filled with anxious students, deadlines and parties. Penny already was added into five different snapchat group chats that were made for campus/off campus parties; she was raving on about one that was on tonight to initiate the fresh students. Micheal was rolling his eyes at Penny who was jumping up and down in the backseat of the car as we pulled into the campus parking lot. He hated us going to parties, probably because he didn't trust Penny with me. Penny and I drunk usually equaled all sorts of mischief and due to the fact that I am a really bad flirt when i'm hammered. He knew I wouldn't cheat on him either way.
We haul all of our things to our new room, two white single beds and a small ass room was all Penny and I had to work with. Penny took over the decorating and I wasn't going to complain, I put my the covers I took from home on my bed and set up to copy what I had going on at home to make it feel more comfortable and zen. A large window was situated in between our bed heads; a singular white curtain covering it -which Penny took down and replaced with a black out curtain- after a few hours (with help from Micheal) our room resembled something from a Pinterest feed. Fairy lights, fake ivy and candles decorated the room; I set up my small desk that was at the end of my bed and organised everything so it was good to go Monday when we started classes. I bring out my class schedule and show Penny what I had to see if we were together for any.
B.A (English) - Mrs Lachlan
Maths 101 - Mr Gross
Business - Mr Liberban
History - Miss Darling
Physical Education - Mr Price
My main class was English it was something I had always wanted to major in; business was what I chose in honour of my parents and also just wanting to learn what it's like to work in their industry -it will help in the future for whenever I am handed down dad's business or mum's shop/cafe-. Penny's classes seemed to line up with most of mine which we both grinned at each other upon realisation, it made settling in feel so much better. I was making a point to memorise the teachers names, usually they'll end up letting us call them by their first names but I gathered some might not be comfortable to do so.
"Fucking hell," Penny groans from her side of the room, "I forgot my lingerie."
I look over at her as she digs all of her clothes out my face contorts into a confused one wondering why she would be stressing about lingerie when her boyfriends isn't here since he was six years older then us. She groans again and throws a shirt towards me, I lift my hand up and catch it with ease which causes her too look at me. A small frown upon her lip that starts to quiver as I approach her and without question I wrap my arms around her small frame. She sinks into me and begins to weep into my shoulder, her body shaking viciously.
"What's wrong?" I ask her softly rubbing her back, "What happened?" If Josh had hurt her in any way I will kill him.
Between cries she says, "Josh..has..a...wife."
I pull her off of me in rage, "you're kidding!"
She shakes her head; her eyes now red and puffy, "She messaged me last night and told me, I feel so awful. I'm a home-wrecker." She sniffles wiping the back of her hand against her nose, "he seemed so different."
"First off," I furrow my eyebrows at her, "I'm going to break his fucking toes off of his feet and feed them to him, second off you are not a home-wrecker. He is the one who was a pathetic dickhead who cheated on his wife, how were you supposed to know?"
"I called her last night to apologise," she whispers, "she's not even angry at me."
I pull her back into a hug and snuggle into her, "because she knows it's not your fault, he was the one that made the choice to cheat."
"I feel awful either way," she says, "I really liked him Zo."
I sigh as she steps away from me wiping her eyes, "Guess what?"
"What?" she says looking at me with sad eyes, I walk over to her suitcase and begin to pull an outfit together for her; she really wanted to go to the party and I had said no multiple times in the car -mainly because Micheal was getting upset- but I was going to take her now because I know it would put smile on her face.
"We are going to that party tonight," I tell to her as I motion towards the outfit laid on her bed, "You are getting drunk and kissing the hottest guy there."
"Really?" her eyes light up, "Are you sure? Micheal didn't want us to go out."
I wave my hand dismissively, "I don't care, I'm not a child and I sure as hell won't listen to my boyfriends demands."
"Atta girl," she chuckles, "I'm going to need a few hours to fix my face though."
A FEW 'fuck should we do this it's our first day here?' conversations later we ended up going to a frat house that was throwing a welcoming party. It wasn't hard to find the house that was throwing it, the streamers that sprinkled the yard, a few discarded cups and the music that shook the house. On our way in I was certain I saw a used condom stuck in one of the trees and just by that I can already tell this was going to be a good party. Penny had her hand gripped onto my arm as I stop by the front door to send Micheal a quick text letting him know where I was and that I will call in him a couple of hours. When I had told him about the party he rang and said, "I will be calling you and texting you every thirty or so minutes, please answer so I know you are safe." I had him on speaker and Penny's face said 'break up with that clinger'. It was nice to have someone care enough that they wanted me to let them know where I was, it was reassuring but the way he wanted me to keep him up to date felt so suffocating.
We venture into the the house which was unknown territory to us; my eyes scanned for any dude that Penny would be into. I quickly began to spot a few as we walked over to the table of refreshments and poured our drinks. We both stood awkwardly observing the party, most of them were a few years older then us and I swear there were a few thirty year olds here. I feel Pen's hand tug on mine as she motions her head towards a guy who was speaking to a group of girls; he was covered in tattoos; his neck had a large bee placed on it. He was very attractive with short black hair, stretchers in his ears and he was incredibly tall.
"He's so hot," she whisper-shouts into my ear, I snicker shaking my head at her jumping up and down, "he's so much hotter then fucking Josh."
"Go talk to him," I demand her, she quickly finishes her drink and saunters over towards him like a runway model. I watch as she places her hand gently onto his shoulder, he turns and looks down at her with a smile that could make any woman sink to her knees and beg for him to take her. My head tilts as I watch his eyes light up as he scans her face, it made my heart leap as I watch them interact.
I decided to leave the room and tour myself around the place, it was extravagant that's for sure. Tall ceilings, white plastered walls and a huge spiral staircase which I assume lead up into the bedrooms. It seemed to nice to give to a bunch of teenagers who were just going to party every night; I push past a couple as they dry humped each other against the hallway wall.
"Fucking gross," someone mutters behind me, I laugh at the person's reaction and continue out an opened door that led into the large backyard; it was up hill and from what I could see not that far down the back was a small lake that I know connected to a forest near by. My mother went to this collage and spoke highly over the lake that ran around the right side of campus and the houses, she made it sound so magical but now looking at it from this far it was dark and ominous.
It looked as though it housed the most dangerous animals, the dark water with the moon light shining upon it; I gulped shivering at the thought of falling into there. There was only so much I feared in this world, spiders and water; I can swim and I enjoy swimming but when I can't see into the water and not touch the ground I freak out and freeze. I'm not sure what it is about being in the water not being able to see beneath your feet; anything can just come up from the depth and grab you.
The thought of something touching my leg if I stood in that lake made me cringe; I finished the rest of my drink and found a cooler filled with various bottles of alcohol. I made the go for a beer, I walk over to the fire that was located in the middle of the hill and sit on a log. I watch as the flames flicker and dance, moving with the wind whilst the music in the background created a relaxing atmosphere. I sighed happily knowing that my best friend inside was speaking to a guy that looked at her the way he did; Micheal looked at me with so much love and it hurt knowing I couldn't give the same amount of feelings back.
After my phone call with him earlier and the fact I can feel my phone vibrating in my back pocket it made me want to end it. I shouldn't be leading him on in hopes I will love him one day; he deserves better and i'm not the person for him. I groan out loud and pull my phone from my back pocket, twenty missed calls from Micheal. The temptation to send him a text saying, 'never call me ever again please' was there, I couldn't be the person that ends their relationship with someone over text. Before I can put my phone back away Micheal's caller ID makes my phone shine brightly into my eyes, I hesitate before answering it and putting the phone against my ear.
"Babe!" He yells, it sounded as though he was in his car, "Why the fuck haven't you answered, I've been worried."
"I'm literally at a party with loud music," I answer him, "it's hard to hear."
"You could of texted like you said you were going too," he says, "What if something happened to you?"
I sigh, "Nothing is going to happen to me here, I am safe and with Penny."
"HER!" I hear someone yell, I look over towards the back door and see a group of guys standing there looking over at me and the group of people who sat near the fire.
"What was that?" Micheal asks anger seeping through the phone.
"Just a bunch of guys," I reply looking back at the fire, "Micheal I am fine, you don't need to worry abou-." I get cut off by someone wrapping their arms around my waist and picking me up off of the log; the next thing I know I am over someones shoulder screaming. My phone drops from my hand and I am sure Micheal is freaking out now over the noise.
"I'm so sorry about this," the guy underneath me says.
"FUCKING DROP ME!" I scream, we were descending the hill. I couldn't see where he was going but i know it was in the direction of the lake, I started to punch his back, "IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!"
"Jesus calm down," he groans as I land a hard smack to his back, "Fucking hell stop, I just have to put you in the lake. It's a dare."
"Please don't," I whimper, tears falling from my eyes, "Please stop!"
Before he can throw me into the lake I swing my leg out and in kicking him somewhere hard enough he yells out in pain dropping me onto my back; the grass padded some of my fall as my back collides into the ground. I groan out in pain rolling over to see him hunched over holding his balls.
"You. Didn't. Have. To. Do. That."
"You were about to fucking throw me into there," I snap pointing at the lake, "I don't give a fuck if its a dare or not, I am not going into that fucking lake."
He stands up straightening his back, "You are going in there, whether for my dare or not. You just kicked me in the fucking nuts."
My back was still throbbing in pain; I try to stand up; his hand wraps around my ankle and he starts dragging me across the grass. I try to fight back but it's useless, my hands grab onto the grass as he pulls me across it. I tightly close my eyes waiting for the cold water to engulf me; my body was starting to shake from the fear. The tears flow from my eyes when I hear the water rushing two feet from me, his hand drops from my foot and I roll over to get onto my stomach to try and stand up again.
"What the fuc-," the guy's voice was cut off, I look over my shoulder to see the guy had been tackled to the ground and someone was on top of him punching him.
"Hey!" I yell out as the guy hits him harder with every throw, "Stop!"
I wasn't sure why I was defending him but he didn't deserve what was getting thrown at him. I gain the ability to stand up, my back stinging as I walk over to them; my eyes widen to see the guys head was in the water and the man was leaning over him watching the water lap over his face practically water boarding him. I put my hand on the guy's back, in seconds his free hand comes up pressing against my chest and pushing me backwards.
"Stop!" I scream, the guy pauses finally my voice entering his brain; he releases the guy who comes out of the water coughing his lungs up, blood staining his shirt from his beaten face; his nose broken and bruised.
"What the fuck," the guy who had picked me up spits blood out onto the ground; my eyes go to the one who tackles him, his shoulders rising up and down as if he was trying to calm himself. He stands up -still not facing me- and grabs the guy by his shirt picking him up with one hand, he easily towered over the boy who was dared to throw me into the lake.
"If you ever touch her, go near her or even fucking breathe in her direction I will fucking kill you," he threatens, the poor boy nods quickly as the man drops his hand from his shirt, "Forget my face, if I find out you told anyone about me and trust me I will." I can hear the smirk through his words, "You will regret it."
The boy runs away apologising to me as he pushes past my shoulder, I watch as he runs into a crowd of people which I assumed are the guys who put him up to it. I turn back and my heart drops when I meet blueish grey eyes; the same eyes that devoured me a year ago, the same ones that ruined my sex life. I gulp as we both stand staring at each other, the tingle between my legs return at the memory of him pushing me against the shower wall and slamming himself inside me. I blink and look down at my feet remembering what he just did to a poor boy two seconds ago, my shocked expression must have changed pretty quickly because when I looked back up his eyes darkened.
"You didn't have to almost kill him," I snap, "What are you even doing here at a college party?"
"But I didn't," he ignores my question.
"You could of," I tell him deadpanned, "you almost killed someone who is like seven years younger then you."
His brows lower, "he shouldn't of touched you."
I snort as laughter bubbles out of me, "because you know me well enough to just come to my defence the way you did."
"Babe!" I turn around to see Micheal standing at the back door of the house, I roll my eyes at the sight of his frantic behaviour.
He couldn't see us all the way down here in the dark. Penny steps out behind him searching for me as well, before I can turn back to Matt; hands touch my hips and a itchy feeling meets my cheek as he brushes his stubbly cheek against mine. My heart speeds up and the butterflies in my stomach erupt, I stare forward unable to move as I feel his lips graze against my ears.
"I will kill anyone who touches what is mine," his voice came out silky; I wanted to drop to my knees and worship him right here and now. He disappears from behind me and after a minute I spin around and he's gone.
"There you are," I hear Penny, I slowly turn around placing a fake smile on my face. I walk up the hill ignoring the back pain and meet her up the top.
"I found her pho- Zoe!" Micheal yells out pulling me into a tight hug, I wince as he arms hit my back. I put my hands on his back and softly pat him, "What the hell happened."
I pull away and stand next to Penny, "just some guy who got dared to pick me up and take me down to the lake."
"You aren't wet?" Penny questions -oh trust me Penny i am, you just can't see it-.
I grin at her, "kicked him in the nuts, ain't know way i am going in there."
She clicks her tongue, "right your thalassophobia."
"Please no more parties," Micheal begs; his eyes watery as if I had almost died.
Penny goes to speak but I cut her off knowing she would crack at him, "sure no more parties."
Micheal takes a deep breath and smiles at me, I ignore Penny's pointed look and decide not to start any arguments. My brain was yelling at me to break up with him right now but the look in his puppy dog eyes broke my heart; he drove all the way back here to save me. I couldn't do it now, I'll have to wait.
"So you are driving all the way back home now?" Penny asks Micheal, he shakes his head grabbing my hand.
"I was hoping I could sleep over and leave in the morning," he yawns, "Make sure you are okay tomorrow."
Penny's lips thin as she looks at me with wide eyes as if to say 'tell him to fucking leave'; she was once a supporter of Micheal until the phone call before we came here and she realised how overbearing he was, I turn to Micheal, "Sounds good."