Heather
As she'd stared back and forth between a smug Mandy Reinhardt and an absolutely shook Jared Mikaelson, Heather couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Oh...wow, that's...uh, that's quite a coincidence."
At that point, Brayden had thankfully got their game going again, so the small crowd that'd almost formed around them had dispersed, and Jared looked anywhere but into anyone's eyes. Heather couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.
"Well, just so you know, we're not looking for any drama here," Heather had cut in. "We're just here for some volleyball, so if you want to join in, feel free. Jared, what do you say?"
"I'm here to play some volleyball," Jared had nodded, and some of his confidence had returned; it always helped when someone knew they had people in their corner. He'd patted Heather on her shoulder as he'd jogged away.
Heather regarded the girls again: Lindsay had looked uncomfortable, Ali had looked slightly impressed, and Madison stared at Mandy to see what she'd say.
"We're only here to play some games, that's all," Mandy shrugged. She'd walked past Heather to go join the others on the court, and Heather had definitely noticed the daggers Mandy flashed her way.
"Yep, playing games alright," Heather muttered under her breath.
Lindsay smiled as she'd stepped forward. "Thanks for letting us join, Heather! Looks like fun."
"Glad to have you here, Lindsay, I'm sorry I didn't invite you girls earlier."
"Oh, NBD. We're all here now, that's all that matters."
Heather had taken note of how Lindsay had gone straight to Mandy's side as she'd walked onto the court; she'd seemed to have found a new leader to follow. Heather also noticed Jared had made sure to stay as far away from them as possible.
Heather turned back towards Madison and Ali, who'd both grinned at her.
"You know Heather, you're alright," Ali commented. "I'm surprised you'd go right to that guy's defense. He seems like a total douche, but Mandy's a bitch too, and I had no idea this would turn into some power play."
"Seriously, I'm sure Mandy's not used to having people stand up to her too much," Madison added.
Heather had to agree with Madison; Being able to knock Mandy down a peg had felt rewarding. "Well it's no big deal, I just don't want any drama on our second day here."
Heather had to watch what she'd said around the girls. Out of all four of them, Ali had seemed like the most genuine, but she was still Lindsay's best friend, and Heather had to assume the worst. She'd known how girls like them operated, and those two could've just been doing recon for all Heather had known.
"Well, if you want, there's that movie on campus they're playing tonight on the quad if you wanted to join us?" Ali inquired. "I know Mandy will be there, but you seem cool, and I know I'd love it if you'd joined us."
Was that actually sincere?... Heather had to admit that Ali had been the hardest to get a read on; she was just so different compared to the other girls. She'd had the whole "tough girl with leather, denim, and fishnets who smoked under the bleachers after school" vibe. Again, how was she Lindsay's best friend? Girls like Ali usually hated girls like Lindsay.
Heather smiled through her many questions. "I'll have to think about it, but thanks for the invite."
Madison
She'd forgot how much she'd loved playing volleyball.
Madison had played during her freshman and sophomore years of high school during the off-season for track, and had absolutely loved it. The power she'd felt whenever she'd struck the ball, the rush of a spike whenever it had been perfectly set up; it was one of her favorite pastimes. Unfortunately, Madison had been forced to put it aside because the workouts conflicted with her track training, plus all her other extracurriculars for her college applications.
After a few engaging rounds, more and more people from all around had casually joined in, with plenty of people switching in and out throughout. Mandy and Lindsay had left after about a half-hour, and Madison had noticed blond guy who was apparently Mandy's ex, Jared, visibly relax as he'd watched them walk back inside HKMC.
Looking him over, Jared was totally a guy who Madison could've pictured Mandy being with. They did make a stunning couple; the big man on campus and the ice queen, the stereotypical prom king and queen pushed together by the rules of high school and its social expectations.
Eden and her group had gotten up from their picnic table nearby, and had probably decided to leave before they'd gotten completely shit faced, and Madison expected to find her passed out in her bed later. They hadn't been subtle about drinking at all, thankfully no RA's came out and caught them.
More people had left, so the game was officially over.
Ali jogged over to Madison, and flipped her long bob of blonde hair out of her eyes. "Damn girl, you were crazy back there!"
Madison grinned. "I used to play back home, so I know a thing or two."
"I'd say more than a thing or two," Ali eyed her up and down in appreciation. "I'm going to go take a shower and probably a quick nap. I forgot how out of shape I am, and should not have pigged out on that bag of Dill chips. See you later at that movie?"
"Of course, I'll come find you then."
Ali glanced back at Heather, who'd once again seemed to be getting chummy with Jared and Brayden again, and leaned in closer towards Madison. "So, what do you think of her? She seems cool, right?"
"I don't know...she obviously wants nothing to do with us if you couldn't tell," Madison crossed her arms.
"I know, and it's kind of a bummer," Ali shrugged. "We're not horrible people." She'd seemed surprisingly disappointed, but Madison had been pretty quick to get over it. If the girl wanted to be a bitch towards them, then Madison figured she would gladly let her be on her way. Why continue to try and befriend someone when they'd made it incredibly clear they'd wanted nothing to do with them?
"Exactly! we've literally done nothing wrong to her since we'd gotten here," Madison rolled her eyes. "She's not worth the drama."
"Oh c'mon, even you can admit she seems cool," Ali chuckled. "She just obviously hates Mandy. Can't say I blame her, but she's my roommate, and you know the whole 'don't shit where you sleep' saying. I say go ask her if she wants to join us just one more time, and maybe she'll cave?"
To Madison's irritation, Ali had sauntered off, leaving her all alone to go and try with Heather once again, who'd still talked to those guys. After a huff, smoothing out her hair, and pasting on a dazzling smile, Madison waltzed over towards them.
"Hey guys, good game out there, it was super fun," she'd greeted. "Damn Heather, you've got an arm, girl! Did you play back home too?"
Heather eyes had slightly narrowed, but she'd kept her smile. "Thanks Madison, I actually did play varsity. I'm guessing you did too, that spike of your was lethal."
"Thank you," Madison turned at the two guys. "Hey guys, I'm Madison."
Brayden was the first to flash a dazzling, pearly white smile and offer his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Madison. I'm Brayden, and this is my roommate, Jared."
Madison smiled back when she'd noticed Jared's eyes soak her up in appreciation. "Well hello there, Jared," she'd gave her hair a flirty flip behind her shoulder. "I'm sorry about that little scene back there with Mandy."
Jared shrugged. "It's all good, I guess, it's not like it's your fault. What are the odds that she'd wind up here at the same school?"
Madison frowned. "She'd never told you she was coming here when you were together?"
"Nope, she'd told me she'd been accepted to other schools, but never Stout," Jared rolled his eyes. "That's Mandy, though... always for the dramatics."
"Even knowing her for about twenty-four hours, I'd have to say I agree," Madison admitted with a small chuckle. She'd wondered if she should ask him about her at some point, get a feel for her new friend and what she'd been like whenever they were together. Did she open up to him and show a side no one else saw, or was the relationship all just for show?
"I get a bad vibe from her, and I know she doesn't like me," Heather added.
"I don't know, maybe you just need to give her a second chance?" Madison suggested. "I know the four of us plan to go to that movie tonight on the quad, maybe we can all go together and start over?"
Heather seemed unsure, so Madison continued. "Ali and I were talking, and we'd still really like it if you'd join us, if you want of course."
"That's actually sweet, and I do like you guys, even Lindsay too, but I just promised these guys that I'd go with them to the movie," Heather winced. "Sorry about that."
Madison had pretended to noticed Brayden's uncomfortable expression, but had felt the slight sting of rejection.
"No problem, I'm sure we'll see y'all there," Madison had kept up her pasted smile. "It was great meeting you guys."
Madison had walked away before Heather, Brayden or Jared could've gotten another word in. As soon as she'd turned away, Madison's smile had dropped, and she'd fumed. Rejection was always a personal trigger for her; even when people had said no to her door to door fundraising for volleyball had split her chest open and spiked her anxiety.
To Madison, any sort of bridge with Heather had been burned; she'd already had enough blonde in her life anyways.
Jared
It hadn't been easy dating Mandy Reinhardt over the years. Despite a few social perks, she'd been a controlling bitch with no heart whatsoever, and had enjoyed playing mind games with people around her; using fear as a tactic to boost her status.
Jared thought back to the day she'd broken up with him the day of their graduation so she could go into college single, and wondered if she'd simply forgotten that he'd enrolled at Stout too. Knowing how vain and shallow she could be, Mandy had probably never really paid attention to his plans; they'd never really talked about it all that much anyways.
Then again, their relationship hadn't actually involved a whole lot of actual talking, just pure unadulterated physical pleasure...and even Jared could at admit his regret in all that.
Later that evening, the quad in-between all the freshman dorms had put blown up a gigantic, inflatable projection screen. It'd been absolutely packed to the max with groups all bundled together on blankets laid down in the grass, while others had brought out lawn chairs or sat at any of the blue metal picnic tables spread throughout the grounds.
Jared turned towards those he'd arrived with: Brayden and Heather, who'd been animatedly talking about some of their favorite movies; he'd said Saving Private Ryan while hers had been Mean Girls.
"Yeah, it's not super amazing, but it's actually my comfort movie," Heather had admitted. "Like, whenever I'm feeling down or upset about something, I'd turn it on and it makes me laugh everytime."
"My girlfriend and I watch that all the time," Brayden smiled. "I'll admit, it's one of the better chick flicks."
Jared had tried not to roll his eyes.
Couples...
"Oh, I'd told my boyfriend he was required to watch it at least once a week with me if he wanted to date me," Heather said.
So, Heather had a boyfriend...well there goes of hooking up with her then.
Jared had hated how disappointed he'd been in learning that tidbit. He shouldn't have been surprised: girls like Heather were hardly ever single. They were easy going around guys and smoking hot; they'd usually gotten swooped up by some lucky sonofabitch who'd just said the right thing at the right time.
Never one to chase after someone else's girl, Jared had tried to move on by looking around for someone else. After not even five minutes, he'd made eye contact with some girl who'd had extremely unnaturally black hair, but she'd given him an inviting, seductive look that'd urged him over. Eyeing her tan legs wrapped in a tight miniskirt and strapless top, Jared's interest had immediately piqued.
He was actually proud of himself at how quick that'd been.
"Hey guys, if you need me, I'll be over there, I'll be back in a sec," Jared had never even glanced back at Heather nor Brayden as he'd walked away.
Some overeager guy in his thirties had stood up at the projection screen and had hyped everyone up with his voice through a megaphone, and the movie had begun. Whoever was in charge had decided on 21 Jump Street, and yes, the Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill version.
Jared and the girl only had eyes for each other as he got closer. Nothing else had mattered at that moment to either of them.
"So, I couldn't help but notice you couldn't keep your eyes off me for some time," Jared grinned, his voice a low, sexy rumble, and he'd rested his hands on his hips to show off his broad shoulders through his tank top.
"Well, when someone looks as good as you do, it's hard to look away," the girl replied with the flip of her hair. "my name's Meaghan, and you are?"
"Jared, and quite honestly, I just remembered how I don't actually like crowds like this," he'd glanced around. "Sometimes it's just overwhelming, you know?" He'd began to play with a couple locks of her hair that had fallen back across her face, and she'd moved closer.
"Oh god, I totally know what you mean," Meaghan latched onto his arm. "Plus, I've seen this movie already. Maybe we should ditch?" Using her free hand, Meaghan had started to run a finger down his chest, and Jared beamed down at her.
"I think that sounds like a great idea, let's go back to your place?"
Meaghan took his hand. "Let me lead the way."
Jared had just happened to see Mandy's little group as he'd walked by, and couldn't resist throwing Mandy a little wink while she'd thrown her death glare in his direction.
Meaghan had lead him over to one of the other freshman dorms, CKTO. Luckily, her room had been on the first floor, and just before she'd unlocked her door, she'd looked around, as if making sure no one had seen them.
Her room was empty, so as soon as the door shut, Meaghan had quickly shoved Jared against it, and had started to attack him. Their mouths had fused together, and both their hands had already begun exploring each other underneath articles of clothing.
Hell fucking yeah!
He was incredibly turned on, but Jared was also a little surprised at how fast things had progressed. All thoughts dashed from his mind as Meaghan's tongue had clashed with his; Jared wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
Jared had begun to take control; he'd flipped them around so her back rested against her door, and he'd continued running his hands all up and down her body while hers rushed through his hair, making loud moaning sounds to urge him on. Jared picked her up to wrap her legs around his waist, and effortlessly carried her across the room to throw them both down onto the small black couch underneath one of the lofted beds.
Meaghan's fingers continued to slide underneath his tank, and their experienced tough had caused a small moan of pleasure out of Jared's mouth. Soon his shirt, and other clothes of theirs, had begun to fly off and land all over her floor.
The only thought Jared had while he'd wrapped himself up with a condom that had magically appeared in his hands was how cool it'd been at how he'd snagged two chicks on only his second day at college.
Madison
"Oh my god, do you think they'll actually get tired of talking so much?"
Ali and Madison had looked over at Mandy and Lindsay, who'd been taking the same selfies at least twenty-three times until they could've picked one perfect to post on Instagram or Snapchat. Madison had tried to ignore them, but they hadn't stopped talking ever since 21 Jump Street had started.
Ali had a point though, the two of them were getting annoying...Real Fast.
Madison had wondered if Mandy noticed when Jared had walked by earlier holding hands with some girl. As they'd gotten ready for the movie together, Mandy had explained how she'd broken up with him at the beginning of the summer because it'd became obvious he'd just used her for popularity, and hadn't actually cared about her. She'd also mentioned how he'd constantly flirt with other girls just to make her jealous, would ignore her texts, and had been certain he'd cheated on her too. As for knowing if they'd end up at the same college together, Mandy had told them he'd mentioned going to the east coast once, so she had been just as surprised he'd wound up in small town, Wisconsin USA to enroll in the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
After she'd heard all that, Madison had decidedly written Jared off as just another womanizing douchebag who'd used his pretty face to get away with everything, and hadn't been worth her time.
Their conversation had turned to Heather Gracie, who'd stood with Brayden and one other guy from the volleyball game earlier. He'd had an average height, had nondescript short brown hair and eyes with a slight beard and wore cargo shorts. Madison had tried to remember his name. He'd introduced himself back on the court, but Madison had forgotten his name after only five minutes of meeting him.
"I don't get what her deal is," Mandy scoffed. "I mean, we've been nothing but nice to her, and she gives us the cold shoulder."
"I'm sure there's a good reason," Lindsay pouted. "Heather seems nice enough when we're in our room together."
Lindsay had looked like she'd wanted to say more, but also hadn't wanted to be witnessed bashing her roommate.
"I dig her vibe, maybe she's just a girl who doesn't get along with other girls," Ali shrugged. "Madison, you talked to her, right? What do you think?"
Madison crossed her arms. "She said she was going with Jared and his roommate, Brayden. She didn't seem rude."
"Whatever, she's a bitch who just wants to be around guys all the time. She'll probably wind up being the whore of the floor at some point," Mandy's green eyes flashed in amusement. Lindsay had joined in and giggled along with her before they'd returned to their phone screens.
Madison shared a look with Ali, who'd simply rolled her eyes, so they'd returned their attention back to the movie, already trying to forget about the invisible lines that'd already been drawn for the dynamic on their floor.