Jared
The only thing that could make the night even better, Jared thought to himself, was if he could spend it with an amazing girl. It was the first time he'd thought of Leah since people had returned to UW-Stout. It had finally gotten to the point where his chest didn't ache, his stomach didn't drop, and his mood hadn't completely gone down the shitter.
Winter break had turned out better than he thought it could've been. Madison and him had a fun, easy thing going; It was like a college version of playing house. They'd both walked out in the hallway completely naked once to shower together because fuck it, no one was around.
Jared liked being around Madison. She wasn't like most of the other girls he ever talked to; she was the brainy, overachiever type who was president of every club back home, but she surprised him when she was the one to suggest they'd keep their little fling purely just being fuck buddies.
Fine by him. Jared thought they wouldn't be great together as a couple anyways, but if she'd just want to hook up whenever she felt like, he was all for it.
He'd do whatever he could to distract himself from the one girl who really had his heart.
Jared cursed himself before he took another big sip from his drink, but there wasn't much left, so he'd set off to find the keg and refill.
Madison had her back to him as she'd refilled her cup, so Jared took the moment to appreciate the view from behind. Her long, dark hair flowed halfway down her back, to her wide hips and her perfect ass that was enwrapped in a snug pair of dark wash jeans.
Jared grinned as he'd snuck up behind her.
"Hello there, gorgeous," he practically purred right into her ear and chuckled as she'd jumped in surprise to face him.
She'd glared as she'd swatted his chest. "Dammit Jared! Don't scare me like that."
Jared shrugged, feigning innocence. "Well, I saw you bent over like that and it gave me some ideas."
Madison tried to keep her glare, but gave in and laughed.
Great as that house party was, Jared was more interested in some one-on-one action.
"What do you say we head back to the dorm and make that fantasy a reality, eh?" he suggested with a casual shrug towards the door.
Her smile slowly dropped, and she'd cleared her throat. "Jared, we shouldn't. It's not just us around anymore, and someone could catch us."
"Okay, I see, how about we make it even quicker and find a vacant room and get one more in?"
Madison snorted. "Aren't you romantic? I am not having sex at a frat party...especially one where literally everyone we know is under the same roof?"
Damn, her logic made sense, but that didn't mean he still didn't want to drag her away to some dark corner and have his way with her. Everyone else could fuck off as far as he'd been concerned, but something she'd said made him wonder.
"Well, were not doing it here, and we're not fucking in the dorms, where are we going to go then?" Jared asked.
Madison raised a single brow at him and crossed her arms. That wasn't a good sign.
"Jared. Winter Break was fun, and I had a blast with you, but I think we should cool it on the sex and go back to just being friends, okay?" she'd looked disappointed to say it, and he'd felt the same way.
"Are you absolutely sure about that?"
Madison looked around before she'd responded. "The girls and I made up, and I'll be honest that I'd completely forgotten you and Mandy used to be together, so now I have that hanging over my shoulders. I don't know how I'm going to tell her."
Oh shit... "You could just not tell her about it," Jared suggested.
"What, and just let it eat away at me every time I look at her?" Madison frowned.
Jared shrugged. "Why not? Do you really want to deal with everything that will go with telling her? Like you said, you just made up with her, why ruin that?"
Madison snorted shook her head at him.
Jared glanced around the room before he'd placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry I put you in this position. Maybe it should never have happened, but I still enjoyed every second of it." He'd silently urged her to look up at him. "Maybe you're right; maybe we should go back to just being friends, and I promise I won't tell anyone about us."
She'd still looked unsure. "Really?"
"Well...I'll definitely tells guys that I got a shit ton of action over break, but I'll leave your name out at least," Jared admitted. He threw her his signature smirk.
She'd slowly returned his smile after she'd rolled her eyes and shook her head again. "I'd expect nothing less from you, Jared."
"That's the spirit!" Jared raised his arms as his smile widened. "Well, since we can no longer enjoy each other, I have an idea." He'd gestured towards the rest of the basement. "Let's find each other someone new to play with."
Madison's frown had returned. "What, like pimp each other out?"
"Well, why not? I can't kiss you anymore, so the least you can do is find me someone who I can."
Madison scoffed. "Fuck off, man-slut."
"Hey now, I was your man-slut for a while, but you had to be the responsible one," Jared chuckled.
"You are something else," Madison replied with finality.
Jared was disappointed their fling was over, even if he'd understood why, but at least they were still friends after it all. It had to be the smoothest ending to a friend's-with-benefits relationship he'd ever had.
Eden
"Back the fuck off, she's with me!" Ali glared at some random guy.
Eden eyes widened; her mouth had formed a literal "O" as Ali shoved one him away. In his defense, Eden was sure she'd been all over him about 20 minutes earlier.
"Hey bitch," the guy shouted. "She was all over me earlier, so don't act like she's just yours!"
"She's a person, you piece of shit, not a joint to pass around, so shut the fuck up," Ali threw back. Eden enjoyed the fire she'd seen in Ali's temper and wanted to play with it; she'd wondered if Ali was into girls at all. Maybe she was, because much to Eden's shock, Ali had just told the guy that she was her girlfriend. He didn't buy it, though.
Ali flipped her long bob and once again regarded him like a bug she'd smush under her stiletto ankle boots. "Actually, I like watching her hook up with other people in front of me, it's our thing."
"You're fucking lying, you're not even together."
"Oh yeah? Get a good view of this," Ali retorted, and before Eden realized what happened, Ali had dragged her in for a searing kiss. To Eden's shock, Ali had gotten really into it and soon their tongues collided while they'd both began to run their hands over everything she could get her hands on. Eden hummed in pleasure when she'd felt her hair tugged while Ali lowered her lips along Eden's throat. Her mind had gone completely blank as Ali disentangled themselves back towards the frat douche.
"Looks like he's gone," Ali observed.
"You are an amazing kisser," Eden gushed, her hands still rested at Ali's hips. Ali seemed to realize it too, because she'd lowered Eden's arms away and took a small step back.
"Look, not to disappoint you, but I only did that so that creep would go away," Ali warned. "I'm straight, so this didn't mean anything, got it?"
In Eden's drunken stupor, all she'd felt was a sharp sting of rejection. There'd been a seriously gorgeous girl who'd just kissed her, and she'd become so over the moon about it, someone should've called NASA, but was instead brought plummeting back down like a meteorite.
Just her luck...
Eden had started to drunkenly cry, and Ali's eyes widened. "No no no! I didn't mean to upset you, you're seriously cute, but I'm straight."
Eden hiccuped and peered over. "You...You really think I'm cute?"
"You're really cute, but I'm straight," Ali said.
"Oh."
"But you're really cute!"
"Oh!"
"But, I'm straight."
"Oh."
"But, really cute!"
"Oh!"
"But I'm straight."
"Oh."
Ali cringed, but after contemplating for a moment. "Fuck it," Ali muttered, and soon they were kissing again. It may have been out of pity, but Eden didn't care; she was making out with an insanely beautiful girl at a frat party. Life was pretty sweet, and Eden had once again found herself hoping that she'd remember it all that next day.
Matt
Being the only sober person at a party seriously sucked...It really sucked hardcore. Drunk people were so much more annoying whenever you weren't drunk along with them. Matt had been kicking himself on how he'd forgotten his bottles back home; his parents probably had a good laugh about it while they'd drunken it for themselves.
In the hallway on the main level, there was some random couple going at it against the wall about 15-feet away from when Matt had left Eden and Ali in the bathroom. He'd blushed and looked away before they'd caught him, but a flash of the girl's long golden hair, along with the pattern on the guy's flannel had caught Matt's attention.
Holy shit...
Matt froze in place when he'd realized it was Heather and Luke, and didn't know what to think as they'd kept going at it, thankfully completely unaware of him stumbling upon them. He blinked as he'd tried to comprehend it all.
Matt had suspected there'd been something going on between the two of them for some time; anyone could tell whenever those two were around each other, but Heather hadn't said if she'd broken up with Ryan when they'd talked over break.
Well, making out with another guy certainly wouldn't help...
Matt told himself to leave it alone, it wasn't his business, so he'd wandered back down into the basement; he felt the temperature rise 25-degrees with each step until a thin layer of sweat lined his brow.
Eden was making out with yet another girl, but Matt was shocked when he'd discovered it was Ali. They were in a very similar position as Luke and Heather were upstairs, and they hadn't looked like they'd be stopping anytime soon as Matt self-consciously walked past the two of them.
Desperate, Matt had looked around for anyone else he knew. He'd found Jared, but he was playing tonsil-hockey with some dark-skinned girl with a hairstyle similar to Rihanna's iconic bob-cut from 2007. Madison was all over a guy with a strangely large mustache. Alex, Brayden, and Jenna were nowhere to be found, but Lindsay was pretty much manhandling one of the Bryan's over by the pong table, Mandy was probably off somewhere with her boyfriend.
Everyone was kissing someone...
What the fuck is going on around here? Matt thought to himself. It's like I walked in on a fucking orgy or something!
Matt felt a tap on his shoulder, and Alex stood there with the biggest shit-eating smirk Matt had ever seen.
"Matthew, just the person I wanted to see," Alex greeted him.
Matt knew that look. "Alright, who told you?"
"Well, I've had my suspicions, but Eden accidentally blabbed because she'd assumed you told me already," Alex threw Matt a look. "I'm a little offended as to the fact that you didn't! I mean, hello!" Alex gestured down himself.
"Sorry Alex, I'm just starting to tell people, and I promise you were going to be one of the first people I told at Stout," Matt admitted. "I was probably going to tell you myself later tonight if the opportunity came up."
Matthew, honey, it's totally fine! Believe me, I know all about the joy of coming out, but I'm happy for you! Welcome to the club." Alex winked, and Matt felt like he could relax again. "I also wanted to ask, but now that we've got another queen amongst our group, what are your preferences?"
"Um...What do...I'm not sure?"
"I mean, don't you have a type?" Alex asked. "Are you into Bears? Twinks? Jocks? Otters? Wolves? Gym Rats? Are you a top, bottom, or vers? What's your Grindr profile? Do you even have a Grindr profile?"
Matt had no idea what the hell any of that had meant, as he'd told Alex as such.
Alex waved it off. "It's all good, Matty, all in good time. I'm going to be like the Gandolf to your newfound Frodo, or "Fromo" if you will, and I will be your mentor for any questions you will have upon entering the realm of being out and proud."
Matt shyly laughed at the Tolkien reference.
Alex continued. "You need advice on how to respond to a dick pic? I got'chu. You need to know what enema is the best to get? I got'chu. You need to know the business of any gay within 15-miles of here, I got'chu."
"Gesundheit," Matt responded.
Alex clicked his tongue and gave Matt a look of tested patience and looked around the party. "Okay, I don't know about you, but what the fuck is the deal with everyone we came here with hooking up?"
Matt also looked around. "Yeah, I don't get it."
Alex whined. "I need to find a decent looking frat guy...I will tell you one thing, Matt," he'd leaned in. "Closeted gay men are the kinkiest in bed."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah, all that pent-up sexual frustration, and they have no idea how to act on it, so when shit goes down, it's no holds barred, baby," Alex shimmied his shoulders and did a little bump-and-grind.
"Oh god." Matt groaned as he felt the blush warm his skin.
Heather
How can something feel so right when it is so wrong?
Everything about Luke felt absolutely amazing; his lips across hers, his tongue as it heated her core, his hands as they'd traveled across her body, his hair when she'd ran his hands through it, the way his scruff rubbed along her jaw, his deep moans from deep in his chest, and the guttural way he'd say her name when his teeth had nipped the skin along her neck. Luke had become a drug Heather couldn't get enough of, and they'd fit so well together.
"God, you feel so amazing." Luke groaned into her ear, and chills ran down her spine as he'd nipped her lobe with his teeth.
She could only moan in response before she'd brought his mouth back down on her own.
"I've been wanting this for so long," Luke confessed between kisses, and Heather silently agreed. How long had she'd wanted him too? How long has she'd imagined them in their current condition? Had it been since Halloween when he'd first confessed his feelings for her, or even before that?
The image of Ryan flashed in her mind, and Heather was drawn out of the trance she'd been under; her whole body tensed up as she'd pushed Luke away.
Luke was out of breath, his eyes widened, and his lips were red and swollen. "What's wrong, did I hurt you?"
Heather had felt sick to her stomach. What had she just done? She couldn't believe she'd just cheated on Ryan: the one person she'd trusted more than just about anyone outside of her family, who stuck by her when it seemed like no one else did, and who'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but she went and kissed another guy. She didn't deserve him; she didn't deserve the happiness she could've had with him. She couldn't look Luke in the eyes, couldn't face what she'd just done.
"Heather, are you okay? Talk to me?" Luke's voice filled with concern.
She'd taken a few steps back before she'd answered. "I can't believe we just did that."
"It was amazing—"
"—I have a boyfriend, Luke, someone who loves me." Heather took a deep breath that had cracked along the edges. "I love him too, and I just go and do that. Because we're fighting and want different things..."
Panic settled in; how was she going to tell Ryan about this? How would he forgive her? She'd convinced herself he wouldn't, that he'd leave like everyone else and she'd truly be all alone, because she did it to herself. Because it was what she'd deserved.
"Do you still not feel anything after that?"
She'd raised her eyes to his, Luke's intense gaze filled with confusion, passion, and something else she couldn't place.
"Heather." Luke sighed. "I think you're incredible. You know how I feel about you...I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for months. I want to be able to kiss you every day, but can you still say you don't have feelings too?"
Heather couldn't respond, so Luke continued, his voice gruff in frustration. "I've never felt this way before, the way just that kiss felt to me." He'd stepped forward and caressed her cheek, where a single tear had fallen. "Please, tell me you feel something too."
"That's the problem, Luke." Tears had continued to flow, so she'd paused to collect herself. "I do, and it terrifies me. It's been on my mind for a while now, but I can't feel this way, not for you."
His tortured expression would haunt her dreams. "I'm sorry that you're upset, but I—"
"—I already told you I have a boyfriend, so this can't ever happen again...I'm sorry," Heather said with finality and walked away, and that time, Luke hadn't tried to grab her arm.
"Can I at least walk you home?" Luke asked, one last effort. "It's snowing and absolutely freezing out there."
"I'm sorry, but I need to be alone. Have a good night," Heather dejectedly replied.
Along with the regret and shame that dragged her, Heather sincerely hoped no one saw the two of them earlier, and without even giving that troubling boy a final glance, Heather found her coat and walked out the back door on a lonely trek through the bitter darkness back towards HKMC.
Madison
Eden was a mess...not even a hot mess; she was just a big ole mess.
Madison had found Alex and Jenna to help her bring Eden back to HKMC, all knowing it would take a whole wrecking crew to get that girl anywhere whenever she'd gotten as drunk as she was. Jenna and her both held Eden up on their shoulders as they'd carried her outside into the cold.
"Where is.... where is Ali?" Eden dazedly asked as she'd tried to look over her shoulder back towards the frat house; it's front pillars still decorated with Christmas lights and hardly gave any impression that a chaotic party was still occurring.
"Eden I told you, she's back with the girls, but we need to get you back home, okay?" Madison reminded her through tested patience. She cringed as she thought she'd sounded like her mom, but it wasn't like anyone else had taken charge.
That saying was true: drunk people were pretty much overgrown toddlers.
"Oooooh, that's too bad, we were having so much fun," Eden giggled. "Sooo much fun..."
"Eden, doesn't getting into your warm bed sound like fun?" Jenna grunted. Poor little Jenna struggled on her side to keep Eden afloat.
Alex walked directly behind them, followed closely by Jared and the girl with Rihanna hair who Madison hooked him up with earlier. Madison had immediately regretted it, as the girl had latched onto Jared's arm, and had to take a selfie for her Snapchat every 10-seconds to prove to her friends how she'd "bagged a hottie" as she'd quoted in every goddam video.
Madison's irritation only grew when the chick had started to ask Jared about his zodiac sign, his ascendant, and to see whether their moon signs were a good match or not.
"I have this link you should totally use, it's called 'astro-seek' and it will give you a free birth chart that will allow you to really learn more about yourself on an astrological level," Rihanna-hair replied, her voice high-pitched and absolutely annoying. "I'm, like, such a straight up Pisces, it's not even funny!"
Rihanna-hair had an annoying cackle of a laugh on top of it, and what about any of that sentence was actually funny?
"Babe? Do you want to go back to my place?" Rihanna-hair whined. "It's just up the hill past the football field, and it's so cold out here."
The girl had practically melted against Jared and snagged her arms through one of his, and Madison wanted to smack her upside the head.
Obvious much? Why any girl would go to such lengths to humiliate herself over a guy like that...Madison bit down a retort, and sincerely hoped that Jared didn't actually end up going home with her. Not that she'd cared, but seriously? Would he really go home with that when she was right there and after everything that happened over break? Was he really that big of an idiotic boy?
She should've never agreed to that stupid game he'd proposed earlier.
Jared gave Rihanna-hair his signature grin. "You know I'd love to, sweetheart, but I got to make sure my friend gets back safe, okay?" he'd gestured ahead, and Madison turned her attention forward before he'd caught her spying on them.
"But...She has, like, three people here already helping her." Rihanna-girls' whine had actually gotten even more higher in pitch, and Madison couldn't take it any longer.
Madison stopped and turned around, even dragged Jenna and Eden with her. "He's not interested, so either help out or get lost."
The girl stopped in her tracks; eyes wide as saucers. Even Jared looked a little scared for a fast second. Rihanna-hair quickly recovered, and her face scrunched into a scowl.
"Excuse me?! What is your problem, bitch?"
"Take a fucking hint, he's not going to have sex with you, and it doesn't take an astrologist to see that," Madison snapped. Thankfully, Alex had intuitively taken over her side of carrying Eden. "He was trying to let you down easily, but your fishy 'Pisces' ass doesn't see it, so I thought I'd give a horoscope: it's not going to happen, so get lost."
Rihanna-hair gasped; her expression even resembled that of a fish; her mouth in a long "O" shape. She'd turned towards Jared to have him defend her, but Jared winced as he'd placed his hands in his pockets and backed away. Sensing defeat, she'd groaned as she'd stomped away, her hands typing away furiously on her phone. She threw one last final dirty look over her shoulder. "Fuck you, bitch!"
Alex regarded Madison with a look mixed with adoration and slight fear. "Damn girl.... that was savage!"
Madison rolled her eyes. "She can go whine about it onto her story... she was getting on my nerves."
"Well, thanks I think..." Jared chuckled. "I was trying to be nice about it, but you know, that worked too."
"Wow." Alex feigned shock. "Jared actually not wanting to take a girl home...What is the world coming to?"
Jared chuckled as he'd flicked Alex off in response.
"Can we please get moving again?" Jenna moaned from underneath Eden's slumping form.
"Yes! Let's go!" Eden jumped out of their arms with renewed energy and ran towards a nearby snowbank in the field house parking lot.
Alex gleefully followed her, but Jenna stayed behind to catch her breath. "I am so out of shape," she'd muttered under her breath.
Jared came up behind Madison. "I have to admit it, but you're kind of scary when you're jealous," he'd whispered in her ear. "But, I also find it incredibly sexy."
"Well that's too bad, because you're not getting anything from me tonight either," Madison shot back. She'd peeked over to see if Jenna had heard the two of them, but luckily, poor little Jenna had chased after Eden and Alex.
Alex had jolted up to the top of the snowbank and proclaimed himself "Queen of the World." He'd even did the Rose stance from Titanic.
Eden tried to follow him up, but she hadn't had nearly as much momentum, and instead face planted after she'd ran up about five feet. She'd yelped in pain and everyone sprinted to her aid. Eden sat up in the snow, covering her face in both her hands.
"Ohmygod! Are you okay?!" Jenna checked on her, bending down to get a closer look.
"Holy shit, that was a nasty fall," Jared winced.
Alex had quickly descended the mountain of snow as Eden took a deep breath and lowered one of her hands.
"My entire face hurts, what did I do?" Eden whined.
"Move your hand so we can see the damage," Alex instructed. Madison saw blood on her face, and tried to hide her shudder and turned away. She'd absolutely hated the sight of blood, at least when there was as much as she'd seen.
"Thank god nothing's broken, but it looks like you cut your upper lip up pretty good," Jenna said as she'd checked her pockets, but came up with nothing. She'd looked towards everyone. "Does anyone have something to wipe her face with? Some sort of cloth or tissue or something?"
Alex had found an extra napkin in his pocket, so Jenna used it to blot Eden's face and hold it there. Jenna listed off questions: "Do you think you have a concussion or something? Are you seeing double? Are you confused? Quick, what's your name? What's my name? Where are you? What's today's date? What's your Hogwarts house?"
"I think I'm fine, just this cut on my face is what hurts," Eden replied as she'd taken over for Jenna and held the napkin against her lip.
"Okay, I think this means the guys can take over carrying her back to the dorms," Madison proposed. Jenna nodded vigorously; she was still worn out from earlier.
"you good to stand again, Eden?" Jared asked.
"I think so." Eden hadn't sounded certain, but she'd grabbed Jared's hand when he'd leaned down to help her up, and both him and Alex had begun to walk her back towards HKMC, lights from the dorm's windows could be seen off in the snowy distance.
Jenna and Madison both walked behind them, and Jenna nudged her side. "What a way to start off the new semester, right?"
Madison grinned. "And it's just the beginning."