Vengeance University

It was edging toward the last few days of finals week, smack dab in the middle of December. The weather was still amazing in good ol' Huntington Beach, which was more than I could say for my home back in New York. Snow was sweeping through back east, while I was able to prance around in shorts and a tank or head down to the beach in a bikini.

Christmas break was the talk of the town. Everyone was making plans on where they were going to go and what they were going to do for the few weeks we had off. Well... Mostly everyone. Except me. I had no plans. I wasn't even going home. My parents had already spent enough money on sending me to college all the way across the country that they didn't have enough for a round trip flight back home. So I was going to stay cooped up in the dorms along with other people who had nowhere to go for the holidays. Sarah was one of those people as well. She had decided that it was also too much money to zoom halfway across the globe to see her family and said she felt bad that I would be staying in our room all by myself, so she said there'd be no harm in joining me.

I watched as the last student got up and headed to the front of the room, handing in their final exam to Brian, who was sitting behind his desk. Silently, they left the room, and I was left with Brian and about five multiple choice questions. It wasn't that I was stupid - granted I didn't know all the answers - it was that I kept getting distracted looking up to the front where Brian was. We'd make eye contact from time to time - he'd smile, I'd smile back - and then I would feel those damn butterflies in my stomach and not be able to fully concentrate on the task at hand.

I looked back down at my test, bubbling a few more answers on the answer sheet, when I heard the legs of a chair scrape against the floor. Without looking up I knew Brian was heading my way and I was right when a few moments later his shadow was looming over me.

"The answer's B," he said quietly, referring to the last question I had yet to answer, and I looked up to see a kind smile on his face.

"...Do I fail if I put that for my answer?" I tested him with a smirk on my lips. He chuckled, and shook his head.

"No... I'm not that cruel."

I looked back down at my exam, filled in the answer, and then handed it up to Brian. He took it and then leaned against my desk, sighing.

"So, you ready for Christmas break?" he asked nonchalantly, and I leaned back.

"I guess so..." I sighed, and then it was quiet. I glanced up at Brian and it looked as if he were about to ask me something, but fighting against doing so at the same time.

"Do you know where Sarah is going for vacation?" he asked suddenly, and I was taken aback.

"Uh... As far as I know, she's just staying here on campus while everyone else leaves. Too much hassle for her to jet all the way back to England," I answered, shrugging my shoulders and wondering why the hell he asked.

"Oh... Well, where are you going for break, then?" he asked once more, breaking out that perfect smile of his.

"Nowhere, actually. I'm staying here with her."

"Why aren't you going back home to see your family?" Brian queried, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"My parents can't afford to send me home and then get me back out here for the spring semester, so I'm just gonna stay here on campus and relax or something. That's another reason Sarah decided to stay. She's gonna keep me company."

"Uh-huh..." He said, though he didn't sound overly convinced. He probably thought Sarah was up to something... Something that involved Zack; he was so paranoid of them sometimes.

"So... I know this is gonna sound kinda forward but... If you'd like you could come spend break at my place. I mean... it probably won't be that much fun hanging around here when there's gonna be practically no one around, you know?" Brian said nervously, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. I smiled inwardly - he looked adorable.

It did seem like a rather forward offer for him to extend to me, but I was mightily tempted to take it. What if our tension-mounting semi-relationship moved on to an actually existent level? Could that be what he wanted in the first place? What would Sarah do here all alone if I accepted?

Before I had really answered any of my own questions, the words were flying out of my mouth with me barely realizing it.

"Okay. I'd love to."

I walked into my dorm, seeing Sarah chilling out on her bed, watching something on TV.

"Jeeze, take long enough on the freaking final?" she quipped.

"Sorry," I chuckled, "I was just getting... sidetracked."

"Oooh, by Senor Haner, no doubt," she giggled, using one of our many nicknames for him.

"Yeah... I kinda... Well, he offered me to stay at his place over break," I said hesitantly, sitting down on my bed.

"...And?" she pressed, muting the tele.

"I kinda told him I would," I finished, biting my lip. "I'm sorry..."

"Oh" she said, quieting for a moment. "It's fine really. I'll probably just do something with Zacky then," she shrugged.

"Are you sure it's okay?" I further questioned, and Sarah smiled.

"Yes, I'm sure. So... You and Haner, huh? My bet is you bone by the end of break," she chuckled.

"Hey now... Unlike you, I'm still a virgin," I laughed.

"Are you really?"

"Yes," I said, feeling a little tinge of color come to my cheeks.

"Well then... Let me change that bet. I bet you and Brian bone by... Christmas."

"Oh hah hah," I said, and we burst into a fit of laughter.