Sanctuary

She pushed the glass door open, stepping into the warm sun.

"There she is," she heard a guy say. Hallie jogged over to him, throwing her arms around his neck much like she had done to Taryn a few hours earlier. "What's up?"

"Not much. I missed you guys," Hallie said, grinning at the lot of them. There were three girls and two guys. All of them were very tan, sporting sunglasses and baseball caps. Taryn approached slowly, hoping Hallie would remember to turn around and introduce her.

Thankfully, she did. "Guys, this is my roommate, Taryn!" Taryn took the last few steps, closing the gap between all of them and grinning at them with what she hoped was a warm smile.

"Hey," one of the girls said nicely. "I'm Jocelyn." Her sleek dark hair was piled in a messy bun, and her huge sunglasses completely covered the area around her eyes. She held out her hand, a stack of string bracelets sliding down her arm. "This is Maggie, Audrey, Matt, and Parker." She went down the line, addressing each person. Each one smiled back at Taryn, which she supposed was a good sign. They all seemed friendly enough.

"So you're new here?" Maggie asked as the group began walking. They rounded the corner of Radnor Hall, heading for the academic quad.

"Yeah, I, uh, went to a different school last year. It blew, so...I transferred," Taryn said.

"Thank God you met Hallie," Audrey gushed. She snapped the gum that was in her mouth. "Brighton's pretty cool, but it's better when you have the right friends."

"Not that you're biased or anything," Parker joked.

"Never," Audrey shot back playfully. "But seriously. In a couple days, you'll be a seasoned pro at getting around. Brighton's huge, but you get the idea pretty quickly."

They strolled through the residential quad, bare save for a few groups of freshmen being led through by orientation leaders. Taryn listened as the six friends fell into catching up on everyone's vacations. She loved hearing them talk about their respective summers, even if she didn't know exactly who the people in their stories were. That was one of the things she liked most about meeting new people. Knowing that each of them had their own individual story that set them apart from everyone else.

An hour later, the group found themselves downtown near a quaint café. "Are you guys good to eat here?" Hallie asked with a smile. They all nodded in agreement, heading inside the wooden door and finding a large table on the terrace. Matt adjusted the umbrellas over the table as everyone sat down, Taryn between Hallie and Jocelyn.

"So Taryn," Maggie began with a smirk. "What do you like to do for fun?" She ran her fingers through her wavy blond hair, adjusting her headband as she looked encouragingly at Taryn. Her nails were painted a bright coral, flashing against the sunlight as she held the menu in her hands.

Taryn paused, reconsidering what she would say. Her old interests wouldn't cut it anymore. "Like...in what sense?"

Matt and Parker shot each other a look before glancing over at Maggie. "Like, do you go out? Or are you more of a sleepover, stay-in-movie-night kinda girl?" She raised her eyebrows almost condescendingly. Of all the girls, she was the most intimidating. She looked like she had the power to make or break Taryn's new reputation with the blink of an eye.

"Either one," she said, shrugging and staring back at her. She'd be damned if she let anyone scare her that easily. Her old self might've cowered in fear, but if Hallie trusted Maggie, then Taryn figured she wasn't as demanding as she seemed. She had only met her roommate that morning, but she had a gut feeling that Hallie's judgment was sound.

"Same," Jocelyn said to Taryn with a wide grin. She gripped her hand comfortingly, her wide smile popping against her dark skin. "Please tell me you're a sucker for romantic comedies."

"Guilty," Taryn joked, getting a laugh from the table. She blushed, looking down at the napkin in her lap.

"Twins!" Jocelyn exclaimed, opening the menu. "I like you, Taryn."

"You're so much cooler than Theresa," Audrey gushed, brushing her brown side bangs back from her eyes. "And I've only known you for an hour and a half."

"Theresa was my last roommate," Hallie explained as their server approached the table. The group ordered their food, a mixture of burgers, wraps, and salads.

"She was psychotic," Matt continued, earning nods from the rest of the girls.

"Dude, but she was soooo attractive," Parker said with a sly grin. His long, dirty-blond hair grazed the tip of his eyebrows and his dark blue v-neck shirt stretched as he leaned back in his chair. "Psychotic or not, she was a bombshell."

"She was so not classy," Maggie laughed. "Bombshells mean nothing when they're giant whores."

"Maggie!" Hallie scoffed. "That's so rude!"

"Just telling the truth," Maggie shrugged. Taryn found that refreshing. Maggie was definitely a girl who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. "She tried to sleep with almost every guy in Phi Beta last year."

"Except me," Parker pouted. Matt shoved his shoulder.

"Come on, dude. You're better than that."

"You know, she actually told me she thought you were gay at one point," Hallie said, taking a sip of her water. "She said you were such a sweet guy, you must've been."

"That explains a lot, actually," Parker said, laughing. "She tried to get me and her brother to hang out all the time. Maybe she was trying to hook us up."

Taryn smiled, watching as everyone shared stories of the last year. She wished she had stories like theirs, but ultimately hers were boring and simply not ones she wanted to share. But she liked Hallie's friends. They were so much different than the kids back home. For once, she didn't feel judged. And hopefully things would stay that way.