Status: First story! Hope you enjoy :)

Sanctuary

"Nothing Goes As Planned"

"A month and a half. I can do that. Right?" Taryn groaned, leaning back on her pillow. She sat on her bed, studying in her room with Hallie and Shane. Hallie lounged on her own bed across the room while Shane sat on the end of Taryn's bed. His Ethics book was splayed open on his lap, but as always with him around, nothing productive was getting accomplished.

"That makes it sound too long," Hallie scoffed, her pencil flying across the lines of her notebook. "How about...six weeks?"

"Yeah, I guess that's better," Taryn said, grinning.

"You guys have any big plans for winter break?" Shane asked, tossing his phone around in his hands.

"Spending all of it at Hallie's," Taryn laughed, looking over at Hallie. Her roommate flashed her a thumbs up before looking back down at her math textbook. "What about you?"

"Skiing, probably. And training camps for the spring season." Taryn cocked her head, wondering what the baseball team managed to train for indoors. Weightlifting, she supposed. General conditioning.

"You know, I don't understand how-" Taryn started, but was cut off by her ringing cell phone. She glanced over at her desk, where it was plugged into its charger. Her heart pounded as she read the name on the screen.

No. This wasn't happening.

"I'm sorry. I'll be right back," she mumbled, sliding off her bed and reaching for her phone. Hallie sat up, but didn't get a chance to say anything before Taryn shut the door behind herself.

"Hello?"

"Taryn?"

"Kelsey." Her mouth was quickly drying, and she didn't know whether to be angry or hurt or just plain confused. She hadn't spoken to her old best friend in a very long time.

"I didn't know if this was still your number. You haven't answered anything from me in a while."

"You blame me?" Taryn said coldly, Kelsey's voice showering a wave of anger over her. There it was.

"Listen, Ryan wants to speak with you."

Taryn's stomach plummeted, and she jumped as she heard the bathroom door slam shut from down the hall. "Why?"

"Well, you deleted his number."

"With good reason," Taryn shot back. Alex and Jamie emerged at the foot of the hall and Taryn turned away from them, huddling closer to the wall.

"He's engaged," Kelsey fired. Taryn could feel her gloating, even through the phone. Taryn's head pounded, struggling to grasp the information. She couldn't find the words to retaliate. She leaned back against the wall, sinking to the floor and fighting every urge to throw her phone at the opposite one.

Alex and Jamie walked by, Alex looking down at her with a questioning glance. Taryn waved him off, turning away from them again.

"To you?" Taryn said quietly.

"You know, maybe the reason he loved me was because you were just a goddamn bitch," Kelsey sneered.

"I don't have to listen to this," Taryn said, trying to remain calm.

"But you are. I know you still care about him, but I just wanted to call and tell you that we're moving out west. And you won't see him or I again."

"Because I wanted to, right?"

"Bye, Taryn," Kelsey said. "Have fun being a whore at your new school." And with a click she was gone. Suddenly Taryn wished she would've just shut her mouth and agreed to speak to Ryan instead.

No. That wasn't true because she wasn't sure she could handle hearing that news from him.

Her chest heaved, gasping for air. The backs of her eyes pinched, and she quickly stood up, her face burning as she reached for her door. Pushing into the room, she slid her phone back onto her desk and looked at the floor.

"What's up?" Shane greeted.

Kelsey's voice rang out in her head. Whore.

"I need you to leave," Taryn said. Shane looked at her, but she avoided his eyes.

"Taryn?" Hallie said slowly, sitting up on her bed.

"Please," Taryn said, grabbing Shane's arm and trying to pull him off of her own bed. He opened his mouth to say something, but Taryn cut him off. "Just leave." He slowly obliged, grabbing his bag and glancing back and forth from Hallie to Taryn and back to Hallie again. Taryn felt awful, but she couldn't stop seeing and hearing Kelsey in the back of her mind.

"See you in class," Shane said, resigned. He shook his head, leaving the room. Taryn wanted to call out after him, wanted to beg him to not shut her out. But then again, that would just be making her a giant hypocrite.

She turned back for her bed, pushing her books off of it and sliding under the comforter.

"Taryn," Hallie started. Taryn heard her pad across the carpeted floor.

"I'm fine. I just want to sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Hallie said quietly. She turned out Taryn's desk light, grabbing her things and shutting off her own light as well. "I'll be out in the lobby if you need to talk."

***

"This weather fucking blows," Maggie groaned, looking out the window. A severe thunderstorm was rolling across campus, and as of now, Taryn and her friends were all dressed up...with absolutely nowhere to go. Even Maggie's wide range of connections were failing her.

"Doesn't mean we can't do anything," Parker said, pouring her a shot and handing it to her. It was Saturday night, and Hallie's friends would apparently be damned if they let the weather ruin their fun. "Let's play a game."

"Ugh. How old are we?" Maggie groaned. Everyone shot her a glare. She bowed her head submissively. "Fine."

Hallie turned on some music and Parker held up five fingers. "Never Have I Ever?" No one argued.

"Each finger down gets one shot," Matt clarified. Wow. These guys didn't mess around.

"Never have I ever....been in an airplane," Parker said. Everyone downed one.

"Never have I ever...smoked pot," Jocelyn offered. Half of the group downed one. Matt, Parker, and Audrey.

"Never have I ever...had sex," Audrey said. Hallie's face fell as Parker did a shot. Taryn and Maggie downed one, as well.

By the time the circle reached its start, half of them had lost the game. They sprawled out on the floor, Taryn's stomach buzzing with alcohol.

"Now what?" Jocelyn said, giggling.

Fifteen minutes later, half of the bottle of vodka was gone and everyone was rather tipsy. Someone - Hallie, was it? - offered up the idea of heading to a diner downtown for some midnight breakfast. The group rubbed their stomachs in agreement, finding their balance and grabbing sweatshirts. Hallie reached out to hand Taryn an umbrella, but Taryn refused.

"I don't feel so well. I'm gonna stay in."

"Taryn, you need to get out of this room. You need some air," Hallie slurred.

"I'll crack a window," Taryn said, stretching her arms back and heading for her dresser. "You guys go. I'll see you in the morning."

Hallie didn't press the issue, closing the door behind her as the group filed out. Taryn peeled off her skin-tight dress, sliding on a pair of plaid pajama shorts and a tank top. She threw her hair up in a messy ponytail, looking around the room. There were shot glasses and pretzels everywhere. She bent down, attempting to straighten up a bit. Her phone buzzed with a text from another old friend. "Did you hear the news?" it read.

No shit, Taryn said, angrily pouring herself a shot. She downed one. Then another. Then a third. Then another until she lost count. Her vision fogged over, as did her mind.

Her phone buzzed again, this time a text from Alex. "So bored lol," it read.

She stood up, determinedly steadying her balance and walking down the hall to his room. She knocked and he cracked the door.

"Yo, what's up?" he slurred. He didn't let her in right away.

"You rang?" Taryn said with a sly smile.

"Yeah, what are you guys doing? There's literally nothing going on tonight," he said, motioning outside. "We totally pre-gamed for nothing."

"You and me both," she laughed as he slid the door open. There was no one inside, his wet backpack and sneakers sitting on the floor by the door. "At least you tried to get out."

"Where's Hallie?"

"She and her friends went to get food."

"You're not hungry?" Alex said.

"Not for food," Taryn said. Alex raised his eyebrows at her, pulling a handle of whiskey from his backpack. "Shit. That came out totally wrong. I meant I want to drink. Not...whatever you just thought of."

"Okay, crazy," he smirked, pouring her a shot. She downed it quickly, ignoring her conscience that told her that drinking with her RA was so wrong on so many levels.

She tried to cross the room, stumbling and sliding to the floor near Alex's small lounge chair.

"How much have you had?" he laughed, joining her on the floor.

"Three, I swear," she lied, hiccuping. "I guess I'm a lightweight?" He laughed, seeing right through her terrible joke.

"And your boyfriend isn't here to keep you company?"

"I don't have one," she said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. She leaned again the chair, crossing her legs and picking at her fingernails. "Jesus, that's getting really old."

"But you thought of him when I said that, right?"

"Who, Shane?"

"That kid from your project group. Not the shaggy-haired one. The kid on the baseball team."

"Shane," she confirmed, suddenly overcome by a hysterical laughing fit. She threw her head back as she laughed, even more entertained by Alex's reaction. "He's a nice boy."

"So am I. But you don't hang out with me that much," he said, taking a swig from the bottle.

She laughed again, reaching for the bottle. He held it out of her reach, sliding it underneath his bed.

"Okay, fine. We have sex sometimes but that's it. We're not together."

"Lucky guy," he scoffed, his eyes flicking back and forth to both of hers. He sat back, leaning against his bedpost. She slid over to him, smirking at him and leaning in close to his face.

"Stop," she said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Stop what?" he said, dragging his index finger along her shoulder. Goosebumps trailed along after it.

"Don't touch me," she argued, grabbing both of his arms and pushing backwards. She straddled his waist, shoving his hands to his sides and staring defiantly at him. "Stop that."

He fidgeted underneath her, his smirk gone. His eyes traveled from her eyes, to her lips, back up to her eyes. She leaned in, her face centimeters from his. She loved making him squirm. He lifted his chin slightly, trying to lift up his arms from her grasp. She leaned ever so closer, briefly passing her lips over his before pulling away. He squirmed again, harder this time, biting his lip as his eyes shot downward. She felt him move underneath her, trying to wrench her off. She smirked with delight as she felt the bulge in his pants harden as she teased him.

"Hello, there," she teased, grinding her hips against his slowly and pressing her upper body against him. He inhaled sharply, at a loss for words. Wow. That was a first. His eyes finally met hers, and he roughly wrenched his wrists from her grasp. He slid his hands up her waist, over her chest, trying to pull her closer. She bit her lip, sliding backwards and pulling herself away. She rose to her feet, leaving him sitting there, stunned.

She turned back for the door, marveling in her conquest. Finally she had unraveled his stupid ego.

She heard him get up and suddenly he grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the door.

"You're not getting away with that," he said, his voice low. He grabbed her waist, burying his face in her neck and nibbling at the skin. It tingled as he kissed her, pushing her back toward his bed and turning out the light. The room lit up with a flash of lightning that quickly died, leaving them in total darkness. Taryn's heart pounded, not able to see him at all. She could only feel him.

"What are you gonna do?" she said, lifting his head up in front of hers. "Write me up?"

She felt him smile. "Among other things." He kissed her, finally, caressing the side of her face and running his hand along the small of her back. She backed up, lowering herself on the bed and pulling him down with her. He tasted like mint and Jack Daniels, a peculiarly taste that was delightfully different from Shane. She was surprised at how turned on she was, considering she hadn't expected any of this to happen. She rolled him over, straddling him again and lifting up his shirt. She trailed her lips down his toned stomach, his eyes watching her the entire time. She pulled his jeans down, releasing his stiff and teasing him further. He let out a low groan and her stomach tingled in anticipation. She went down on him, the unfamiliar feeling somehow thrilling to her. She felt him gasp, squirming underneath her as she explored him.

She felt his hands in her hair, pulling her up to his lips again. He kissed her, their tongues intertwining as he lifted the hem of her tank top over her head. He did the same with her shorts, and Taryn sat backwards, positioning herself over him. Placing her hands on his chest for support, she lowered herself on top of him, feeling him move inside of her. She gasped quietly, taking him in. He pulled her down on top of him, biting at her shoulder as she moved on top of him. She gasped in his ear, not used to the unfamiliar sensation.

She lost track of how much time passed before she felt him tense up, his breathing labored as he tried to kiss her. She ran her fingers through his hair, nibbling his earlobe. His body squirmed underneath her as he finished, holding her close until he was quiet once more. She laid on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as it thumped for a few minutes.

A pounding on his door startled them both. Taryn's heart rate skyrocketed as she slid her clothes back on. Alex did the same, smoothing his hair and turning on the light.

"Who is it?" he called through the door.

"Have you seen my roommate?" Hallie called back.

"Shit," Taryn gasped. Alex opened the door and Taryn strolled out, much to Hallie's surprise.

"Sorry. I couldn't sleep, so I was watching him play his stupid online game thing," Taryn lied. Hallie squinted her eyes, not buying into Taryn's bullshit. Her roommate's rosy cheeks and messy hair didn't fool anyone. She handed Taryn a takeout box from the diner, keeping her mouth shut as Taryn followed her back to their room. Taryn looked backwards to Alex, who held up a finger to his mouth. "Shhh," he mouthed with a smirk. Taryn turned back around, biting her lip with delight as Hallie opened the door.
♠ ♠ ♠
Chapter 20! Can't believe I've gotten this story so far already! And I've outlined the rest, and there is still so much more to go. I'm so excited!

On a slightly less-happy note, I've been struggling a lot lately, emotionally. In the sense that I haven't been able to focus much on writing and it hasn't been a source of joy for me like it normally is. And, like I've mentioned previously, I don't like to post anything unless I take absolute pride in it. So for the next few days, I might not update quite as much. But to any of those who have subscribed, this isn't a hiatus of any sort. I'm not giving up, but an update might only come once this week. It's taking me a lot longer to find inspiration than it usually does. Just wanted to give you all a heads-up!

Anyway, thank you to those who are still keeping up with this! Feel free to comment, recommend, and subscribe! Much love <3

Song: 'In My Veins' by Andrew Belle feat. Erin McCarley