Chapter One: Dorm Parties and Sleepovers

It's Cecilia's first weekend in college and she spends her Friday night at a drinking party in a dorm room.

Chapter One: Dorm Parties and Sleepovers

      
       I’ve never had a boyfriend before, let alone kissed anyone.  It was tough during high school when all around you couples were holding hands, all smiles as they whispered into each other’s ears.  By senior year, all of my friends have had at least one boyfriend, and I was left feeling like a third wheel as they brought their latest infatuation along with them to outings at the mall.  It felt really awkward when my cup was the only one full after playing the ever-so popular game, Never Have I Ever.  
      I started to wonder, what was wrong with me?  Every time I passed a mirror I wondered what I looked like in a boy’s eyes.  What looked back at me was a pale face with brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. I wasn’t skinny, nor was I fat.  I knew I wasn’t beautiful but I definitely wasn’t ugly.  It wasn’t like my face was covered in zits or anything, and yet those girls with the red faces still managed to find guys.  
     College was a new chapter in my life, and yet the fact that I never had a boyfriend stuck on me like a scarlet letter.  I couldn’t talk to boys.  Whenever they looked my way I hung my head and watched my feet.  Whenever I heard boys talking behind me, I’d speed up my pace.  I thought that being able to socialize with boys was hopeless--until I met Jake.
      Jake was the one sitting on the desk at the corner of the room.  I assumed it was his room, for he was controlling the iPod as everybody rocked to the beat of the music.  But you never know in situations such as these.  People came and went from the dorm, ignoring the 12 people per room rule. I was protectively sandwiched in-between my roommate and her newly-acquired friend on a bed that had lost it’s comforter.  Around us were a circle of other freshmen, some sprawled out on the floor and others taking up the bed across from us.  In the air hung the distinct scent of alcohol, and I knew that the night would be cut short from a raid of RAs.  They would be stupid not to notice the underage drinking going on in here.  Girls laughed as they sipped their plastic cups, the new freedom almost intoxicating.  Guys watched with amusement as their female colleagues slipped into drunkenness, hoping to see a show.
     I watched in disgust as a girl put her head into a guy’s lap, flirting with slurred words as she did so.  I, being the conservative person that I am, decided to put off the beer till the legal drinking age and watched as the teens around me made fools of themselves.  Besides one fragile-looking girl in the corner and I, Jake was the only one who didn’t give in to the peer pressure.  He seemed to be off in his own world, staring intently at the screen of his video iPod.  I looked at him curiously, wondering what he was thinking.  Compared to the other boys in the room, he was a breath of fresh air.  His hair rebelled against the popular crew cuts of the university"a messy mop of blonde hair that seemed almost stylish.  His bright shirt advertised an unknown rock band and his snug pants were a good accompaniment to his checkered Vans.  I searched for his eyes, but they were downcast as he thumbed through some more songs.
     A girl on the chair beside him was clearly drunk.  Strands of her bleached blonde hair hung messily over her face as she leaned over to Jake, practically losing her balance.
      “Iwanna pickthe soooong,” she moaned. “Lemme seee.”  
      He pulled away, turning on his chair.
      “You’re nofuun.”  She got out of her seat and pressed her breasts against his back as her arms went around his neck.  “I caan makeyou havefuun.”  At this point all eyes were on the two of them.  The guys nudged each other as the girls took the plastic cups away from their lips.  Jake finally took his attention away from the music player and got up from his chair.  He wasn’t incredibly tall, but he was tall enough for the blonde girl to have to stand on her tiptoes as she held her grasp around his neck.  She didn’t hold on for long, for Jake grabbed hold of her wrists and took her arms off his shoulders as you would taking off a jacket.  She giggled as he turned to her, his hands still locking her wrists.  
      His eyes were blue.  That was the first thought that came to mind as I looked at him.  They were the rare kind of blue--almost translucent.  The way his lips curled, his face seemed almost angelic.  The girl must have also been smitten for his looks for she leaned towards him, stealing a kiss.  But he didn’t kiss back.  I could see his body tense up from the sudden interaction and he pushed away from her, knocking her to the ground.
      “Hey, what’s your deal, man?” said the buzz cut kid at my right.
      Jake had the back of his hand at his mouth, as if he had just swallowed poison.  Coming to the realization that dozens of eyes were upon him, he sprinted out of the room.
      There was a few seconds of silence and then a male voice shouting, “Gay!”  Everybody resumed drinking.     
      The smell of cheap beer started to make me nauseous, and so I walked out of the room and into the hall.  I was beckoned to the window, the cool air seeming to pull me in.  I could hear the shouts of excited college kids as they came to and from the dorms.  Behind me was the laughing of girls as they walked pass me, ready for a night out.  Once I cleared my head I turned away from the open window and started to head to my room.  He stopped me right in my tracks.    
      He was sitting there, with his legs pulled up to his chest.  His head was hung as golden hair cloaked over his sky blue eyes.  It was the utter picture of depression.  All I wanted to do was sneak past him and go on my way.  But his voice stopped me as I crossed his path.
      “Hey, he said.  I turned hesitantly towards him.  His head was still down as he said, “Is everybody still in there?”
      “Uh, yeah” was my reply.  
      “Oh.”
      I felt bad.  First impressions were key and he just blew his.  He had come out of the closet sooner then he had hoped.  And so, because I pitied him, I did something only the college me would do.
      “You can stay in my room until everyone leaves, “ I said.
      His head went up and he looked at me with questioning eyes.  Why are all the hot guys gay? I found myself thinking as I saw his angelic face once again.
      “I mean, I’ve got some movies and popcorn or we can just listen to some music or something.”  I was just rambling now, his stare starting to make me uneasy.  
      But the tension was eased when he finally said, “Sure,” and got up from the floor.  
      We didn’t walk side by side.  He kept at my heels as I led the way.  Unfortunately, my room was located on the fourth floor of the building and it was a long and wary walk up the winding staircase.  As we climbed up, kids ran down past us, happily chatting to one another about their plans for the night.  When we finally reached the fourth floor, a group of girls casually eyed us, and then went back to their talking.
      He muttered a “thank you” as I opened the door to my hall for him.  I suddenly remembered he was behind me and my heart started to pound faster.  How did I end up in such a situation?  But my anxiety lessened when he said, “Your hall actually doesn’t smell.”
      “Surprising, isn’t it?” I found myself saying.  I fished out my key from my pocket as we got to the door.  It was easy unlocking the door, but getting the key out was a struggle.  I laughed nervously as I desperately tried to pry the key from the lock.
      “Let me see,” he said and practically pushed me out of the way.  In a matter of seconds he yanked out the key.
      I was dumbstruck. “How did you do that?”
      “You just need to hold the key flat and pull,” he replied as he handed it back to me.
      “Oh, I see.”  I wrapped my fingers around the door handle.  “Now bare in mind, my room’s an absolute mess.”
      “It can’t be in a worse condition than mine is right now.”
      That’s true, I thought.  I replayed the image of the dorm party in my head. No doubt there’ll be vomit on the rug by morning.  I cringed at the thought as I opened the door and immediately ran to a pile of clothes on the floor.  I stuffed them into the closet as he walked in and casually took in his new surroundings.  
      “I approve,” he suddenly said.
      “Approve?”
      “Yeah, you’re room is more colorful than mine. My room is so bland.”
      I figured gay guys were into the more vibrant colors.  But heaven forbid he bring a pink comforter to college.  I found myself pitying him again.
      “Uh, sorry but what’s your name?”  he asked.
      “Don’t laugh at it.  It’s pretty old-fashioned.”
      “It isn’t Gertrude is it?” he said with a chuckle as he flipped his hair away from his eyes.
      “No, it’s Cecilia.”
      “Not bad.  Could be worse.”  He held out his hand and I couldn’t help but notice how feminine it looked with the multi-colored bracelets occupying his wrist.  “I’m Jake,” he said and we squeezed hands.
      “Nice to meet you,” I said with a smile.  His hand dropped and there were a few moments of awkward silence"he looking one direction and I looking the other.
     I was the first to break the silence.  “Um, so what do you want to do?”
     He answered with a shrug.
     “Movie?”
     “Sure.”
      I dug through my drawers and fished out my DVD case.  “Choose one,” I said as I threw the red case at him.
      He flinched as the case hit his chest and his arms reflexively caught it.  “A word of warning next time?”  He unzipped the case and started flipping through the DVD’s.  He thumbed through the selection, occasionally nodding to himself.  He suddenly laughed, and I couldn’t help but peek over his shoulder to see what he was looking at.
      “And what’s wrong with The Phantom of the Opera?”
      “Nothing’s wrong with it.  It’s a good movie.”
      “Then what’s so funny?”
      He let out one more chuckle.  “I’m just recalling my sister’s crazy obsession over that movie.  She made me dress like the Phantom for Halloween one year.”
      “Please don’t tell me she was Christine.”
      “Nope…she wasn’t.”
      All of the sudden he seemed so distant, his eyes seeming to see something they didn’t want to see.  I wanted to wave my hands in front of his eyes, but all I could do was stare curiously.
      After what seemed like minutes, he suddenly remembered where he was and shook away his thoughts, focusing back on me.
      “You okay there?”  I tried to say it as light-hearted as I could.
      “Yeah.”
      “Miss home?”
      He retained his smile.  “I guess.  You?”
      “Nah.  I only live five minutes away.”
      He blinked a couple times.  “You serious?”
      “Yup.  Sad, isn’t it?”  I plopped myself on my bed, my back against the white cement wall.  “Actually, this university is closer than my high school was.  Over-protective parents, you see.”
      “I’ll say.”  He looked back down at the case and after careful decision, took out a DVD from out of its slipcover.  Spotting the DVD player, he put the movie in.
      “What’d you choose?” I asked.
      “Shh, the movie’s starting.”  He seated himself beside me and I couldn’t help but smile at his boldness.
      After the aggravating FBI warning, the menu finally came on.  “Good choice,” I heard myself mutter.  It was The Replacements.  He forgot the DVD remote, so I went to fetch it and turned off the lights in the process.  As I made myself comfortable, I found my eyelids getting heavier as the minutes ticked by.  The only thing that kept me awake were the occasional laughs from Jake beside me.  But it was barely an hour into the movie that his laughs ceased and the sounds from the television became more distant.  I was caught in-between being awake and asleep, until finally my eyelids refused to open.  The last thing I recalled was the gentle snoring from Jake at my side.

      I awoke the next morning with my head resting on Jake’s stomach.  It took some time to realize this, for my head is always in a fog once I wake up.  But once my eyes were adjusted and my senses clear, I noticed my head moving to the rhythm of breathing.  I gasped as I jolted up in alarm.  My eyes rested on the sleeping boy, his lips in a slight smile.  Thinking about the position I was sleeping in, I found my cheeks getting hot, and it was during this unfortunate state the he awoke from his sleep.
      “Morning,” he said while wiping the sand out of his eyes.  
      “Um, hi” was all I could utter.
      He let out a yawn as he sat up, his hair now a mess of yellow.  It took him a few moments until finally he realized where he was.  
      “Well this is awkward,” he said.
      “Just a little,” I replied.
     He crawled out of bed and stood awkwardly before me.  “Well I’ll be going now…”
     All I could do was nod.
     “Uh, okay.  Thanks?”
     “No prob.”  I didn’t know what he was thanking me for, but the response was the only thing I could come up with.
      He gave me a weak smile and went on his way.  Once the door shut behind him, I fell down on my bed, frantically reminding myself that he was gay.  But gay or not, he was the first guy I ever shared a bed with.    

Author's Note

How's my first person? Is this a good chapter length? Please critique!

Reviews

[gigi:)]

this is an awesome story ! i loved it!! me and my best friend are always saying that!
"why do all hot guys have to be gay?"

[Kon™]

Great job with this, I really enjoyed it. You did the first-person well and I could relate to the character alot. Great story line and plot you have, I'm interesting to see where you will take this. Keep it up! :)

[Amanda]

I like the idea behind it and your characters are interesting too. That's a great chapter length, by the way, but as long as you get your point across then it really doesn't matter (keeping common sense in mind). I loved it, so keep it going.

[Emily]

I like it. Its really good for your first story in first person and the chapter is definitly longer than any of mine. But either way it has a good story line so far and interesting charecters so I hope you'll keep going with it.
-Emily