Disclaimer: I don't own the Ducks or anything else that Disney might want to sue for. I'm writing this purely for entertainment, not for profit or personal gain.

A/N: My other story, Except Me, is on hiatus for an undetermined length of time while I go back and do some rewrites and get my muse back to where it should be. I was watching the first movie with my roommate tonight, though, and inspiration for this story just struck. Hope y'all enjoy.

As I close my eyes -- feigning sleep, so my dad will stop asking me questions about school and go back to his NPR -- all I can think is, I can't wait to get home.

Don't get me wrong. I love being away at college, I really do. I love my classes, I love my teachers -- well, mostly. I don't like the TA I have for math that spits when he talks -- and I love the friends I'm making in Ohio. And, of course, I've learned to love Buckeye football.

I even think I may be ready to tell Jonah that I love him.

I know, right? Everyone always said Guy and I would be together forever -- us included. But last spring, when we found out that none of the schools we applied to together accepted both of us, we decided to put things on hold while we get used to being apart.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't break my heart. You stay with someone for as long as Guy and I were together and then break up? Heartache is bound to happen. But eventually, it hurt less and less, until it got to the point where we could sit in the same room, not hold hands, and I didn't want to cry. And in the fall, he stayed in Minnesota, while I started my freshman year at the Ohio State University.

That's where I met Jonah.

He sat two seats down from me in my Social and Ethical Philosophy course and nicknamed me "Fargo" because of my Minnesotan accent. He introduced me to his friends, who, like him, had lived in Columbus their entire lives and didn't understand why I couldn't understand football. It took some time, but I'm now a fan, and whenever I hear someone yell "O-H!", my automatic response is to yell back "I-O!"

Jonah wooed me over a steady diet of cheesy knock-knock jokes and Top Ramen. He has, to date, shown me fifty-eight different ways to prepare Ramen noodles, and all of them are delicious. Every Tuesday, we scrape together four quarters so we can go to Half-Price Night at the dollar theater. I've seen every movie Ben Stiller has released in the past four months. After our second date, he kissed me for the first time. After our seventh date, he took me home to meet his parents. After three months, we slept together -- my first time.

After he left, I thought of Guy and cried. Not that there was any doubt in my mind that things were perfect between Jonah and me. They were, and I was more than ready. It's just, I always thought I would lose my virginity to Guy. And it's never easy for me to accept that things sometimes turn out differently than I expect them to.

I have to admit, the closer I get to home, the more nervous I am about seeing Guy again. Seeing all of the Ducks again, actually -- after Christmas, those of us that live out of state are flying into Minneapolis for a reunion. Even those that have given up hockey, like Ken, are willing to get together for the sake of friendship. Or teambuilding, as Charlie prefers to call it.

My dad pulls into the driveway. I open my eyes and step out of the car, breathing in the crisp fall air. I don't know what it is, but winter just smells different in Ohio. I carry my luggage upstairs to my room and grin as I familiarize myself with my old things.

Man, am I glad to be home.