Chapter 1:
A cool wind blew crisp leaves across the campus sidewalk. A blond girl walked down the sidewalk with several heavy books weighing down the bag that hung just above her left hip. Her heels clicked with every step. She pulled an id card out of her pocket and swiped it to gain entrance to a large brick building. She continued walking up a flight of stairs, and down a hallway until she finally found herself standing in front of a brightly decorated door. She used a key attached to her id card and unlocked the door before stepping inside her dorm room.
She dropped her id and keys as well as her bag onto her desk and plopped down onto the bed with a rushed exhalation of air. The room was dark and the dorms were relatively quiet as most students were still in class or grabbing themselves something to eat from the cafeteria. She was just beginning to relax when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She reached into her pocket to retrieve the small, silver item. After checking the blue caller id screen, she flipped open the phone and answered "hello."
"Hey Paige. Were you busy? I know you get out of class sometime around this time." It was her friend, Sam. They had literally run into one another earlier that semester in the campus coffee shop. It had almost been a cappuccino casualty, but they both managed to only spill a few drops and ended up sharing a table with one another for the evening. They quickly became friends, and often would accompany one another to the coffee shop as it was their favorite place to hang out.
"Oh no, hun. Actually, I just walked in the door a few minutes ago. What's up?"
"I wanted to see if you had plans for dinner tonight."
Paige thought it over for a few seconds before replying "Oh, no actually... did you have anything in mind?"
"What about that cafe downtown? What was it called? The Brick...yea, how about The Brick?"
"Sure, that sounds great, and maybe we can grab some coffee afterwards? I surely need something...this day has been heinous."
"Definitely good. So, do you want me to come by your dorm...say...7ish?"
"Seven would work perfectly. I've got a few last minute things to do for my Marketing presentation tomorrow. I guess I need to get the ball rolling on those if I'm going to finish by seven though...so I'll see you at seven then?"
"Ok Paige, I'll see you then. Bye."
"Later, hun." And with that, Paige closed the phone and sat down at her desk. She tapped at the touch pad on her laptop gently before finishing up one of her many school assignments.
After closing her laptop, she opened the wardrobe to pick out her clothing for the evening. She changed her clothes, spritzed her hair, and touched up her makeup. She had just finished applying her lip gloss when there was a light knock at her door. She grabbed her purse and keys before opening the door. Sam stood outside waiting patiently. She looked like a Gap ad in her brightly colored polo and jeans. "Pink again? I'm beginning to think that's the only color clothing you own, Paige" Sam said in a joking manner.
Paige slapped her gently on the arm. "You better hush Miss Salinas, or I might leave you to an evening of craptastic cafeteria food by yourself."
"Ok ok, you've got it.. no more pink jokes. Now, are we going to stand outside of your room all night or are we actually going out for dinner Miss Michalchuk?" The comment earned her another smack on the arm.
"Fine fine, let's go" Paige said with a little laugh.
The two girls had finished dinner and had already made their way to the coffee shop down the street. Paige and Sam selected a table, and sat down with their vanilla lattes .
"Mmm, caffeine... I totally needed this. The end of this semester is kicking my ass. I'm so glad winter break is coming up. Aren't you?"
Sam took a sip of her steaming drink and let it swirl around in her mouth for a second before swallowing and finally answering Paige's question. "Well, I guess the break from school work will be good, but I don't have any real plans."
Paige asked with a concerned look, "well, aren't you at least going home for Christmas?"
"Actually, I'm not. My parents are going on some skiing trip in the Swiss Alps, and I wasn't invited. I was planning on just staying here during the break."
"You will not under any circumstances be spending your break here. I will not have it. You're coming home with me for a Michalchuk Christmas."
"Oh Paige, I couldn't do that. Besides, you haven't even asked your parents."
"Don't worry about them. Please say you'll come home to Toronto with me. My brother, Dylan will be home which means Marco will be around and you can finally meet him. Oh come on, seriously, what is keeping you here? It will be fun."
Sam thought about it for a minute before giving in "ok, I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right. I always am. Wow, this is exciting. I've got to call Marco tonight and tell him you're coming. He's been going on and on forever now that he wants to meet you, and you can meet Hazel and everyone else. Yay!"
Sam sat thinking to herself as Paige rambled excitedly about everyone that she would meet while in Toronto. Well, I guess it's good that I'll get to meet Marco. I've heard so much about him. Wait, that means we might run into Alex as well, and I've heard a lot more about her. I never told Paige that I was actually awake during the nightmares she had on the nights she slept over at my apartment. I listened quietly as she tossed and turned and talked out loud telling Alex to please not leave her . She did finally admit that they had dated and that it had ended badly, but didn't really elaborate. Paige never came out and said it, but I know that she's still in love with Alex. Great...
A/N: Of course they're going to run into Alex. This is a Palex story after all, but that's not to say there won't be drama. Either way, yes, Alex will make an appearance in the next chapter. Let me know what you think so far.