Chapter 1

Hi! This is a new fanfiction which popped into my head last minute. I know I need to work on my own project and my other fanfics but I just wanted to throw this out there. Whether I continue or not is up to you.

Wanda POV

I watched the figures move on the TV screen which was hooked to the wall on the bottom of my bunk, paying no particular attention to the comedy TV show. My attention lingered elsewhere and the groans and creaks coming from above me masked out all the sound.

'Melanie!' I groaned. 'What are you doing up there?'

She shuffled and swung her head over the bed frame. 'I need to clear out all Violetta's stuff. You know- before the bed falls down.' She prodded the bed playfully. 'If this thing collapses on you, I'm not paying for your funeral.'

I snorted and checked through my messages on my phone. Most were irrelevant, but three I sent to the trash, avoiding tearing up again.

Mel, Lily, Sunny and I resisted in this dorm, although four other girls had recently moved elsewhere, applying to other college applications. I was happy for them, but it was lonely now.

'I think we need to lighten the mood', Lily announced.

'Great. How should we do this?' Mel asked.

Sunny pursed her lips. 'Let's have a girls night! It'll be fun!'

Melanie was at work already. She finished on the top bunk all too quickly, enough to make me worried that the bed actually would collapse on me in the night. Soon enough the room was spotless and I was plucked from my bed unwillingly.

Lily tossed Mel a bag of popcorn, Sunny managing the fizzy drink cans, ensuring that they wouldn't fizz up and ruin the white carpet.

'Lily- you're in charge of the DVD's. Sunny- the makeup. I say it's almost time for a makeover.' Sunny grinned at this, while Mel continued. 'I'm in charge of the food, and Wanda, take a shower, turn your phone off and then you can help us.' She winked at me.

I groaned. 'Didn't we have one of these 'girl nights' last weekend?' I asked desperately.

'Nope', Lily disagreed. 'That was movie night. This is girls night.'

'No boys allowed', Sunny added.

Lily continued. 'That means no flirting will college boys, Melanie. No video chats and no contact.' She looked at me, smirking. 'And no imaginary dream boyfriends for you tonight, Wanda. I've had enough of you snogging your pillow.'

I made a big deal of planting another kiss onto the fabric stuffed with feathers before lobbing it in her direction, messing up her hair in the process.

When it seemed impossible to protest any further, proving it a fight I couldn't win, I obeyed Melanies commands obediently, taking my shampoos from my washbag before padding into the bathroom.

I switched on the shower and let the warm water wrap around my body like vines. I focused on the warmth of the water which erased all the bad and concealed the scars covering my body.

Melanie POV

We chatted amongst ourselves as we set up the room for our very own girls night in. It was a disappointment losing a night to the guys along the corridor, but they weren't worth much anyway. From what I had guessed, I was still waiting to get a good glimpse at the other boys in the flats adjacent to our building. It was an overnight college but that didn't mean that the guys who didn't sleep here didn't attend classes. There were still plenty more people for us to check out. That would be saved for later. Tonight was our night.

'Daydreaming, Melanie?' Lily joked.

'Something like that.'

I grinned at her, but she didn't smile back. Instead, she was glancing down worriedly at Sunny who wore a guilt stricken expression on her face.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. 'What's up, Sunny? Everything okay?'

She bit her lip. 'Will Wanda like this? I mean, I know it's been hard for her and all. Her scars must be bothering her...'

I considered her point. Wanda had joined our dorm in replacement to a vile bitch named Lacey who had actually been dating a guy who had abused Wanda. He had played her from the beginning, and since Wanda had no family left to go to after her older brothers had beat her up, we had taken her in.

She had bad dreams from time to time, but generally seemed to be doing okay.

'I'm sure she'll be fine.'

'A distraction will be good for her', Lily agreed.

We were interrupted by a loud knocking sounding from the door.

Ian POV

'This isn't right', I groaned as Jared wrapped his fist on the door. 'We can't just keep asking people to stay at their place just because we got kicked out.'

Aaron chuckled and Jared ignored me. 'What else are we gonna do, Ian?'

'We don't have anywhere else to go', Kyle agreed.

'It isn't right', I protested. 'They'll all be full up!'

'Actually, the woman at the desk said that four of the girls moved out of here recently. There should be enough space.' He winked at me.

I groaned again involuntarily. 'There girls? Jared, c'mon.'

He wiggled his eyebrows but was interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open. A brown haired girl popped her head round the door, her arms crossed across her chest. She was in shorts and an inappropriately low tank top. I guessed that this was her version of Pyjamas.

Her annoyed expression softened as she took in all our faces. She looked each one of us up and down, causing me to feel uncomfortable.

She whistled and clicked her tongue. Jared was already smiling, putting on his flirty face. 'Hey you', he murmured, his eyes bright as he took his turn to look her up and down, lingering on exposed areas of flesh.

'Hey yourself. What can I do for you?'

'We got kicked out of our room', Aaron interjected. 'We need a place to stay.'

'They said you were the only ones with space', Kyle added.

I could see her debating although her eyes were bright and it was clear that we already knew the answer. She opened the door wide, walking back into the room without a backwards glance.

We shuffled in after her, Jared confident and amused.

The room was fairly empty with boxes here and there, probably containing the absent college girls' stuff. The walls were painted turquoise and each section of the room holding a two-person bunk bed was decorated differently. One particular corner caught my eye. Lyrics were strung across the walls and words were inked across the paint. Mirrors cut into shapes were strung around and lights hung from the boards above. It even had a curtain to pull across for privacy.

Two girls looked up from a sofa in the middle of the room facing the large flat screen TV. They were eyeing us carefully, the tanned girl on the left with both excitement and disappointment in her eyes.

'Screw girls night', she said.

They laughed and collapsed in a heap on the white carpet, clutching their stomachs.

'Sit', the girl said who had opened the door, dragging up chairs and cushions to occupy and fill the area.

Jared sat beside her on the couch, Aaron on the cushions on the floor beside the girls on the floor with Kyle on his other side. This time, I was the one debating. Instead of going for the couch like my limbs wanted me to, I took to perching on the chair to the left of the TV.

'Girls, these guys need a place to stay', the girl on the couch next to Jared announced, twisting her hair in her fingers. I could see her itching to apply her makeup.

'Ooh', the tanned girl chimed. 'Why? Where did you come from?'

'I think they're messing with us', the girl next to her sang, giggling.

Kyle poked her playfully from where he sat. 'Don't laugh. It's so cruel. We got kicked out.'

She blinked. 'From where?'

'Across the road in the flats', Aaron said, pointing out the windows.

'These Jackasses just can't seem to keep their act together. The ruddy manager lost it when Kyle kicked its dog.'

I said it all without thinking and too my surprise, they all laughed.

'What can I say?' Kyle laughed. 'I was drunk.'

'Next day, we were out. Forbidden to ever set foot in his place again', I mimicked with the fat managers accent.

They all laughed again, the girl on the couch still eyeing Jared who seemed to be 'speaking with his eyes' to her in particular. I rolled my own and turned to face the girls on the ground.

'That's um… Kyle, Aaron, Jared and I'm Ian', I offered, attempting to seem less stalkerish since we had entered their dorm at… what time was it anyway? It still seemed wrong.

The girl on the couch perked up immediately. 'I'm Melanie. And this is Sunny and Lily. It's nice to meet you. Beer anybody?'

Melanie tossed out drinks, and we turned our attention to the TV, offering up conversations here and there. Melanie played loud music during the commercials and I took to closing the blinds and limiting the amounts of alcohol that I put into my system.

The girl who Kyle had been talking with was Sunny and Aaron was also showing signs of attraction towards Lily. To be honest, it felt strange to be the outsider of the group and I was a little disappointed that there was only three in the dorm, but I was also relieved since none of them were my type. I preferred to steer clear of girls who spent more time on there phones and obsessing over countless movie stars and boys rather than being out in the real world.

Despite it all, I was thankful that we had found a half- decent place to stay.

Wanda POV

Once the warm water began to cool, becoming not warm but chilling, I switched off the water, stepping out into the steamy room. Glad for the mist, I found it easy to avoid looking into the mirror and at the scars and bruises covering every inch of my body.

I dried myself off quickly, not bothering to do my hair, and pulled my towel tightly around my body. I applied skin coloured makeup to my arms and legs, allowing myself to go free from embarrassment and shame for one night since I would be wearing my Pajama shorts.

Besides, who knew what Melanie had in stock for me since it was 'girls night?' She could have planned anything. I just wanted to be prepared.

Realising that I had left my clothes in my bag, I stepped out from the bathroom, realising just too late that there appeared to be more than three voices echoing in from the dorm.

I held my breath. Several curious faces looked up at me from the corner.