The College Years: Part 1

{A/N: Allright, some things in this fic are different from the basic Passions storylines (obviously). for 1, kay is not pregnant w/ Miguel's baby (they never made love, there was no charity's essence), David & John r only in Harmony because John goes 2 Harmony University & because David worx 4 the Cranes. (no plots w/ ivy 2 break up GRAM). the main characters in this fic r john, chad, miguel, reese, fox, noah, simone, jessica, charity, theresa, whitney and kay. there r going 2 b numerous (unrelated) stories between these characters & this is the 1st story. enjoy - i know u will. ;) }

Chapter 1:


Twenty-year old John Hastings was in his dorm room at Harmony University studying for a Statistics test. When he finished, he closed his book and grabbed his keys. He hated being alone in the dormitory. His roommate, Chad Harris, who was the same age, was hardly ever in the dorms, only when it came to sleeping. John was bored so he decided to head to Miguel's and Reese's dormitory, see what they were up to.

Nineteen year old, Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald shared the dorm room with Reese Durkee, an old friend of his from high school.

John knocked on their door.

"Come in," came Reese's voice.

John walked in to see Miguel and Reese sitting down, along with their girlfriends, Charity and Jessica.

"Hey, you guys," John said, closing the door behind him. "What's up?"

"Hi, John," came their reply's.

"Where are all the other lovely ladies?" he asked, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Well, Simone, Whitney and Theresa have class right now," Jessica replied, giving John a smile. "And Kay, well I ..." Jessica's voice trailed off, leaving John curious about what was up with Kay.

"Who cares where she is," Miguel blurted out suddenly. "As long as she is away from me and Charity." His tone was harsh in regard to "his best friend."

"Miguel don't say that," Charity spoke up. "Kay is manipulative but she IS our friend."

"Ex-friend." Miguel answered stubbornly.

No one said anything. John didn't know Kay that well - they had just met a few weeks ago, but he was aware of her unsuccessful antics when it came to to getting Miguel to love her. Nearly everyone was. But nobody seemed to feel sorry for her, or sympathize with her.

Just then, Miguel and Charity began giggling and whispering to each other.

"What's up you two?" Reese asked suspiciously.

"We have some news to share," Charity said, beaming. Her face was illuminated with happiness, as was Miguel's.

"Well?" Jessica said, impatiently. She loved surprises and this news seemed to be a happy one.

"We're getting married!" Charity exclaimed loudly, showing everyone her engagement ring.

"Oh my God!" Jessica squealed happily for her cousin and friend.

One by one, Jessica, Reese and John went to hug and praise the engaged couple.

"Congratulations!" John told them. "I can tell how in love the two of you are. I wish you all the best!"

"Thanks, John," they responded giddily.

John turned away from them, a pang of jealousy clouding up his emotions. I so wish I could get the kind of love they share, he thought to himself. Their love is magical, beautiful, the best of its kind. I want that, I yearn for it.

Meanwhile, as they were all celebrating Miguel's and Charity's joyful announcement, 19 year old Kay Bennett was in her dorm room, sitting down on her bed, thinking. She should have been studying for an upcoming exam but she had more important things to worry about. Like Miguel. How was she ever going to snag him away NOW? He had been going out with Charity for four years! Nothing she did seemed to work - he only wanted Charity.

Thank God that Theresa and Whitney have class when I don't, Kay thought to herself bitterly. I mean they are my friends but I don't think Theresa would like it if she knew that I was trying to steal Miguel away from Charity. But it's not fair! She's going out with my brother - it's only fitting that I go out with hers! Sighing to herself, Kay got up and was just about to open to door and leave her room to get some fresh air, when her phone rang.

"Hello," she said into the receiver.

"Kay!" said the person on the other line. "It's Jess, WHAT are you up to?"

"Nothing," Kay answered defensively. She could tell from her younger sister's voice that she didn't trust Kay.

She probably thinks I'm trying to break up Miguel and Charity, Kay thought to herself. Well.... she is right. But I hate the fact that they are always suspicious of me.

"Well, then, can you come over to Miguel's dorm? Almost all of us are there. Charity and Miguel have some news to share. So are you coming?"

Kay swallowed the lump in her throat. Charity and Miguel have some news? she thought to herself. She was no fool. Intuition told her that this news was something she was not going to like. She could tell. But oh well. What's another heartache atop the millions of it she'd already suffered at the hands of Miguel and Charity's relationship? Right?

"Umm ya," Kay said. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Alright," Jessica said, hanging up.

"Is she coming?" Charity asked her hopefully.

"Yes," Jessica told her cousin.

"I still don't see why she has to be here," Miguel grumbled. "This is supposed to be a HAPPY moment between US and FRIENDS. We'll she's not going to celebrate with us and she obviously is not a friend anymore, to any of us!"

"But Miguel, she's still my cousin," Charity responded. "And she may have pulled quite a few dastardly schemes but our love still managed to survive. Plus, once we're married, she can't bother us."

"Fine, Char," Miguel groaned. "I don't like it, but I'll do it for you."

"Thank you," Charity replied, giving him a sweet kiss.

A few minutes later, a loud knock was heard. John went to open the door.

There stood the brown haired, brown eyed beauty named Kay. She was dressed in all black, and she had no makeup on. She had bags under her eyes. John always thought she was the most beautiful out of all of the girls he knew here in HU but she also seemed the most troubled. That brought an air of mystery to her that made him inquire about her. From what he had heard from Jessica, Miguel and the others, she was quite determined to get Miguel for herself. He kind of pitied her as she stood there in front of the door. The only thing she seemed to focus on was chasing after Miguel. She was after lust, there was not an ounce of love in her body. She had not gotten love from anybody but her father. Her mother despised her for her obsession over Miguel. Jessica wished Kay wasn't her sister. But her father had managed to love her, despite everything she had done. Only his love was real.

"Hi, Kay," John said, letting her inside.

"Hi," Kay said absent-mindedly. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"How could you forget MY name?!" he responded jokingly. "It's John," he added.

"Right," she said absent-mindedly. "Silly of me to forget." She gave a small smile that barely reached her eyes.

Even her smiles are sad! John thought to herself a bit dejectedly. He felt bad for her as he watched her uncomfortably greet the others.

Miguel's, Jessica's and Reese's faces seemed to be made of stone. They didn't even get up to hug Kay hello the way Charity had done. Kay's face paled especially when Miguel barely acknowledged her, but she didn't say anything.

"What's going on?" Kay asked all of them as she took off her jacket.

"Well, Kay - " Charity began.

"Let me," Miguel interrupted, narrowing his eyes at Kay.

"You see, Kay - " he started.

Kay laughed nervously. "Miguel," she said. "You never used to call me 'Kay.' It was always 'Kat.'"

Miguel barely listened to what she said. He seemed even angrier than before at her little interruption. "Well anyways, KAY," he continued, emphasizing on her name, "Charity and I wanted to have you here because we have some news for you. We are going to get married."

Kay stared at the floor, not believing what she heard. Did Miguel say that him and Charity are going to get married? she thought to herself. Her world came crashing down. This isn't supposed to be! her mind screamed out. Oh no! It was as if her heart was dying. She could barely breathe and think about the consequences of what was happening at the same time. She felt like she was going to choke. She had to get out of here.

"I hope you understand," Charity said sympathetically, trying to be nice in place of the cold Miguel.

Kay managed to nod, as she stood up, grabbing her jacket.

"Will you excuse me," Kay told everyone. "I have to go. I...I have a ... a ... a meeting...with a ... professor," Kay blurted out, trying to come up with an excuse to leave the room.

No one objected as she left.

Once she was outside, Kay couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. She had never once cried over Miguel. Or anything for that matter. She was a strong, brave woman. And she didn't cry now. But her face spoke volumes when it came to how she felt. She knew that she couldn't go back to her dorm. Whitney and Theresa might be there and would ask her why she was so upset. She couldn't tell her older brother Noah because he might tell Fox (his roommate who also is Simone's boyfriend) or his girlfriend Theresa. She didn't want anyone else to know about this. She had nowhere to go.

She walked over to the corner of the dormitory building and sat down on the cold hard floor, looking straight ahead in front of her, her face and body paralyzed in despair. She couldn't get the words Miguel had said to her out of her mind: "We are going to get married."

{A/N again: what do u all think so far? i liked it. i hope u did 2. This is actually NOT a Kaguel fic (4 once). & Charity is actually a decent character. But Miguel isn't. U probly already knew that. PLEASE r/r. i really want comments: what u like/didn't like, etc. peace out.}