Amelia bounded out of her room in the small apartment she shared with her sister when she smelled bacon, eggs, and pancakes cooking in the kitchen. "MADDIE!" Her sister sighed, listening to the pounding of her sister's feet down the hall, as she flipped the bacon. "Amelia, it's a small apartment. There's no need to yell. And stop running, I don't want the people downstairs to report us as a public disturbance... again." Amelia grinned as she yanked one of the mismatched chairs away from the dining room table (card table) and plopped down. Madeline put the food onto plates, heaping a considerately larger portion on the one that belonged to her sister. Padding quietly over to the table, she slide Amelia's plate in front of her. She blinked and half of it was gone. "Could you not eat like a starving hyena, please?" Amelia lifted her egg covered face up from her plate. "MMMPH?" "And swallow before you begin to speak."

Madeline handed her sister a napkin. Amelia gulped, making an audible chocking sound as she reached for the glass of water her sister had (brilliantly) already placed on the table for this exact reason. After several long swallows, she slammed the glass back down. "AREN'T YOU EXCITED?!" Madeline flinched and set her fork down. "Amelia, inside voice please." Amelia ducked her head with a sheepish grin and whispered. "Oh, right. Sorry... But it's our first day of college! How great is this going to be?!" Amelia was once again (not to her sister's surprise, of course) near yelling. "I can't believe we both made the same college! I'm lucky they were looking for western riders on their Equestrian team, huh?" Madeline nodded and took a sip of her own water. Thinking back to the moment they both opened their acceptance letters, it had been a shock to see Amelia had gotten in. It was no secret that Amelia wasn't really... the best in her classes. Unlike Madeline, she had gotten in on a scholarship for horseback riding.

The fact that this school had some of the best dressage trainers and jumpers in the world was well know. Anyone who was anyone in the horse industry wanted to get in. Lately though, due to the increase in Western style riding popularity, they wanted to add 'Reiners' to the school. And Amelia just so happened to be one of the best in the country. Madeline watched as Amelia shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth and rose from the table. Madeline continued to eat delicately as she heard her sister nosily drop her dishes into the sink. "Are you going in early to feed Hero?" Her sister pranced to the door and grabbed her coat and bag from the closet. "Yup! How do I look? Ready for college?" Maddie studied her sister's worn, dark brown, western boots, her dark jeans (that fit on the... tighter side), and her tied off, white, long sleeve, button up shirt. She smiled. "As ready as you'll ever be." Amelia snorted. "HaHaHa! Aren't you cute? Whatever, I'll see you at school okay? Call me and we'll meet for lunch." Maddie nodded as her sister flung the door open and exited the room. "Sounds good." The door slammed shut and rattled the apartment walls. Madeline shook her head. "Well, at least she didn't-" The door flew open again. Amelia charged back into the kitchen and proceeded down the hall. After a minute, she reappeared in the room with her trade mark smirk and her pale brown cowgirl hat sitting proudly on her head. She winked. "Wouldn't want to forget my hat. See you at school!" The door slammed again as she headed out. Madeline sighed and placed her head in her hands. "-remember to grab her stupid hat."

-Later-

Amelia whistled happily as she strode down the long, beautiful aisles of the college's absolutely HUGE horse barn with a flake of hay tucked under her arm and a bucket of grain swinging in her hand. She passed stall after stall of well groomed, well managed horses. Trakehners, Dutch Warmbloods, Arabians, Lusitanos, Mogans, Oldenburgs, Thoroughbreeds, and Quarter horses among many others. Amelia was extremely giddy. So awesome... She stopped to pet the nose of a sweet draft mare that nickered at her and stuck her head into the aisle. Amelia giggled and continued on her way. Humming America's national anthem to herself,she turned down the row which her horse, All American Hero, was stalled in. Her step skipped a beat when she saw that someone was already at Hero's stall and had opened his head gate to allow him to stick his nose into the aisle, which coincidentally, also happened to block Amelia's view of the person's face. Hero had his ears set calmly and his eyes closed as the stranger ran a hand along his muzzle gently. As Amelia came closer, Hero's ears flipped toward her and he whinnied a greeting. The person at her stall turned to look at her. HOLY Shhhit...

On a 1-10 scale of hot, this guy had to be at least a fifteen. Slicked back, blonde hair, baby blue eyes, lean but muscular at the same time, tall... really tall, straight back, nice frame, serious expression. Huh, this'll be fun. Amelia smiled brightly as she approached the man. She pranced across the aisle way and opened her mouth to let out a loud good morn- "You're so out of your league, Fraulein." Amelia stopped in stunned stupor. "I- wha-?" He snorted and one of his eyebrows raised, almost sarcastically. "You think that this is going to be so easy, don't you? You think yourself so competent that you can just sit back and do nothing. Don't you? Little miss 'I'm better than everyone else here who had to work for what they have'. Well let me tell you something... " Amelia shrank away from the man as he stepped forward into her personal space. "I worked too hard for too long to let some silly little girl swoop in and take everything away from me. You don't know what it means to ride a horse. Reining? Please, that shouldn't even be considered a sport. Anyone can do it. Running circles isn't that difficult, after all." He turned back around to look at Hero. His mouth sneered with disdain. "Especially when you have such a pathetic excuse for an animal-"

Amelia lunged forward, dropping the hay and the grain bucket, and yanked the man around by the front of his jacket. His eyes went wide with shock and his mouth fell open slightly. Hero jerked back into his stall as Amelia's voice darkened with rage, her clenched fist held the guy in place and her eyes leveled with his. "Now you listen here boy" Amelia moved her face inches away from his. "You can insult my grades, my looks, my IQ, my house, my mother, my father, my clothes, BUT," They were centimeters away from each other. "You may not EVER insult my sister, or my horse."

Amelia shoved the guy away. He stumbled back before straightening to his full height indignantly. They were locked in a battle of glares. He looked away first. "Just stay out of my way." He shoved past her and moved swiftly down the aisle. "I COULD TELL YOU THE SAME THING!" Amelia yelled after him. Hero whinnied nervously. Amelia sighed and looked at him. "Hey buddy, you're alright. I'm sorry." She bent to pick up her flake of hay and her grain. Luckily, only a little had spilled. She approached the door, threw the hay onto the stall floor, and offered the grain bucket for Hero to eat out of. As he stuffed his face, Amelia thought about the man she had just met. What gave him the RIGHT to say that to me?! Damn overconfident German trainers think they're so great. Bunch of big bullies... Geez, sometimes people just make me so MAD! Amelia stamped her foot on the ground as Hero finished the grain. He turned around delicately in the stall to eat his hay. "Okay boy, I'll see you later alright? We'll ride when I finish my last class, pinky promise!"

After returning the bucket to the feed room with the rest of her stuff. She jogged out of the now more crowded barn and onto the sidewalk towards her first class. I can't wait to ride Hero, it feels like it's been forever! She frowned, I just hope that guy isn't riding when I am. How bad would it be to actually have to be around that jerk again... Amelia dismissed the thought. Naw, that probably won't happen. He looked pretty special, probably has a better time slot than I was assigned to. Amelia made her way into the Agriculture building as a tall guy with platinum blond hair held the door open for her on his way out. She nodded to him, still deeply rooted in thought. "Thanks man." He smiled and nodded, "Pazhalooysta." Amelia checked her schedule for her class room number in the lobby of the big building before jogging tripping twice and circling the 3rd floor four times, she finally managed to find her first class of the day.

Ducking her head as she entered the room, she muttered apologies to the cross looking teacher who had already begun her lecture. Amelia slunk her way around people and took an open seat in the fifth row. Running her fingers through her short hair, she pulled out her old, used laptop and opened up a document for notes as the teacher launched back into a drawn out explanation about the evolution of potatoes. Man, if today was any hint to how my year is going to go, then this is gonna be some tough shit...

*Writer's Note- I had the idea for this story for awhile but I didn't really have the motivation to start it. Looking at it now, I'm really happy I did. Hope you enjoyed and plan on staying tuned for more! I promise it'll get interesting! Oh, pazhalooysta means 'you're welcome' in Russian (or something like that). Peace-Berries and Beans