AN: I so do not have the time for this story, but I got it in my head last night and, well, here's the first chapter. AUs are still not my thing, but I think I have a much better handle on this one. I guess we'll see.
Don't worry, I'm not giving up on We Danced.
Let me know what you think. I'm kind of excited about this one!
Andy skidded to a halt outside the cement building, checking the room number on her schedule one last time. She was late, definitely, but at least she knew she was in the right place. She jogged up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and found the classroom right away. The door was closed, but she let herself in and accidentally let go of the heavy door before she was able to ease it shut.
"You're late," her professor said from the podium in the front of the small class.
"Sorry, sir," she said, making eye contact with her roommates and friends in the front row. "Won't happen again."
She slid Traci's bag off of the chair between her and Gail and took a seat. "You just called our TA 'sir,'" Gail told her with a wry smile and Andy rolled her eyes at herself.
"Then I guess I'm not all that sorry," she whispered back, looking ahead to see the TA watching them—clearly hearing every word they shared. She smiled sheepishly at him and he shook his head before continuing roll.
"McNally, Andrea," he called and she looked up from her notebook again and raised her hand, ignoring the snickers from her girlfriends on either side of her.
"It's Andy," she corrected him and he nodded, his eyebrows high on his forehead.
As he finished calling the names of the second half of the class, Andy watched him closely. He was obviously older, probably a grad student, and he was handsome in the mysterious way she was usually attracted to. If they hadn't gotten off on a bad note, she'd probably already be half in love with him. As it was, though, she started the semester off late and he started it off brusque. Their story would not be a love story, but one of mutual respect and steely interactions. Which was a shame because the smile on his face when the actual professor entered the room made her stomach twist—in the good way.
"Professor," he greeted, clearly using his TA position to get on the older man's good side.
"Sammy," he said, nodding toward an empty desk at the end of the first row—just two away from Andy. "Thanks for calling roll. Freshman," he said, holding onto either side of the podium. "Welcome to Criminal Justice 101, I'm Professor Boyko. You've already met your TA, Sam Swarek. He'll be here as a resource throughout the semester. Use him."
Andy dared to look around Traci to look at him one last time and at just the moment her eyes landed on him, he looked up from his lap and their eyes locked. His were challenging, but she could feel hers smiling before she looked back at her notebook and let Professor Boyko continue with his class's introduction.
Sam watched her a little longer, guessing it would be a long semester of watching her show up late and aimlessly gather her hair into a ponytail before letting it fan across her shoulders again. It had only been half an hour and she'd already done the latter three times. Why he was watching in the first place was beyond him. For starters, she was late on his first day back from his year off and he wasn't exactly in tiptop shape yet. Then, she belittled his standing as just a TA and now she was packing up for her next class with a smug smile on her face.
He stayed seated as the class filtered by him. "Sorry I was late," Andy said, stopping in front of his desk and he looked up, genuinely surprised. He pegged her as the type to ignore confrontation and let things lay. "Sorry I interrupted you."
"Yeah," he nodded, collecting himself. "No problem," he shrugged and her smile was wide and genuine.
"See you on Wednesday, Sir," the blonde one—Peck?—said, causing the two brunettes to snicker.
"Sam," he corrected her, standing up.
"Bye, Sam," Andy said, pushing one out of the room and dragging the other by the hand out the door.
Sam watched the three of them run into two freshman guys, one squirrelly and puffing on an inhaler, the second was taller and broader and smiling like he just saw his first sunrise. Sam shook his head, still unsure why he was watching any of them, but especially wondering why his eyes lingered on the McNally girl's backside a fraction to long.
"Sammy?" Boyko shook him out of his reverie and he plastered on his realest looking smile he could muster. TAing was his only job while he was wrestling through grad school and Boyko had warned him to keep his attitude in check if he wanted things to stay that way.
"Sir," he said, walking confidently over to the older man's desk.
"You did well today," Boyko told him and Sam nodded his thanks. "You remember this class as a freshman, so you know they're going to need your help and guidance."
"You got it," he promised, zipping up his gray hoodie.
"Good, then I'll see you on Wednesday."
"See you on Wednesday," Sam told him. As he walked out of the classroom, he scooped up his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. He checked his watch and remembered he didn't have a class for two hours and it wasn't really worth it to go back to his apartment and run back here. Instead, he made his way toward the dining hall for lunch.
What with it being the first week of classes and the new freshman class still getting their bearings, he had a hard time finding a spot to sit in the cafeteria, but his troubles dissipated as he heard his name being whooped across the large room. He rolled his eyes to himself, trying to keep his smile in check, but failed when he saw his two best friends from his undergrad class standing near the table where they spent most of their time between classes.
He carried his tray of questionable dining hall food to the other side of the room, but stopped short when a familiar face nearly came in contact with his shoulder. "McNally," he said, just loud enough for her to hear so she turned away from some blond senior guy trying to pick her up.
"Oh, crap," she said, immediately stopping and taking a step back. "You again," she said, smiling now.
"You again," he smirked and the blond looked him up and down. "I know you're new here, but there're a lot of people walking around this place. Keep an eye out."
"Right," she nodded, the smile falling from her face and he mentally kicked himself. "Sorry again."
"Hey, it's no skin off my back," he said, smiling at her and he watched as she reluctantly smiled back. "I just want to make sure you don't miss anything," he said, leaning her head toward hers conspiratorially and she laughed.
"I'll remember that," she said, shaking her head as she and the blond continued past him. He decided to watch her walk away this time, but instead continue toward his own friends.
"Who was that?" Oliver asked, sitting down at the seat closest to the window.
"Some girl in one of my classes," Sam shrugged, putting his tray down before accepting a hug from Jerry.
"One of the classes that you're in or that you're teaching?" He asked and Sam narrowed his eyes before sitting down.
"One that I'm assisting," he answered. "Why?"
"So, she's young?" Oliver asked.
"Freshman," Sam shrugged again. "I didn't exactly ask for everyone's birthday."
"Well, you should," Oliver insisted. "Or you'll end up like Barber over here and fall for an eighteen year old on her first day of college."
"Shut up," Sam laughed, looking at his friend who was effectively avoiding eye contact. "That would mean today."
"It's not like I'm in love with the girl, Sammy, jeez," Jerry promised, rubbing the back of his neck. "And we met at the Penny last night."
"Oh, right," Oliver laughed. "Before she even started college."
"Shut up," Jerry said, standing up. "I have to get to class. Welcome back, Sammy."
"Thanks, Brother," he said, watching Jerry leave.
"How was the year off?" Oliver asked, folding his arms on top of the table as Sam start to eat. "No one heard from you."
"It was just work," Sam shrugged. "The only way I could get back here at all was to take that terrible apprenticeship."
"No, I get it, man," Oliver promised. "We just missed you is all."
"Well, here I am," Sam smiled. "How're you doing? How's Zoe?"
"Eh," Oliver shrugged. "Same as always."
Oliver and Zoe's "same as always" was enough to make Sam worry that they wouldn't make it—no matter how badly Oliver wanted it to work. Zoe just never let up on him and Oliver was too in love to see her the way that Sam did. But Sam cared too much about his buddy to bring him and his relationship down. They'd been together since high school, much longer than he and Sam had been friends, so Sam kept his mouth shut and his opinions to himself.
"Listen," Oliver said now, shaking both himself and Sam out of their individual trains of thought. "I'm TAing a class in ten minutes. Will we see you at the Penny tonight?"
"Oh, you bet," Sam promised and Oliver stood up, patting Sam's shoulder good naturedly. "Later, Brother."
"See you tonight, Sammy."
Now, left to himself, Sam ate slowly and took his time letting his eyes wander around the overflowing dining hall. When he found himself examining each female brunette with a certain intensity, he almost got up and left—knowing exactly who he was looking for. But, then, well, then he found her. He sat up straighter to get a better look.
She was laughing, flanked by the two other girls in his CJ 101 class and the same two guys they met after it ended. The blond was gone and Sam couldn't help but feel like he won some kind of battle. When she laughed again, doubling over, her eyes locked with his on her way up and she stopped short.
Andy was surrounded by the only four people she felt comfortable with—her two roommates that she met and bonded with over orientation and the boys that lived next door to them. But now her eyes were watching the mysterious TA who went from rough to flirty in a matter of an hour and she found herself smiling at him. Again.
And Sam didn't look away. He kept his eyes on her, like it's where they belonged, and she could feel her cheeks start to warm. When she felt a presence behind her, she had a hard time wrenching her eyes from her TA, but then a hand landed on her shoulder and she knew someone was trying to get her attention. Luke, she realized when she finally turned toward him.
"Hi… Again," she said, smiling shyly at him. She had met him in the salad line and he struck up a conversation with her. After her run-in with Sam and when she found her friends, he had begged off kindly. Now, he was back.
"Hi," he said, sticking his hands into his green coat. "Are you free tonight?"
Andy was actually shocked that those were the words that came out of his mouth. It was definitely not what she was expecting. Though, why else would he seek her out again? She heard the conversation among her friends stop immediately and she narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in their general direction before standing up to be eye-to-eye with Luke.
"I'm not tonight," she told him truthfully. Since it was the first day of classes, the RAs in the freshman dorm were having floor meetings and a mixer. And without having to be told, she was sure that Luke was at least a junior.
"Another time?" He asked, smile as confident as before—completely unruffled.
"Yeah, maybe," she smiled and he nodded, before waving to her friends and turning toward the exit.
She watched him leave. Where he was completely unmoved by their interaction, she was still wildly confused. Maybe college guys were just more abrupt about that sort of thing, but Andy was used to a little more lead in when it came to being asked out. Not that it was a regular occurrence, but regular enough to know there was a little more back and forth before a move was made.
When she sat back down in front of her food and her friends, she could feel every single pair of their eyes on her like they weighed a hundred pounds each. "What?" She asked, pushing her tray away.
"Who was that?" Traci asked with a soft, knowing smile.
"Some guy I met in the salad line," Andy shrugged, uncomfortable with all of their attention. They were friends, sure, but still very new to each other.
"Salad line, huh?" Dov asked, looking toward it to see if he could find any unsuspecting women to ask out. "Who would have thought that's where I need to find myself a chick?" And, with that, he was gone.
Gail laughed after him and Chris shook his head, watching as roommate fell into step next to a pretty blond. "What's his name?" Traci asked now, ignoring the rest of the table.
"Luke," Andy said quietly and she heard Gail repeat the name—drawn out and mildly sexual. Andy narrowed her eyes at her and Gail shrugged innocently.
"He's cute," she said. "Go for it."
"I don't know," Andy said, shaking her head slowly and just enough to get a look at the table where she had seen Sam. He was gone now, but her eyes lingered anyway. "Yeah, I don't know," she repeated. "I've got to get back to the room. I forgot my book for my next class."
"Andy, it's syllabus day," Chris reminded her. "You probably won't need it."
"I was late to CJ 101 because English is on the other side of campus, I just want to be prepared for this next one," she argued. "I'll see you in the common room tonight, though. Good luck with your classes."
"Good luck," they called after her and she dropped her tray on top of a trashcan where she noticed others were doing the same thing.
She made her way across campus, toward her dorm room. When she got there, she made her way around Gail's mess and Traci's desk before she got to her own. Her bed was lofted, so she could fit her desk and dresser underneath it. Gail and Traci bunked their beds and their desks were stuck against the wall wherever they could fit. The room was meant for two, but due to a housing surge, it was forced to fit all three of them. None of them minded, but it was only the first week. Things were bound to get tight.
Andy grabbed her bio book and a granola bar and stuffed both into her plaid backpack. She took one last look around the room, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything, and headed outside toward the building where her bio class was being held.
She didn't know much about college, but she knew that she wanted to do a good job of it and being late wasn't the way to do that. So, she ended up sitting on the floor outside her class's door until people trickled past her and she stood to wait them out. Just as she was about to walk inside, she heard the door from the outside burst open as heavy footsteps ran down the hall.
"You're late," she called after him and Sam stopped at the sound of her voice and turned toward her. "Make sure it doesn't happen again."
"You're just making me later, McNally," he called back, smiling, before running around the corner.