DISCLAIMER: I don't own.

Yes. It was the first day of freshman year. The next four years were going to be full of laughter and accomplishment. She just knew it. That was all she was hoping for, anyway. She knew if she worked hard, she'd achieve anything she set her mind to. That was the kind of mantra she chanted to herself as she got ready for her first class of the day. She turned to the oversized mirror that leaned against the wall in the corner of her room and examined her look. She dressed in a pair of black jeans and a dark green button down shirt that had two breast pockets with gold zipper linings across the top of each pocket. She wore her heavily caramel highlighted brown hair down and wavy. Her make-up was pretty nonexistent; only eyeliner and mascara framed her eyes and a light shade of brown lipstick adorned her mouth. She strapped a black analog watch to her left wrist and slid a ring onto her right hand ring finger. She slipped on a pair of four-inch black platform pumps before standing upright before the mirror again.

"Kate! Let's go. Classes starts in fifteen!"

"I'm coming!" she shouted back, giving herself one last once over before moving out of her room, grabbing her jacket and shoulder bag on the way.

"Ooh, girl. Don't you look good. But then, when don't you?" Came the voice of her best friend and roommate again, who was dressed in a pair of high waisted, dark jeans, a white oversized t-shirt, and red stiletto heels with her black hair long and straight.

"Oh, Lanie, stop. I just want to look presentable."

"Again, when don't you look presentable? Let's get going before we're late."

The two young women were out the door of their shared apartment then, talking about nothing and everything. They lived just shy of ten minutes from the college they attend, so they decided to get a cab just to make sure they weren't late on their first day.

Lanie and Kate have been friends since the beginning of high school. When they met their freshman year in Algebra 1, they instantly cliqued and since then, were inseparable. Came senior year, they applied to all the same schools, even though the girls' majors were different. Lanie was studying forensic science while Kate was taking up criminal justice. Luckily, they were accepted to a college in which offered both majors and it granted them the opportunity to find a place together near the school and keep close to one another.

The cab dropped them off about five minutes later and the two made their way towards the building. While conversing amongst themselves, the girls were only half paying attention to their surroundings, causing for a run in with another student.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there," Lanie said, pulling the strap of her purse back onto her shoulder.

"Oh, but I saw you." The man grinned and held out his hand. "Javier."

She smirked and shook his hand. "Lanie. This is my friend Kate."

"Hi," replied the tall brunette.

"Nice to meet you. Listen, I was waiting for my roommate, but he got caught up with his girl. Can I walk you to your class?"

Lanie looked over at Kate immediately. "It's okay," she smiled. "I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going."

"You sure? Cuz I got you if you need me," Lanie said.

"No, don't worry about it. Go ahead."

Lanie smiled and walked off with her new friend. Kate took a breath and shook her head, amused. Her best friend never had a problem finding all the boys. She was always a head turner. Kate only recently started catching straying eyes. Over the summer, she did a bit of the ugly duckling to swan transformation, tossing her glasses and cleaning up her face. She looked more beautiful, but still walked around with the weight of insecurity. She was never the shy type, but now when people looked at her, she wondered if she could stand the attention. Oh well. She'd think about that later. Right now, she needed to get to her class.

(((o)))

There. First class down. Kate smiled to herself as she walked out of her math class an hour and a half later. Next was English, but that class didn't start for another hour. She decided to grab some coffee at a bookstore located on the campus. She texted Lanie to let her know where to find her if she had time to meet up while making her way to the bookstore. The line wasn't long, so Kate ordered her coffee and was served in a matter of a few minutes. She then found a spot in a secluded corner of the bookstore and dropped her stuff down. Taking a quick sip of her skim latte, she turned to browse a bookcase that was closest to her table. Her eyes scanned lazily, not really registering what she was seeing, but one book happened to jump out at her. As she reached for it, so did another hand.

"Oh, go ahead," she said, taking a step back.

The guy smiled and removed the book from the shelf. "A murder mystery, huh?" His gaze swept over the cover before moving up to her face. "You like that stuff?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," she replied.

"Interesting."

Kate cocked her head to the side. "What is?"

"Nothing. Just took you as more of a romance novel type," he said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

He laughed and held out his hand. "I'm Tom."

She just looked at him. "Kate."

He pulled his hand back awkwardly. "I can tell I'm not off to a good start here. How about I run into you tomorrow and try again?"

"You'd wait until tomorrow to try again?" she asked with a smile.

"Not if I thought I still had a chance to salvage this conversation."

Kate laughed. "Nice. Well, maybe you could sit down with me and tell me all the other things you assumed about me."

"Oh, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," he smiled, but sat down across from her. "After all, I'm trying to get a date here."

"Oh yeah? Let's see how you do with this conversation and then we'll talk dates."

"Hmm," he hummed, giving her a once over. "You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can manage to charm you."

She leaned back comfortably in her seat, crossed her arms, and said, "I'd like to see you try."

Sure enough, he made a very good impression on her. So a date was made for the following Friday night. Lanie didn't get a chance to meet her between classes, so Kate had the whole hour to hang out with Tom. She was actually very excited to see him again, but made sure not to let him know that. She replayed their time together over and over in her head as she walked to her English class, smiling at the memory of little things he said or did. He was real good looking and funny and smart. She liked him. As she mused to herself, she turned a corner and walked into her classroom. Most of the class looked to be there already; talking, shouting, laughing, sitting on the desks, and standing in corners of the room. It looked like a regular high school classroom. Kate started walking by the professor's desk to make her way to the back of the room. A small group of people were crowded by the desk, she assumed talking to the professor. But as she passed by, the crowd broke apart to reveal a man sitting on the desk. She turned to look at him and realized the group of people were made up entirely of women.

He looked her up and down. "And you are?"

"Uh, Kate. Kate Beckett." She gave him a good look over herself. He looked young, maybe as young as her. His hair was brown and messy, his eyes a piercing blue. He wore dark jeans and a blue button down. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the first two buttons undone. She could tell he wasn't wearing an undershirt. "You're not the professor, are you?"

He slowly stood from his perch on the desk and closed the few feet between them, coming to stand a little too close for comfort. He stood a few inches over her, even with her heels, and stared down at her. "And if I am?"

"Well, you could take a couple steps back," she said.

"If I don't want to?"

"That's really too bad."

"Mmm, you're a little spitfire, aren't you?" he smirked. Kate huffed and stepped back. "What's the matter? Can't handle the heat?"

"You feel heat? Cuz all I feel is irritation. You aren't the professor."

"No, but I am the king of the castle."

"Alright, your highness. Go find your seat." The actual teacher walked in and shooed everyone from his desk. The students all found seats quickly and the professor got the class running. Kate had found a seat in the back, but unfortunately the "king" was sitting right in front of her and he took every opportunity he could to turn around and smirk at her. Kate grew immensely annoyed and was counting the minutes until she was away from the cocky bastard.

Once class was over, she gathered her belongings and rose from her seat. Cocky Bastard stood from his too and turned to her. "So, Beckett, what do you say I buy you a coffee or something?"

"No, thanks, Castle. I can manage to buy my own coffee."

"Castle?"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to call you King and I'm not particularly interested in learning your real name."

"It's Rick. Rick Rodgers." He held out his hand.

"Good for you," she replied and sidestepped him, moving toward the exit.

He intercepted her, however. "If you won't do coffee, how about ice cream? Or a hot dog?"

"Sorry. Not interested."

"Ricky!" came a voice from behind Rick. A tall blonde strode up to him and linked her left arm with his right. "You're supposed to walk me to my next class."

Kate threw him a sarcastic smile and moved past him, never bothering to look back to see him remove himself from the blonde.