A/N: Thank you so much for your input. Now it's time to introduce Maura! :)
After spending her junior high and high school years in boarding schools, moving into her dorm room held no real significance for Maura other than the fact that she'd finally be attending the same school as her boyfriend, Garrett. Garrett wasn't the reason she chose to attend BCU, but having him nearby gave her a sense of security and belonging that she never had before.
As an incoming sophomore, Garrett had already found a niche for himself in the same fraternity that his father and grandfather had pledged during their college years and he had put in a good word about Maura to some of the sorority girls. She was going to be in a sorority and go to parties and formal dances with Garrett instead of spending most of her time alone in her dorm like she did in high school and junior high while the other girls went on daytrips and had dinner together.
Boys weren't allowed overnight in the dorms of her all-girls high school, so her only chances of spending time with Garrett last year were if she took a train to BCU. Taking a train ride every other weekend was tedious, but it gave her an opportunity to do her homework so she'd have the rest of the weekend to spend with her boyfriend. While she was there, he'd take her on dates and include her in activities with his fraternity brothers, but the highlight of her trips was when he'd hold her hand as he showed her around campus. There were quaint little coffee shops and a library for each department and it wasn't long before she fell in love with BCU (and Garrett).
Her new dorm was nowhere near as spacious as her dorm in boarding school, but it was a private room with a private bathroom and Maura was grateful that she'd never again have to experience the horrors of a messy or loud roommate like she did in high school.
Instead, she had a messy boyfriend with a habit of leaving condom wrappers on the floor next to the bed. She wondered why he could throw the used condoms in the trash right away yet he could never take the wrapper with him although she told him to do so after every time they had sex. "Garrett?"
He got up from the bed before she could even remind him. "I know what you're going to tell me and I'm sorry if I'd rather hold my beautiful girlfriend after sex than worry about some stupid wrapper."
"Garrett," Maura narrowed her eyes.
"I love you," he said as he moved the wrapper from the floor to the trashcan near Maura's desk. "…even if you're a neat freak."
She was caught off guard when he started to get dressed. "You're not staying?"
Garrett pulled over a fraternity t-shirt from last year. "Can't. You know Black Sunday is tomorrow night, Maura. I have stuff to do with my frat, but you're coming over in the morning, right?"
"Right," Maura smiled although she'd rather him spend time with her instead of his fraternity.
"Things are busy right now, but we'll have time together soon," he promised her. "I'll be by your side the whole time during Black Sunday and I'll introduce you to the girls and when Rush starts on Monday you're going to be so wrapped up in it that you'll hardly even notice we're apart. You'll say, 'Garrett Fairfield who? I think he was my boyfriend at some point.'"
Maura resisted the urge to throw her pillow at him. "I love you."
"I love you, too." And after a single goodbye kiss, he was out the door.
Black Sunday was the night before the start of Rush Week in which all of BCU's fraternities opened their houses for a block party for the entire student body. It was all Garrett talked about during the summer and Maura was anxious to see if it lived up to the hype. She wished he could be as dedicated to her as he was to his frat but, as a sophomore, Garrett was finally able to move from the dorms to his frat house. This was the happiest she had seen him in the two years that they had been together, so Maura was going to let him enjoy the moment.
They had managed to setup her bedding and Maura had hoped to unpack some more, but it had been weeks since she had seen her boyfriend and, at that moment, the bed was all they needed. Maura had seen Garrett's freshman dorm on several occasions and, if that was any indicator of how he unpacked, she was grateful he had become distracted.
Her Louis Vuitton luggage that was a gift from her mother on her 16th birthday was neatly propped against the wall along with boxes of books and a bag of her toiletries. Just as she was during her high school years, Maura was alone again.