Chapter 11- The First Day

I slept for the rest of that day and woke the next morning, fully rested and wrapped up in Rhys's strong arms. I smiled at his sleeping figure and moved some hair out of his face with a soft touch of my fingers.

He stirred a bit and mumbled, "college today," without even opening his eyes.

I instantly bolted out of bed, remembering what time we had to be at the university. It was a few hours away and we still had to load the car with our boxes. Amara would be starting school soon so Philippa promised to take care of her. I wanted nothing more than to take Amara with us but I knew we'd still be coming back every weekend.

I checked the clock and saw that it was already 8:30.

"Rhys we're going to be late!" I whisper-yelled.

He flipped onto his stomach and groaned into the pillow. "It's only move in day," he mumbled.

He was right in the middle of the huge bed so I crawled over to him on all fours and shook his shoulder. When he didn't move, I thought for a second about what I could do to wake him up.

"Rhysand," I said, knowing it irked him when I used his full name. He scrunched up his face at the name but still didn't move to get up.

I hovered over him and decided to try something. I brought my face down close to his and blew into his ear.

"What're you doing?" he muttered, using his shoulder to block his ear. I stifled a giggle. I started kissing his neck, since his face was still buried in the pillow. I lightly ran fingers down his back, knowing how ticklish he was.

"Feyre," he moaned and squirmed. I smirked at my efforts and kept doing what I was doing.

After a few seconds he let out a curse and flipped back over, capturing my lips with his own.

"I haven't brushed my teeth," I breathed, pulling away for a second. I realized how stupid I was to let that get in the way, especially by the way he was looking at me. His violet eyes that were usually fixed on my own, were gazing hungrily at my lips.

"I don't care," he replied, kissing me again. I went along for a few moments, reluctantly pulling back.

"As much as I don't want to stop, we have to get going. We need to load the boxes, say goodbye to Amara, get moved in, and then explore the campus," I sighed.

His violet eyes were still half closed from sleep but they had the same effect they'd had every time he looked at me. He brushed a stray lock of hair from my face and his fingers lingered on my cheek. If he kissed me again, I didn't think I'd be able to tell him to stop.

Fortunately or unfortunately for me he nodded. We got ready and started to load the boxes in the car. I didn't pack all my clothes, but enough to last me a few months without having to worry about getting more. If I forgot anything I could always come back. I packed a few books and essentials. What took up two of my boxes were my art supplies-I couldn't just leave them here.

We were just about finished when Amara came running barefoot out of the house.

"You're leaving?" she asked, tears lining her eyes.

I glanced at Rhys and asked him a silent question. Apparently he hadn't told her yet.

I bent down and picked up Amara, setting her on my hip. Her lip was quivering and I could tell she was trying not to cry. Rhys came next to us, taking hold of one of Amara's hand.

"Remember I told you I'd be going to college soon?" he asked gently.

"You're going right now?" she asked. We both nodded. "Feyre, are you going too?"

"Yes I am, but Rhys and I will come visit you every weekend," I said holding her tighter.

"You promise?"

"Promise," both Rhys and I said simultaneously.

She wrapped both her arms around my neck and hugged me. I held her tightly, not wanting to let go. She had wiggled her way into my heart in the time I'd been here. She slowly let go and reached for Rhys. They both hugged for a long time, neither of them making any move to let go of eachother.

"Be good to Phillipa. I'll miss you, Amara," he sighed into her hair.

"I'll miss you too, Rhys," she sniffed. She hopped down and said, "I'll miss you too, Feyre."

I hugged her once more and she went padding back into the house. She looked back once and I saw a tear glistening on her cheek and I ached to go back and wipe it away.

"That was harder than I thought," I whispered. I looked over to Rhys and saw that he was still staring after her as if he could see through the closed door. "She'll be okay."

He nodded and headed back into the car before I could see his heart breaking. I silently followed after him, knowing better than to interrupt his thoughts right now.

Rhys and I split up after we reached the university and got ourselves signed in, each of us going to find our dorms. He offered to help me carry my boxes from the car but I declined, not wanting to keep him from his own boxes.

I strolled about the beautiful campus with my arms wrapped around one of my smaller boxes. Being it was the middle of Autumn, leaves crunched underfoot as I walked past unfamiliar faces. I glanced around to see some guys throwing a frisbee in the grass, a girl perched under a tree with a rather large book, and a so not obvious drug deal happening in the parking lot a few feet away.

A dark-skinned man with stunning blue eyes smiled admiringly as he walked past me. I tried not to think too much about it as I scanned the buildings for the name of my dorm.

I kept going another few steps before I found the correct one and took a deep breath as I climbed the steps; the whole college thing still hadn't sunk in and I was surprised to find myself nervous.

I searched the halls for the room corresponding to the number printed on the sheet in my hand. Once I finally found it, I took one more deep breath and pushed through the door.

"Hi," an extremely perky voice chirped as soon as I stepped foot inside. A gorgeous blonde girl who looked to be my age was standing in front of me smiling. "You must be Feyre, wow it's so nice to meet you." she took my box and placed it on the bed occupying the non-decorated side of the room-my side. I eyed the other half-her side. I had to admit, it was decorated nicely: a few pictures of a group of friends, inspirational posters, a desk with several books on the shelves. "My name is Mor. Well my actual name is Morrigan-I know, it's horrible. My parents were totally into war and all that junk. Anyway," she kept going as I walked to the window and peered out of it.

I could see Rhys on the sidewalk below, holding one of my boxes and walking toward my dorm. I rolled my eyes and smiled, of course he'd bring my stuff even when I told him not to. I couldn't say I wasn't grateful though.

I faintly realized that Mor was still talking just as it was too late. I snapped back to reality and whirled to face her when she tapped me twice on the shoulder and said, "so?"

"Can you repeat the question?" I winced, knowing I probably wasn't making a very good first impression.

She just laughed a bit and said, "would you like me to help you carry some boxes up?" I observed her pretty face, wondering if she was born looking like that. She had sharp, high cheekbones, full lips, and gorgeous eyes accented by thick lashes. She really was gorgeous.

"No, but thank you," I started, hoping she wouldn't take it personally; she seemed nice enough. "My boyfriend is actually-"

I was cut off as the door opened and Rhys walked in saying, "seriously Feyre, you think they'd put some elevators in this place." He looked at Mor, shock and recognition falling on his face, then said, "what are you doing here?"

She squealed and threw her arms around Rhys as he just laughed. I tensed up, not knowing what exactly was going on or whether I should be comfortable with it or not. I knew for sure that if it was Tamlin and I, and the situations had been reversed with me hugging another guy, that he would not be okay with it at all.

"What are you doing here?" she shot back, smiling and looking at the box in his hands. "Wait a second," she turned to me, "Is this the boyfriend you were talking about?"

I blushed as my eyes darted between Mor and Rhys. They seemed plenty at ease with each other. I slowly nodded, still not understanding the situation at hand.

"You were talking about me?" Rhys asked, wiggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and looked to Mor who was trying to hold in a laugh. She had something close to surprise in her eyes as she watched our exchange.

Rhys placed the box on my bed and said, "Mor is my cousin." I let out a breath and felt the tension in my shoulders dissolve. Thank god, I thought.

Rhys came up beside me and gripped my hand tightly. I noticed Mor glance at our intertwined hand with an amused quirk of her lips, but thankfully she didn't say anything.

"So! Rhysand, why don't you go ahead and settle in and I'll take care of Feyre!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Rhysand's hand tightened even more on mine and he shot me a look that clearly said that he did not want to do that.

He jut out his bottom lip in a pout that I'd come to recognize on Amara's face, and the effect was even more mesmerizing on him. I stared at his lips for a moment too long, and it failed to escape both their notices.

"None of that," Mor waved her hand giving her own puppy dog eyes. They entered a staring contest, and my eyes darted between both of theirs wondering who'd come out of this one. I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

Suddenly my hand was ripped out of Rhys's and Mor grabbed a hold of my own.

"I'll take good care of her," Mor said as she practically shoved Rhys out of the door. I shot him an apologetic smile, even though this wasn't any of my fault.

'I'll call you,' I mouthed to him, and I barely saw him nod before Mor shut the door in his face.

She dragged me over to her bed and I had no choice but to sit down beside her. She seemed not to know about personal space, or she just didn't care.

"What a coincidence that my cousin's girlfriend just happens to be my roommate!" she exclaimed with a brilliant smile.

I smiled and nodded hesitantly. I was uncomfortable with the sudden attention from a stranger. Well maybe she wasn't a total stranger. Perhaps I would get to know more about Rhys from her.

"So how did you guys meet?" she asked, looking genuinely intrigued. She seemed to take a lot of interest in our relationship already.

"Um, he hired me to work at his sister's birthday party. I was the face painter," I replied, smiling at the memory.

"You paint! How's Amara doing? I haven't seen her in so long!"

"She's the most adorable little girl in the world," I felt more comfortable talking about familiar ground. "She's a mini-Rhys."

Mor chuckled, shaking her head, her blonde hair glimmering with the movement. I never would've guessed Rhys and Mor were even related. Well, I guess they had their beyond good looks in common.

Suddenly I heard a pelting noise and I tensed up, not recognizing where it was coming from. I glanced at the door, expecting it to be Rhys back again, but as I checked through the peep-hole, no one was there. I glanced back at Mor and realization dawned on her features. She turned towards the window as another onslaught of pelting began again. Tiny pebbles were being thrown at our window. Mor and I walked towards the window, gazing cautiously down, not knowing what to expect.

Rhys and two other men I didn't recognize were continuously throwing rocks at our window. Mor was smiling brightly down at them as she waved. She opened the window and poked her head out.

"What are you guys doing?" she giggled, her voice slightly above normal speaking level.

A tall guy with shoulder length hair answered back. "Come down! I haven't seen you in forever!" he called up. He was handsome in a rough way, his hazel eyes burning bright.

"We just saw her a few days ago," the other man replied. He, too, was tall and he was classically handsome. His dark black hair stood out against his tan skin, and he seemed to be intently staring at Mor. Mor blushed under his gaze, but I had the feeling she wasn't aware of it. I raised my eyebrows and looked back to Rhys. As always my heart sped up at just looking at him. He seemed at ease with these two, and I wondered how long he knew them for. The three of them sure were quite the group, and it didn't escape my notice how the few girls who were outside were practically drooling at the sight of them.

I poked my head hesitantly out the window as well, and was quite amused when they all seemed startled by my appearance.

Rhys's eyes lit up and a brilliant smile overtook his features and I couldn't help but return the smile.

"You must be Feyre! Rhys talks non-stop about you!" the long-haired one shouted, earning himself a whack on the head from Rhys.

"You talk about me?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows at Rhys, throwing his words back at him.

The man let out a guffaw of laughter and a chuckle escaped from the other one.

"Hold on. We'll be down there in a second!" Mor trilled, shutting the window. I gazed out for a moment longer, watching the trio mess around. It was so unlike the responsible Rhys I had come to known, and I was glad to see that he wasn't always the father-figure.

I turned my attention back to More to see that she was also looking down at them with a look of love on her face.

"Who are the other two?" I asked, pointing at them.

"Oh! I totally forgot to introduce you guys. Come on, I'll tell you about them on the way down." I followed her as she locked our door and lead me downstairs.

"The one with the long hair is Cassian and the one with the darker hair is Azriel," her tone changed as she mentioned Azriel. "You can call them Cas and Az if you want," she added. I nodded, but I was sure I'd never get close enough to call them by their nicknames. Why did they all have nicknames anyways? "We've known eachother since we were kids, and we've been best friends ever since." Again, her tone changed, but it took on a sad note. I wondered what that was about.

We reached outside and I barely saw Rhys coming. He pulled me in close, my back

against his chest and he rested his chin on top of my head. I was honestly so startled by the sudden movement that I hadn't registered what anyone had been saying until they all stared back at me expectantly. "Feyre?" Rhys asked a hint of worry in his voice.

"Sorry?" it came out more of a question.

"We said we were going to head out to eat. Do you and Rhys want to tag along?" Cassian said not missing a beat.

I looked at Rhys and he shrugged. I guess it was up to me. As much as I wanted to go 'home' and rest, I wanted to meet Rhys's friends even more.

"I'd love to," I replied honestly. Rhys's smile widened and he hugged me closer to him.

"Great let's go," Cassian said, clapping his hands together.

A/N: Don't hate me please! I'm sorry sorry sorry I haven't posted. I was truly planning to but I had NO motivation to write and I had extreme writer's block, then Empire of Storms came out and made me explode me with feels and we both had a writing spree last weekend. So we already have 2 1/2 more chapters so yeah...

I'll warn you, this is the last happy chapter for a while.

I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapters will be heartfull's for you. Is that a word? Heartfull? Well, at least that's how I feel about it. Thank you to for the reviews and support! We'll be back Friday with more content.

Someone asked if we're okay writing smut. What do you guys think? Also someone asked, I'm doing cross country meets btw.