"Get up, underachiever! We're going to a party!"

Julie groaned from her place under the covers. It was late and she was already tucked away for the night. In her university experience, she always managed to tinkle with her schedule enough to always have Friday's off. But this semester, she ended up having a full course load, and three of the classes fell on Friday.

She was absolutely exhausted and all she wanted to do was continue sleeping, so she could do literally nothing but watch Netflix for the remainder of her weekend.

But her roommate and (current questionable) best friend was not having any of it.

"Carrie just texted me. There's a party at this frat on campus. We have to go!"

Julie let out another loud groan.

"We don't have to do anything. You can go. You're probably going to hang out with Carrie the entire time anyway."

After a brief moment of silence, the blanket that was tucked tightly under her neck was violently ripped away and she was hit with an instant wave of cool air. "I won't, I promise!" Flynn implored.

"I don't believe you."

"Your lack of confidence in me is truly offensive," Flynn replied, placing a hand over her heart to emphasize her exaggeration. "Babe, come on. You need a night out!"

Julie sighed but her wall of defence was starting to crumble. "I'm just so tired, Flynn," she moaned.

"If you come with me tonight, I promise I'll spend the entire weekend with you doing whatever you want. Even if it's literally nothing."

Flynn looked so hopeful, so excited and Julie didn't have the heart to tell her bestie no. So, she relented and nodded her head. Flynn squealed and jumped on top of her and Julie could only laugh and try to keep her organs from getting pushed on.

"You are the best," Flynn told her, but Julie already knew that. "But we need to fix this."

"Uh — that's rude."

Flynn sent her a sweet smile, but the underlying glint in her brown eyes indicated the slight mischief underneath. "I say this with love, Jules. But you look like a mess right now, and we can't have that. What if you meet someone?

"You're just buttering me up because you're going to ditch me as soon as you see Carrie," Julie rolled her eyes and pushed Flynn off of her.

Flynn had the decency to look slightly sheepish. "But I mean, have you seen her?"

"Yeah, yeah," Julie shrugged her off, but deep down, she was unbelievably happy for her best friend. And it was truly the only reason she was accompanying her to this party tonight. Parties weren't really her scene, but Flynn loved them, so every once in a while, she made an effort to attend. And other times, such as today, Flynn either bribed or guilted her to attend.

By the time Flynn forced Julie out of bed, it was already on the later side (but university parties started late and ended late anyway). With Flynn rushing her, she didn't have much time to get ready so she quickly chose an outfit and applied a layer of mascara and some lip gloss. Her outfit consisted of a pair of black ripped jeans, a soft white long-sleeve cropped shirt and she paired it with white converse. It was a nice outfit considering she put it together within ten minutes.

Julie recognized the frat house as one she'd been to before. A few of Carrie's friends were members of the frat, so whenever they threw a party, Flynn always dragged her along. When they walked in, the music was blaring, there were people everywhere and Julie did her best to keep her cool.

Flynn grabbed her hand and dragged her along when she spotted her (almost?) girlfriend Carrie. Julie recognized the group she was with; they were all in the same music program, but they ran in different groups. It was only because of Flynn that she was starting to see them more and more often.

If she was completely honest, she'd noticed them before. She knew Carrie's three friends were in a band and she'd checked out a few of their gigs before. She'd seen Luke a lot at the coffeeshop she liked to study at, and honestly, she thought he was gorgeous. Every time she saw him, he was always smiling, but what really sucked her in was when she first heard him perform and listened to his voice; she was blown away. From there, she started to notice him around campus more often, but she was shy and he was outgoing and she could never bring herself to actually talk to him.

But now, he was right across the room and she was being dragged in his direction.

"Flynn! I'm so happy you could make it!" Carrie cheered, shooting Flynn a coy smile and wrapping her in a hug. They were so adorable, Julie couldn't help but smile. "Jules! I see she dragged you out again."

Julie returned her playful grin. "She's very convincing when she bargains."

"Well, I'm not sure if you've all met," Carrie continued, referencing to the three boys around her. Reggie was chugging his red solo cup and Alex and Luke were quietly whisper-arguing. "This is Alex, Luke and Reggie. They're in this tiny band no one really likes. I think it's called Sunset Swerve or something."

Alex and Luke instantly snapped out of their argument, and the three of them chorused, "Sunset Curve!" in annoyed and whiny tones.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Carrie waved them off, turning back to Flynn. "Hey, I was wondering if we could talk?"

Julie peeked over at Flynn, who seemed to pale slightly. There were very few times Julie had seen Flynn lose her cool, and this happened to be one of them. When Flynn looked over at Julie for approval (since Julie really hated being left alone at parties), Julie nodded enthusiastically and shot her friend a supportive smile.

"Go ahead!" She encouraged with a nod. "I'll just be around."

"Don't worry!" Reggie interrupted, wrapping an arm around Julie's shoulders. She jumped slightly in surprise but he honestly looked like he wouldn't even hurt a fly, and she felt oddly comfortable. "We'll take good care of her!"

Feeling satisfied, Flynn walked off with Carrie. Julie was already dying to know the details of that conversation, but she'd have to wait. Reggie had already removed himself from her, promising to get them all a round of drinks. But Alex and Luke were still whispering to each other, and Julie felt unbelievably awkward, so she started retreating slowly.

Luke caught her eye and immediately stepped closer. "Hey, where are you going?"

She was sure she looked like a deer caught in headlights because she didn't expect them to notice, much less care. And she definitely didn't expect Luke (the stranger she's had a crush on from a distance for months now) to actually talk to her.

"Yeah! We're supposed to keep you company," Alex added, smiling cheerily. His easy going attitude helped her relax.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, blushing. "I just thought —"

Alex shook his head, grabbing her wrist to pull her closer. "Nonsense. We would love to get to know you. Jules, is it?"

"It's Julie, actually," she replied. From her other side, Luke was watching their interaction intently. His hot gaze made her nervous, but she fought to ignore it and not make a fool of herself. "You all are in the music program too, right?"

From the corner of her eye, she noted Luke's surprised and slightly impressed expression.

"Yeah!" Alex smiled. "I'm mostly in instrument classes right now; I play the drums. What about you?"

"Composition, mostly," Julie responded. The fact that Luke had yet to say anything since calling for her attention was still unnerving to her. "I'm starting vocal classes next semester."

Alex glanced at Luke, but when he didn't say anything, he rolled his eyes. Unbeknownst to Julie, Luke was a little starstruck and a whole lot speechless. "So is Luke!" He jabbed him with his elbow and Luke whined in response. "He's our lead singer. He's okay, I guess."

Luke shot Alex a dirty glare and returned his gaze to Julie, and for the first time since they'd starting talking, she didn't tear her eyes away from his. "Have you uh — have you seen us play at all?"

"Yeah, I have," Julie nodded, fighting off the blush she could feel crawling up her neck. "A few times, actually. You guys are really good, by the way."

A slow, but breathtaking smile spread onto Luke's face. Alex watched on in amusement.

"Hey, Patterson!" Luke whirled around when his name was called. Another member from the frat was hollering at him from the beer pong table. "Want to tag in? Grab a partner!"

Before Luke had even turned back to face them properly, Alex was already tagging out. "The answer is no," he stated defiantly, then leaned in to whisper to Julie, "He yells at me every time I miss."

"You miss all of them!"

"I'm not good at throwing things!"

"Then why do you even p — You know what? Never mind. Julie, you in?"

At Luke's invitation, her eyes widened and she nearly choked on her own spit. "Uh — me? Are you sure? I've never played, I'm probably not any good."

"Something tells me he won't yell at you like he does at me," Alex commented, smirking wildly.

Luke shut him up with a glare. "It'll be fun!"

"Yeah, okay," Julie relented.

She was here anyway, may as well have a good time. Plus, her super attractive crush was the one requesting her assistance so how could she possibly turn that down?

"Have fun, you two!" Alex shouted behind them. When Julie peeked behind her, he was still smirking.

"Just ignore him," Luke mumbled, and Julie jumped when she realized he was whispering in her ear. He placed a gentle hand on her back to guide her on which end of the table they were supposed to go. "You ready?" He asked with a wolfish smirk.

Julie glanced at Luke, the cups set up on the table, and the two frat boys they were playing against. "No, not at all. Can you explain this to me, please?" She asked quietly in embarrassment.

"Hey," Luke ducked to meet her eyes. "Don't be embarrassed, this is just for fun! You just want to throw this ball," he held a white ping pong ball in the palm of his hand, "into any of those cups."

Julie looked at the ball and up into Luke's eyes. He was smiling and she was filled with a surge of confidence. "I'm ready. Let's do it."

Luke held his palm closer to her. "You're up first, Brown Eyes."

Julie barely even minded the newfound nickname because she was so focused in aiming for the cups. The chances it would go disastrously were pretty high, but Luke was so supportive and chanting positive things in her ear, so she ignored it all.

When she threw the first ball, she missed horribly.

"You're already doing better than Alex!" Luke laughed, touching her wrist comfortingly.

She was embarrassed but he didn't seem to mind her failure.

Luke took the next shot, and of course, he nailed it. The opposing team missed both their shots, and it made her feel a tiny bit better.

"You just have to relax," Luke told her, in a soft and comforting voice. "Just relax your shoulders and focus on one cup."

She followed his direction, and she could hardly believe her eyes when she actually sunk a cup. The crowd that had formed around them cheered, but all Julie could focus on was Luke's excited laughter, and she found herself throwing her arms around his neck in excitement. Mortified, she pulled away. "Oh God, I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize," Luke replied, smiling softly. "You did great!" He managed to sink another cup, but so did their opponents. Luke picked up the cup and offered it to Julie. "Do you want me to drink it?"

But Julie was on a high, so with a confident smirk, she grabbed the red cup and gulped it down as fast as she could. She could feel it dribbling down her chin and she squeezed her eyes closed to help with the unpleasant taste. Luke was more impressed than ever, but also slightly concerned, as her reaction didn't strike him as the type that drank often.

He placed a hand on her waist and leaned in to catch her eyes. "Hey, you okay? You good?"

"I'm fantastic," Julie replied, slamming the cup down with a newfound ferocity. She grabbed the ball out of his hand and sank another cup.

In quite possibly one of the quickest rounds of beer pong Luke had ever played, they were nearing the end with two cups left to sink, whereas their opponents still had four. It seemed as if Julie had awakened, and she was having the time of her life; Luke loved watching her so carefree and happy. He didn't know her too well, but seeing this side of her only made it clearer to him that he wanted to get to know her more.

They had the chance to end the game once and for all, but Julie had missed her previous shot and her confidence was wavering.

"You got this, Jules," Luke cheered quietly in her ear. They'd each downed quite a few beers, and it was safe to say he was officially a bit tipsy. It didn't help that she was so beautiful and looking amazing; his mind just wouldn't stop.

When she made the shot with ease, he realized the pressure was all on him.

He also realized that he might actually be in love with this girl.

"You're amazing. Will you go out on a date with me?"

Luke ended up blurting out these words to an unsuspecting Julie, and this time, she really did choke on her spit.

But the beer had gone straight to her head, and she was feeling a bit spacey. Her brain wasn't connecting with her mouth and she wasn't able to form an answer in an appropriate timely manner.

The crowd was cheering so Luke awkwardly grabbed the ball to make his (possibly) last shot. Julie could see the hesitance in his eyes, and she couldn't help but feel guilty.

So, she leaned her hands on Luke's shoulder to lower him to her height and she placed her lips close to his ear. "If you make this shot, I'll go out with you." Then she placed a kiss on his cheek before backing off.

He turned to her with wide eyes and a surprised smile.

"That really lessened the pressure," he teased, and was delighted when she blushed.

The pressure was really on now. If he could make this shot, it would be incredibly impressive. Not only to him and Julie, but to the crowd that had accumulated around them.

Luke took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and took the shot. It felt like slow motion, and it was only when he heard the crowd cheering that he realized he sunk the ball, and subsequently, won the game.

Julie cheered from his side, and when he turned to face her, he was ready to catch her when she threw her arms around his neck this time. "That was amazing! Thank you for asking me to do this!"

He held her for a moment longer, but eventually parted. As new teams formed for the next round, he grabbed her hand and pulled her off to the side. "Are you okay? You drank quite a lot in such little time. Are you feeling okay?"

Julie's heart warmed at his concern. "I'm feeling really good right now, Luke."

"And did you really mean what you said?" He asked shyly. "About the date, I mean."

Julie's smile widened. "Yeah, I did. Ever since I saw you perform with your band, I've sort of had this thing for you." Realizing what she said, her eyes went wide. "Wait — I don't think I was supposed to tell you that."

"You have?"

And to Julie's surprise, and slight discomfort, he started laughing.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!" He interrupted, realizing what his actions caused. "It's just — I've seen you at the coffeeshop so many times and I just always thought you were really beautiful, and I knew you were Flynn's friend but I didn't want to say anything because well, I'm really not good with rejection. So, this is weirdly hilarious to me right now. That what Alex and I were talking about earlier. He knows, obviously, and wouldn't stop teasing me."

Julie started laughing with him.

"So tonight was what? Fate?"

Luke's gaze burned into her eyes. "Whatever it was, it was perfect timing."

"Yeah, I'd agree."

At the intensity of his gaze, she could feel herself rising up on her tiptoes and leaning forward. His eyes were so captivating, and the way his lips twisted into a soft grin was just too much for her slightly inebriated brain.

Julie just really wanted to kiss him.

Luke met her halfway, pressing his lips softly against hers. As soon as their lips met, Julie's hand rested on Luke's chest and a satisfied sigh left her mouth. They were still in public, and Julie was never a fan of PDA, so she pulled away shortly after. But looking into Luke's eyes again, and his adorable smile, she couldn't help but lean in to kiss him again.

"I fucking knew it!"

The two of them could faintly hear Alex's loud voice over the party, but they both ignored it.

"Where's Flynn? FLYNN! Look at what our children are doing!"