Hewwo, sorry for taking so long and for this chapter being on the short side. I had a combination of a depressive episode (what with quarantine) and writer's block. Thank you all for your kind comments. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

...

The rest of the summer passed by shockingly fast.

Alia had thrown herself into her books, her games, and in watching all the tv shows she'd neglected during the school year. Before she knew it, it was the end of August and she had all her belongings packed up in the trunk of her parents' minivan.

The night before she was set off to leave for Seattle with her parents, she was very tempted to go to a certain house one last time, for one last chance to see a certain ex-friend. She steeled herself, however, and refrained from falling into that temptation. It was over, and there was no point in opening her freshly closed wounds. She'd said what she needed to in her letter, and if Edward hadn't reached out to her despite that, then there was no going back.

It didn't stop her from crying quietly in the backseat, hidden from her parents' eyes, as they drove out of Forks. She chose not to watch the road the entire drive, but sit back with her earbuds on and eyes closed. When her parents began arguing about directions in a few hours, Alia knew that they were close to their destination and opened her eyes.

The gloom she'd been shrouded with faded when she saw the influx of students walking around the campus, all first years judging by luggage and the nervous parents trailing after them. It was a huge campus, hence her parents' confusion, but there were volunteers in colourful t-shirts, that held up signs indicating the way to the different residence halls.

When they got to the right building, Alia saw with some disappointment that it was one of the modern residences, and not one of the gorgeous old-style halls they'd driven by. Well, at least the facilities would be more modern, at least.

The nice thing was that there were more volunteers at the residence, McMahon Hall, who helped Alia and her parents with her luggage so it only took one trip up the six flights of stairs. The room itself, a single, was tiny, with a bed, dresser, and desk. That suited Alia fine. She wasn't planning on staying cooped up in it. They were done getting it in order and her stuff unpacked quicker than she'd expected, leaving them free by 4 pm. They spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the campus, and listening in on tours. By 6, her parents took her to dinner, which felt so final that Alia felt herself getting emotional again.

"Don't go walking late at night by yourself." her mom said sternly over their appetizers. "There's a safety service, so make sure to get their number."

"You should also get started on your readings." her dad said. "It's easy to fall behind, so you'll want to stay on top of things, especially if you want the grades for law."

"And don't go to any parties. You don't want to get involved with the wrong sort."

The advice and warnings continued all the way to desert, and Alia could only smile and nod. It was their own way of showing that they cared, by piling it all on at the last minute.

When they were in the parking lot, and were about to leave, she hugged both of them. "You'll be fine, Alia." her dad said, patting her on the shoulder. "You've always been responsible."

"Thanks, dad." Alia said, blinking away the tears.

Her mom's expression was almost soft. "We'll call you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay, mom. I love you guys."

"We love you too."

Alia watched them drive off, and went back up to her new dorm room. There were little dry erase boards on each door, to which she scribbled her name. She contemplated dotting the 'i' with a heart, but decided against it. That would be trying way too hard.

She wandered around her new room for half an hour, trying to familiarise herself with it, before someone knocked on her door. When she opened it, she was greeted by a breathless girl with dirty blonde pigtails. "Hey, they're asking everyone to come downstairs. Some kind of orientation."

"Uh, sure." Alia said, fumbling for her keys, before following the girl.

Over the next few days, Alia was thrown into all different kinds of social situations. Icebreakers, pancake breakfasts, volleyball games, movie nights… all attempts by the RAs to get all the new terrified first years to feel a little less lonely. It was disheartening at first, because she didn't immediately connect to people on her floor, even if they were nice enough to include her. She dreaded that she was doomed to be the outsider that people only put up with. It also didn't help her confidence that she had just lost the only friend she'd ever had. It made her wonder if she was just doomed to be alone.

All her negative thoughts ceased as soon as soon as classes started and she found people who were interested in the same things as her. Over the next few weeks, as she got more familiar with the campus, she gravitated towards three people in her American literature class, getting lunch with them everyday and hanging out in the union building in the evenings to do schoolwork or goof off.

It was bittersweet, forming new friendships. Part of her was almost hoping that she wouldn't make any friends, that she could stay alone and keep everyone away, that Edward would have been a special standard that no other could reach. The other, smarter part of her, enjoyed the interaction she had so lacked for the past two months. What also hurt, was that her new friends were so different from Edward, enthusiastic and nerdy like her, interested in the same games and media, eager to share their own interests.

What was the newest thing to Alia was the feeling of being leaned on. Having May come to her in tears because she didn't understand the instructions for the term paper, Freddie venting about his boyfriend being too clingy, Maurine ranting about the environment. For the first time, Alia could listen to others and be depended upon. It was a good feeling, and made her realise all the more how one sided her friendship with Edward had been.

What had to be the biggest shock were her classes. At first, they were terrifying with lecture halls filled with the same amount of students in her entire high school. But soon, Alia found herself engrossed in all the new information that came her way. While she did have one obnoxious professor in her European history class (who told them on the first day not to bother asking him any questions), most her teachers reminded her of Ms. MacLean. After the first day of classes, Alia was sure that this was where she was meant to be, that through learning, she could become a smarter person and find her person in life. It also helped that all her classes were in things she was actually interested in, and that she didn't have to step anywhere near a math or science building.

The greatest thing was that university was nothing like high school. There were no cliques, or popularity. No concept of there being losers or outcast. No one cared. There were too many people, an ocean compared to the puddle that was Forks.

An ocean that she was ready to dive into.

...

I did not need to research UW this hard, but I couldn't help myself.