Disclaimer: Anything that sounds Disney-ish belongs to Disney. Anything that sounds unique, belongs to me!

Chapter 2. Friendships

The rain fell softly as I woke up the next morning. It looked as though a gray veil cloaked all the surrounding trees. We were on the top floor, so we could hear the sound of the gentle thudding of the rain hitting the roof.

Emily's cell phone alarm went off for the sixth time that morning. She always had the best intentions about waking up to study, after late nights watching a favorite Korean drama, but it always ended in me getting up early and waking her to tell her that her alarm was going off yet again.

I looked out the window. It looked cold! The rain was washing all the stickiness away and the cooler air blew in with the rain. I loved it! Cool weather, hot tea, and a good book. Mmmm, I sighed. I closed my eyes and I could almost forget college essays, book reports, the desperate state of affairs at home. Oh yeah, and that unsettled feeling I got anytime I thought of the pink blanket of roses covering that lot.

Unsettling, yes, that's the word I would use. No other word could pinpoint that butterfly sensation in my stomach. Why were my hands shaking over such a thing as a yard full of roses?

'What time is it?' Emily mumbled as she lay in bed, her blue eyes starting to emerge from the blanket she pulled over her face after the 7th alarm.

'7:30' I replied as I pulled my messenger bag over my shoulder and unlocked the door.

The room was all the sudden filled with blankets and clothes as Emily scrambled to get dressed.

'Why didn't you tell me?! I have an 8 o'clock class with Mr Jordan and I haven't even finished the assignment he gave us!'

She opened her computer and started frantically typing words as she tried to pull a sweater over her head.

I left Emily with her chaos, grabbing my umbrella located from the chic basket we had found at the flea market a week ago, and headed out. Curls emerged from my loose french braid as I walked to the Science building. Rain always seemed to coax my already hard to tame hair to something that was completely out of my control. I clutched at my white cardigan and pulled it closer together underneath my heavy messenger bag.

Chemistry. Why do you have to take chemistry when your major is English Education?! Ugh, it was something I could never understand. I was always called 'smart', 'nerd', or a whole slew of words I will not put here, however, science subjects have always been my nemesis. The teasing students who would try to bribe me into doing their work were strangely silent when it came to science. There, I had almost lost my scholarship. Thankfully I was also not very popular, so that left my social calendar wide open for more study.

At home it had always been cozy to study. Mom had passed away years ago and Dad was always busy in his little book shop. While as passionate as he was about his books, he never did seem to break even. Many times I would sit in a corner of the shop and study away, trying to finish quickly enough so that I could devour another book.

The college scene was a bit different than high school. Suddenly being smart was seen as a good thing. Your social status was less to do with who knew whom, or how much money you made, and I suppose that was in my favor. Even then, my friend list was limited, at least in the couple of months after moving here. Emily and I were roommates and the closest thing I had to a best friend. After meeting each other at the beginning of summer, her social skills soon made us good friends. She didn't mind my quirky behavior and I was easy going enough, and adapted well to her late nights and procrastination.

We bought much of our dorm room furniture together. Her family was wealthy and she always begged me to tag along with her to find hidden treasures among the vintage wares of the flea market to find something 'shabby chic' for our room. So once in a while I would join her on her adventures, since she hated going anywhere alone and slowly our room began to get tighter and tighter with the sheer amount of 'treasures' she brought home.

Then there was Cameron. He was more of an acquaintance than a friend, as he had gone to high school with Emily and he put himself in our circle without much invitation. He prided himself on only dating the hottest girls at school, and didn't understand why I wasn't absolutely flattered to have caught his fancy. Unfortunately, his rude, narcissistic manners shattered any flattery that I may have appreciated had he behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner!

That was it, really. That was my social life. In class, I was always the odd one. Always in my dorm, always in the library, always the one reading. I felt a little sad sometimes that I didn't have many friends. I was quiet, but not shy. And I did try to befriend a few from my classes, but their vapid conversations were just not the ingredients to make a friend with whom I could confide. Even Emily was sometimes shallow, but she was sweet and friendly, which covered a multitude of silly conversations. No matter how lonely I became, a good book did help me to feel better.

I had made it to class. I straightened my light blue dress under my cardigan, and walked inside, ready for the boring lecture ahead.

'So Julie, how about Friday?'

I almost didn't answer the call. Phone calls in general filled me with anxiety, but the ones from Cameron made my stomach turn. He would eventually call so many times that it would annoy me more to leave them unanswered. What excuse could I use this time?

'I, um, have a lot of homework this weekend. Thank you for inviting me. I'm sure Emily would love…'

'Homework, Shomework' and it came out as intelligently as it sounds. 'You know you want to go with me! Can you please be less of a weirdo and say yes?'

'I'm sorry, but…'

'Whatever.' The call dropped, clearly he wasn't used to rejection.

Emily was bent over her computer, reading some sort of fan fiction with tabs off to the side with the actual pages she was supposed to be studying. She looked up.

'I heard you're going with Cameron, Friday! I'm so glad you are finally getting out of your shell!'

'What?! I said no! I clearly said I couldn't go. Does he not even understand rejection? I think I'm going for a walk.' I stormed out of the room, leaving a bewildered Emily behind.

Authors note: Fun fact! Emily is based on my real life roommate that I had when I lived overseas in Thailand. She was Italian, but loved KDrama, shopping, and was a social butterfly. I'm no beautiful Julie, but our dynamic together was somewhat similar-oh and I hate science! Ha!

I grew up homeschooled and went to an international university, so hopefully my descriptions of high school and college aren't too cliche. Let me know what you think! I believe we are discovering the secret behind the empty lot in the next chapter.