"Come on, now. You can do better than that," Beth teased. "Are you trying to let me win on purpose?" She looked at Will and raised her eyebrows.

"The game's not over yet; there's no way I'm letting you win," he shot back. His eyes were focused intently on the paper football he was preparing to flick toward Beth's fingers, held up to form a field goal. The tip of his tongue pointed out of the corner of his mouth as he squinted and aimed.

Beth had been studying in a lounge in the science building when Will had slid into a seat across from her. He had a class in ten minutes, so she knew it would only be a short visit. Running into him like this was nothing new, but the number of times it happened per week had been steadily increasing to the point that Beth began to wonder if it was random after all or if Will was doing it on purpose. The idea gave her a pleasant thrill. Beth was so much more aware of how he made her feel than she had been in the past, and she'd blushed as he sat down across from her. She'd nervously folded the paper football while they talked, unaware that she was making the little triangle until she was halfway through doing it. Will had gently pulled it from her hand with an arch of an eyebrow, and they began taking turns flicking the paper football. Unsurprisingly, the playful back and forth had turned into a competitive match.

The paper flew directly between Beth's fingers, and Will flashed a bright smile. Beth tried to smother it, but she couldn't resist smiling back at him. "Lucky shot," she muttered, and he laughed.

"That makes the score tied, doesn't it?" he asked innocently, and Beth narrowed her eyes.

"Just wait," she said, fetching the paper from where it had landed, and Will grinned at her. She wondered if he knew just how distracting that smile was. The fact that their knees were almost touching under the table didn't help matters either. She was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on the game, watching the curve of his mouth and the long lashes of his eyes instead.

"I dunno; I've got class. We don't have time for your turn," he said with fake regret. "I think we're going to have to stay tied." He stood and slipped his bag onto his shoulders as a student walked by with a look of confusion on her face. Moments later, she was back at their table.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but do you know if the math classes are on this floor?"

Beth smiled kindly, recognizing her from a class. "You're in the right building; you just need to go up one flight of stairs."

She thanked Beth with a smile and then looked at her a little more closely. Recognition bloomed across the girl's features. "Hey, congratulations about you and Rob Martin. He was talking about it today; I know he had a big crush on you. Anyway, he's the nicest guy in our year, so I'm really happy you're dating!"

Beth felt her cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment and confusion. What was she talking about? Harriet and Rob were together, not her. Beth suddenly pictured Emma commenting on the similarity of their hair, and she herself had called Harriet her doppelgänger. This student had obviously mixed up the two of them.

"Oh. No..." was the only reply Beth could muster as she tried to find the right words. But the girl was already walking away toward the stairs, waving goodbye and totally unconcerned with whatever Beth had to say.

Her cheeks were so hot that she could feel them burning. Biting the corner of her lip in distress, she sneaked a quick glance at Will. He was standing awkwardly, hanging onto the straps of his backpack, and she couldn't read anything in his expression. One thing was for sure; he certainly wasn't smiling any longer. She cleared her throat slightly and Will gave her a brief smile.

"I've got to run to class," he said, pointing with his thumb to the stairwell behind him. She wanted to explain the mix-up behind what had been said, but he was already walking backwards, his expression carefully stoic.

"See you later." He turned around and walked out, and the stairwell door closed behind him.

"Fuck," Beth muttered, under her breath.

"What a night!" Marianne exclaimed, holding her arms wide and spinning in a slow circle as they walked toward the fraternity house. Cole was playing in a band with some of his friends, and since they had started seeing each other, Marianne never failed to miss a performance. She'd convinced Beth to come along, and Beth was not so secretly hoping that she'd run into Will. She hadn't seen him since their last conversation; their frequent run-ins with each other had suddenly stopped.

"Don't you just love moonlit nights like this?" Marianne sighed with a dreamy expression on her face. "All the trees are starting to bud, and the flowers will be out soon."

"It's nice," Beth replied, her tone significantly less excited than Marianne's.

Marianne eyed her with disbelief. "Nice? Beth, it's finally going to be spring!"

There was something in the night air, Beth had to admit. There was an earthy smell coming from the damp ground as the snow retreated and the brown grass made its reappearance. The change in the season to milder air made it feel as though exciting things were about to happen. Beth could feel it too, but she simply wasn't as romantic as Marianne, who was still spinning slowly on the sidewalk in a flowing skirt and her boots.

Even though it was just a regular Friday night, Beth had dressed with more care than usual, aware that she might see Will. She wore slim cut jeans with flat boots and a pretty v-neck shirt. She'd accentuated the natural wave of her hair and had drawn her part further to the side and flipped the hair for more volume. The effort would be wasted if he weren't there, she thought. She hoped he was.

Beth looked on as Cole and Marianne kissed in greeting, her eyes scanning the party for Will as they arrived.

There—he was across the room and in conversation with two women, but his eyes were on her, she noticed with a quick sense of elation. Impressive how just seeing him looking at her could create such a sense of excitement. She'd wait until they were done talking and then say hello, she decided. Or maybe he would come over, she thought with anticipation. But it didn't happen. He stayed where he was.

Each time she took a moment from her conversation to look at Will, she found him returning the gaze. His eyes were on her just as much as hers were on him. After the third time it happened, a flush crept into her cheeks that had nothing to do with the drink she was sipping. Finally, his conversation ended, and Beth excused herself to talk with him. She was put off by his unusually serious expression, wondering what he was thinking. But at least the corners of his mouth turned up as she approached.

"I saw you come in," he said with a nod toward the door. "All alone tonight?"

That puzzled her. "No—I came with Marianne." If he'd seen her arrive, he would have seen that too, she thought.

His brow was furrowed in confusion, and Beth thought it best that they just move on from that statement.

"What a week," she said with exaggerated emphasis as she looked him over. His green sweater brought out the color of his eyes, and his hair was getting longer again. She'd missed seeing him, though it had only been a few days.

"A good week for you?" he asked, and she wondered why his expression was sad.

"Eh, not really," she said bleakly, thinking about her chemistry quiz in particular.

Again, a look of confusion crossed his face and Beth couldn't understand it. Something seemed completely out of sync between the two of them. This was the awkwardest conversation they'd had in months. She hadn't realized how much of a rapport they'd built until it wasn't there anymore. She wondered at the change; was this because of what that girl had said about Rob?

"Chemistry is killing me," she elaborated after a moment of drawn silence where Will had only looked at her intently. "I needed the science Gen Ed, but maybe I should have picked biology instead."

Will looked interested. "Who do you have?"

"Harris."

"I had her, too. She's great," he said, with his first real smile of the evening. "I like chemistry. Something about it always made sense to me. I think I still have my old notes and worksheets, if you want them," he offered.

That was the best news she'd heard all day, and Beth thanked him gratefully. He looked pleased, though his hand fiddled nervously with the label of the beer bottle he was holding. With that statement, she saw an opportunity and decided to finally be brave and take it. If Will was never going to do it, then she would have to.

"Maybe I can text you to pick up the notes sometime," she offered shyly, having never asked anyone for their number before. She watched his eyes fly up from the bottle to meet hers and the slow, wide smile that broke across his face at her offer, dimples on display. But a moment later, the look faded as though his mind were on something else.

Beth pulled her phone from her bag, feeling more and more confused by their dynamic as she typed his name and number in. She'd gotten his number, but why did it feel like they were back to the beginning again?

She struggled to think of a way to casually introduce into the conversation that she was not dating Robert Martin, wondering again if that was what had changed their interaction so dramatically. But then again, if that wasn't the problem, she would come off completely self-centered and self-absorbed. Which was worse?

The band began to play and Beth had agreed to stand at the front with Marianne, who was waving her over emphatically. She gave Will a smile as she said goodbye and walked toward Marianne, but inside she was feeling dejected. Getting his number should have been a triumph, and instead she was feeling more confused about him than she had since the summer.

Beth yawned as she left the science building, feeling mentally exhausted after her chemistry lab. The early evening sun was hanging low in the sky as she walked to the center of campus. It was Friday evening, and she had the whole night in front of her. She sighed happily at the thought of being done with classes for a few days. She had several assignments to do over the weekend, including a lab report, but she planned to take the night off from working.

Her phone beeped, and Beth pulled it from her pocket to see a text from Marianne.

Cole is coming over. Don't come back for several hours, please and thanks. XOXOOOO

Beth rolled her eyes, shoving her phone back in her pocket. The romance between Cole and Marianne had grown exponentially. She was very happy for her friends finding each other, but it was still a bit annoying. Now she was exiled from her room, when all she really wanted to do was lie on the futon, eat popcorn, and watch something mindlessly entertaining. Instead, she had to find somewhere to kill a few hours' time. She was sure Emma was busy; it was a Friday evening, after all, and Emma was too popular to be sitting at home alone. Perhaps she could study in the library, and then she and Marianne could go out afterwards. But the thought of doing more work after just finishing a lab was very unappealing.

Maybe it was time to text Will about those handouts, she thought, feeling a little giddy. She wasn't planning to do any more chemistry work today, but she could always text him about the notes as a soft opening and then see if he wanted to hang out with her...

She'd been aching to text him since she'd gotten his number but hadn't been able to think of a good excuse. She tried to anticipate his response. At worst, he'd say he was busy. More likely, he'd say yes and they could spend some time together. If history was any indication, it would be nothing more than some friendly conversation. Since she'd broken off their brief kiss that winter, Will had never gone beyond the bounds of friendship. Of course, that was far less than Beth wanted, but it was better than studying in the library any day.

She hiked her backpack up on her shoulders. She had to do it right now before she lost her nerve. She let out a big breath of air and then sent him a quick text asking if she could stop by for the notes. To her delight, he responded immediately that she could. Beth allowed herself one tiny, excited squeal before turning to walk toward his dorm.

The walk was chilly. Beth had regretted not bringing a jacket to class as soon as she left the building. The temperature had been much warmer when she'd been out that afternoon. She wrapped her arms around herself and quickened her pace, looking at the small buds on the tree limbs with a smile. Marianne had been right. Spring was coming soon, and she couldn't wait for the warm weather. By the time she reached Will's dorm, she was having a hard time keeping her teeth from chattering; both of her arms were covered in goosebumps.

The door to his room was open with music playing loudly. Will was pacing, cradling a ball back and forth with his lacrosse stick. He turned as she leaned her head into the room and dropped the ball.

"Smooth. And they made you captain?"

He placed the stick down against a wall. "I know; what were they thinking?" he said, playing along. He tugged absently on the sleeve of his t-shirt, looking unusually awkward about seeing her.

She perched on the door frame and gave him a look.

He returned her expression silently, raising an eyebrow after a moment. "What?"

"Do you always make guests wait outside in the hallway?" she playfully scolded.

"Depends on the guest. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, I would, thanks."

He offered her a seat on the futon. "You don't have to wait for an invitation you know; you're always welcome."

Beth glanced quickly at him. There had been something in his tone that she hadn't heard for months. The low sound of his voice made her heart speed up, but Will was busy adjusting the music to a quieter volume and not looking at her. Beth wondered if she'd only imagined it.

"Sorry for barging in on you. I hope you weren't busy. Cole and Marianne have exiled me from my room." She paused, and Will didn't respond. She suddenly felt foolish for stopping by. What had she been thinking? They were friends, yes, but she'd never done anything like this before. All in a rush, she decided she was intruding on him. This was a disaster. "You were busy, weren't you. I can find someplace else—"

"Whoa, no, it's fine," he interrupted quickly. "I didn't have any plans. I want you to stay."

Beth blinked, a flush creeping into her cheeks. He'd done it again with the tone. She was almost afraid to look at him, but he was only leaning nonchalantly against his desk. Something in her chest tightened slightly. "Okay," she managed to say, and then she shivered, still cold from her walk.

"Do you want a sweatshirt?" Will asked, and Beth nodded gratefully. He rummaged through his closet for a moment. She took the sweatshirt he handed her and slipped it on, secretly inhaling. It smelled just like him. Will looked at her with a strange smile.

"What?"

He gestured toward the sweatshirt, and she looked down at her new outfit. "It's not my fault you're so big..." The sweatshirt was comically large on her. It reached almost to her knees, and the sleeves extended half a foot past her fingertips. She couldn't imagine ever being large enough to fill it out, but, then again, Will did, and he didn't look so bad.

"I never got to hear about New York," Beth said a moment later, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. They'd never talked about his internship. He'd been gone for weeks, and she had no idea how he'd spent his time or whom he had spent it with. "I want to know all about it."

Will sat down in his desk chair, rolling closer to her. "I don't know where to start."

"How about...food. Where's the best restaurant you ate?"

Will smiled, as though in remembrance of wonderful food. "That's easy..."

Will rolled all over the room in his chair as he told stories. With bare feet, he looked comfortable in his pair of old jeans. Beth had felt like only a few minutes had passed since she'd sat on the futon, but they'd been talking for an hour, just like the night they had first talked at Charles's house. Their rapport had returned, with none of the awkwardness from the party. The class notes were long forgotten by both of them.

"Everyone said the J-term was supposed to be the best, but I didn't think so," she said, continuing their conversation. "With the weather, and the professors trying to condense a full class into just a few weeks, it was kind of miserable. Half the people were gone, and there wasn't anything to do except class and spend a little time with friends."

"And with Rob." He said it so smoothly that she nodded, not fully realizing what he had said.

"Wait—what?" she asked a moment later. He looked entirely too innocent. "Oh no, no, no. No, no, no, no. Rob and I—we're not—I don't even know him, really. We're barely even acquaintances. He's dating Harriet Smith. She's my year, and we have the same haircut. Anyway, no. They're dating, not Rob and me." She knew she was blushing and tried to slow herself down.

"My mistake," he said, rolling around distractedly. He didn't seem sorry at all. So that was the reason he had acted so strangely. She knew she should have explained it earlier. She should have said it right then and there as soon as that girl had said it and made Will late for class if she'd had to. She couldn't blame him for misunderstanding the situation. After all, if she'd heard that Will was dating someone out of the blue, she would not have been very happy.

She caught a chill and shivered violently. She was sitting cross-legged on the futon and stuffed the giant sweatshirt over her knees.

"Are you still cold?" Will asked. "I can get you a blanket." He got up off his chair and walked over to the closet. As he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, she motioned for him to sit down on the futon. He'd been far away from her the whole night, and she wondered now if he'd done it on purpose because he thought she was dating someone else. At her request, he sat down next to her, his legs splayed out, his arm draped over the back of the couch, and she scooted to face him.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," he replied, sounding amused, and his mouth moved into a soft smile. Beth was distracted; there was a piece of fuzz in his hair, probably from digging around in his closet for her.

"You've got…" she trailed off and reached to pull it gently from his hair, her hand resting longer than strictly necessary. She couldn't help herself. His eyes were so green, and she saw the mirth in them quickly fade as his pupils dilated wide.

She was watching his mouth and the sensuous turn of it. Slowly, she and Will were pulled together like magnets, with such a powerful physical draw between them. The shift happened so fast; one minute they were talking, the next... she didn't have time to think. He stopped just close enough to look her in the eyes; he seemed to be waiting for permission. She didn't hesitate, and she closed the distance between their mouths.

Was that what she had been missing? No one could kiss like he did. The kisses made her ache in a way she'd only experienced with him, and with his mouth warm on hers, she lost all ability to think. She knew she was flushed, but it didn't matter. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her close. The intensity was the same as it had been in the summer. The way their mouths moved together was completely addicting, and Beth had been waiting for it for so long that she couldn't get enough. It was impossible to tell how many minutes passed like that. But with all that intensity, she wanted to be closer; sitting next to him wasn't enough. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him forward. He followed her lead, and she landed with her back on the seats of the futon. Then they were kissing just as eagerly as before. She was about to wrap her legs around him when he broke the kiss and pushed himself off. The crushing weight of his body, which had felt so nice, was suddenly gone. She stared up at him, dazed.

"Wait—" she said, thickly, unable to think. It was an exact reversal of what had happened the year before when she'd broken it off at Carla's.

He seemed to be thinking just that. With his back turned and both hands on his head, Will was the picture of frustration. "I can't do this. Not if it's going to be like last time…" he muttered, turning around. "I can't do this anymore; I can't be your friend."

She blinked hard and tried to speak over the lump in her throat. "Do—do you want me to leave?" she asked quietly, completely stunned.

He gaped at her. "Do I…? No, I don't want you to leave," He put a hand over his eyes. "That came out wrong. It always does with you." He took a deep breath and started over. "I don't want to be your friend because it isn't enough for me; it never has been. I can't concentrate when I'm around you. Every time I see you, I want to kiss you." He paced back and forth. "I thought my feelings were obvious. Apparently not. And from the way you're looking at me, I think I probably shouldn't have said anything." He sighed, closed his eyes, and ran his hands through his hair. "Okay, forget I said anything."

She vaulted off the couch at that sentence. She'd been too surprised before that to move. She had the thought, just before she did it, that throwing herself at him might seem a tad desperate, but then she was in his arms and nothing else mattered. She felt his initial surprise, but then he returned her kiss. It was slow, and sweet, and so wonderful she curled her toes in surprised delight. She didn't ever want to stop kissing him, but they both broke it eventually from lack of air. He had her by the hips.

"I don't want to be friends either," she said breathlessly.

"Glad we cleared that up." His voice was low, his mouth inches from hers. And then he kissed her again. She couldn't get enough of him and the way he felt against her.

He pulled away a few minutes later. "I have to ask you something."

She looked up at him, astounded. "You want to talk? Are you crazy?" She shook her head. "No talking." She kissed him and felt him smile against her lips.

"No…I'm…mmm…serious," was all he managed to get out. He tickled her side lightly, causing her to break away. "This has been bothering me for 6 months." And with a look that made her blush slightly, he added, "There will be plenty of time later for whatever we want to do. But last year, after Carla's..."

She bit her lip. She hated thinking about that. She was so embarrassed by what she had said to him. "I wrote you a message, and obviously it made you change your mind, but how soon? When did you stop hating me?" he asked, and she cringed.

"I didn't hate you…"

He gave her a knowing look. "I didn't!" she said again. "I liked you after we talked at Charles's that night, but you were so cold in the morning. I thought I had embarrassed myself, and you weren't interested in me."

His mouth moved into a sad smile. "I was trying to convince myself I didn't like you. I'd never talked like that with anyone; it was overwhelming. I didn't know what to do about you." His eyes ran over her face, taking in all her features. "And you were right, that night at Carla's; I was lazy and a little stuck up, even if I didn't appreciate hearing it then."

Beth winced. "You were right that night. Afterwards, I could see your perspective and how judgmental I'd been." She sighed unhappily. "I've been trying to be different ever since."

"Me too," he said softly, and she squeezed his hand.

"As for the message…" She trailed off. She could remember reading it and how much regret and embarrassment ensued. "I read it the day I got back from Carla's. I finally realized how wrong I'd been about everything. And then, when we started to see each other here, well…" She shrugged. "It was impossible not to like you." Her eyes narrowed in sudden displeasure. "But then you came back from New York and you were so—".

"I thought you only wanted to be friends!"

She stared at him in disbelief. "I asked you for your phone number," she said animatedly.

"I thought you were dating Rob!" he said, his eyes wide. "That girl literally said—"

"Ugh, I know!" Beth interrupted, scrunching her eyes shut to prevent herself from thinking of that memory. She peeked her eyes open to see him watching her with amusement. A slow smile broke across his face.

"I'm glad you aren't," he said quietly, holding her gaze. "Did I mention that?"

Beth felt warmth flush through her body at his tone and as his arms tightened around her, and she smiled back at him. "I'm glad, too. No more misunderstandings?"

"None for now," he said, his voice wonderfully low as he pulled her up for another kiss.