I do not own the character of Ben Stone, only all original characters. Please read and review!

"So," Craig said when he and Ben were ensconced in one of the student union bars, "Your folks happy bout you coming here?"

Ben nodded as he took a gulp of beer, "My mom is." He paused on Craig's look, "My father died when I was seventeen."

"Oh, sorry," Craig said, "that's rough."

Ben shrugged, "You get used to it." He looked around, "Nice place."

"Yeah," Craig nodded, "some pretty cute girls too." He inclined his head in the direction of the bar where two blondes were standing. When they saw him looking, they burst out laughing. Craig reddened, and while he noticed it, Ben said nothing. "You got a girlfriend?" Craig asked, recovering quickly.

"Nope," Ben shook his head, "Young, free and single."

"Me too," Craig said, "but you know what they say, life begins at twenty-five!"

After a couple more drinks, they made to leave, but as they were going through the door, Ben bumped hard into someone.

"Sorry," he said, looking up, his words dying as he saw it was the man who had been hassling Evelyn Sanderson earlier.

"Watch where you're going!" the man retorted. When he recognised Ben, his eyes narrowed, "You're that asshole from the line."

"Well spotted," Ben remarked.

"What did you say?" the man advanced towards him.

"Nothing," Craig said, intervening, "he said nothing. Ben, let's go." He practically dragged Ben away from the scene back outside.

"Who the hell does that guy think he is?" Ben demanded once they were out of earshot.

"Nick Phillips, that's who."

"You know him?"

"Don't you?" Craig looked at him, "You must know his father, Senator Robert Phillips?"

"Really?" Ben wasn't wholly surprised. Robert Phillips had a reputation in Congress for being a bully, "Takes after his old man then?"

"Absolutely. Nick was in my year at high school," Craig shuddered, "I hoped I'd never see him again after that, but unfortunately…" By this time, they were back at the residences, "Anyway, how's your timetable?"

"I haven't had a chance to look," Ben replied as they climbed the stairs to their rooms, "I don't even know what my classes are." As they approached their floor, the sound of raised voices reached them and when they turned the corner on their floor, they saw a group of people crowded around the entrance of what looked like the room next to Ben's. Curious, he and Craig walked over in time to hear a string of expletives reach their ears. Pushing through the crowd, Ben was surprised to see Evelyn Sanderson standing in the middle of the room next to his surrounded by clothes. Her face was red with anger and she was yelling.

"You bitch! You complete fucking bitch! How dare you touch my stuff!"

A girl standing near the front of the group was smirking, "Guess you shouldn't leave your door unlocked."

Evelyn looked like she'd been hit in the face, "I guess I didn't expect people to go through my things when I'm not here!"

The girl just laughed and walked away, the rest of the group merging away with her until only Ben and Craig were left surveying the scene.

"What?" Evelyn demanded, seeing them still standing.

"You ok?" Ben asked.

"Fine," she retorted.

"What happened?" Craig asked, bending down to pick up a shirt that was lying half-out the door.

Evelyn shrugged, "I came back and found everything all over the place. I thought I'd locked the door…" she ran a hand through her dark hair, "I mean, what is this, high school?"

Ben lifted a bra from the door handle and held it out to her. She took it from him and looked at him for a moment, "I know you. You let me go in front of you in the line."

He could see that she was about to cry, so he stepped back, knocking into Craig as he did so, "We'll…leave you alone…" Evelyn nodded and he closed the door behind him.

"Wow," Craig said, as they went back into Ben's room.

"Yeah," Ben mused, "Wow indeed."

SSSS

Half an hour later, as he was reading through some books for his classes the following day, there was a knock on the door. Opening it, he came face to face with Evelyn.

"Hi," she said, "I just wanted to say thank you for earlier."

"I didn't do anything."

"You didn't laugh at me, that's something." She held out her hand, "I'm Evelyn Sanderson."

"Ben Stone," he shook it, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she replied brightly, "Can't let one stupid bitch ruin the day for me. Not at school now."

Ben laughed, "That's true." He gestured inside the room, "Do you want to come in?" Evelyn looked past him into the room and paused. "Don't worry, I'm not going to throw things."

Evelyn laughed and her expression softened, "Ok." She stepped inside, "Nice," she observed, "Very…umm….minimalist."

"Yeah," he agreed, "I thought I'd brought a lot but when you look at it…" he pulled a chair out for her and she sat down.

"Thank you." He perched on the bed opposite her, "Where did your friend go?"

"Craig? Oh, he had to phone his folks. Which reminds me that I should phone mine."

Evelyn stood up, "I'll go."

"No, no, it's ok. I'll do it later," he waved her to sit back down, "Have you called your parents?"

"No."

She didn't say anything else, and Ben didn't press, "So, what classes are you taking?"

"Criminal, real estate, product liability and jurisprudence," she replied, "You?"

"The same, but not real estate. I'm doing family instead."

"Not interested in buying and selling then?"

"No," he replied honestly, "I don't see the appeal."

She smiled, but didn't say anything else. After a moment's silence, she stood up and headed for the door, "Well, it was nice to meet you. I suppose I'll see you in class."

"Guess so," Ben replied.

"Well, goodnight," Evelyn opened the door and closed it behind her. Ben watched the space where she had been in his room and couldn't help feeling a slight crackle of attraction.

SSSS

The following morning, Ben's first class was Criminal. Craig wasn't taking the class, but he remembered that Evelyn had said that she was, so he knocked on her door just before nine. There was no answer. He knocked again, but again there was no reply. Assuming she must have already gone to class, he made his way out of Hunter House and towards Vari Hall where lectures took place.

It was another old building and the lecture theatres were small. By the time Ben reached it, most seats were already taken, but he managed to find one near the front, hoping that he wouldn't get picked on by the lecturer. Glancing around, he was surprised to see no sign of Evelyn and was beginning to wonder if she was all right, when the door opened again and she came hurrying in. He smiled in her direction, but she didn't seem to see him and quickly took a seat at the other side of the room.

A few minutes later the door opened again and a man in his late fifties strode in. Thumping a pile of books down on the table, he surveyed the room. "Welcome to the fascinating world of criminal law," he greeted them. "Most of you probably think you know everything there is to know about the subject. You see it on TV, read about it in books…" he paused, "but trust me, you know nothing."

Ben looked over to where Evelyn was sitting, her book open in front of her. Her dark hair was falling forward over her face and she pushed it away so that he could see her profile.

After an hour's talk about crimes mala in se and malum prohibitum and the setting of the semester's coursework (a 10,000 word essay on a subject yet to be finalised) the lesson came to an end and the students began packing up.

Ben looked over again and saw Evelyn slowly put her things back in her bag. As she stood up, Nick Phillips pushed past her, knocking her book onto the floor. No-one picked it up, instead they continued to file past, wrapped up in themselves. Lifting his bag, he went over to where she was standing, lifted her book and put it on the table.

"Hi," he greeted her. She barely cracked a smile, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she snapped.

"Sorry," he was taken aback.

Evelyn fixed him with an icy stare, "You know something? Just because we had a conversation for all of two minutes once, doesn't mean that we're friends."

Ben looked back at her, feeling anger rising within him, "No I guess it doesn't. I'm sorry I bothered to inquire how you were."

"So you should be," she replied and with a toss of her hair, she walked away.

Ben watched her go, shaking his head. She was damn pretty, hell he'd even had a mild fantasy about screwing her when he'd been lying in bed unable to sleep the previous evening, but clearly there was only one conclusion to draw about her.

Evelyn Sanderson was a bitch. A bitch he should avoid at all costs. Years later, he would look back and wonder why he didn't take his own advice.