"No Jay, not again." Hailey whined, letting out an exasperated sigh. She sat back against the seat, immediately missing the cold breeze of the air conditioning.

Jay groaned, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Hailes, it's not like I'm doing it on purpose." He could feel the wheel already warming in the hot summer sun, of course the heat index was in the ninetys for the day.

"No shit sherlock. I didn't think you meant to get us stranded in the desert." By desert she meant a back road that the two frequented on the outskirts of their college town. "If you would just get a new truck -" Jay shot her a glare before she could even get the words out. "Jeez, I'm just saying…"

"And I'm just saying that I'm not getting a new truck." Hailey rolled her eyes, they had been having this argument for the past year. Jay had been driving the same beat up Chevy Silverado since their freshman year of college, except now instead of being "charming" and "used," the only thing that can accurately describe it was "shitbox." Jay threw her a lopsided grin, almost like an apology for what was coming. "Come on, you know the drill."

Hailey aggressively threw the passenger side door open, jumping down on the grass. She slammed it behind her, mumbling, "I hate you so much right now," under her breath.

"I heard that." He called from his position at the back of the truck.

"Good." Hailey bit back, sliding into the driver's seat. She put the truck in neutral, turning the steering wheel slightly to the left to get them back onto the road. There was a gas station less than a mile away - the two of them had been in this situation before - where Jay could check to see what the problem was. It didn't really matter to Hailey, it was different every time. Jay would fix it and then a week or two later, they would do the whole thing all over again (so often that Jay refused to pay the tow truck fee anymore). She just wanted him to get rid of the damn truck.

She understood the sentiment, it was the first vehicle that was truly his own, they had made so many memories in it, but a truck was only as good as its weakest part, and that meant that it didn't even drive.

After about 10 minutes of inching down the road, Hailey leaned her head out the open window, calling out to her best friend. "You okay back there?"

"Oh yeah," Jay said, obviously panting, "I'm great. Awesome really, the highlight of my life."

Hailey chuckled to herself, turning her eyes back to the road. Jay's sarcasm was something that she had grown accustomed to over the years. That, and his freakish alcohol tolerance.

There was a buzzing noise and Hailey looked down to see Jay's phone buzzing. She smirked at the caller ID. "Hey Jay, Camilla's calling you. You want me to tell her you'll call her back?" She could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"Hailey, if you answer that phone, I'm pushing this truck into the Warrior." Hailey laughed out loud, reaching down and silencing his phone.

Jay and Camilla broke up about two weeks ago, and you could say that she wasn't taking it very well. They had only been together a few months, but it was enough time for Hailey to know that she was a raging bitch. It was one of those things Hailey never saw coming. She and Jay had met the first day of their freshman year, and they clicked immediately. They became inseparable: meaning Hailey had been there for every bad grade, bad hangover, bad relationship, you name it. She had gotten pretty good at predicting when he liked someone, or when he didn't.

However, when Jay started dating Camilla, it came out of left field. He went to a party with Adam and some other guys from their team, and a week later he had a girlfriend. A girl Hailey had never even met.

Hailey wasn't the jealous type, especially when it came to Jay, she knew they were solid. Camilla - unsurprisingly - was, she hated Hailey off the bat. That never changed. She was pretty sure that the entire time Jay was dating her, they were never alone together. It was insane.

Eventually Jay grew tired of all the fighting - the parties, the weed - and ended things. Apparently Camilla still hadn't gotten the message.

"You still okay back there? Need to switch?" Hailey called out, her voice genuine. She was starting to get worried. August in Tuscaloosa was no joke, and she could see Jay panting in the rearview mirror.

Jay shook his head, "Nope. We're almost there." He gave the truck a harder push for good measure.

"Okay." Hailey said, knowing that "almost there" actually meant. They were still at least half a mile away from the station. "You know we have to get these decorations to Kim by 12 right?" Hailey asked out the window.

"Uh yeah." Jay glanced down at his watch. 11:37. There was no way that was happening.

Hailey stuck her head out the window to look at him, "I'm just gonna call Kim and have her pick up the stuff from us, and then we can just worry about the truck."

Jay held up a hand, signaling for Hailey to put the truck in park. He slowly made his way to the driver's side door, squinting at her in the sunlight. "If Kim's gonna come get the stuff, then she might as well get us too."

"Does this mean-"

"Yeah Hailey, I'm gonna call the damn tow truck." He sighed out, hating that he had to admit defeat. Hailey smiled, immediately picking up her phone and hitting Kim's contact information. She was ready to get out of the heat.

An hour later, Hailey walked in the front door of the house that she shared with Kim and Stella. She and Kim had dropped Jay off at his apartment, saying that she was going to change and shower before coming back to get him. They were expected at Kevin's birthday party at 5:00 sharp, for dinner before the massive party that Adam was throwing for him. Kim went ahead and left to help them set up, saying she would just get ready over there.

It was only one o'clock, meaning she had another hour before Stella would be home from practice. She was on the soccer team and Hailey swore she practiced more than she slept. They still had a few weeks before classes started, but with Kim having to be at school early for Sorority recruitment and Stella for practices, Hailey decided to stay around for the summer and work instead of going home to Chicago.

Her and Stella clicked as soon as they met their Sophomore year, having a philosophy class together. They were both northern girls in a sea of southern accents, Hailey from Chicago and Stella from Milwaukee. They always joked about how both of their families called them traitors, not understanding why they chose a school in the SEC of all places. Stella played Soccer all the way through high school, and even though she was offered a full ride to Purdue, she picked Alabama. They were still top 50 in the nation, but without the pressure of having a stay one of the best. Hailey applied to study with the best criminology professor in the country, and they gave her as close to a full scholarship as she could have gotten, she couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Kim was a different story, they met through Jay and Adam, who met her through Kevin. It was a very convoluted story. She met Jay the first weekend of freshman year, as well as Adam. They were both on the baseball team, so they came to school early for fall workouts. Hailey was walking back to her dorm after saying goodbye to her mother and oldest brother, when she was literally plowed down by Jay. He and Adam were stupid freshman throwing around a ball after practice in the main quad, Adam had quite the arm (he was a pitcher) and when Jay ran for the ball, he ran into Hailey's small frame in the process. With almost superhuman reflexes, Jay grabbed her and rolled, so she landed on his chest instead of the pavement. That's when she saw him for the first time.

Hailey opened her eyes, noticing that the fall did not hurt as bad as she was expecting. When she looked up, she saw a boy underneath her in a crimson t-shirt, grinning lazily. "Hi."

"Uh," She pushed herself off him immediately, rolling onto the pavement beside him. "Hi." She said, still a little in shock.

"Holy shit, you okay?" She heard someone call, she looked up and saw another boy in the same t-shirt running towards them. It was almost like she was in a movie, she swore he was running in slow motion. He pulled his ball cap off his head and he glove off his hand, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair as he approached. She stared shamelessly. "I'm Adam, that's my bad." He offered her his hand, which she gladly took. "Sometimes I forget Jay needs a pinch runner." He smiled and Hailey laughed, looking back at the boy who must be Jay, pulling himself up off the ground.

"I do not." He grumbled, coming to stand next to them, "Thanks for the help by the way."

Adam rolled his eyes, "You're fine, you weren't the one tackled." He smiled at Hailey again and she felt her cheeks heat up, averting her gaze to the ground.

"I'm fine really, thanks for the hand." She said, looking at both boys.

Jay shook his head, "The least I can do is buy you lunch, we were about to head that way anyway." He said, looking her right in the eyes. She noticed his green eyes for the first time right then.

She nodded, "Yeah ok, sounds good." It wasn't exactly how she imagined her first day going, but at least she was making friends.

"You coming man?" Jay asked past Hailey. She watched Adam closely, praying he would say yes. There was something intriguing about him, and Hailey was dying to know more. The blondish messy hair, deep brown eyes, slight stubble, she couldn't look away.

Adam shook his head, "Wish I could, but I've got to meet Nicole." Hailey didn't know who Nicole was, but she was pretty sure she hated her. Jay nodded, clapping him on the back. Hailey guessed that was a form of saying goodbye, but after having two older brothers, she knew baseball players were strange. "See you later," He turned to her, "Nice to meet you, wait, I never got your name?"

"Hailey," She said quickly.

Adam smiled, giving her a slight nod. "Nice to meet you Ms. Hailey." He said before jogging back to his bag, grabbing it and then disappearing behind the dorm. Hailey watched him the whole way.

"So, have you had the food yet? Lakeside has great pizza." Jay said, grabbing back her attention.

Hailey scoffed, "Oh, I really doubt that."

Hailey was right, the pizza was crap, but compared to Chicago deep dish, pretty much any other pizza was. And she made sure to tell Jay that, so for the next week, they went to every pizza place in Tuscaloosa to find pizza that Hailey deemed "edible." They never found one, but they found each other. Jay likes to tell people that he was the best pizza that she could ask for.

They became friends pretty quickly, following pizza week they were attached at the hip. During that time, Hailey met Kevin, Adam's roommate, who then introduced her to Kim. For the next year they were a core group of five, where Hailey and Jay were best friends, and Hailey was desperately in love with Adam. The only thing that had changed since then was the addition of Stella and eventually her boyfriend Kelly. The seven of them were solid and can be, and Hailey couldn't have asked for a better group to be starting her senior year with.

Hailey collapsed on her bed, pulling up instagram on her phone. She scrolled through the most recent posts, stopping when she saw Adam smiling on her screen. UA Baseball had posted a highlight from last season, where Adam pitched through four batters on the opposing team with no hits. Hailey grinned, while Jay was good, Adam was really good. They all knew he would go pro after they graduated, whereas Jay wanted to be a pediatrician and was planning to go to med school next year. Hailey clicked on the tag, bringing her to Adam's page. There weren't many photos, but thankfully none of them were him holding a fish.

That was something learned about while living in the south, boys really liked to take pictures with fish. Hailey had noticed a long time ago that Adam was more of a southern gentleman than a country boy. He had a thick, south Alabama accent and more hats than anyone could ever wear. The kind of man you bring home to your big haired, southern Mama. Most of Adam's page was pictures of him playing or with his teammates, and then pictures of him, Kevin, Jay and Kelly. There were a few group shots, but not many.

She was about to click on one with her in it when she heard the front door shut, "Hey Hailes," Stella called, her footsteps sounding down the hallway towards Hailey's bedroom. She force closed her phone, laying it down on her bed and sitting up.

"Hey Stell, how was practice?" Hailey asked Stella, who was now standing in her doorway.

"Hell, as usual," She said with a bored look, "I'm gonna grab a shower." She called back, already walking to the bathroom. A second later she appeared in the threshold again, "You wanna straighten my hair for tonight?" She asked, grinning big.

Hailey laughed, "Sure. Go shower though, you stink."

Stella faked a frown, "Ok rude," then her normal bright smile was back, "See you in a few."

"See ya." Hailey took that as an opportunity to get herself together, standing and going to her closet. "God, what am I going to wear?"

Several hours later, Hailey, Jay and Stella were walking into the house that Adam and Kevin shared with Kelly and his friend Matt. Jay was offered the room, but he liked his space. Living with your three best friends didn't provide much of that.

Hailey pulled on the hem of her dress. "Stop Hailes," Stella said without even looking at her. "You look hot." She threw over her shoulder, walking around her and Jay.

"She's not wrong," Jay shrugged, teasing her. "Adam won't know what hit him."

Hailey slapped his arm, "Shut up." Even though it had been three years, the only person that she had fully confided in was Jay. She trusted him completely, and she knew that he would never say anything to Adam, but it didn't stop him from joking with her every once and a while.

She tugged on the upper strap of her dress, Hailey had always had large breasts, something she had yet to accept. This meant she mostly wore things that covered them, like tonight, she had on a light blue, one shoulder, bodycon dress. She looked incredible, but they did nothing to accentuate her chest, which was the main criteria when she went shopping.

"I'm serious Hailes, you look great. If he can't see that, he's dumber than I thought he was." Jay said, meeting her gaze directly. It was Hailey's favorite and least favorite thing about him, his ability to hold eye contact was ridiculous.

"Thanks." She said, smiling genuinely. Jay nodded at the door, pushing it open and holding it for her.

There weren't many people yet, just the seven of them plus Matt, his girlfriend Sylvie and Kevin's flavor of the week. Hailey thought her name was Maddy, but she wasn't sure. Kevin was an Aerospace Engineering Major, and apparently he was the only one girls deemed worth anything. He was a smart girl magnet, and he didn't seem to mind at all.

"Hey guys!" Kim called from the kitchen where she was finishing the food. She was 100% the "mom-friend," she was a secondary education major, and the group's resident emotional support. In the kindest way possible, being friends with Kim Burgess was equivalent to being friends with a golden retriever. She was the nicest and most caring person you would ever meet. When they all first met, Kevin would tell stories from when they were little. One of which was about the time Kim literally tried to give another kid the shirt she was wearing because they had worn the same one to school for three days. Their first grade teacher didn't appreciate Kim attempting to flash a group of six year olds, but she appreciated the sentiment.

Kevin was adopted by Kim's parents when he was three, but they were more siblings than any biological ones she had ever met. Hailey wished that her and her brother's relationships were like Kim and Kevin.

The three of them were the last to arrive, everyone else was already seated. Stella immediately took the one next to Kelly, leaving one for Kim by Kevin, one between Adam and Stella, and one next to Sylvie. Jay smirked at Hailey, sliding in next to Sylvie. Hailey rolled her eyes at him across the table and sat next to Adam.

Pretty soon Kim came in holding a steaming dish of chicken poppyseed casserole, a classic Burgess family recipe that Hailey thought was vomit covered in breadcrumbs the first time she saw it. However, it might be one of her favorite foods now. The rice and the classic green beans come next and soon all the food is on the table family style and with five 21 year old boys, it's an all out war.

"Can I scoop you some greens?" Adam asked her in a low voice.

Hailey nods, handing him her plate, "Sure, thank you." Her eye catches Jay's across the table, he makes an "aww" face. Hailey sticks her tongue out at him.

"I really like your dress, Hailey," Sylvie tells her.

"Thank you," Hailey says.

Adam nods, "It's a really pretty color," He says, looking over at her. Hailey opens her mouth to respond, but he keeps talking. "I think Wendy has one like it." He returns to his food, completely oblivious as Hailey's face falls.

Jay watches the whole interaction happen, seeing it through different eyes than everyone else. He known that Hailey's cheeks are pink from embarrassment, not the heat. He knows that Hailey's heart is on his last leg because of Adam, and he knows that Adam is the biggest idiot he's ever met. He looks at Stella, "Stell, when is y'alls first game?"

Stella sets her fork down, "The 8th I think, so a few weeks. Coach is working us like it's tomorrow though."

After that the conversation shifts, and Hailey signals Jay a silent thank you from across the table. They spend the rest of dinner talking and laughing, they wait for the party for singing and cake. Over the next few hours everyone mingles as people begin to arrive, by eight o'clock the house is full. Not as full as it usually is, there are still two weeks left before the semester starts, so the only people near campus are full time residents and athletes.

By nine Hailey is leaned on the arm of the couch talking to April, one of Kim's Sorority sisters. She was still nursing the same drink she was an hour ago, unlike Jay, she cannot hold her alcohol. The last time she was seriously hungover was Mardi Gras her Sophomore Year, they had all decided to make the trip to New Orleans, Hailey vowed to never get that sick again.

The door caught her eye, watching the one and only Camilla Vega walk through. She jumped up, ready to pounce. What the hell was she doing here? Hailey made her way towards the door, but was stopped by someone calling her name.

"Hailey, Oh Mi God!" She heard, Hailey cringed, she would recognize that slow southern drawl anywhere.

Hailey turned around, putting her brightest smile on her face. "Wendy, hi!" She was mortified to find Wendy standing there in the exact same dress.

"Hey! Look at us, we're twinning!" She said, coming towards her.

"Look at that!" Hailey said with the same enthusiasm. She felt awful, Wendy was very nice, not to mention beautiful. She was from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and had that pageant girl look. Literally, she won Miss Teen Mississippi her senior year of high school. Her and Adam had been dating for about two months, and Hailey hated herself for disliking her on that principle alone, but she couldn't help it. She wanted Adam.

Wendy looked her up and down, "Honestly, it looks better on you." She said genuinely.

Hailey smiled, for real this time. "Thank you, but you look gorgeous, as always."

Before she could respond, Adam appeared at her side, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her cheek. "Hey darlin'," He looked up to see Hailey, "Well look at that, I told Hailey you had a dress that color."

Wendy smiled at him, "So attentive," She teased, "Hailey we'll have to get a picture later."

"Of course," Hailey nodded, she was not drunk enough for this. She found herself rethinking her post Mardi Gras decision. "I'm gonna go find Jay."

She didn't stay long enough to hear their responses. Finding Jay was a lot harder than she anticipated. There were lots more people at the party than she originally thought, still she wandered around until she saw him talking to Stella and Kelly in a corner.

"Hey," She said, letting out a breath of relief.

"Hey," He said, looking at her flushed complexion. "You good?"

"Yeah, I was just looking for you. Did you see? Camilla's here." She said, smiling at Stella and Kelly who waved before walking away.

Jay groaned, "Really, I thought I was safe until classes started." Hailey nodded, Camilla was a majorette, so their rehearsal schedule had her pretty booked.

"Well I saw her walk in," She said.

Jay looked her up and down. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Hailey said, "Just had a run in with Wendy, who I'll have you know, is wearing the same dress as me right now."

Jay burst out laughing, "You're kidding," Hailey gave him a blank look. Jay realized she was serious, "I'm sorry, not funny, can't believe her." He said, trying to keep a straight face. This time it was Hailey who began laughing, Jay watched and smiled. "Seriously, I got your back, if you hate her, I hate you."

"Who do we hate?" Someone asked. They both looked to find Camilla standing next to them.

It took everything in Hailey not to say "you." Jay sighed, "What are you doing here Camilla?"

"I wanted to see you J Bear." She said in a whiny voice. Hailey gagged in her mouth, dear God, she did hate her.

"Please do not call me that, especially now." Jay said, with a bored look.

Camilla dropped the puppy dog act almost immediately, looking at him with hooded eyes. "Okay, whatever you want, Jay."

"And what do you want?Why are you here?" He asked again.

"You," She says with total confidence, Hailey's mouth falls open at her directness. "I think we should try again."

Jay scoffs, "Absolutely not." Hailey lets out a sigh of relief, she couldn't take anymore of the Camilla and J Bear show.

Camilla shifts again, her eyes narrowing and her voice becoming tantalizing, "Give me one good reason."

Hailey could think of a million, but Jay looked nervous, his eyes darting around the room. Apparently he could only think of one. Hailey feels Jay's arm snake around her waist as he pulls her towards him, "Because, I'm with Hailey now." Before she can react, Jay squeezes her side as if to say, please, please, please just go with it. So, she plays along, leaning into him.

"You're serious?" She asked, obviously angry, they both nod. "You dumped me for her?" She spits. Hailey looks at her in disbelief, this bitch.

"Yes." Jay says with utter confidence.

"I don't believe you." She says, staring Hailey down.

Suddenly, both of Jay's arms are around her waist as pulls her closer, he turns to her, and then lips are on hers. Hailey freezes, but then melts into it. She always assumed Jay was a good kisser, he's had plenty of experience, but she never thought she would get to experience it. His hands were in her hair, one of hers was on his shoulder. They were pulled apart by a cold splash against their faces. They parted, breathless, covered on one side by Camilla's drink.

"Um, Hailey, what the hell?" Hailey looked to see Stella, Kelly, Kim and half the party looking at them thanks to the scene that Camilla made.

They were so screwed.

...

a/n: I'm so excited to get back to writing! I've finally got my motivation back! Also, I hope you all don't mind me setting this at the University of Alabama. I liked the idea of putting the characters in a new place. Thank you so much for reading! Updates will be every Friday!