Title: Pretend To Be Mine

Author's Note: Hey. Sorry for this extremely late update. I have no excuse for that, and I'm terribly sorry. There's not much to say, but R&R!

-Sux2budude

Chapter Seven:

…

"I'm not leaving until you let me explain, Stacie." Donald calls into her room.

Stacie rolls her eyes, and glances over at her roommate's empty side of the room. She smiles a little, hopping off her bed and crossing the room, before scooping up her roomie's headphones and putting it over her ears. She plugs it into her iPhone, immediately searching through her songs and playing Gives You Hell by The All American Rejects. She turns the volume up, smiling widely when the song drowns out Donald's insistent knocks.

Donald sighs in frustration as he knocks his forehead against Stacie's door. "Stacie, please open the door. I'm not leaving until you open the door."

She doesn't answer, and he wonders if she's sleeping already. He sighs heavily, sliding down and leaning back against the door. It was beginning to get colder as the night starts sneaking in. Girls are walking by him, giving him confused looks, or smiling, or winking, or giggling. But he keeps knocking continuously on Stacie's door. He's there for a while, still knocking loudly, when the door beside Stacie's slams open and a tall, skinny girl with dark hair steps out with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at him. "Are you fucking insane?" the girl demands.

Donald blinks up at her, not sure what to say. "Uhh—,"

"Do you have any idea what time it is? If the campus security catches you here, you're gonna spend the next two weeks scraping gum off from under all the desks in the English Department, so you better quit knocking so damn loudly! People are trying to sleep." She snaps at him, and then goes back inside her room and slamming the door closed.

Donald's eyebrows furrow as he reaches inside his pocket and pulls out his phone. His eyes widen when he sees the time. He's been sitting outside Stacie's room for nearly four hours, and he hadn't even noticed. He looks around, and notices how creepy and quiet everything is. He's the only one that's been making noise all night long, and he finally decides that he was just going to camp out there until the security catches him, or until Stacie comes out of her room.

Another hour rolls by, followed by another. By then, it was raining hard, and Donald is down to biting his nails. He's almost done biting down his pinky nail, when he sees a flashlight shining from down the hall. And that only means one thing. Campus security checking to see if any students are out and about. Donald curses under his breath as he jumps to his feet in a crouched position. His eyes squint into the darkness, trying to see if the security was headed his way. Like a joke, the security turns right towards him, but luckily only shines his flashlight at the doors along the building. Donald turns the other way and crawls as quickly as he can until he reaches the stairs. As soon as he gets there, he practically flies down the stairs, taking each step three at a time. He rounds the corner, and he sees yet another security guard, heading towards him, so he has no choice but to sprint out into the pouring rain. It's freezing, and he's sure he's going to catch pneumonia if he doesn't head back to his room and get some dry clothing, but he doesn't. Instead, he huddles by a bench, in the pouring rain, waiting for the campus guards to leave.

-DS-

…

He's jolted out of unconsciousness by a girl with light blue eyes and a pointy nose, hovering over him and smacking his forehead with a rolled up notebook. The girl sighs in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were dead."

He's shivering, and his teeth are clenched together as he sits up slowly, wincing at the way his muscles ache like he's just finished benching five thousand pounds, and ran four hundred miles. His head aches, his ears are ringing, and his nose is beginning to run. His whole body is shaking from the cold and dampness of his still wet clothe from when he'd ran out into the rain last night. "What time is it?"

The girl grins, looking down at her wristwatch. "It's almost seven."

Donald groans out loud as he rubs his forehead.

The girl looks at him curiously. "Why are you sleeping outside here?"

Donald shakes his head, "I'm waiting for Stacie."

The girl's eyebrows furrow together. "Out here?"

Donald nods, "I told her I wouldn't leave until she comes out and talk to me."

"And when did you tell her this?"

Donald shrugs, "Last night."

The girl winces a bit but lets out a chuckle. "So she's ignoring you." It's a statement, and Donald just nods again.

"So why are you all wet?"

Donald glances down at his clothe again, shivering slightly. "Long story. It was raining last night."

The girl quirks an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, obviously. You were in the rain?" the girl looks up at the roof, probably wondering how he got wet when there's a roof over the whole building.

Donald shakes his head, "I had to avoid the campus securities."

"Oh." The girl nods understandingly. "Right… well, I have to get in and get changed for class."

Donald nods, getting up off the ground and stepping away from the door. "Sorry."

The girl just smiles and unlocks the door with her key. Donald doesn't try to peer inside, just waiting for her to close the door before he goes back to sitting down by the door and leaning against the wall.

-SD-

…

"Your boyfriend is outside." Amanda says to Stacie who's currently digging through her clothe for something warm and comfortable to wear to class today.

Stacie stops abruptly and looks up at her, shaking her head. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Well, whoever he is, he's outside."

"Could you tell him to leave? And that I don't want to talk to him."

Amanda chuckles lightly. "I don't think he'll listen to me." She says as she grabs her towel and heads for the door.

"Why not?" Stacie questions.

Amanda gives her a serious look. "Stacie, he's been out in the rain all night, and he slept outside on the cold hard floor." She ignores Stacie's shocked expression and gasp, "I really don't think my telling him once to leave, is going to make him leave when the cold rain and wind couldn't even do that for the whole night last night." With that, Amanda opens the door, smiling down at Donald who has his face buried into his arms as he rests against the wall beside the door. She feels bad that he's shaking from the cold dampness of his clothe, but she figures that Stacie will be out to see him soon.

He begins to cough, his chest hurting when he does so. His hair is still slightly wet and he tries to dry it up a little by rubbing his fingers through it, but that only makes his fingers colder. It's a lucky thing it's only rain he got. If it was snowing, he's sure he would've frozen and died out there.

…

She still isn't sure about whether she should go outside and talk to him, but she doesn't think she even has a choice when he won't even leave. Was he really out there the whole night? She wonders to herself. She's not sure what time she fell asleep last night, but it must've been around eleven. Sighing heavily, she trudges towards the door, swinging it open and peering outside. When she glances down by the door, she lets out a tiny gasp when she sees him shivering violently, his eyes closed and his glasses askew while he's leaning back against the wall. He's all wet! Why is he still out here, when he's all wet? She feels a pang inside her chest, feeling absolutely terrible for leaving him out here last night. She didn't think he'd actually wait out here all night. "Why are you all wet?" she demands, startling him.

Donald practically jumps to his feet, his features immediately taking on an apologetic look as he straightens his glasses. "Stacie, I—,"

"Shut up and come inside. It's freezing out here." She practically yanks him into her room, and closes the door behind him. "Are you freaking insane? Why'd you stay outside in the pouring rain?"

He shrugs, giving her a serious look, "I told you I wouldn't leave until you talk to me."

Stacie rolls her eyes. "Are you trying to commit suicide? Do you have any idea how cold it is?"

Donald shrugs again, "Not cold enough to make me leave."

"What if you caught pneumonia?" she can't believe he's not seeing any logic in his situation.

"I don't care if I froze to death out there, Stacie… I just want you to hear me out."

Stacie softens visibly, her shoulders slumping. She goes to her side of the room, grabbing her purple towel and walking over to Donald. She grabs his arm, pulling him over to her bed. He begins to protest when she pushes him to sit down on it, but she shushes him, throwing her towel over his head and rubbing the rain water out of it. "It's cold enough to kill you, Donald. Do you really want that to be on my conscience for the rest of my life?"

"Why would it be? It's one less jackass ruining your life."

Stacie sighs heavily, plopping down beside him as she throws the towel over his shoulders. "Do you really think I'd hate you so much to wish you dead?"

Donald shrugs, "You hate me enough to not talk to me." His jaw clenches, and she can tell he's trying not to let his teeth chatter.

She looks away, feeling her heart ache a little. "You're freezing." She lets her own hand grab his, wincing at the way his usually warm fingers seem to be so surprisingly cold and hard. "Your hands are freezing." She lets go, getting up. "Okay, I can't speak to you until you go back to your room, take a nice hot bath, and put on some warm clothe."

"Stacie, please—,"

She cuts him off. "I'll talk to you when you do that because I'm not going to let you freeze to death in here."

"I'm fine." He breathes, but she's shaking her head.

"No, you're not. As soon as you come back with dry, warm clothe, I'll let you ask me whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

She nods, giving him a tiny smile. "Yes." She leans in, kissing his cheek lightly. "And thank you for trying to get your point across by staying outside all night. In the rain."

He smiles too, looking intensely at her. "I'd do it again if I had to."

"I know." Stacie smiles, getting up and pulling him onto his feet. "Now go and get some dry clothes on, and we'll talk when you get back."

He nods, walking to her door. He pauses, looking at her. "Can I get a goodbye kiss?"

Stacie laughs softly, "Don't push your luck, mister."

Donald laughs too, but twists the doorknob and swings it back before stepping outside. He pops his head back in a moment later. "I'll see you soon?"

Stacie smiles widely at him and nods. "Yeah."

-DS-

…

He's back in just over half an hour, and Stacie smiles softly at him when he sits down on her bed, wearing a dark gray sweatshirt, jeans, a slouchy beanie, and a scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. He's sniffling a bit, probably beginning to catch the flu, and yet again, she feels bad for leaving him outside last night. She honestly didn't think he'd really stay outside all night. "So, before you ask me everything, I want to know how you got wet… there's a roof just outside."

Donald nods, "Yeah. I was dry for the most part until the campus security showed up and I had to avoid them, so I ran downstairs."

"There's a roof downstairs too."

"Yes. But there was a campus guard down there as well, so I had no choice but to run out into the rain where I knew the campus guards wouldn't go looking for students."

Stacie huffs, giving him a tiny glare. "Why didn't you go and change first before coming back here?"

"Because you might come outside while I was gone."

Stacie rolls her eyes at him. "In case you're different from the rest of us, I don't just wake up in the middle of the night and walk out of my room like a lunatic, Donald."

Donald shrugs, "I didn't want to risk that."

"It's not like it would be the end of the world."

Donald sighs softly. He stares at her, and even though she's not dressed up or anything, he still thinks she's the most beautiful thing on this planet. It's almost painful to look at her and not be able to kiss her. He clears his throat loudly, looking away before he could start staring at her lips. "I—I uhhh, I wanted to clear something up with you."

"What?"

"Bumper's sister." Donald answers.

Stacie gives him a confused look. "Bumper has a sister?"

Donald nods, "Yeah. Contrary to popular belief, Bumper is not a spoiled, ungrateful only-child. He's a spoiled, ungrateful child with an older sister."

Stacie laughs, shaking her head. "What do you mean you wanted to clear Bumper's sister with me."

"She's the girl you saw in my room."

At Stacie's confused look, he continues. "The one you called my 'fuck-buddy'?"

Stacie blushes, remembering what she said to the blonde girl yesterday. "Right… uhh, is she—I mean, is she your girlfriend?"
Donald laughs, shaking his head. "No. God, no. Bonnie isn't my type."

"Oh. Then why was she in your room, wearing your boxers?"

Donald smiles sheepishly. "They needed a place to crash, so I let them use my room while I crashed with Bumper… and Bonnie really doesn't care much for asking people's permission to use their stuff."

"They?" Stacie asks curiously. "Who's 'they'?"

Donald smirks then, "They, are Bumpers sister, Bonnie, and her girlfriend, Alisha."

Stacie eyebrows shoot up her forehead at that. "Girlfriend?"

Donald nods, "Yeah. They're lesbians… like full-on, hard-core lesbians."

She feels that weird awkward feeling settle in then, "God, I feel so stupid right now."

"What? Why?"

"I think I owe Bumper's sister an apology."

Donald snorts, "No you don't."

"But I said some… things to her."

"I know." Donald grins. "But Bonnie doesn't really take things to heart… as a matter of fact, the only thing that she has in common with Bumper, is that they both don't have hearts." He jokes, making Stacie laugh.

Stacie felt like a whole weight was being taken off her shoulders. If she's honest with herself, she had been insanely jealous when she saw that hot Bonnie inside Donald's room, wearing his boxers. "I can't believe I jumped to conclusions and immediately thought the worst when I saw her in your room." Stacie says, covering her face with her hands as she lets out a groan of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry." She moans.

Donald laughs, quickly taking her hands and pulling them away from her face. "Hey… It's okay." He assures her. "It's not like we're a couple or anything." He shrugs as if he's cool with being just friends, even though he wishes they were more.

Stacie smiles softly at him. Part of her is glad that this little drama has been partially cleared up somewhat. The other part of her is actually disappointed at his words, which is just stupid, because this whole 'friends' thing is really her fault. But whatever. She has her reasons for wanting to be single throughout college, and she wants to keep it that way… at least, she thinks she does. "Okay, but I'm still sorry." She tells him softly.

"Then you are forgiven." He smiles, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Friends?" he gives her a hopeful smile, and Stacie couldn't help but grin.

"Yes."

"Good." He sighs in relief. "Now come on." He gets up off her bed, pulling her up with him. "Let's go to class."

Stacie groans again, "Ugh… that's right. We have English today."

"Yes, we do… we also have a test today, and we're going to see if your tutoring skills are as good as you say they are."

"I never said I was good at it." Stacie points out. "As a matter of fact, I think you're the one who said I was good."

"And you are." Donald chuckles. "You're the hottest tutor I've ever had."

Stacie laughs, pushing him playfully. "I'm the only tutor you've ever had."

"Yes. And the first reason why I agreed to let you tutor me, is because you're hot."

Rolling her eyes, Stacie nudges him again, but she can't help but smile like an idiot.

Next stop, English class.

...

Author's Note: So I know this chapter has taken a while to get up here, and it's boring, so I apologize for that. I have no excuse for the late update. I do, however, have an idea as to what I'm going to write in the next chapter. Next chapter, I'll be bringing back Stacie's mom into the equation. This story is still, after all, dragging rather slowly. But, I'm going to be throwing in a little more drama and mixing things up a bit, so I'm sure the next few chapters will be a bit more interesting than this one as well as the previous one. And don't worry. It won't be long until Stacie's feelings completely stump her desires to be single, and it also won't be long until Stacie's mom finds out about Stacie and Donald's little 'agreement'. Anyway, R&R please! Reviews are like smiles. If I'm being smiled at, I'll always smile back. Which in my terms, if you review, I'll try to update regularly. Thanks.

-Sux2budude