When I finally entered my dorm room fifteen minutes later, I felt nothing less than relieved. My jaw still hurt, my body was tired, but I somehow felt free! Right now Jarod would be giving Raye a kiss goodnight, and all I wanted to do was take a shower and go to sleep. I sighed and moved towards my bed, ready to fall right in…
"So…" a voice suddenly murmured from behind me, and I smiled. "How did it go?" Darien asked.
I turned around and shrugged. "It went pretty well…" I admitted.
Darien returned my smile, but then his eyes dropped and widened. "What happened to you?" He demanded, striding toward me in order to get a closer look.
I laughed. "Oh, that… Uh, I ran into a fist--totally my fault!" I cracked.
Darien didn't laugh, and instead gently took my chin between his fingers and held it while he peered at my darkening bruise. I tried not to tremble, but it was hard being at such close proximity to him. A moment later, he released me, and stepped back, his eyes cold.
"Who did it to you?"
"It doesn't matter," I said dismissively. "It's resolved now."
"If it was Diamond…" he began.
"No," I interrupted. "It wasn't him."
Darien visibly relaxed, and then nodded. "Good."
A long moment followed where we said nothing, and simply looked at each other. After a few seconds, I turned away, sat down, and stared at my shoes, but I could still feel his eyes on me. However, when I looked up again, his eyes were focused elsewhere, and for that I was glad. Nothing made me more self conscious than him staring at me.
"Hey Ren?" He suddenly asked, startling me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Are you related to Serena?" He asked.
My throat suddenly went dry, and my eyes widened. "What?" I squeaked.
Oh God! My mind screamed. He knows! He's going to figure it out!
"It's just that…" he began, and then stopped, as if trying to collect his thoughts. "I mean, when I look at you sometimes, you look just like her… It's kind of unnerving, and I was just wondering if you two were related somehow."
I gulped. I had to think of something quick! "Oh, uh… yeah." I stammered. "We are related. Serena is my…cousin." I finished lamely, and prayed silently that he would buy it.
"Oh!" He exclaimed, smiling with relief. "That's good to know! Why didn't you tell me before?" He wondered.
"I wanted to surprise you?" I offered hopefully.
He laughed. "Well, at least it didn't slip your mind…" He shook his head, and rose to his feet. "Well, that was all I needed to know. I'm heading off to the roof right now, want to come?"
I thought about it, but somehow I didn't think an hour in moonlight would help me right now. It only seemed to bring out the girl in me… So, reluctantly, I shook my head no.
"Naw, I better get to bed right now. It's been a long night," I said finally.
Darien looked disappointed at first, but then he smiled and nodded. "Okay, get some rest." He began heading towards the doorway.
"Thanks, Darien. Goodnight!" I called after him.
"Later!" He replied, and then he was gone.
I sighed and began pulling off my shoes and socks, and then removed my jacket. For once, I resolved not to take a shower and just go straight to sleep. I swung my legs up onto the bed and leaned back. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I woke up the next morning to the unnerving sight of a pair of blue eyes staring at me intently. I yelped and leapt to my feet, startling Jarod as well.
"Jarod!" I exclaimed warningly, "Don't ever scare me like that again!"
"Sorry," he said quickly, and I sat back down.
"So what's up?" I asked groggily, resisting the urge to yawn.
He shrugged and began picking nervously at his ratty blue bedtime shorts. I noticed he had his shirt on, and that was strange because he never wore his shirt to bed. Suddenly, I realized why he seemed so anxious, and I smiled.
"Do you want to talk about last night?" I asked.
He hesitated, but then nodded. "I wanted to ask you how I should…" he trailed off. "Well, I mean, how should I act around you now? I know you're a girl, and that changes a lot of things. Last night I realized that I not only ragged on you about your sensitive issues, I also haven't been the cleanest of guys… I just need to know if I should alter my behavior at all. I know you're going to be here a while longer, and I want to make you as comfortable as possible." He smiled softly. "I owe you a lot."
I laughed gently and shook my head. "Jarod, I don't want you to change at all!" I insisted. "Trust me, if your living habits really bothered me, I would have told you a long time ago!" I stood up, crossed the room, and sat next to him on his bed. "I don't want to change anything about our relationship because I like you just the way you are. If I lose my hilarious roommate who has trouble cleaning up after himself, I won't be able to have any fun while I'm here!"
He laughed and nodded. "Okay, fair enough."
"There is one thing you could do though…" I said softly.
"Yeah? What?" He asked.
"You need to make sure I don't blow my cover. I need guy lessons, and if I'm ever doing something girly, you need to let me know!" I urged.
"Well, now that you mention it…" he began. "There is something…"
"What?"
"Well, the way you eat. Most guys aren't as dainty as you are. We don't care if stuff falls out of our sandwiches, and we definitely don't eat burritos with a knife and a fork!" He explained.
I laughed aloud. This was going to work out just fine.
The rest of the day went really smoothly until lunchtime. Jarod and I acted normal around each other, I managed to think of a credible excuse for my bruise, and the rest of the guys were ecstatic to hear that Jarod and Raye had finally gotten together. However, once we reached the cafeteria, trouble began. It was then that I began to realize how truly different girls are from some boys.
"I can't believe Ren managed to get you and Raye together!" Nathan exclaimed to Jarod. He pulled a chair out from under the table, plopped into it, and tossed his tray on the table. "She's totally hot!"
I frowned, set my tray down, and took a seat next to Jarod, who was blushing furiously. "I'm sure that's not the only reason he went after her," I said.
"It wasn't," Jarod said quickly, and shot a glare at Nathan.
"Well what else is there?" Nathan insisted. "As long as the girl has booty, breasts, and a pretty face, a guy is happy!" He said with a grin. "I dare any one of you to tell me different."
"You're so full of crap!" Zach said, sitting down next to him. "Not all guys want a trophy wife."
"Thank you, Zach!" I said, smiling at him. He grinned shyly back.
"Oh yeah? Well, then what do you look for in a girl?" Nathan asked him.
"Intelligence," Zach answered easily. "If the girl can't have an intellectual conversation with me, she won't last!"
"But I think Nathan does have something," Malcom said, taking the seat on the other side of him. "I think a girl should be somewhat pretty, or I won't be attracted to her in the first place."
"Thank you!" Nathan exclaimed.
"Being attractive is one thing, being completely vapid is another!" I cried, my blood beginning to boil. "If someone isn't interesting, smart, or funny, how are they supposed to keep your attention?"
"Yes, personality can help," Malcolm admitted, "but what will get your attention in the first place? If I'm out somewhere and I see a girl, my first thought isn't how funny or interesting she is. If she isn't attractive to me, I won't bother!"
"What a horrible thing to say!" I cried, my face heating up. "It's chauvinistic guys like you that give men a bad name!" I nearly shouted.
"Why are you being such a girl about this?" Nathan asked, and Jarod began coughing frantically as he nearly choked on his sandwich. My face reddened, but I was completely furious.
"He's not," a voice said softly from my right, and I turned to see Darien standing beside me, tray in hand. He glanced down at me, and then turned to Nathan and Malcolm, frowning slightly. "You guys should know better than anyone else that a beautiful girl doesn't always make you happy, because you've seen it in action. Ren and Zach are right… Unless the girl is smart, funny, and interesting, you won't keep her around. I know from experience."
The table fell silent, and Mal and Nathan looked away in shame.
"Sorry man," Nathan said finally. "You know we weren't talking about you…"
"Yeah, I know," Darien agreed. "But I have to agree with Ren. No wonder girls don't have any faith in us. We don't give them anything to be impressed about! You know what? I think you guys just haven't met the right one yet, and when you do, you're not going to care what she looks like." He glanced down at his try and sighed. "I'll see you guys later, I'm not hungry."
Darien turned from the table and walked towards the door, emptying his tray into a garbage can on the way. I sighed, and got up to follow him, when Jarod pulled at my arm. I looked down and immediately understood that a guy would let Darien alone. I sat back down reluctantly, determined to make an excuse to follow him later. My thoughts were interrupted, however, by a hand suddenly gripping my shoulder. I jumped visibly.
"Hey Ren," the person behind me puffed. I turned around only to see Melvin panting like a dog behind me, looking as if he had run a marathon. "What's up Mel?" I asked, concerned.
"Your sister just called," he gasped. "She wanted me to give you a message, she said it was urgent…"
"What is it?" I asked quickly. "What's wrong?"
"She told me to tell you that she's coming to visit next Saturday, and she's bringing her friends along…" He managed, finally getting a hold of himself.
"Oh!" I said with relief, smiling finally. "Thanks man, I thought there was something wrong."
"I'm not done," he said, standing up straight. "She wanted me to tell you Serena is coming along too. She made me promise three times…"
My mouth fell open, and suddenly I couldn't breathe so well. I felt Jarod grip my shoulder from behind, and I was glad he was there to steady me. If he hadn't been, I think I would have passed out.
Whew! There it is! Oh yeah, a little note about the girl argument... I actually used to have discussions like this with some of my guy friends, and believe me, they got pretty heated! I hope I didn't offend anyone, and I know all guys aren't like Nate and Mal-- but believe me, they'll have a change of heart soon! :P
Like it? Hate it? Review please!