Author's note: Just wanted to quickly mention that these three chapters all start out very similarly (I used the same original text), but do branch in different directions eventually. I decided to post them all together for this reason. Thanks and enjoy!

Asses and Glasses

The door opened, and Barry stood on the other side, grinning.

"Damn, Lindsay, you just keep getting hotter," he said, taking his time appraising her with his big brown eyes. "You look great. Come on in," he opened the door wider and gestured for her to come inside.

"Thanks," she replied, feeling shy. She liked the way that Barry looked at her most of the time, but it also made her feel self-conscious, especially since she was wearing jeans and a sweater. And her dad's army jacket, of course. It was way too long of a drive to dress up- though she did have something a little nicer to wear in her bag.

As she entered his dorm room, the first thing that struck Lindsay was how small it was- seriously, how could two people spend time in such a tiny enclosed space without killing one another?

"We're not in here together much," Barry said, as if reading her mind. "Jake- my roommate- is in a fraternity. He spends most of his time over at the frat house."

"Oh. Okay. Is- is he staying there tonight?"

Barry looked at her. "Yeah," he said, "That's okay, right? I can take his bed, and you can crash in mine." He indicated that the bed currently closer to them was his. He grinned, raising his eyebrow suggestively. "If that's still what you want later." He was clearly implying that she'll want to share a bed with him.

"Yeah, okay," Lindsay replied, a tad uncomfortable. She shrugged and plopped her duffel bag decisively on the floor next to Barry's bed. She hadn't bothered to try to find Julie's number this week, and she didn't ask Barry if he had it. The proposed sleeping arrangement sounded all right, she guessed, assuming Barry kept to his roommate's bed. She looked at Barry's side a little more closely, trying to gather information about him from the stuff in his dorm room. It seemed like he spent a lot of money to fix the place up, Lindsay eventually decided. There were some lamps on which eliminated the need for the harsh fluorescent lighting overhead, his sound system looked awesome, and there were even decorative pillows on his bed. Involuntarily, Lindsay wondered how often Barry brought girls back here.

"I like to keep the place nice," he said, shrugging, noticing Lindsay looking around. "Helps me study. Though I'll be moving into an apartment next year. Jake will be moving into the fraternity house, and most upperclassmen live off-campus."

Lindsay nodded. "Do you know who you're going to live with yet?"

Barry shrugged. "No, there's a bunch of us that hang out, but we haven't figured it all out yet." He met her eyes and gave her a wicked smile. "So- what do you want to do?"

Lindsay began to feel a little uncomfortable again. Barry looked good- he wore jeans and a sweater like she did but he wore a collared shirt underneath and his hair was styled really nicely so he actually looked significantly more dressed up than she did. But he was looking at her as though he would be perfectly content chaining Lindsay to his bed and keeping her there for the rest of the night. She liked him, but this was weirding her out a little. They needed to get out of there.

"Well-," she began, "I told my parents that I was going to look at colleges, and I don't want to totally lie to them-"

"You want to see the campus?" Barry interjected.

Lindsay nodded. "Sorry if that's really lame."

Barry shrugged. "We can go, I guess," he said. He continued, completely unenthusiastically, "The campus here is nice, and there's a lot to see. I can show you around. Need to use the bathroom or anything before we go?"

"Nah, I'm all right," Lindsay responded, grabbing her purse and walking out of the room with Barry. She watched him as he locked the door to his room, suddenly envious of his independence, his ability to come and go whenever he pleased.

They set off on a walk, with Barry playing the role of tour guide. He seemed a little disappointed at first, as though she had offended him by wanting to leave his room, but eventually he started talking about the school, his own experiences, and things he'd heard from his friends. He pointed as they passed each building- the Museum of Art, the Library, the Student Union.

The lake the campus sits on was quickly coming into view, though it took them several more minutes to approach the path near the edge. When they finally did, Lindsay sighed deeply, the tension from home and her drive there rolling off of her shoulders. Being near the water seemed to have that effect on her. When she glanced over at Barry, he was looking at her.

"I like to come out here when I need to think. A little quieter than usual today." He continued, "The football game is still on, so I'm sure everyone's inside watching. The team is away this week." He had a slightly bitter edge to his voice, almost like he would rather be with his buddies watching the game.

She just nodded, not knowing what to say to that. Should she apologize? Nah, he told her to come out and visit. They began to walk.

They walked at a leisurely pace. At first Lindsay was afraid to break the silence, but it was ridiculous to not talk about anything, so eventually she started asking him more about school. The sun shone warm on their faces. Birds chirped and they passed a few students, though it seemed eerily quiet for a college campus in autumn. Some trees eventually appeared on their left. When Lindsay asked what was in there, Barry told her they were the Muir woods. Perking up, he grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards them, telling her how incredible they were and how this was one of his favorite places to study on a nice day. After just a couple of minutes of walking, they found themselves in an isolated little patch of forest.

As soon as Lindsay turned to face him, Barry leaned forward and kissed her, with the urgency of someone who hadn't kissed her in over five months and really wanted to would have. His lips felt hot on her mouth.

He pulled away after a minute. "Sorry," he grinned at her, "I've been thinking about that ever since my dad's party. I had to try to get it out of my system, I suppose."

"Did it work?" Lindsay asked, a little breathlessly. Barry could kiss. And his last statement explained a lot about his behavior the last hour, she supposed.

"Not even remotely," he joked. He leaned in and kissed her again.

Though things started out pleasantly enough, Lindsay quickly went from being in the moment to feeling completely out of it. Barry had quickly moved his hands down to her butt, and was pulling her into him with strong arms, almost too strong. She began to wonder if spending the night at Barry's was such a hot idea, wondered if she should somehow find Julie Farmington. She struggled out of their embrace.

"We should keep walking," was all she said. Lindsay wasn't in the mood to start any kind of confrontation.

Barry turned away, defensive. "Yeah, okay, whatever." He dropped her hand.

They continued their walk in silence. After what seemed like forever, Barry spoke up. "Did you want to see the stadium? It's kind of out of the way."

Lindsay shrugged. She'd never been a huge football fan. "Nah, that's okay."

"All right." He sighed, hesitating, and then spoke again. "You must be getting hungry though."

He had her there. Aside from some gas station snacks, she hadn't eaten since breakfast. "Actually, yeah, I'm starving." She smiled. She liked the idea of going to dinner with him. Being someplace public, she thought, would take some of the sudden pressure she was feeling off of her. She had always enjoyed spending time with Barry, but she had never been really alone with him before- back when they were growing up, it seemed like Sam and Neal were always around, if no one else. And now that they were alone, Lindsay didn't quite know how to handle his behavior. Had she given Barry the wrong idea? Better to be around a lot of people, she thought, and then she wouldn't need to worry about it.

He replied, "Okay. So how about we walk back to the dorm? You can change if you'd like and we can get ready for this evening. There's a place I had in mind to take you for dinner- if you still want to go."

"So, wait," Lindsay interjected, "You're taking me out to eat? We're not just going to the dining hall or something?" This was a surprise.

"Well, we can if you want," Barry replied, "but I had something a little nicer in mind- I made reservations. Do you like Italian? If not, we could always go somewhere else- though since it's a Saturday we might be waiting a while."

Italian sounded fine to her. After a quick stop in his dorm (Lindsay made sure to get ready in record time so as not to linger in there alone with him), Barry took her to a place overlooking the lake (apparently, a different lake). It was somehow casual and fancy at the same time and the dinner itself was fabulous- they'd split a pizza and salad. Barry seemed liked he'd relaxed a bit from earlier; it felt like an actual date. His sudden relaxation may have had something to do with the bottle of wine he had broken out in the car- they'd each had two cups as they were getting ready to go into the restaurant. Lindsay was already starting to feel warmth spread across her cheeks from the alcohol.

Their conversation continued throughout dinner- at times it flowed freely, but at other times it stalled for a bit, which probably had a lot to do with Lindsay's train of thought. She had always liked Barry growing up, and just never realized that he would ever want anything to do with her, being three years older and all. There was something about him now that was nagging at her, however.

She kept thinking back to the last time that she and Barry spent time together at the Schweiber party. She'd had an amazing time that night, but something had put a damper on it, right at the very end. Long after she had gotten back, long after her parents had passed out drunk, Sam told her that Dr. Schweiber was cheating on his wife.

She remembered a while before that Sam inquiring to her about whether or not their dad or Dr. Schweiber would have an affair. But it all became clear to her that night after Sam told her the news- why Sam felt compelled to ask her about infidelity, why Neal was acting out at the party with his stupid ventriloquism. Sam mentioned that Neal had spoken to Barry about it, too.

And now, sitting across from him, Lindsay couldn't help but wonder how it had affected Barry here at school- whether or not he thought about it. Well, of course he thought about it. But how much had it changed him, changed who he was? He seemed different than what she remembered. He had more of an ego now, that was for sure. She backtracked to their amazing phone conversation, tried to remember if there was anything odd that he had said back then. She couldn't think of anything.

When the check came, she offered to pay her share, but Barry just shrugged and said he had it. He'd been working part-time over the summer, he'd said, in what started out as a brief internship but ended up as a part-time job at a law firm. It was grunt work, he'd explained, saying that he did little more than run errands, fetch coffee, and organize files- but he was finding out more about law, meeting people, and making money at the same time, which had been motivating, both for his career and for his wallet.

As they walked out of the restaurant, Lindsay wondered if Barry was going to try to kiss her again when they got to the car, what he was going to suggest they do next.

She didn't have long to wait. Barry spoke up as they were walking.

"So- Jake's frat is having a party tonight, and some of my other friends are going to be there," he explained. "Would- would you like to go? It's up to you. If not, we could just go back to the dorm and watch TV, or catch a movie or something."

Lindsay didn't have to think twice. Aside from the fact that she wasn't overly eager to spend time alone with Barry anytime soon, she was genuinely curious to meet Barry's friends. She was interested to see what his life was like up here.

"Sure, let's go to the party," she replied casually.

"Okay," Barry replied. "We can just head straight there if you're ready?"

Lindsay nodded. As she eased inside the car, she briefly wondered if he was okay to drive. She ended up voicing her concerns out loud.

"Oh, I'm fine," he said, dismissively waving his hand at her. "I only had two glasses and I had a lot to eat, as you could tell," he rubbed his stomach as he said it. It was true- Barry had eaten far more than she did. And he did have a higher tolerance, she supposed. "Besides, thankfully we don't have to drive far around here."

Barry was right- they reached the fraternity after just a couple of minutes.

They ended up parking a few blocks away since there wasn't anything closer. As they walked toward the fraternity, Barry possessively draped his arm across her shoulders. "I know we're just getting here, but I can't wait to get you alone again," he whispered in her ear. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and immediately questioned her decision to let him drive. And given his overeager kissing and lack of any tender affection, his heavy arm made Lindsay feel even more awkward.

When they arrived, there was actually a pretty big line. "Ah, September. The parties are pretty huge this time of year," he lamented. However, Barry knew the two guys at the door, so they were able to walk straight up to them.

"Hey Brad, Patrick. This is Lindsay," Barry said by way of introduction. One of them whistled.

"This the hottie from your Educational Policy class you keep talking about, Schweiber?" he asked.

Barry glared at him as he shook his head. "This is Lindsay. She's from my hometown. Jake around?" was all he said instead of answering.

The other one, Brad or Patrick, smiled. "Oh, the jailbait, right?! Yeah, he's upstairs hanging out with Drew and Kyle. Go on up; I know he's expecting you guys."

Barry nodded. "All right, man, thanks. Hey- did we end up winning today? We were tied in the second quarter."

Brad or Patrick responded enthusiastically. "Hell, yeah, man! We crushed them; didn't you hear? What were you doing?" As Brad or Patrick glanced at Lindsay again, a devilish grin appeared on their face. "Never mind."

Barry spoke up as soon as they were in the house and out of earshot. "These guys were just giving me shit," he halfheartedly explained, "It doesn't have anything to do with you."

Lindsay just shrugged. She wasn't easily offended, and it's not like she and Barry were going out or anything, so she had made no previous claims on him. And there wasn't much that Brad or Patrick could say that could make her feel weirder than she already felt.

They headed up the stairs and down the hallway into a large room where several guys and a few girls were sitting, pouring shots from colored bottles of liquor into an array of shot glasses. As soon as they entered, a friendly-looking guy hopped up to say hello.

"Lindsay, right?" he smiled at her, though his voice sounded just a bit uncertain. But he definitely lacked the cockiness, the ego that the older guys at the front door had perfected. "Barry's told me a lot about you. I'm Jake." He extended his hand to her.

Lindsay reached out and shook it, smiling. "Nice to meet you." She fought a blush herself as she spoke next. "Um- thanks for lending Barry your bed tonight so I can crash there," she muttered. She was staring at the floor by the time she was done, embarrassed.

"Not a problem- I'm here most nights anyways." She looked back up. Jake was smiling again. "Besides, I'd never deprive a friend of the opportunity to spend some time alone with such a hot girl," he said, giving her a sly glance as he put his hand on Barry's shoulder. And Lindsay definitely didn't miss the wink that Jake gave her as he did it.

They all sat down then, and Lindsay was introduced to the rest of the guys- Drew and Kyle, who seemed like they were Barry's closest friends, and a bunch of other people whose names she was certain she would forget. A couple of the girls were girlfriends of brothers, but two were there for the first time, so Lindsay felt as though she was in good company. They all laughed and chatted as music played in the background and they continued to occasionally pour and take shots.

When Barry got up to use the bathroom, the girl that was sitting next to them leaned over and whispered in Lindsay's ear. "Look, I've never seen you with Barry before, so I just gotta say this to you upfront: please, be careful. Use a condom. That guy gets around."

Lindsay was mortified, but she didn't feel like putting the energy into denying anything to someone she had never met before. She simply nodded and whispered back. "Okay, thanks for telling me."

So when Barry came back, they sat and drank some more. Well, Barry did anyway- he did at least six shots while they were there, having his glass refilled again and again. She was only drinking a little- after her single shot, she was finished with liquor, despite Barry encouraging her to take another (or two or five). "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you," he kept drunkenly reassuring her- which was no reassurance at all. Though he did also say that they were close enough to walk from where they were, which was comforting because Barry was quickly putting himself in a state where he couldn't drive. Lindsay was relieved when they were told the party downstairs was picking up (just so that they could get away from the shots) until she heard that the frat brothers were starting a house-wide beer pong competition.

"Beer pong?" Lindsay asked.

Barry nodded. "It's a fun game. Don't worry, we'll be on a team together, I'll show you what to do."

They headed down to the basement, which was the polar opposite from where they had just come. Instead of the mellow Floyd softly playing in the background the basement was blasting with hard rock and even some disco. Rather than good-tasting liquor, like the Goldschlager she had tried, there was nothing but the cheapest possible beer from a can- just like her friends back in Chippewa drank. Suddenly, she felt just a bit nostalgic for her old crowd. She smiled wistfully.

But she was quickly distracted. Beer pong tables were being set up, and Lindsay had never seen anything like this game before. As they watched the first few rounds, Barry started explaining, well, slurring rather, the rules.

"And if you make both shots, then you can 'bring them back' and take another turn," he was saying, and though it sounded fun, Lindsay was only half paying attention. As Barry was talking to her he had to lean close so that she could hear him over the loud music- but he was intentionally leaning too far, putting his lips and tongue dangerously close to her ear. Considering how the evening had gone up to that point, Lindsay was not impressed; in fact, she was thinking that Dr. Schweiber had influenced his son in all the wrong ways.

Before long, a table had freed up, and after Barry made sure that Lindsay still wanted to play (to which Lindsay replied with a resounding YES! just to have interaction with some other people at the party), they took their places at the end.

Barry knew their opponents so he half-mumbled half-shouted some introductions, though Lindsay forgot their names the moment they were spoken. Barry let Lindsay toss first. Though she was only buzzed, having never been particularly good at sports or played beer pong before, the ping-pong ball hit a good foot away from the red plastic cup, practically off of the table.

"Good try, Lindsay," Barry slurred, clearly a white lie. "You'll get it next time." That lie was even more blatant.

Barry didn't make his shot, either- his reflexes were clearly starting to deteriorate a bit, and she certainly didn't foresee his coordination improving. The ping pong balls went to the team of frat brothers. This was a mistake.

Having had gobs of practice, the two guys won, sinking both cups three rounds in a row. Barry tried to drink his half but was already pretty drunk, so she stopped him. She drank a couple herself but left the rest on the table. If she had to chug the nasty swill in the cups in front of her she would definitely be in a drunker state than she preferred- the two glasses of wine and the shot she had were quite enough. She needed to keep her wits about her.

"C'mon Barry, maybe we should go," she told him gently. "Let's walk; it'll be good for you." She half wondered if this was a mistake, if she should just let him keep drinking and pass out here at the fraternity. But then where would she sleep? She didn't know anyone here. And she had no idea how to get back to Barry's room (even if she did, she didn't have a key), which she would need to access before getting out of town. She wanted to make sure she could leave on her terms (i.e. as soon as possible in the morning) rather than wait around for Barry to sober up.

Plus, Barry was really drunk, even stumbling now, and she figured the walk outside would do him some good. He nodded, defeated. "Okay."

He led her out the door of the frat and they started to walk home. Thankfully, he had done this enough times; he still knew where they were going. The walk truly did seem to do him some good- the air was already crisp, and he started to look more alert on the trek to his dorm (it felt like forever but apparently was about two miles).

She really had to pee, so when they got back to Barry's she asked where she could go to the bathroom; since it was a coed dorm he directed her right down the hall. She brought her bag in with her so that she could change and brush her teeth. She had brought sleep shorts and two different tops from home- one frumpy-ish t-shirt that was super comfortable, and one tight low-cut camisole that wasn't as comfortable but in which she knew she looked damn good. She didn't even need to hold them both in front of the mirror of the girls' bathroom- Lindsay opted for the former. She wanted to look as unsexy as possible.

As she entered Barry's dorm room, he had already changed into boxer shorts and was shirtless, and sure enough, he was sitting on his own bed. When Lindsay reemerged in the room, Barry's eyes widened and he patted the space next to him. Well, there was no way she was going for this.

"So, Barry, can I get you one of your shirts to sleep in?" she suggested, trying to sound casual but not succeeding. She did not want to give him any ideas. The more dressed he was the better. "It might be more comfortable for you." She moved towards his dresser. "It definitely would be for me," she muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Barry had gotten up and was moving towards her.

It was then Lindsay realized that she was nervous. Barry was drunk, and he was bigger and stronger than she was. He walked right up to her while she was at his dresser, turned her around, and kissed her on the lips. He pushed roughly into her (pinning her against the dresser) for the few seconds while their lips were locked. As soon as she possibly could, she pulled away.

"I've been thinking about that ever since the last one," he mumbled drunkenly into her ear. Barry had managed to remember that he had told her that after he kissed her a few hours ago.

Lindsay was taking measured deep breaths, in and out, trying to figure out what to do next. "Barry, you need to stop kissing me and put some more clothes on," she said sternly. She made it a point to look directly at him when she said it. He needed to get her message loud and clear. She wasn't interested in kissing him. Period. Ever again.

He gently ran his fingertips over her bottom lip, causing her to shudder. Any inhibitions that he had had flown out the window with his sobriety. "Why? I thought you'd like the way I look in this." He gestured to his bare chest. He had no mental filter at this point. She wished he would just shut up.

She needed to change tactics. Her refusals up to this point were obviously not resonating with him. Fight fire with fire, she guessed. She met his gaze, trying her best to sound sultry. Doing her best acting, she purred, "Because you're drunk."

"So?" he slurred.

"So….I'm not going to take advantage of you."

"Lind-say," Barry slurred before planting another kiss on her lips. Pulling away, he added, "I want you to take advantage of me."

For just a minute, as part of her strategy, Lindsay pretended to respond to his advances. She started kissing Barry back. Lindsay leaned into him and slowly walked him across the room, guiding him backwards- towards Jake's bed. Lindsay kept kissing him as they reached the foot of the bed.

But just as quickly- she gave him a big shove, so that he was lying flat on his back on the bed. She knew that he was just drunk enough that he wouldn't likely be getting back up. Then she let the truth come pouring out. "Barry- you need to stop kissing me because I'm not going to do this with you- not tonight. Not ever. And the reason is because of the way you've acted towards me all evening. You've been a complete ass."

Barry was clearly pissed. "I bought your dinner," he spat out. For a second he looked like he was going to say something else, argue some more. But then a look of nausea came over his face and he shut his mouth. All of a sudden he didn't look so hot. "Okay, whatever," he said reluctantly. "I feel like shit anyway. But if you're going to make me get dressed- can you at least do me a favor? Can you get me a T-shirt out of my dresser? The McKinley High School Class of 1979 one? It's in the top drawer. I'm feeling a little nauseous, and I'm not sure I want to get up…."

"Then don't," she responded, moving back to the dresser, opening the top drawer, and rummaging around it for a few seconds until she found his slightly frumpy but soft blue t-shirt. She threw it at him.

Barry put the shirt on, and then proceeded to ignore her. She heard him snoring about five minutes later. He had passed out cold.

Lindsay awoke several hours later to what she thought was a chainsaw. She was curled on her side, facing the window. Upon rolling over, however, she realized that it was just Barry, across the room, still asleep on Jake's bed, snoring loudly.

Lindsay wondered if it would be possible to get up, get ready, and leave without waking Barry. After last night's shenanigans, she wanted to get the hell out of there and never see him again. She knew she would run into him on occasion, at future Schweiber parties and such, and she was ready to deal with that. But that didn't mean she was all right with spending any more time alone with him. Lindsay cringed as she thought of Barry practically accosting her at his dresser.

But she decided to be the bigger person. Next to Jake's bed Lindsay placed a garbage can, a roll of paper towels, and a huge plastic cup full of water. Barry was going to need it.

As Lindsay went to go to the bathroom to get ready, clumsiness hit and she tripped over the strap on her open duffel bag, causing a few of her toiletries to loudly spill out. Barry stirred but didn't wake up.

Lindsay smiled for just a second. It was nicest thing that Barry had done for her the whole trip. After getting dressed, she slipped quietly out the door, but by the time she got to her car, the rest of last evening had come back into focus. She drove away fuming.