-1Author's Note: I decided to take creative liberty with this update. By that I mean our favorite teens are back at school, about to attend the annual New Year's Eve Bash. I don't know if this is something the actual Milton does or not, but the school a friend of mine went to did. They would host the party in an attempt to keep the students safe and to have them back on campus in time for first day back, January 2.

December 31

Boston, Massachusetts

"…got the most amazing, totally adorable tea cup poodle!"

Cristina's mouth twitched, the words 'shut up' on the tip of her tongue. She clutched a vented hair brush in her fist, a blow dryer in the other, wondering how much trouble she would get into for chunking them at her roommate. Sydney had been back for two hours, and every second of those two hours she had prattled on and on about how amazing, how wonderful, how delightful her Christmas break was. Who cared? Not Cristina. She had spent the holiday flitting from party to party and having sex with guys whose names she couldn't remember, didn't want to remember.

"…and then my best friend Gigi and I…"

Using her thumb, Cristina flipped the blow dryer's switch on. She separated a chunk of her hair from the rest of it with the brush, situating the heat directly on it while she pulled it out straight. Sadly, over the din of the hair dryer she can still hear Sydney yammering on. With any luck the girl would be talked out by the time Cristina finished drying her hair.

Thirty minutes later, Cristina discovered luck wasn't on her side. Sydney had a lot to tell and seemed hell bent on telling it all in one setting. Pressing her lips in a thin line, she tucked her dryer into the top drawer of her dresser, removing her large make up bag before shutting the brimming drawer. If she had to listen to a chipper voice telling her how amazing their Christmas break was then the voice was going to belong to someone she actually cared about.

"Are you going some where?" Sydney asked, her dark eyes widening when she noticed Cristina gathering up the red silk halter top and black pants she planned to that night's New Year's Bash.

"Izzie wanted my help getting ready," Cristina lied. She wasn't certain if Izzie had made it back yet, but she was almost positive she had heard the other girl's voice in the hallway.

"Oh. Okay, well have fun. We can talk tonight." Sydney wiggled her fingers in a silly, little girl wave. Cristina rolled her eyes, then rushed from the room.

Tension, mixed with a dash of anticipation and need, hummed through Izzie's body as she slid the lone window in her dorm room open. She couldn't help but grin when Alex wedged his large body through the narrow opening. While it was perfect for slender girls it presented a tight squeeze for tall, muscular boys. She clapped her hands over her mouth when he landed on his back.

"What are you doing here?" Izzie whispered, closing the window before anymore of the frosty air could seep inside. She shivered, partially from the cold and partially from the hot, wet kiss Alex had pressed to her neck.

"I missed you," Alex murmured in her ear, sliding one hand under her navy blue long sleeved Henley. She pressed back against him, her breathing quickening as he cupped one breast in the palm of his hand.

"You seen me an hour ago. We rode back to school together, remember?" The hand worked its way under her bra. She bit her lip, trying not to moan when he toyed with her nipple. She twisted away from him, turning to face him.

"So? It was the longest hour of my life," Alex pulled her body up flush against his. She grinned when she felt the hard length of his cock pressing against her lower abdomen. Her grin widened as she shoved his heavy jacket off his shoulders, then gripped the hem of his sweater in her fingers. The sweater soon joined the jacket, along with the rest of his clothing. Her's soon followed suit.

"You have a condom right?" She asked, her dark eyes searching his hazel ones. With the exception of the first time they had been religious about protection. She didn't trust the 99.9 guarantee her birth control pill professed to have.

Alex grinned, reaching over the side of the bed. He dug around in his back pocket and pulled out a small foil package. "Right here," he pressed a kiss to her collar bone, then moved away to sheath himself. Once the condom was in place, he fit himself between her legs. A moan escaped her lips when she felt him entering. The first time had been awful, the second time not much better, but every time after that had been heaven.

"Izzie? Are you here?" Cristina's voice drifted through the closed door. Izzie's mouth opens to tell Cristina to go away, when Alex slid out, then back in. She couldn't help moaning. "Are you okay?" The door handle jiggled. Her eyes widen. Had she locked the door? No. She didn't think she had. "Oh my God!"

"Cristina!" Izzie shrieked, her cheeks flaming. Her first instinct was to grab her sheet and pull it over her naked body. She couldn't though, not with Alex still on top of her.

"Wow. Guess little miss innocent isn't so innocent anymore," Cristina chuckled, fully entering the dorm room. She turned her back while Alex scrambled to grab his boxer shorts and jeans. "I'm going to assume this is a recent development between the two of you?"

"Oh God, Cristina, please," Izzie begged. She wrapped her arms around her naked upper torso. She couldn't be any more humiliated. "Will you just go!"

"Sorry. I can't. Happy go lucky Sydney is in my room as we speak going on and on about her new toy poodle and some weirdo named Gigi." Cristina set her make up box on top of the empty dresser across the room, carelessly tossing her clothing on the nearby bed. "Don't worry. You can get dressed. I won't look."

"I'm going to go," Alex whispered, tugging his jeans on. Izzie nodded, anger boiling deep within her stomach. She watched as he exited the same way he entered. Once he was gone, she turned her gaze on Cristina.

"I can't believe you!" Izzie cried, letting the sheet drop. She grimaced as the wiggled back into her panties. She pulled her top on without bothering with her bra. "Have you not heard of knocking?"

"Have you not heard of locking the door?" Cristina shot back. She looked over her shoulder, a smile on her face. "So, you're a woman now?" She laughed when a pillow hit her in the face.

A blast of cold air engulfed Meredith as she climbed out of the back seat of the black sedan her mother had hired to drive her from the air port to Milton. Her gaze is drawn to the yellow Audi that had pulled up at almost the same time. A tall boy unfolded from it, his short cropped dark hair spiked in every direction. She couldn't see his eyes behind the dark Dolce and Gabana sunglasses but his lips were full and sensual. Kissing lips, Addison would have called them.

"Dylan Westfield."

Meredith turned around. Erica Hahn stood there, looking as perfect as always in a spotless white wool trench coat and heeled boots. "Who?"

Erica's lips tilted up in a small smile. "The hottie you're staring at. His name is Dylan Westfield. His parents are divorced, so he only attends second semester. First semester he is stuck in Tacoma, Washington at some public school." She moved closer to where Meredith stood. "Every girl here has tried to capture his interest, but alas he thinks mere high school girls are boring. He only dates college girls."

Meredith lifted one eyebrow. Since when did Erica talk to her as though they were friends? "So he's from Washington as well?" It was the only thing she could think of to say. It wasn't as though Erica and she were friends. Far from it, they had a mutual animosity.

"Yup." They stood side by side, watching as Dylan shoved his hands into the back pockets of his designer jeans. A smile curved his sensual lips as he strolled in their direction. Meredith couldn't explain why but her heart started pounding. A silly grin spread across her face. Her only saving grace was Erica wore a similar one.

"I'm going to kill her!" The grin slid from Meredith's face as Alex stumbled toward her, clutching his pants up with one hand. She lifted an eye brow. She longed to ask why his pants were undone and where his shirt had gone as he didn't appear to be wearing one beneath his thick ski jacket.

"Kill who?" Meredith asked, her eyes focusing once more on Dylan. He had paused a mere two feet away. She gulped, loving and hating the effect he was having on her.

"Cristina that's, who!" Alex said through clenched teeth. He scowled, fastening his pants. "She has the worse timing."

"Karev," Dylan chuckled. Alex looked up, stunned. The shock quickly gave way to an easy grin. "Good to see that some things never change." Alex's grin faded to a scowl. At first Meredith thought it was because of what Dylan had said, then she spotted the reason: Rebecca. The petite brunette was half running, half skipping towards them.

"Actually quite a bit has changed." Alex shot back. He zipped his jacket, but not before Meredith caught site of a small bite mark near his neck. So help him if he was cheating on Izzie. She would hurt him. She would slowly, painfully make him pay.

"Really?" Dylan didn't sound convinced. Meredith couldn't blame him. Rebecca had made a beeline right for Alex, throwing her arms around him.

"I've missed you." The older girl gushed. "Please tell me you've come to your senses." Alex gripped her wrists in his hands, untangling her from his neck. She pouted when he shoved her aside. She turned the pout on Dylan. "He is still getting back at me for Charlie," she explained.

"You know what Rebecca, I really could care less about Charlie." Alex snapped. The anger on his face told another story.

"He's dating this really pathetic girl. Like I'm going to be jealous of some scholarship kid." Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you a scholarship kid?" Dylan mused. Rebecca's eyes widen. Erica laughed. "You were last year. And the year before that. Come to think of it, you've been one the whole time I've had the misfortune of knowing you." He winked in Meredith's direction, sending her heart rate through the roof.

Rebecca sputtered some unintelligible nonsense about needing to unpack, her face flaming as she ran back in the direction from which she had come. Meredith almost felt sorry for her. Almost. It was hard to feel to badly for someone as horrible as Rebecca.

"And you said things had changed," Dylan clucked, slapping Alex on the arm. "Glad you wised up about Blow Job Becky." The scowl on Alex's face darkened. "Oh come on. Its not like you didn't know. Girl's got skills on her knees. I'll give her that."

"I think I had best go," Erica murmured. She hadn't walked three steps before she was pulling her cell phone out. Clearly she wasn't the friend Rebecca thought she was because the last thing Meredith heard was Erica telling someone named Jillian that Rebecca had given more blow jobs than someone named Cecile.

"…meet my friend Meredith."

The mention of her name has her snapping to attention. She fought the urge to giggle as Dylan took her hand. "Tis a pleasure to meet you," the other boy murmured.

"Like wise," Meredith responded. He had slid the black glasses on top his head, revealing eyes that were the color of the ocean. She could drown in his eyes. Would have if Alex hadn't asked if she was going to that night's bash. "I'm not sure. I don't really feel like going alone," She said, hating how pathetic she sounded.

"So don't go alone," Dylan grinned. "Go with me."