Author's Note

'Sup guys? Finally replaced that awful author's note...

So, straight to the point: yet another chapter I really don't like! It's just so...blah compared to the others. But, I had to introduce the people Cassie will get to know at the college campus, and I had to introduce an antagonist! I'm not letting Cassie off so easily in this story. Tough love. Yup.

Lastly, I really loved the reviews I got for the Author's Note and the new reviews for old chapters! They were all really sweet and I really enjoyed them. But, fair warning, I'm going to post some descriptions down at the bottom of the newcomers. So:

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Twilight.

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College

"Are you sure you have to go?" Paul whined, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Paul," I said, placing a pack of paper into the rings of my binder. Paul pouted, lying back on my bed.

"Are you sure?" he asked again. I sighed, snapping the rings shut.

"Paul, the college is only fifteen minutes away. I won't be gone for long; maybe a couple of hours at the most, and then I'll head straight back here."

"A lot can happen in fifteen minutes," Paul argued.

"Nothing bad is going to happen, Paul. I'll have Al with me," I pointed out, and he snorted. "What's your point, Paul?"

"Easy: don't go to college," he said easily, looking quite satisfied with himself. I looked at him disbelievingly, raising both of my eyebrows.

"Paul," I said slowly. "I have to go to college if I want a good job. And with a good job, I can support myself."

"I can support you," Paul said stubbornly, almost childishly. I scoffed, and Paul narrowed his eyes at me.

"What brought all of this on?" I asked him tersely, watching as his expression turned guarded.

"Nothing," he replied shadily. I glared at his defensive face for a moment before giving up, and returned to making sure I had everything for my classes tomorrow. It was quiet as I shoved my supplies into my bag, making sure to be careful so that I didn't damage the textbooks in my irritation.

"Cass? Are you mad at me?" Paul asked quietly, sounding like a lost child. I looked at his pouting face and smiled slightly.

"No, Paul, I'm not mad at you," I assured. A smile of relief brightened his face. There was silence as I resumed packing.

"…Are you sure you have to g—"

"Paul!"

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"Cass, you ready?" Al asked, and I nodded. Off to the side, the guys were pouting petulantly, especially Paul and Embry. Al giggled, reaching up to kiss Embry's jutting lower lip, and smiled radiantly at him. My eye twitched slightly as I looked to Paul. I could see the hopeful glint in his eye that I would have to crush.

I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist in a friendly manner. "Bye, Paul!" I said cheerfully. I tried to pull back, but Paul had me fastened tightly to him. I braced my hands against him, using all of my strength to escape his grasp. He didn't let go, and I banged on his chest with tiny fists. "Paul! You ape! Let! Me! GO!" I yelled as the guys watched, laughing and not even bothering to lift a finger to help me out of the crushing embrace Paul had over me.

"Paul! I will castrate you with a rusty spoon if you do not let me go!" I threatened shrilly. Paul looked down at my serious eyes, and he reluctantly withdrew his arms. I huffed indignantly, smoothing out the wrinkles in my clothes. Al patted my head and I glared at her.

"It's okay, Cassie," she said, trying to smother her giggles. I smacked her hand away from my hair, trying unsuccessfully to wipe the childish pout off my face.

Quil sighed loudly, wrapping his arms around Embry and Paul. "Don't worry, boys. I remember the first time when my Claire-Bear went to school. It wasn't easy, especially when the boys would want to mix their play-doh in hers, if you catch my drift—Ow!" Paul and Embry punched Quil in the gut, both faces pulled down in varying degrees of irritation and fury.

"Oh! Would you look at the time!" I exclaimed loudly. "Come on, Al. I don't want to be the last one to class." I grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the house. She hollered her goodbyes, waving hastily as the porch rapidly filled with the guys.

"Bye! Bye guys! We'll see you later!" Al cried, digging her heels into the ground as I pulled her towards the car. I opened the door to the passenger side and pushed Al into it, shutting the door behind her quickly. I ran to the other side of the car and hopped in, locking the doors so she couldn't escape. I put the car in reverse, watching in my rearview mirror to make sure I didn't hit anything.

As I was driving down the road, Al finally settled down in her seat. She was smiling largely at me as she fiddled with the radio station, stopping when it hit Kiss FM. Chris Brown filled the car, and I resisted rolling my eyes.

"I can't believe he hit Rihanna. Can you?" she asked, bobbing her head to the beat.

"Al, I couldn't care less about either of them. Could you please turn that crap off?" I sighed exasperatedly. I was nervous about going to college, as silly as it was. Al was used to it since she had been going since August, and I envied her. While she was off drinking cappuccinos in the local cafés, I was stuck recuperating at the house.

With a grumble, Al flipped off the music. The car was silent as I drove it down the roads, thankful for the peace and quiet. Al tapped her fingers on her thigh, looking out the window with a bored expression on her face. "Cass?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why would you ask?" I asked, and Al chuckled.

"You keep humming and you only do that when you're really nervous," she pointed out, and I scowled. I hadn't even noticed I was humming.

"I'm just a little nervous," I emphasized stubbornly.

"Whatever you say, Cass," she teased, grinning. I stuck my tongue out at her and pressed down on the gas pedal as the stoplight flashed green.

"So…is it big?" I asked offhandedly, guiding the car along the road.

"No," she said, and I smiled in relief. "It's huge." I veered out of the lane just a little. I gripped the steering wheel tightly and eased myself back in as Al laughed loudly. "I'm just kidding!" she snickered. "It's small, Cass. But, oh my God! You should have seen your face!"

I smacked her. "Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me if you want, but just remember: I know where you sleep at night."

"Oh, please. You wouldn't dare to hurt me," Al said confidently.

"So you think," I said mysteriously, trying to wipe the smile off my face.

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"We're here!" Al cried. I rolled my eyes at her playfully.

"Way to point out the obvious, Ally," I teased, punching her shoulder. I grabbed my bag from the back and stepped out the car. Al took my hand and yanked me towards a little building off to the side, chattering away excitedly.

"I wonder if we'll have any classes together?" she asked to nobody in particular.

"I think that's highly unlikely," I said. "Seeing as how you want to major in fashion and I want to major in journalism."

"Ah, but you can major in journalism for a fashion magazine," she said. "And then we'll be together forever!"

"Oh, gee. I've always wanted to spend the rest of my life with you Al," I said sarcastically, and Al thumped me.

"Oh shut up, you little grump," she laughed as I rubbed the red mark on my forehead. "Now, hurry up so we can get those damn forms!" Al dragged me harder as she picked up her pace, and I had to run just to keep up with her.

Once we got to the little office, Al swung the door open in her excitement, causing a few civilians to jump. At the front desk, a woman regarded us with thin lips, peering over her glasses at us condescendingly.

"Hi!" Al greeted the woman cheerfully. "Cassidy Barker right here needs her schedule!" The woman glared at Al's sunny face, and sighed in irritation.

"Cassidy Barker," she sneered my name. "Coming right up." I watched in bewilderment as she all but slammed back her chair and stormed over to a pair of filing cabinets. The woman wrenched them open and roughly smashed files away as she looked for my schedule. I looked to Al, who was smiling in amusement as the woman growled in satisfaction as she found it.

"Here," she snapped, pushing the papers at me. "That's your map and that right there is your schedule. Now, if you have any questions, please, do hesitate to ask me." I cautiously took the papers from her hand, like I would if I were trying to approach a ravenous lion. She scowled at me as I took them from her claw-like hands and hastily made my way out of the hellhole with as much dignity as I could muster.

"Wow," Al hooted from behind me. "Someone must've had a second helping of her bitch flakes this morning!"

"Is she always like that?" I asked.

"Well, I've only seen her once before, and if grinding your teeth and growling like a rabid dog at anyone who passed is any indication, then yes," she joked. I chuckled, imagining her on a leash like a rabid dog, straining to bite the nearest student.

"That's the spirit!" Al said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Now, I want to introduce you to some of my peeps. That okay with you?"

"Sure," I agreed.

Today was sunny, very unlike the rainy days I remember. Students wandered around the campus grounds, sitting around and soaking up the sunrays. They were in large groups that were randomly placed on the ground. Al was walking us towards one of the smaller groups that sat under a large tree, and I was instantly glad.

"Hey guys!" Al greeted jovially. Five heads simultaneously turned towards our direction. Their expressions ranged from eager and curious. One of them stood up—a boy with unnatural burgundy hair—and grabbed the both of us in a fierce hug.

"Al!" he greeted back, grinning largely. "You've brought us some fresh meat, eh? She's kind of small, though. I don't see how we can divide her equally…"

"Cassie, this weirdo is Brian. Brian, this is Cassie," Al introduced, rolling her eyes at me playfully. Brian lit up and took my hand, pumping it enthusiastically.

"So you're the Cassie?" he asked. "I've heard so much about you! Al wouldn't shut up about you! Well, she never really does shut up, though I'm pretty sure you already knew that—"

"How are you going to talk about the girl right in front of her?" The lighthearted indignant voice came from one of the other girls in the group. She sat with her back against the tree, her long ebony hair swaying in the slight breeze.

Brian turned to me, eyes rolling. "That's Tara, a.k.a. The Bitch Who Tells It How It Is, or so she calls herself. But, don't listen to her; nobody likes her—Ow! Dammit, Tara! That hurts!" The girl, Tara, had gotten up to twist his arm roughly behind his back. Brian was dancing around on his toes to try and maneuver out of her tight grip, but he only yelled out in pain.

"Ugh, you two are so juvenile," another from the group scoffed, flicking back her hair in an irritated motion. I turned to see Al rolling her eyes in disdain, and Tara doing the same.

"That thing over there," Tara motioned to the glowering girl. "Is Melanie. But don't pay any attention to her. I'm surprised she even knew what 'juvenile' meant."

"Oh, ha ha," Melanie sneered. She stood up, flicking her hair again, and grabbed her expensive looking bag from the ground. "When you gather up a decent enough apology, you can find me at the library."

"Why would you go to the library if you can't read?" Tara retorted hotly. Melanie glared at her for a moment before her eyes landed on me.

"What is she supposed to be? My replacement?" she spat nastily, looking me up and down condescendingly. Al shifted so that she was blocking me from her sight in a protective gesture.

"Don't you need to be somewhere?" Al asked callously. "You wouldn't want to be late giving your professor a blow job for that 'A', would you?" It was quiet for a moment, and I could hear Melanie's indignant huffs as she tried to gather a good comeback. But after a few seconds, she let out a frustrated growl.

"Whatever," she snarled, pushing past Al and I and walked to where I presumed the library was located. Brian made a noise in the back of his throat, snapping his fingers and bobbing his head.

"Mm hm," he said. "You go girl, and don't you come back!" Al smacked his shoulder, chuckling. Brian wiggled his hips around at her suggestively, making her laugh loudly.

"Yeah, that's right," Brian said. "You don't want any of this hot action!"

"You're right; we don't," I teased.

"Oo! Burn!" Tara mocked, holding her hand high in the air for me to high-five. I had to stretch a little, but I got it, much to Brian's glee.

We sat down under the tree, and Tara took it upon herself to introduce everyone. "Okay, as you know, I'm Tara and that's Brian. These two," she said, gesturing to a shy looking girl and a quiet boy. "Are Janine and Mitch. I'm guessing you know which is which, right? Right."

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As I sat and conversed with the group, I came to learn quite a couple of things about each individual: Janine was quiet and very rarely gave her input unless Tara gave her a nudge. Tara herself has known Janine since they were little, and likes to call her 'Janie'. Brian was the oddball of the group, and loved the attention he drew to himself. I even learned that he sometimes liked to dress up in girl's clothing just to attract attention. Mitch was Melanie's older cousin, but didn't snub anybody in the group like she did. He was nice, but not exuberant about it like Brian or Tara was. Like Janine, he kept to himself.

The bell rang, signaling for us to go to class. Janine stood up to wait for me—she was majoring in journalism like I was, and I was happy to have someone to show me around to my classes. She smiled shyly at me, and I smiled back.

"Where to, new buddy?"

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Last minute decision, I'll just post these description for the AN after this chapter. [It's just a reminder that I will take down after a day or two. No worries.]

So, review, and I'll somehow try to incorporate Paul the Seducer next chapter!