Readers! Hello!

Happy New Years! I hope all of you had a wonderful 2010, and that 2011 is even better.

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated sooner! I only have the excuse of computer troubles. I hope you enjoy, and the M chapters will come later, I'll keep things cheerful for now. =)

Note: I have no idea what Brown University is like. Please ignore anything that is not true about the actual school.

•••••

Moving Day.

Thank god Brown allowed its students to move in week before classes actually began. I don't think I could have survived another day in L.A.

Mom left a couple years ago, when she finally decided she couldn't handle dad's workaholic lifestyle. She promised she'd visit me before she ran off and got hitched in Las Vegas to some rich snob. I hadn't seen her since.

My dad had thrown me a huge going away party, well, his assistant had. They'd invited the usual guests, everyone who I would refer to as a friend, and then others who would be good for publicity. He'd even hinted to the press about it, because he "wanted everyone to see his gorgeous girl one last time before she left." I'd gone along with it, allowing my personal stylist to pick out an outrageously short dress and cake my face with make up. His assistant, Angela, had insisted that I wait for everyone to arrive before making my slow descent down the staircase. I'd been the perfect host, making all the necessary rounds to each and every one of my guests. Plenty of alcohol and entertainment had been supplied, who cared if everyone was underage? The next day he'd said a quick goodbye, and, after making me promise to call him as soon as I landed, dashed out to another board meeting.

A limo had been waiting for me when I landed at Logan Airport. It was so typical of Randall Edwards, to get me a completely impractical car, just so I could travel in style. Like I needed any more attention. I gave the chauffeur a healthy tip after he kindly helped me bring up all my boxes.

The second he left I began unloading the contents of the boxes. I couldn't stand a messy room. I found a place for everything, and sat down on my double bed. I stayed on that bed for a good twenty minutes, admiring my surroundings. My room was big, about the size of your average shared dorm room. Of course, I had requested to live by myself, so that must have been my dad's doing. Two dressers, a bureau, a tall bookcase, a desk with a swivel chair, a couch, an armchair, a small closet, and a double bed made up my 'humble abode'. Almost all of the furniture was new, as I wanted as little of a reminder of home as possible.

I'd been admiring the view out my window – a beautiful courtyard filled with red tulips – when I heard a sharp knock on the door. I crossed the room and opened the door to reveal a girl, three suitcases in hand, clad in a tank top, short skirt, and incredibly high heels.

"Hi!" She said, in a tone that was a bit too perky for my liking, "Are you my new roomie?"

"I think you have the wrong room, I requested a single. There's only one bed here."

"Huh, they assigned me room 206 though, and unless the door's lying..." She paused for a split second, "Oh my god! You're Clare Edwards, aren't you? I heard you were coming to Brown, but I was sure it was just a rumor or something! I can't believe it's actually you! You're like my idol! I love your clothes and your hair and your –"

I quickly pulled her into my room. "Would you keep it down? Someone's going to hear you! I'm trying to keep it on the down low. Part of the reason I came here was because I thought people wouldn't recognize me. "

"Are you kidding me? I live off of tabloids. Some of us don't spend all day studying." She explained. "No matter how much their parents want them to." She added under her breath.

"Alright, I suppose that was irrational thinking on my part. Look, lets just go to the RA and sort this all out."

As luck would have it, every other room was already full, so I was going to have to share. They told us that they'd bring up an extra bed and desk, but we'd have to find a way to share everything else. I didn't really mind too much, I mean the main reason I didn't want a roommate was because you never know who you would end up with. I didn't want to be stuck with some crazed fan, who would watch me sleep and steal my stuff. But after her initial shock, Alli was actually pretty cool.

She'd suggested that we go out to get coffee while we waited for them to get our room ready. We went to the local coffee shop and swapped some horrific relationship stories. Alli was actually kind of funny, once you got to know her. She could be a bit obsessed with things, primarily looks and boys, but she was very nice and really smart.

I sincerely doubted that sharing a room would be a problem.

•••••

My parents had insisted on driving down with me to college.

I guess it was only fair, I mean we both knew that I wouldn't visit often. Still, I hadn't exactly pictured my entrance into the free world to be a three-day road trip filled with family sing-alongs, license plate games, and frequent stops at Burger King. My mother had recently convinced herself that she had a beautiful voice that had been wasted for many years, and so she had to belt out the words to every song that came onto the radio.

I'd wanted to take Morty, but when it became clear that he wouldn't be able to hold all my things, we rented a U-Haul and towed him along behind us. This all resulted in me being crammed between them for seventy-two very long hours.

When we finally did arrive at Brown, Bullfrog and I took turns carting my stuff up to my new room. Halfway through another trip up the stairs, I crashed into someone. I managed to maintain my balance, but the other guy wasn't as lucky, and he landed a couple steps further down.

"Shit, I'm so sorry." I quickly lowered the box I was holding and offered my hand to help him up. He grabbed onto my hand and I pulled him up.

"It's alright, man." He said, wincing, as he rubbed his lower back, "I'm just glad your stuff didn't go flying."

I smirked. "Eli."

"Adam."

"See you around then?"

"Yeah, sure."

I turned to head up the stairs and he followed a couple steps behind. He paused at the top, trying to decide which way to go.

"What's your room number?" I asked.

"Uh," He glanced down at the room key he had just received, "It's 607."

I chuckled. "I was wondering when my roommate was going to show up."

He looked up at me, surprise coating his expression. "We're roomies?" He asked. "Cool."

It didn't take long for me to finish unloading everything. I said goodbye to my parents, and they left before CeCe could start sobbing. I helped Adam finish unpacking his stuff and then chose to go to the library so he could say goodbye to his family.

•••••

"Alli?" I called out.

"Yeah Clare?" She yelled back from the bathroom. I walked over to it and saw that she was straightening her hair.

"I'm going to go check out the library. You want to come with?"

She giggled. "Yeah, not my kind of place. I'll catch up with you later."

I pulled out my campus map and followed it to the library. One of the many reasons I'd chosen Brown was because of its famous collection, and in person, it did not disappoint. I stood in the entrance, gaping at the hundreds of aisles laid out in front of me.

I subconsciously drifted forward, yearning to look through each and every page in the room. I was about to reach a collection of Wilde, when a high-pitched squeal filled my ears.

"Clare Edwards? The Clare Edwards? Oh my god! What are you doing here? I can't believe it's you! Can I, like, have your autograph? Ah! I wish I had my camera."

Shit. I turned around slowly to face my admirer, a smile plastered onto my face. "Hi, yeah, of course you can. Do you have something to sign on, and with?"

"Oh my god, Yes! I have a sharpie right here! Can you sign my arm?"

I quickly scribbled my name on her right arm and got the hell out of there. One would think that the crazed fans would have stayed in L.A. with the rest of the messed up world. I was about three aisles away when I heard another voice scream out my name. I quickly turned around a corner and crashed into someone.

"Shi-" They screamed out before I clamped a hand over their mouth.

"Please," I hissed, "Shut up."

His brows furrowed in confusion, but he nodded his head and allowed me to swiftly drag him down the corridor. I opened a door to a deserted room, pulled him inside, and let go of his wrist. Sighing, I sank to the floor and he came over to sit down beside me.

"You know," he started, "most people start with hello."

I laughed. "I'm not most people."

"Eli Goldsworthy." He said, and stuck out his hand.

"Goldsworthy?" I asked, shaking his hand, "Well isn't that an award winning name."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "You're definitely not the first person to use that line. Am I allowed to hear yours?"

"You don't know it?"

"Is there a reason I should?" He questioned, clearly confused.

"No, no of course not. It's Clare. Clare Edwards."

I couldn't believe he didn't recognize me, it seemed like everyone here did. I wasn't going to be the one to give away the big secret though.

He leaned in towards me, "So who are we running from?" He whispered in my ear.

"Nobody." I immediately replied, "I, uh, got to go." I lamely continued, standing up.

He sucked in the air between his teeth. "Harsh." He stated, also rising.

I grimaced. "Well, bye."

He smirked at me. "Goodbye Clare Edwards."

•••••

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