Thanks again for the reviews! My blackberry is constantly going off with emails. Here's another chapter. I'm going to attempt to get something up tomorrow but I can't make any promises.
Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review, good or bad!
Chapter Three
The rest of the week went by pretty quickly. The rest of the residents had moved in without incident and the following days were spent at sports practices, hanging out on in the quad, or having movie nights.
It was the first day of class and JJ and Emily were slowly getting ready for their first 8am English class.
"8am classes should be illegal." Emily complained as they stepped out into the hallway.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been at Erik's 'til one in the morning." JJ pointed out.
"Shut up." She grumbled. "You're just -."
"Good morning, ladies." Derek's voice interrupted Emily.
"Ugh." Emily groaned while JJ just smiled at him.
"What's her problem?"
"She stayed out too late." JJ replied simply.
"Partying on a school night, Emily?" He faked surprise. "No way!"
"Shut up, Morgan." She snapped back. "I need coffee."
"What time is your Intro to CJ class again?" Derek ignored Emily and looked to JJ.
"10. English, Philosophy, CJ, Communications, Calculus." JJ replied.
"Oh, that's right. No Tuesday, Thursday classes for you." Derek nodded.
"Nope, just four hour soccer practices." She said. "Where's Spence?"
"His class doesn't start 'til 10. Lucky bastard already has a semester of credits under his belt so he's in practically all different classes. He's in Intro to CJ with you, though."
They had swapped schedules earlier in the week but apparently they hadn't paid as much attention as they thought.
"Right. And calculus. I remember that." JJ nodded slowly. "Em is in Philosophy, and we're all in English together."
"I thought the freshmen were mostly kept together by major." Emily squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight as they walked out of the campus center, her coffee in hand.
"Yeah, but they have to work around practices, too. Your practices are Monday and Tuesday nights. Mine are Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Didn't we go over this already?" JJ smiled.
"Yeah, well, we aren't all geniuses at 8am like you, JJ. Didn't we already go over that?" Emily smirked back at her.
"Drink your coffee. Your crankiness is giving me a migraine." She replied, taking a seat in a row on the middle left-hand side of the lecture hall; Derek and Emily on either side of her. "When's your first game?" She turned to face Derek.
"Next Friday. Where have you been?" He chuckled. "It's all around campus."
"Eh, I'm not the most observant person apparently." She shrugged.
"They're looking for someone to sing the national anthem."
"Really?" Emily perked up at his statement. "JJ -."
"No." She shook her head, know exactly what Emily was going to say.
"C'mon, JJ. You've done it before."
"Yeah, and look what happened. I got the attention of the quarterback and that obviously didn't end well." JJ frowned.
"Well, who's to say that'll happen again?"
Derek sat quietly on the other side of JJ, listening intently but trying not to be obnoxiously obvious.
"Emily, I don't want to chance it." She shrugged. "I don't want that kind of attention."
"You'd rather the attention that you're getting now?" Emily asked. "I'm not trying to pressure you but c'mon, you can't tell me that you haven't noticed it."
"You think I'm blind? Of course I've seen it." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm hoping that it'll blow over soon."
"Hey." Derek's voice quietly interrupted, causing her to turn her attention to her other side. "It will blow over, you're right. But Em's right, too. It won't blow over 'til something else happens. Make a new name for yourself so people will stop the whispers and stares. I mean, don't do it unless you want to, but make sure you look at the pros and cons."
JJ sighed and slumped down in her chair.
"Don't hate us, JJ. Pretend the whole Doug fiasco didn't happen. You love singing. Don't let him ruin it." Emily told her. "Replace the bad memories of singing with new good memories. Don't do it know, if you don't want to. But don't let him ruin it for you."
"I know." She whispered, facing Emily. "It just brings back the memories of high school."
"Alright, it's fine. We'll talk about it later, JJ." Emily nodded.
"Thanks." She forced a smile before turning back to Derek. "Sorry, Derek, I… sorry."
"It's okay, JJ. Don't worry about it."
"I just…" JJ hesitated, biting her bottom lip. "I'll explain one day."
"JJ, I mean it. It's fine." He smiled. "Now, when is your first game?"
"Tomorrow night, actually."
"Early start?" He asked.
"Well, pre-season is this week. Officially, next Thursday night is the first game." She explained.
"Hey, shush. I don't feel like getting yelled at on the first day." Emily whacked her friend's shoulder.
"You'll be asleep in five minutes anyway, Em." JJ pointed out.
"No, I won't. The goal is to actually do well now. High school was easy. This is college."
JJ and Derek had to work to hold back their laughter.
"You sound like my parents." JJ chuckled. "Seriously, Em."
"Okay, fine. I'm sure we'll be fine. But still, shush. He's talking up there. I don't want to be embarrassed."
JJ and Derek just continued to silently laugh at their friend, but did manage to pay some sorts of attention to the professor.
"Hey, Em." JJ greeted as she strolled through the door to their dorm room hours later. "How were the rest of your classes?"
"Same old first day stuff." She replied, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Sorry, I gotta get to practice."
JJ laughed. "That's fine. I'll see you later."
"Bye!" She called as she all but ran out of the room.
Dumping her bag on the floor, JJ collapsed onto her bed and sighed. "This is going to be a long four years."
"Talking to yourself?" Derek's voice interrupted her thoughts.
JJ glanced towards the doorway to see her neighbor standing in front of his door; backpack slung over one shoulder and key in hand.
"Well, I suppose as long as you aren't answering yourself, it can't be too bad." He continued before she could respond.
"Ha Ha." She replied sarcastically. "You done with class for the day?"
"Yeah." He dropped his bag in his room before closing his door and crossing the hall. Perching himself on the edge of her bed, he looked down at her, propped up on her elbows. "Rough day?"
"No, just… contemplating how hectic these four years are going to be, if the first day is any indicator." She sighed before flopping backwards dramatically.
"This is just the start of it. Life probably will be just as bad after we graduate." Derek pointed out.
"True. Especially with you going into law enforcement." She reminded him. "I wish I knew what I was going to do with my degree. I'd give anything to have it all figured out."
"Hey, trust me, JJ. You'll figure it out. Besides, by not having a plan, it's easier to change your mind and major."
"Yeah… I guess." She shrugged. "So, what'cha up to tonight?"
"Not much. I have another early class tomorrow, and practice afterwards."
"Fun. You know, I love soccer, but I don't think I'd be playing still if I hadn't gotten the scholarship." She admitted. "I guess I can always see that as a plus though."
Derek nodded. "I would."
JJ sighed and sat up. "I should probably get started on my reading. Philosophy is looking rough."
"Yeah. I have some intense reading for Psych already." He turned to look at JJ, eyes widening when he realized how close they were sitting.
JJ's eyes mirrored Derek's and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, showing her obvious nervousness at the close proximity. Emily's voice was ringing in her head, and before she could comprehend what she was doing, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Derek's.
Gasping, she pulled back after a few seconds. "Oh God, Derek… I – I'm sorry, I don't know -." Her stuttering apology was cut off when Derek captured her lips with his for a second kiss.
"Don't apologize." He whispered against her lips, before continuing.