Another chapter on our beloved Greeks! Enjoy and please review :)
"Hm, I thought my friend was coming to dinner with us, too, but she says she's studying physics?" Serena snapped her cell phone shut with a puzzled frown. "That's weird. Molly hates physics. You guys remember Molly, right?"
Ami nodded immediately, but Raye, with her usual, uncomfortable forthrightness replied, "Honestly, Sere, all your sorority sissies blur together after awhile. Plus, they all seem to be named Molly or Becky or Lexi."
Instead of taking offense, "Sere" just looked to the heavens for patience with her spitfire of a friend. She recommended that Raye "hush up" and grab her a slice of pepperoni. No, the bigger piece, please.
The girls shuffled down the dining hall line and paid for their dinners with few hang-ups-except for the five near-klutz attacks Serena suffered before they'd even set their trays down. Though as Serena proudly pointed out, in the old days, those would have been five complete wipeouts, thank you very much.
"Yeah, you're a regular prima ballerina now," Raye said, right as Serena's water glass took on a life of its own and jumped out of her hands. Amy deftly caught the glass, only managing to spill a few drops. She'd had a lot of practice catching glassware after being around Serena so much.
"Great catch, Amy!" Serena applauded, ignoring Raye's sarcasm.
As they all sat down, Serena cut to the chase. "So, Ames, Raye mentioned you mentioning a cute science TA of yours. What's the scoop there?"
Raye slapped their petite friend on the back—Serena's question had caused Amy to promptly choke on her iced tea.
Amy inhaled and shot Raye a look. "I never mentioned he was cute."
"But isn't he?" asked Serena, looking like she would be unreasonably disappointed if he weren't.
Amy didn't answer. "Raye had a guy hit on her today," she said lamely, hoping to steer the conversation away from herself.
"Yeah, yeah and the sun came out as per usual. Same old, same old. But the notion of Amy babbling on about a hunky TA-"
"I was not babbling! Honestly."
She turned back to her food. Then realized that her friends were still watching her expectantly. Amy sighed.
"It really is nothing, guys. Nothing at all. My lab partner was the one gossiping about how cute the guy was, but I hardly noticed. Not that I'd be concerned about anything so superficial, anyway," she added, not without accusation.
"Fine, Amy, we give for now. What's his name, by the way?" Serena asked off-handedly as she mentally turned to questions for Raye about Jed. Maybe that had more potential.
"Zane."
This time, Serena was the one to choke on her drink.
Completely unconscious of the fact that his name was being tossed around by "that cute biochem student", Zane's attention was instead focused on the road before him...and on swatting Jed's hand away from the radio.
"Come on, Zane, this music kind of blow-"
"My car, my music, Jed. If you'd offered to drive, then maybe you could have...well, actually, no we'd still be listening to my music."
In a voice that sounded disturbingly similar to that of a child whining to his mother, Jed called to Ken in the back seat, "Ken, can you please tell Zane that the passenger is in charge of the radio? God, this is so unfair."
"Life's not fair, Jed," Ken replied dispassionately, not looking up from the accounting book he'd brought along. That was a parental thing to say, right?
"Aw, you always take his side," Jed said with a pout. He crossed his arms and sank back into his seat.
Zane merely snickered to himself, then asked: "So, what do you guys want to e-"
"PIZZA!" yelled out Jed, causing both Zane and Ken to jump out of their seats.
"Jesus, Jed, scale it back a few decibels. And really, pizza?"
"Um, yeah," said Jed as if Zane were insane to doubt his idea.
"The McDonald's and pizza diet. It's a wonder no one's attached you to a hot air balloon basket yet."
"I know, you probably wonder how I keep such a great figure, huh?" said Jed proudly.
There was a silence.
"What?" Jed asked.
More silence.
Silence. Silence. Silence.
"Hey, what are you trying to say?" Jed demanded wildly.
Ken hesitated. "Nothing, Jed. Only...well, what with that junk food and drinking a twelve-pack every Saturday..."
"Hell no, I do NOT have a beer belly!" Jed looked frantically down at his flat stomach. Beer bellies were the bane of frat brothers' existence. Many a fraternity man had been famed for his ways with his ladies until "the belly got him" (a phrase always uttered as if he'd fallen victim to the plague).
"No, only that...it's in the works, Jed," Ken told him gently.
"Holy crap, no wonder that hot chick didn't go for me!"
"I thought you called her beautiful," Zane muttered.
"And no wonder Maria gave me the cold shoulder the other day!"
"I don't think that's why..."
"Maria gave you the cold shoulder because you're an asshole, Jed," Ken told him frankly. "Hooking up with two girls in one night trumps beer belly."
Jed wasn't listening, though. Instead, he was zealously planning his workout regimen for the next month.
"9 AM. Skip class, go to the gym, lift weights. 10 AM. Skip class again, run ten laps around the track..."
"You shouldn't have told him."
"I'm beginning to realize that," said Ken as Jed tried to grab his accounting book from him so he could begin his weight-lifting "right away!"
"Oh my God, oh my God!"
"Serena, are you-"
"I can't believe it! I was soooo right!"
Raye flinched as a fork went flying over her head. "Right about wha-"
"This'll show Darien. Oh my God, this is perfect!"
"SERENA!" both Amy and Raye shouted through her oblivious giggling.
"Huh?" Serena paused for breath and stared back at her friends. At that point, she realized that she couldn't confess to them what she was going ga-ga over all of a sudden. The matchmaker in her itched to be free, free to pair up her friends with their potential boy toys, but she'd bet Darien it would happen without her help...or ah, friendly encouragement.
Serena sighed. "Nothing."
The girls looked at each other quizzically. Before they could question Serena further, though, a brunette appeared beside their table.
"Lita!"
"Hey, Serena."
"Take a seat! I thought you were busy?" Busy with Nevan, Serena ended in her head-not without glee. Man, she deserved a matchmaker crown.
"Um, not anymore. Anyway, I got hungry."
Raye studied Lita with those frank, violet eyes of hers. Lita met Raye's stare with equal boldness. The two had met through Serena a few times before, and were cautiously optimistic that the other was not some vapid sorority bimbo.
"Lita, you know Raye and Amy, right?"
Amy smiled at Lita before turning to the book she'd snuck into the dining hall.
Raye rolled her eyes. "Don't take it personally; she's like that with anyone she considers less interesting than a book. Which is everyone."
Lita grinned. "No worries. Rumor has it that Serena's just as attached to library books...at least when she goes there with Darien." She waggled her eyebrows in Serena's direction.
Raye shook her head. "Wow, Serena, this is the worst-kept secret since you hazed Mina by making her wear red bows every day."
"Raye! Shh!"
Raye continued as if she hadn't heard. "Now you're gonna get some terrible nickname like 'The Library Slut' or 'The Open Book'."
"Raye!"
Lita gripped her sides from suppressed laughter as her blonde friend fumed and threatened Raye with decapitation via butter knife.
"Serena, I'm sure it's not a hot rumor at all," said Amy, without looking up from her perusal of fatty acids. "Lita probably heard it from someone trustworthy like Mina."
This did not appear to reassure Serena, but she dropped it (and the knife, to Raye's relief). She turned to Lita now, desperate to talk about anyone's romantic scandals besides her own.
"Soo, Lita, were you hanging out with Nevan just now?"
The brunette quietly munched on her sandwich. She wished that jerk were here so she could give him a nice kick in the a- "Yes, Serena-as you well know."
"And how was it?" Serena asked.
"Sweaty."
The blonde's spoon clattered onto her plate. Her mouth had fallen open.
Raye, however, gave a crack of laughter. "Serena, you little perv, they were clearly playing sports!" she said, gesturing towards Lita's cutoff T-shirt and shorts.
Lita shook her head and continued to eat her dinner. Serena blushed. "Oh. Right."
"Not everyone's sexing it up in the stacks, after all."
"Wha?" Serena's head swiveled 360 degrees to find out who had uttered those words. It had been a very Raye thing to say, but Raye was currently screeching with laughter, while Amy innocently dabbed her lips with a napkin.
As if in slow motion, she looked up at Serena blankly. "Oh my...did, did I say that out loud? Oh, oh, I'm so sorry Serena, I thought I was thinking that in my head. I do that sometimes now...thanks to Raye."
"Oh...m...God...can't BREATHE," Raye gasped, doubled over now and turning a worrying shade of purple from laughing so hard. Lita had joined her, sandwich abandoned so she could laugh harder than she had for a long while at the two stunned girls staring at each other over pizza and roast chicken.
Jed, Zane, and Ken had finally decided on a diner called Jimmy's. Jimmy's was by no means swanky, but it had decent fries and sandwiches. As they'd slid into a booth, though, and Jed sadly ordered a salad, Zane realized that he hadn't the least idea what the healthy food at Jimmy's was like.
Jed's expression did not bode well. Looking comically disheartened, he pushed around the lettuce leaves with a fork.
"Jed, that salad isn't turning into a Big Mac."
Jed sighed, disgruntled. "It looks like rabbit food."
"You mean sorority girl dinner," corrected Zane as he happily munched on his own bacon cheeseburger.
"Then you eat it."
Normally, Zane was much more health-conscious than Jed, but he had been riding high on coffee all day, too busy with biochemistry duties and class to have a real meal. He'd earned this burger, damnit.
"Harhar. Not my fault you have a beer belly."
"I do not!"
"Totally do."
"Children."
"Sorry, Ken."
Ken nodded, taking a swig of his Coke. He drank along with the rest of his frat brothers, but only socially. He didn't mind the taste of alcohol or anything, but he just preferred to be aware of what he was doing, to be fully in control at all times. Mina always seemed to be flirtily pushing drinks on him whenever they were at a party together, but, Ken thought smugly, she also always ended up getting herself drunk instead. It was lucky, Ken thought, that she'd never been savvy enough to bring him his favorite Grey Goose. Otherwise, they probably would be in trouble, particularly if she kept wearing those tight, red dresses of hers...
Oh God, had he just thought that?
"Ken?"
Shit.
"Kenny boy?"
Ken was staring at the ingredients list on the Coke can, praying that alcohol had somehow been slipped into his soda. He looked up. "What?"
Zane and Jed raised their eyebrows. "You were totally in dreamland."
"Who you fantasizing about, Kenny? Hm? Who're you hoping to impress this weekend?" Jed teased.
"Well whoever it is, at least I don't have to worry about my stomach blocking her view."
"Ooh, low blow," Zane tittered.
"Asshole," Jed muttered, defiantly stuffing his mouth with a forkful of green, leafy goodness.
"Seriously though Jed, you should invite that girl from your class to the party. The more the merrier, right Ken?"
"Sure." It didn't really matter if Ken said someone could come or not. It was a frat party, for heaven's sake. He'd played beer pong with someone's mom at the last one. And he had a sneaking suspicion that he'd seen one of the guys subsequently make out with her in the corner. These things knew very, very few bounds.
Jed hesitated for a moment, thinking back on his encounter with Raye. "I dunno, she didn't really seem like the frat party type."
"Well, she does attend class," Zane pointed out reasonably.
"She just...I dunno, the way she looked at me. It seemed like she just didn't go for guys like me."
"Wow, she really is smart."
Jed shook his head. "Knock it off. I don't know what made me say that. It was just...this look. Something in her eyes." Beautiful as they had been.
"If she knew how you act around girls, Jed, those eyes probably would have killed," Ken said idly.
"Aw, lay off, I'm getting better."
Zane conceded that much. "I guess. After all, you haven't hooked up with anyone in the last week," he said brightly.
Jed hit his palm to the table. "There's hope for me yet!"
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