Chapter 3: Thank You

(Tara's POV)

Stupid drunk couple. That girl didn't even pretend to care that she practically threw her boyfriend onto me, causing me to fall and spill my drink all over me, my camera, and PJ.

PJ had offered to help me, practically dragged me into the bathroom before he began to wipe down the camera with a dry rag.

PJ Liguroi. Youtube sensation. He wasn't much of a sensation at UCA, but with the amount of talent we pump out, it wasn't much of a surprise. Isabelle had shown me a couple videos, told me he was a residing student with a ton of talent. After that I did a little digging, read the comments on the videos she'd sent me, searched his tag on tumblr, and googled him. Girls across the board adored him; I felt almost uncomfortable knowing I was going to the same school as a Youtuber that thousands of girls on the internet fawned over. Besides what I learned from the internet, though, I didn't know much about Mr. Liguori. I'd never had a class with him, never seen him around campus, and if it hadn't been for Isabelle, the boy now wiping down my camera would be a complete stranger to me.

I looked over at him, he was sporting a thousand mile stare as he continuously rubbed down my camera. If it had been wet before, there was no way it was now. As I grabbed the camera carefully out of his hands, he snapped his attention back to me, smirking some. "Thank you for the help, really, but I think more of my drink got on you than my camera." A small smile lit up his face and he chuckled. "Actually, most of it got on you," he looked down and I followed his gaze to the giant stain that covered a good portion of my oversized tanktop.

'How did I not notice that?' I thought, completely bewildered. 'It must be the alcohol.'

I groaned and leaned against the counter, "Wonderful. Might as well just go home now. I have nothing to change into."

"Oh," he mused before I heard a light shuffling beside me, "Here."

I looked up to see him holding out his jumper, now wearing only a white button down. "Oh no, I couldn't," I began, putting my hands up and shaking my head.

"I insist."

"You really don't have to."

"I don't have to do anything. I want to do this," he persisted, putting the jumper in my hands. His smile was so genuine, so sincere, I felt almost as if I couldn't say no. I gave him a soft thanks, before looking from the jumper to him awkwardly. There was a moment of silence as he smiled at me before he realized he needed to get out for me to change.

After changing out of the alcohol stained tanktop and putting on the warm jumper and my camera, I took a long look at myself in the mirror. It was white and tan and had the strangest pattern on it. Far too big for me, I felt like a child was standing in front of the mirror, rather than a full grown adult. I hung the wet shirt on the towel rack, knowing full well I'd forget it, but not caring much because I'd never wear it again anyways.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I saw PJ a few feet away, his back to me as he talked to someone I couldn't see. I walked up quietly and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around, his face beeming as he looked down at me. "Ah, there we are. Good as new." He had a new drink in his hand and as he spoke, his breath smelled of it. Guess the party wasn't over for him.

"Would you like a drink?" He asked, gesturing to the cup. I smiled, but politely declined, "Thanks, but I really should find my friend Mark and get home."

"Mark?"

"He brought me to the party. I lost him a while ago and I really should get him to his dorm before it gets to late. What time is it, anyways?"

"Around 1:30."

"One thirty!?" I squealed, the blood draining from my face, "I really need to get home! I have a paper I must finish tomorrow!"

"How far away is your dorm, I could drive you," he tried as he followed me through the house. "Oh no, I only live a couple blocks away," I argued, realizing there was no way I would find Mark in this crowd, if he was even still here, and I made my way to the front door, "and in your current condition, there's no way."

"Then I'll walk you," he pursued, stumbling a little. "Why are you being so persistent?" I asked, a tad bit harsher than I intended it to be.

He snickered, "I have to make sure my jumper makes it back to your place in one piece. It is my favorite."

Once outside, I stopped and looked at him. He had a goofy smile on his face and was look down at me with expectant eyes; he reminded me of a child begging their mother to buy them candy. "Fine," I agreed, a smile on my face. "But you better keep up."

The walk back to my dorm was comfortably silent. As we walked side-by-side I gave PJ a sideways glance. He was looking straight forward, a slight smile on his face, but the thousand mile stare was in his eyes again.

"What're you thinking about," I tried. "The probability of a penguin being able to do a backflip," his tone was so casual, I almost thought I'd misheard what he said. "Well, I doubt it's very high," I laughed, glancing at him again.

"You've never met my penguin," he responded, smiling as if he just told a joke. I stopped as we finally reached my dorm room.

"Thank you," I began, stepping up to the door and turning to face him. "Don't mention it, one can only guess where that jumper would have ended up if I hadn't walked it home," he teased, his eyes lighting up as he grabbed something out of his pocket, "Here, give me your number and I'll call you tomorrow so we can meet up and I can get my jumper back."

I took the phone from him and put my name and number in, before handing it back. He looked at the entry and then back up at me, "Tara is it? Well have a lovely night and good luck with that paper!"

I nodded and told him good night before entering my dorm. The quiet walk home had slowed my heart rate and I could no longer feel the adernaline racing through my veins. Exhaustion finally caught up to me and I collapsed onto my bed, falling asleep without another thought.

Ahhhhh, we are finally through the first night. Sorry it took three chapters, but introductions are most important! Things may not be as fast as a normal fanfiction, but I can promise that one day won't take up so much time as this day did (unless, of course, something incredibly dramatic happens;D)

If your at all confused about why I titled this chapter 'Thank You,' it's simply because the OC says it at least 3 times in this chapter and I found it a bit humorous! XD

I want to say that I have gotten into the pattern for uploading chapters, but these next few may be scattered. I have so many ideas in my head that I need to make sure I write this the EXACT way I want it to go!

I hope everyone is enjoying my story so far, if you have any suggestions, or just want to get to know me, send a review or a PM! I love to make new friends!

Oh, and guys, I don't own PJ or his quirky smile. Just thought you all should know!

-Boots