6. Kaitlyn and the Off Chance

"Kaitlyn, I can't believe we really just sat through three hours of The Walking Dead. I'm pretty sure I'm a zombie now, too. Is this what unemployment does to you?"

Kaitlyn giggled and finally stood up from the couch, taking the empty bowl of popcorn to the kitchen.

"It's pretty depressing, huh?"

"More than depressing."

AJ Lee jumped up from the couch in her usual sprightly fashion and followed Kaitlyn to the kitchen, taking a seat by the counter as Kaitlyn put on a pot of coffee.

"Do you wanna order takeout?" AJ suggested, resting her chin on her hand.

"I guess," Kaitlyn said with a sigh. "Chinese?"

"What else?"

The two grinned at each other as Kaitlyn tossed over a pamphlet from a local Chinese restaurant.

"You know, this week has been so much fun," AJ said as she scanned over the food options. "I miss us being roommates already."

"Tell me about it," Kaitlyn concurred. "I'm definitely going to miss video games and Walking Dead marathons."

AJ and Kaitlyn's friendship was only a few years in the making, but was truly something special. The two had met in college after being assigned as roommates during freshman year and had been inseparable ever since. They shared a similar dry, sarcastic sense of humour and loved how silly they could be with each other.

"I may not have left college with a boyfriend," she had joked to the girls, "but at least I've got myself a heterosexual life partner."

AJ, a tiny firecracker originally from New Jersey, had moved to Chicago for college with the dream in mind of being a software designer. She had a passion for video games that she had successfully instilled in her college roommate Kaitlyn, and the two quickly got into the habit of sharing different parts of their lives with each other as they grew throughout the four years. Kaitlyn's Biology major meant that she had spent the vast majority of her four years of college in a lab, and unwinding with AJ at the end of the day quickly became one of her favourite hobbies.

Kaitlyn was at first hesitant about the new BFF in her life; after all, she still had her four girlfriends from back home dotted around the country. Before long however, these worries had disappeared, as Kaitlyn grew to appreciate all the different spaces her college pals and her childhood friends filled in her life. She was forever grateful for AJ's sarcastic jokes and how much fun they found themselves getting into at college, but at the same time she didn't know how she would have survived the four years if it wasn't for her girlfriends still being around to offer her advice on matters of the heart especially.

Truth be told, boy matters just were not AJ's forte and she would gladly step back and let Kaitlyn call on Kelly, Alicia, Eve and Maria to listen to her complain about the men in her life. With that being said, there wasn't much that Kaitlyn could boast about in that department. A few flings here and there were all she could attest to, her longest being a brief romance with Ettore 'Big E' Langston; a well built International Relations major with an impressive sporting background and a great sense of humour. Kaitlyn and Ettore had enjoyed a few months of fun in freshman year before deciding they were better friends than anything, and alongside AJ had gone on to become great friends throughout the rest of their time at college.

Kaitlyn was grateful for AJ's presence in her life, but she was getting impatient. It was just her luck that her record with men so far was an even split of total creeps and 'better as friends', and as much as she joked about loving having AJ as her life partner, if a worthwhile boyfriend didn't come long sooner rather than later, she would probably become resigned to settling down as a cat lady. Was she missing something or had high school just never ended for her?

"You know, Kait, I've been thinking."

Kaitlyn looked up, snapping out of her daydream to pay attention to her friend.

"We've been talking a lot about how much it sucks that we haven't got post-college life figured out yet, right?"

"Yeah, don't remind me."

"Well, what if we just say screw it and throw caution to the wind a little? Big E's got that awesome job of his in Iowa, and me and him have been talking a little and sort of joking about the three of us living together again and living out some sort of weird sitcom life, but... But I kind of thing it sounds like a really good idea."

Kaitlyn frowned.

"Wait. Move to Iowa?"

AJ shrugged.

"It's a little different but maybe different's good, y'know? I've been staying with my parents back in Jersey and you're back home with your parents here in Hartford, so maybe we need to get out of our comfort zones a little? It's sort of an obscure kind of place to suddenly up sticks and move to, but who knows what could be waiting there for us?"

Kaitlyn opened her mouth to talk the idea down but stopped herself. AJ was right. Who would ever think of moving to Iowa of all places? Big E had grown up there and been tempted back by a job offer so he had all the excuse in the world, but for AJ and Kaitlyn it would be a total risk of a move. Neither had ever visited the state before, nor did they know much about it. But Kaitlyn knew her options were limited. She had struggled with finding a job in Connecticut as well as in Chicago where she had done her degree. What was there to lose? On the off chance that there was something waiting out there in Iowa for her, she couldn't really afford to keep sitting around her family home in her PJs bingeing on television shows and popcorn.

"AJ... This is crazy but I think it's crazy enough to work. God knows I need a way out of Connecticut-"

"And god knows I need a way out of New Jersey."

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Was this really going to happen?

"Oh screw it," Kaitlyn breathed. "Let's do it!"

AJ squealed and the two women jumped around the kitchen, excited not only at the prospect of becoming roommates again, but at the thought of finally being granted some post-graduation hope.

"I'm driving back home tomorrow morning so I think we should call E tonight. He's going to be so excited. He's been acting like he doesn't care that much but I know that he is ridiculously excited about this. Oh my god, we should start looking at job listings and apartments and-"

"Oh my god," Kaitlyn said suddenly, making AJ stop and frown. She had forgotten about the most important thing, or the most important four things, that were keeping her in Hartford to begin with. "The girls. I need to tell the girls."

So here we have it: here's the girls have got to since college! Which one of the five of their stories are you most intrigued about thus far? What pairings do you see popping up? What pairings would you like to see? What sort of dramas do you envisage for the girlfriends?

Questions to think about:

-How is Eve going to deal with getting back in touch with her ex, Mike? Will she finally find the SoCal job she wants? Or will life keep in rooted in Connecticut?

-What is Maria going to do about the Punk complication? Is this finally her chance to find love? Or is there more waiting around the corner? And will she ever make it back to LA?

-Has Kelly's bad luck in love struck for the second time? Just how flawless is Justin Gabriel? And is Miami still in the cards for the couple?

-Alicia has struck gold with Wade Barrett and her New York future, but just how long can her fairytale luck last? Will she ever be able to put Wade before her girls?

-Kaitlyn's found herself out of luck but will Iowa bring some sunshine? Will she even be brave enough to make the move?

Read and Review and let me know your thoughts lovelies! xo