Sandy's PoV

"Okay guys," Sandy shouted, "One swift kick like this!" Sandy drew her leg back, and sent the soccer ball flying over Hamtaro's head and into the net behind him.

She grinned and shouted, "And that is how you score a goal!"

"Wow, Sandy," Howdy said while walking up to her, "You have some skill! This is why you're the captain of the team!"

She smiled, high fiving her southern team mate. "So, hey. I know the dance is coming up, and Pashmina kind of shot me down again...so I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"

Sandy giggled and shook her head, "Like, no can do, Howdy. I doubt that I'm even going. I have a huge book report due at the end of the month, and I borrowed a pretty big book that I totally have to read and write about pretty soon."

"Aw," Howdy pouted at her, his dirty blonde hair parting just over his squinted hazel eyes, "Can't you just ditch that? I mean, you don't really need top grades when you've got soccer. Good grades aren't what makes the star player!"

His words made her stomach churn, and she knew that she just couldn't tell him, so doing what she did best, Sandy made an excuse,"Well, Coach said I couldn't stay on the team if I didn't keep my grades up." She knew it was a lie; Coach plainly told her that because she is so good at soccer, her grades didn't make any difference to her.

"Oh," Howdy just stared ahead of her, and turned around and walked off. She sighed, and picked up her soccer gear, ready to head back to her dorm room when something caught her eye.

Maybe it was the messy brown hair that sat on top of his thin face. It could have been those chocolate eyes that were moving ever so swiftly. Then again, it was probably just the atmosphere he put off.

"Maxwell?", Sandy questioned as she walked toward the man who was sitting against the tree, reading his book.

He looked up and smiled, "Oh, hi Sandy. Fancy meeting you here."

"Uh," she stammered while blushing, "Well, I did have soccer practice today. What are you doing out here on a Sunday? I like, didn't think the Library was open today?"

Maxwell smiled and closed his book, looking up at Sandy. Today, he had chosen to wear a blue, plaid button up shirt and a pair of khaki pants. His brown hair lay messy on top of his head, and his brown eyes shimmered as he stood up.

"It is. But on days like this," he replied, spreading his arms out, "It's too beautiful to not come out here and sit under my favorite tree to read a book."

Sandy giggled, placing her finger to her lips in a smile, "Well, it is a totally pretty day out here."

She looked down at herself, and blushed. She was wearing her soccer uniform, which consisted of extremely short athletic shorts, black in color, and her soccer jersey, which was light blue. Her hair, that morning, had been neatly pulled back into a short ponytail. Now, she was drenched in sweat and it frizzed everywhere, sticking to her forhead.

She sighed, rubbing the back of her head, "I uh, I'm totally sorry."

Cocking his head to the side in confusion, Maxwell inquired, "For what?"

"This makes like, our second meeting," she said while blushing, "And it just happens to be the second time that I've looked totally uncool in front of you."

She looked at him, expecting to hear a remark like Bijou would give her, but instead, he just laughed, "Sandy, I promise you, you look fine. What's hard work and determinitation if you don't have anything to show for it?"

His words ignited a smile on Sandy's face, and she grinned, "Ya know something? You're totally right. Thanks, Maxwell, I like, really needed that."

"You're welcome, Sandy," he said, putting his book in his backpack that he had with him.

"So," she kicked the dirt on the ground, "Are you doing anything else today besides browsing the campus for good reading spots?"

"Um, no," he said, an emotion that Sandy couldn't read laced his words, "I don't have anything to do. Why do you ask?"

She smiled, "I was going to see if you wanted to like, hang out. But like, if you don't want to, that's totally cool, too."

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Maxwell's PoV

He followed behind her, as she led him to her dorm room. She insisted on changing, though Maxwell couldn't understand why; she looked good enough to knock anyone off their feet, even if she was covered in sweat.

I'm starting to think she's knocked me off my feet, and frankly that scares me a little bit. I don't even know this woman, and yet I feel attracted to her very presence.

Their walk was silent, but enjoyable. He felt comfortable around her, which is something he'd never really gotten from any female. Then again, he'd never really looked at women like that. He was nowhere near being a homosexual, it's just that no woman had ever captured his interest. He'd been surrounded by 'pretty' girls in school, but they all really ignored him. They were hideos, in his eyes.

Fake nails, fake breasts, fake smiles, and even more fake personalities. They were like robots, all wearing skimpy clothing that might as well have said, 'rape me'. It was disgusting, and even worse to see all of the men who actually liked that genre of woman.

Then, Sandy Feilds kicked him in the head with a soda can, and suddenly his perspective on women changed. She didn't dress like other girls. Sure, she was wearing booty shorts right now, but he also understood that it was mandatory for the female soccer players to wear them. Each smile she gave him was real, and full of happiness when she showed off her pearly whites. That beautiful hair of hers, well, he was almost positive that it was naturally colored.

Turning around, Sandy gave him another heart melting smile, and turned the door knob. "Like, welcome to my dorm room, Maxwell."

As they stepped in, he took in everything that he saw. There were pictures hanging on the wall of her and a boy that looked almost identical to her, pictures of a rather large cat, and pictures of her and her soccer team. There were also photos of her and a few of her friends, none of which he recognized.

Her bed was small, and covered with a thick, green blanket that looked rather worn. It held two pillows and a small, fuzzy stuffed cat. He smiled and nodded at a rather small woman who sat on the other side of the room, on the other bed. She had a phone in her hands, and was texting away.

Oh, I guess she has a room mate. That must be why I don't see any of her art supplies. Darn, I was hoping she'd show me some of her work.

"Hey, Pash," Sandy said rather hurridly as she grabbed some clothes, and pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair.

The woman on the bed gave a small smile, and put her phone down. She had wavy blonde hair and wore a pink scarf, and a pink skirt, with a white shirt on top. "Hey, Sands," she spoke in a smooth voice, "who's your friend?"

Sandy placed her hand on Maxwell's shoulder, and he nearly jumped at her sudden contact. "This is like, Maxwell, we met yesterday in town," she replied, "He also works in the like, University Library."

"Oh," the girl, 'Pash', replied. Her voice was laced with intrigue and boredom, which was something Maxwell had never heard of together. "I'm Pashmina, it's nice to meet you, Maxwell."

"Same to you, Pashmina," he said, looking around, "it looks nice in here, Sandy. I really like it. You really know how to decorate."

Sandy blushed, and this didn't go unnoticed by Pashmina, who said, "Sandy, can I talk to real quick? In private?"

"Sure," she said as the two stepped outside, leaving Maxwell by himself. Awkwardly, he walked over to Sandy's bed and sat on it, taking in it's comfort. He realized that the blanket was actually a home made patch work quilt, and he smiled.

That's proof enough that she appreciates artwork.

Around five minutes had passed, and the door opened to a rather angry looking Sandy. Pashmina, however, walked in behind her, smile on her face. The bathroom door slammed behind Sandy as she went to take a shower and change her clothes.

Another five minutes passed without a word spoken, and Maxwell was growing uneasy. Pashmina sat opposite him, on her bed, and started intently at him.

Attempting casual conversation, Maxwell spoke.

"So, are you a senior as well?"

"Look, I don't know exactly how you met Sandy, but I am just going to warn you now; you need to leave her alone."

Maxwell's eyes nearly popped out of the sockets at the woman's bitter words. She continued, "Sandy is a top athlete, and as such, she has an image to uphold. You may be out of college, and smart, but that's not exactly what she needs. You're a nerd. Sandy isn't. You should probably grasp that concept and move on with your life. Maybe date a doctor or something."

"Excuse me?", he shot back, eye twitching, "Sandy can date whoever she wants. I never said I wanted to date her. Maybe I value her as a potential friend, hell, I hardly even know the girl! I will admit, I like her charm and personality, hell, she's also beautiful! But don't you dare try and tell me I need to stay away from her. Last I checked, we're both adults, and therefore able to make our own decisions. At least she knows how to eat and treat a person!"

Pashmina gasped, but shut her mouth as soon as the bathroom door swung open, revealing a rather irritated looking Sandy. Maxwell noticed that she had on a pair of holy blue jeans, and a loose fitted shirt that had a heavy metal band on it.

She stomped over to Maxwell and took his hand, pulling him off the bed.

"You could at least wear something besides one of Jingle's old shirts," Pashmina smirked, purposely bringing Sandy's ex into the picture.

He watched as she grabbed her backpack and walked out the door. Following right behind her, they walked through the deserted hallways, across the grass, and onto the sidewalk.

As they finally slowed down, he realized that they were in a small park. It then dawned on him that this is the park that nobody really used anymore.

"Um," he spoke to the aggitated woman in front of him, "Can I ask why we're at the abandoned park?"

She wouldn't meet his gaze, but mumbled, "Because nobody knows I like, go here, nobody will ever find me."

"Am I the only one who knows that you come here?", he questioned, catching up to her.

She nodded, and it made Maxwell's heart thud harder in his chest. "I..Why me? Why am I the only one who knows, I mean."

"Because," she mumbled again, "I totally trust you not to tell them like, where I am."

His heart melted in his chest, and he grabbed her arm, causing her to turn around and look at him. Her eyes were red, and his heart dropped as he realized that she'd been crying.

"Sandy, are you okay?", he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Though she tried to hold in her tears, they began falling and she shook her head violently. "No..no! I'm totally not okay! I'm like, so sick of being imperfect to them, I'm so sick of them trying to control every little fucking thing that I do!"

It was the first time that he had heard her curse, and he knew that she was really hurt. He did the best thing that he knew to do in this situation; he put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She dropped her backpack, and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his chest.

He held her like that for what seemed like hours before she pulled back, now only sniffiling. Green eyes were now even more red, and puffy.

"I'm like, so sorry, Maxwell," she said quietly, looking away again, "I'm a mess, I don't mean to be this way in front of you. And about me cursing, I'm sorry about that too."

He sat down, patting the ground beside him. Grabbing her backpack, she sat down as well. "It's okay, Sandy. I don't mind you crying in front of me, or on me for that matter. I feel happy knowing that you trust me enough to do so."

Smiling, Sandy unzipped her backpack, and pulled out a rather thick three ringed binder. "I like, totally want to show you my artwork, if that's cool."

"Totally," he said, grinning. Great! I am so ecstatic, I can't believe she wants to show me.

Upon watching as she opened to the first page, Maxwell was blown away at her pictures. She was quite the artist! He saw pictures of her cat (whom she had named Oscar), pictures of her playing soccer, her brother (who was in fact her twin, and his name was Stan), landscapes, and so much more. The last picture she showed him, though, made a wide smile appear on the bookworm's face. She stated that she'd drawn it last night; it was a picture of him, getting hit in the head with a soda can.

"You really captured my true expression," he said, causing her to laugh.

She smiled nervously, "What do you think? I know I'm not that good, but I just want some constructive crisicism."

"Sandy," he shook his head and smiled, "It's flawless. Amazing, and you are extremely talented. You could do anything art related with your life."

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Sandy's PoV

They stood outside the door of Sandy's dorm room, and he pulled her in for another hug. They held each other for what felt like an eternity before Maxwell whispered in her ear, "I don't care what your friends do or say to me, Sandy, I'm not going anywhere. I'm still going to be here for you, and I hope that our friendship will grow. Thank you for trusting me, I'll never give you a reason not to."

A blush instantly went over Sandy's face when he hugged her so close, but his words made it disappear. She felt nothing but comfort from him, and that was something that she never got with hugs.

Sandy had never been a huggy person, and when this man whom she'd only known for two days took her in his arms, every bad emotion disappeared. When he released her, Sandy smled up at him, "Thank you, Maxwell. That really means a lot to me. And...I'm not going anywhere either. And by the way, this is my shirt."

"Goodnight, Sandy," he smiled at her, "I'll see you when I see you, I guess."

She nodded, and waved, walking into her dorm room. Pashmina and Bijou sat on the scarf bearer's bed, chatting quietly.

When they noticed Sandy's presence, Bijou smiled, "Ello, Zandy," her French accent thick in the air, "Ow are you?"

"I'm great!", Sandy grinned, looking Pashmina dead in the eye. She obviously hadn't told Bijou, who was the most popular woman at Mizuke University. Sandy knew it had a lot to do with Hamtaro, the orange and white haired man that Bijou was in love with. He was a really talented dude in Sandy's art class who focused on creating a comic book. He was also a good friend of Sandy's, though Bijou and especially not Pashmina, didn't know this.

Bijou supported Sandy through thick and thin, and Sandy knew that she'd have her back in a heartbeat if Maxwell got brought up. Looking at Bijou, anyone would fall head over heels for her. Her eyes shimmered a deep blue, and her long blonde hair was so long, that it nearly looked white. A majority of the time, she kept it pulled back into two pig tails. Bijou stood as captain of the cheerleading squad, and as President of student council.

Though she was born in France, and was very beautiful, Bijou Bonzel was nothing but sweet, and didn't have a snobby bone in her body.

"So," Pashmina rolled her eyes, unnoticed by Bijou, "How was your date?"

Bijou gasped and smiled, "Zandy, you ad a date? Oh you zimply muzt tell me everyzing!"

"Pashmina," Sandy retorted, arms crossed, "I already told you that he wasn't a date. He's just a guy I met that I'm starting to become friends with, that's all."

Bijou smiled and stood up, "Pazhy, are you coming back to ze room wiz me?"

"Yep," Pashmina sighed, standing up. About the time the two did, the door opened, and Sandy's actual roommate came in. She was well tanned, and wore her brown hair in braided pigtails. She had on a pair of blue jeans tucked into her cowgirl boots. Her shirt was yellow, and her sleeves were pushed up. Around her neck, she wore her signature red bandana.

"Ello, Pepper!", Bijou said as they walked out the door, Pashmina completely ignoring the bumpkin.

Pepper smiled and nodded at Bijou, and rolled her eyes at the passing Pashmina.

Closing the door behind her, Pepper smiled at Sandy, showing off her well freckled face, "Howdy, Sandy! How's life treatin' ya?"

"Ugh, Pepper," Sandy groaned, falling back on her bed, "I am so sick of Pashmina trying to tell me how to live my life!"

As soon as those words escaped her lips, Sandy spilled everything to Pepper, a weight being lifted off her chest. Pepper smiled, "Maxwell really sounds like a fine man. If he's nice and treats ya like a lady, then Pashmina ain't got no reason to tell you what to do. So what if he's a nerd? They make the best boyfriends, trust me Sandy!"

"Heh, it isn't anything like that," Sandy sighed, "I just met him yesterday. If anything, I think he's becoming a really good friend to me. As far as the boyfriend thing goes, well, I'm not really in the mood for wanting a boyfriend. He's gonna treat me like all the rest of the guys if I ever did date him. And anyway, he'd never go for a girl like me, Pepper, I'm too high on the social standards as Pashmina would put it."

She pulled out her phone, and the slip of paper with Maxwell's number on it, and decided to check and see if he had gotten home safely.

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Maxwell's PoV

He had just slipped into a pair of plaid boxers and lay back in his bed, pulling out his latest copy of Let's Talk Books. After about six pages into it, a vibrating sound pulled him back into his thoughts; it was his cell phone.

Upon opening it, he'd gotten a text message from an unknown number.

Hey..did you get home safely?

Who is this?

Maxwell?

No, I am Maxwell. Who are you?

Oops. Its like Sandy!

His heart skipped a beat as he realized that the tomboy herself was texting him, and it wasn't about returning Eragon.

Oh, Sandy! What are you up to?

I just wanted to make sure you made it home totally ok.

Yes ma'am. I'm totally ok.

Are you making fun of me, Maxwell?

Just picking on you.

:) So, I have soccer practice in the morning, and I only have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, an-

That's as far as he got before his phone began ringing. It was Sandy.

"Hey, Sandy"

"Maxwell!" His heart began to be faster as soon as the sound of her voice reached his ears.

"Got tired of texting?"

He heard her giggle before she began explaining, "Actually, I was like, going to totally see what you were doing when you get done working in the library tomorrow?"

"I planned on coming home and trying to do some cleaning," he admitted, blushing, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I don't have class tomorrow, but I do have practice in the morning," he heard her sigh, "I was kind of hoping I could spend the evening basking in your presence."

He laughed at that one, and his heart melted, "Well, that sounds great! I'd invite you over to my place for some coffee, but it's kind of a mess right now. I'm rearranging my furniture."

"I could totally help you with that."

"Oh," he replied, an even bigger blush appearing on his face, "I um...I mean if you really want to."

She giggled, sending tingling sensations through Maxwell's chest, "I'd love to, Maxwell."

"Okay then! I'll stay as late as possible, I don't have soccer on Tuesday mornings, so I can stay pretty late if needed," she said happily.

He smiled, "Well, we'll just see how far we get with cleaning tomorrow."

"Okay! Well, um, I do need to read a little before bed, and hit the hay," she said, a hint of tiredness in her voice, "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course, Sandy," he smiled, "Meet me at the library at five."

"Okay, I totally will. Goodnight, Max," she said groggily.

"Goodnight, Sandy," he said, a huge smile on his lips.

As he hung up, his heart nearly collapsed, and his face was beat red. She called me Max! I got a nickname. Yes!

Grabbing his book again, he smiled, thinking of just how happy that woman made him feel. At twenty five years old, he'd never once paid any mind to a female. Then he met Sandy, and his world was rapidly starting to change.