Chapter 4

Heads Up

The first month of college passed pretty quickly for Alex and Casey. They had successfully completed every homework assignment with an A, and managed to not miss any classes. They even passed their first quizzes with A's and were having a generally good time. Casey had gone out with a few guys already, while Alex stayed up in the dorm studying. She had hung out with Amanda a few times though, getting to know each other better.


Alex and Casey were walking across the green towards the dining hall. There were tons of people outside enjoying the weather; people on hammocks, people on blankets, people playing sports. It was a beautiful September day.

"Man, I'm starving," Casey droned as they walked along. "I can't wait to eat."

"Me either," Alex agreed, rubbing her flat stomach. "I want some pizza."

Just then, they heard a girl yell, "Heads up!" Before they could react, Alex was down on the ground after a soccer ball had crashed into her shoulder before bouncing off her head.

"Shit, Alex!" Casey bent down to make sure Alex was okay.

A girl and a guy came running over to Alex to see that she was okay. Bending down, the girl said, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. That was an accident, are you okay?"

Alex, fixing the glasses on her face, looked up at the girl kneeling next to her. She had lobbed brunette hair that was almost down to her shoulders with a set of brown eyes to match. She was wearing a backwards cap, a black tank top, and jean shorts with a pair of Chuck Taylors. Alex looked over her for a minute before responding. "Uhh, yeah." Alex then got to her feet. "I'm okay."

Casey was scolding the girl until she looked over at the shirtless guy next to her. She quickly lightened her facial expressions as she checked him out. He was also wearing a pair of jean shorts, but had no shirt on. He was sweaty, his 6-pack abs glistening in the sunlight. He too had a hat on backwards.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to kick it that far. Are you sure you're okay?" The brunette girl grabbed Alex's shoulder and examined her face. Alex could tell by her expressions that she was genuinely sorry and cared about how she was.

"Yeah," Alex weakly smiled. "I promise, I'm okay."

The brunette then stuck her hand out to shake Alex's. "My name's Olivia, but everyone calls me Liv. This is Elliot, but everyone calls him El."

"Nice to meet you!" Elliot stuck his hand out and firmly shook both Alex and Casey's hands as she smacked on his gum, holding the soccer ball in his other hand against his hip.

"Hi, Olivia and Elliot. I'm Alexandra, but everyone calls me Alex."

"Hi, I'm Casey, and I don't have a nickname."

Everyone laughed.

"Do you wanna play with us?" Olivia asked.

Casey started laughing, with Alex shooting her a look. "Her? Sports? Oh, please."

"Shut up," Alex grumbled, elbowing Casey. "I'm… not very coordinated."

"Hey, that's okay," Olivia said. "I'm clearly not either, seeing as though I kicked this right towards your face."

Alex smiled as she looked down at the ground before looking back up at Olivia. "Seriously, it's okay. I'm okay."

Olivia gave her a big smile. Alex couldn't help but feel her heart flutter. Oh no.

"Well, where are you two headed?" Elliot asked.

"We're headed over to John Jay Dining Hall. Want to join?" Casey asked, flashing her eyes up at the muscular Elliot.

Alex looked over to Olivia and smiled. "Yeah, want to join?"

Olivia looked over at Elliot, and the two exchanged a wordless conversation, nodding in agreement.

"Sure. I'm pretty hungry after that anyways," Olivia said.

"Yeah, I could pound down a few burgers right now," Elliot said, rubbing his toned stomach, Casey watching in amazement.

Alex scoffed at Casey, and Olivia raised her eyebrows and laughed as Casey quickly stood beside Elliot as they began to walk. Alex and Olivia trailed close behind.

"I'm… sorry about her," Alex said. "If she's too forward with your boyfriend, I'll back her off."

Olivia gave Alex a look of shock and started laughing. "Boyfriend?! Oh, no. No no no. He's not my boyfriend. Best friend, yes. Boyfriend, never in a million years. He's not my type."

Alex noticed the way she deflected and started thinking of the other possibility – the one she was secretly hoping for. "Ah. And, what is your type? If you don't mind me asking."

Olivia smirked at Alex. "Not at all. I prefer someone… without a penis."

Alex felt her stomach twist at the admission. She gave a slight smile as she briefly looked over at Olivia and nodded. "Got it."

Olivia, watching Alex intently, added, "And you? What is your type? I'm sure you have boys drooling over you constantly."

Alex noticed the way Olivia's eyes raked up and down her long legs. She blushed as she stuttered her response. "Uhh… well, uh, my type… really, I uh… I also… prefer no…" she whispered the next word. "Penis."

Olivia raised her eyebrows at Alex as she nodded her head, wearing a dangerous smirk. "Ah, I see. Great choice, honestly."

Alex couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, definitely. Boys are… ugh. I don't know."

"They're gross," Olivia answered.

"Absolutely. And, they're perverts."

"This is also true. Well…" Olivia added. "Girls can be too." She looked directly in Alex's eyes after the words.

Alex could've sworn she felt her heart stop. She kept Olivia's gaze for a moment as she felt the familiar blush creeping up her skin. She wanted to respond, but her mouth felt suddenly dry.

Olivia looked away and gave a slight chuckle, noticing how Alex's skin changed from a porcelain white to a cherry red in a matter of seconds.

Luckily, they reached the dining hall and Casey turned around to check on them. "Finally. Food!" Looking at Alex, she noticed the terrified and nervous look on her face, as well as her blushing. "Hey, Olivia. Mind if I chat with my best friend for a moment?"

Olivia smiled. "Not at all. She's all yours. I'll go chat with El."

Alex watched as she stood next to Elliot, trying to take the soccer ball away from him.

"Hey, you good?" Casey asked.

"No," Alex said.

Casey, looking like a deer in headlights, responded, "Why? What's wrong?"

All Alex could do was stutter her words. "I... She..."

Casey looked over at Olivia, who was laughing and throwing playful punches at Elliot. Even though Alex wasn't speaking coherently, she understood what she was trying to say.

"Really? Soccer girl?" Casey didn't think Olivia would be her type at all. She was still picturing someone like Amanda being her type.

"Yeah," Alex's heart was beating as she watched Elliot pick Olivia up and threaten to throw her over the other side of the sidewalk.

"She looks pretty occupied by Mr. Muscles, Lex. Oh God, I hope she's not mad at me." Casey started to panic, regretting her flirting with Elliot.

"Casey…" Alex finally choked out. "She's gay. They're just friends. You can have Mr. Muscles." Alex couldn't help but notice the way Olivia laughed as she and Elliot joked around.

"How do you know? She told you that?" Casey pondered.

"Yup. And I told her that I was, too."

"You did?!" Casey grabbed Alex and looked at her carefully. "So, you think she's cute? You told her you're gay? You can barely admit it to yourself!"

"Yes, I told her. Not in those exact words, but she knows. And yes, Casey. She's really cute. She's got this… bad girl vibe. And I like it." Alex couldn't help but let her eyes wander over Olivia's tan shoulders and calves.

Casey gasped. "Oh my God! But wait, you seriously told her?"

Alex rolled her eyes as she swiped her student ID card at the register. "Yes, Casey. For the hundredth time."

Casey couldn't help but squeal and clap her hands, the gesture causing Elliot and Olivia to turn and look at them. Alex felt her skin becoming red again as she buried her face in her hands. "Casey…"

"Everything alright?" Elliot asked, now standing by them both.

"Yeah, you okay?" Olivia placed her hand gently on Alex's arm. Alex brought her head away from her hands as she felt her heart stop again.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Casey is just embarrassing."

Casey gasped in shock. "I am not! Come on, Elliot. Let's get some food." Casey winked to Alex as she linked arms with Elliot in search of something to eat.

"Seriously, are you okay? What did she do?" Olivia asked carefully, hand still on Alex's arm.

"Nothing… she's just… Casey. I'm okay, Olivia. What do you want to eat?"

Olivia let her eyes look around the dining hall for a moment. "Hmm… you know, I'd really like some pizza."

Alex couldn't help but smile. "Pizza is my favorite thing to eat. I'd love some pizza."

"Perfect!" Olivia said, linking her arm with Alex's, making her stomach flutter again. "Let's grab some!"


Casey, Alex, Olivia, and Elliot all gathered at a table in the back corner of the dining hall once they had their food. Alex had grabbed 3 giant slices of pepperoni pizza, Olivia had 2 giant slices of cheese pizza, Casey had a cheeseburger with fries, and Elliot had 2 cheeseburgers, onion rings, and a slice of cake.

"Mmm," Alex moaned, her eyes closed as she bit into the corner of the hot pizza. "God, I love pizza."

Olivia watched Alex as she enjoyed her pizza, and couldn't help but smile at her reaction. "Pizza is definitely very good." Olivia took her own bite of hers.

Casey's eyes were glued to Elliot, who was scarfing down his first burger in just a few bites. "Burgers are better," Elliot said, mouth full.

"Never," Alex said, eyes still closed and shaking her head. "Pizza is the far superior food."

"No way!" Elliot scoffed, finishing off his first burger. "Tell her, Liv."

"Uhh, I'm on her side, El." Olivia smiled at Alex, who was now looking at her.

"What?" He looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Since when do you like pizza more than burgers?"

Olivia stomped on Elliot's foot, causing him to go, "Ow! What the hell!"

"Since always, El. You never asked," she said through gritted teeth, turning her head to look at him and raise an eyebrow.

Staring back at her, he realized finally that she was trying to show off in front of the blonde. "Well, sor-ry!" He picked up his next burger to start diving in.

"So," Olivia said, turning back to face Alex and Casey across the table. "Are you two freshmen? I don't think I've ever seen you here before."

"Yup!" Casey answered.

"Cool, what are you studying?" Olivia bit in to more of her pizza after the question.

"We're both studying pre-law," Casey answered, eating her fries.

"Oh wow, that's really cool!"

"Yup, we're going to be lawyers. Take over our fathers' firm when we're older!" Casey wrapped her arm around Alex's shoulder, who was already digging in to her third slice of pizza.

"Really? Wow. So, you guys didn't meet here?" Olivia asked.

"Nope. We grew up together. Been best friends forever! Our dads met in law school and became best friends, and then started their own firm years later. They got married to our moms, had us, and the rest is history!"

"That's actually really sweet," Olivia said with a smile, finishing off her pizza.

"Yup! You're looking at the future faces of 'Cabot and Novak, Attorneys at Law!'" Casey gave a big cheesy grin as she hugged Alex.

Olivia lifted her eyebrows. "Wait. Like, the Cabot and Novak? Like on the billboards? And TV commercials?"

"That would us! Alex Cabot, and Casey Novak!" Casey stuck out her hand to shake Olivia and Elliot's hands again.

"Holy… wow, I'm honored to be in the presence of royalty," Olivia lightheartedly joked, putting her hands together and bowing. The gesture made Alex giggle.

"Please, we're not royalty. We're just normal girls," Alex said modestly.

"We will be one day, Lex." Casey smiled at Alex, who shyly smiled and hung her head low, sipping on her drink.

Lex. That's so cute. Olivia couldn't help but smile at the cute, but somewhat nerdy and shy blonde in front of her.

"What about you two?" Alex asked, changing the subject away from herself.

"We're juniors!" Elliot answered. "We're both in the criminal justice program. It's how we met and became best friends." He threw his arm around Olivia and pulled her in for a strong squeeze.

"Oh!" Casey said. "Our RA is in the criminal justice program too! Her name is Amanda."

"Oh, yeah," Elliot said. "I think we know her. Didn't you take her out a few times, Liv?"

Alex felt her heart sink a little. Why? She wasn't sure. She crushed on Amanda for the first few weeks, but now within a matter of an hour, this new girl captured all of her attention. Was she jealous because of Amanda being with Olivia, or Olivia being with Amanda? She didn't know, but she assumed it was the former.

"Jeez, El…" Olivia mumbled. "Uhh, yeah. We went on a couple dates last year. Nothing came of it though."

"Ah," Elliot said, removing his arm from Olivia's shoulders. "Yeah, she's pretty cool. She's smart."

Alex just nodded her head, unable to find any words.

"So," Casey jumped in, willing the awkward silence to go away. "Are you guys 21?"

"Jesus, Casey!" Alex said, putting her head in her hands. Again.

"What?" Casey replied. "I'm just asking."

Olivia chuckled. "I am. He won't be until a few more weeks. We wanna throw a big party at our house for his birthday."

"You guys have a house?!" Casey asked excitedly.

"Yup! After the 2 year dorm requirement, we rented a townhouse just off of campus with a couple of our buddies. No RAs, no rules, nothing. Complete freedom!" Olivia held her hands up high in a victory pose, causing her tank to rise up just past her bellybutton.

Alex couldn't help but let her eyes wander at the tanned and toned skin in front of her. She swore she saw the outline of a few abdominal muscles just above where a shiny blue gem sat hanging from Olivia's bellybutton. Letting her eyes wander further left, she noticed a tiny tattoo on Olivia's right hip bone. It was 2 female symbols interlocked in black ink, with what she assumed to be a paintball blast of rainbow colors behind and around the symbols. Before she could blink, Olivia's arms were back down, covering the spot Alex wanted to pay more attention to.

"That's so freaking cool, right Lex?" Casey nudged a non-responding Alex; her eyes still staring at Olivia's midsection.

"Huh?" Alex said.

"Were you listening?! They have a house, Lex!"

"Uhh, yeah," Alex said, bringing her eyes back up to meet Olivia's before flicking over to Elliot's. "That's definitely cool."

Elliot smiled before looking down at his phone. "Well, we better get going. We've got class in a bit. It was really cool to meet both of you!" Elliot leaned in to give Casey and Alex a strong hug.

"Likewise," Casey said, with her flirtiest eyes. "I hope we see you guys around!"

Olivia hugged Casey quickly before leaning in to give Alex a longer hug, noting the way she smelled like sweet vanilla. Alex couldn't help but notice the way Olivia smelled like sandalwood, even through the sweat that had formed from her playing soccer earlier.

"I'm sure you will. Oh," Olivia said before pulling out her phone and handing it to Alex. "Give me your number. That way I can keep you guys updated about the party in a few weeks."

Elliot gave a cautious look over to Olivia, who quickly scolded him. He gave a slight smirk as he nodded.

Alex swallowed as she typed her number in Olivia's phone. She noticed the name Olivia had given the contact – "Lex Cabot, future lawyer." She couldn't help but blush and smile at the name. She made sure to check the number 3 times to make sure she entered it correctly before handing her phone back to Olivia.

"Thanks," Olivia said with a smile.

Building up the courage as Olivia turned to walk away, Alex said, "Wait," before pulling her phone out of her pocket. She then handed her own phone to Olivia. "Give me yours too, just in case."

Olivia smiled and took the phone, which was encased in a light blue OtterBox case. She entered her number and couldn't help but notice the name Alex had given the contact – "Liv, soccer girl." She gave a playful laugh as she edited the name before handing the phone back to Alex. "See ya around!" Alex watched as she ran after Elliot.

Looking down, Alex smiled at the new contact name – "Liv Benson, cute soccer girl." Alex immediately turned red as she felt a big smile creep across her face, holding the phone to her chest.

Casey was staring at Alex with her arms folded in amazement. "Wow, Lex. You actually scored a girl's number this time."

Alex was still smiling as she re-read the contact name. "It's not even that. It's what she named herself in my phone, Case."

"Huh? Let me see." Casey grabbed Alex's phone and gasped. "Cute soccer girl? Man, she's really full of herself isn't she," Casey teased.

Alex ignored the banter as they walked back to their dorm. "Benson. What an adorable last name. Benson. Alexandra Benson."

Casey started laughing. "Seriously, Alex? You're already thinking of marrying the girl?" She gave a sigh. "This is why you should've dated in high school. Stunts like that are gonna push her away quicker than you can say her last name again."

"Benson." Alex laughed, clearly giddy over her interaction with the brunette.

Casey rolled her eyes. "I have never seen you like this, Lex. It's adorable and I love it." She placed her arm around Alex. "I'm still your best friend and wing woman, by the way. If she really wants you, she's gonna have to go through me first."

"Whatever you say, Casey."