Bubbles Mason sighed as she glanced at the clock. The professor's monotone ramblings continued in the background as she counted down the minutes until classes ended. Not for the first time, she couldn't understand what these general classes were for. She'd figured once she'd gone to college, she would finally be able to take the class that interested her and nothing else. Instead, she was stuck in a public speaking class to satisfy a core requirement.

She'd figured it would be an easy A, but the professor was monotonous and took the class too seriously. She blinked as he gestured to the slides behind him, reminding the class of their presentations due at the end of the year. Midterms hadn't even happened yet, and he was already concerned about the final.

She almost sagged in relief when the clock struck 9:45am, and their professor waved them away. She hurriedly packed her things and flew from the room, her mind already on the school café. She was dying for a good cup of coffee and a muffin. She had about an hour to kill before her next class, and there was no better place than the café.

Bubbles swept through the automatic doors, eyes scanning the menu as she took her place in line. The café boasted both seasonal and staple choices. Since it was nearing the end of February, she could still justify getting a warmer drink.

"One hot chocolate please." She paid the barista and snagged a high table while she waited. The café usually got busier as the day went on, but only a few people were here so early. Even still, she was lucky to get a high table near the windows – those usually always went first.

Her name was called just as she pulled out her sketchbook, ideas forming for her next submission. She took a sip of her cocoa as she made her way back to her table. Bubbles was majoring in Photography with a minor in Business, wanting to own her own studio one day. Drawing helped her visualize her surroundings better, and get a clearer picture of what it was she wanted to capture. She hummed softly as she lost herself in her own world, occasionally sipping her drink until it was time to head to her next class.

Blossom took a deep, steadying breath as she leaned over the microscope, praying their experiment worked this time. She was majoring in Biology but was mainly concerned with the research she did with Professor Utonium. They were currently studying different gene therapies, and this latest was showing the most promise. Her fellow researchers surrounding her, also holding their breaths as they waited for her to announce the results. Blossom pulled back as she rubbed her eyes, unable to keep the grin off her face.

"I think it's working, guys! We'll still need to observe what happens after 24 hours but….I think we might be on to something here." Everyone grinned as they took that in, being careful not to disturb anything as they celebrated. It was too early to call it a success, but they were definitely making progress.

"At this rate you'll get the internship for sure Bloss!" Blossom flushed with embarrassment as she turned back to her culture swabs. It was no secret that she desperately wanted the internship. She was only a part time researcher – if she got the internship she would be bumped to full time during the summers. She'd get paid too, much more than the odd jobs she was currently working.

"I hope so….."

Buttercup couldn't stop the nervous tapping of her foot as she lined up with the rest outside the Tennis building. They were finally finding out who had been picked for the varsity team this year. She could barely contain her nerves as she pushed forward, scanning the list of names. She nearly fainted when she saw hers, pumping a fist in the air as she backed up to let others through.

She stepped onto the court as the coach called for warmups, her muscles twitching in excitement. All that hard work this summer paid off. Or maybe I'm a tennis genius? A ball whizzed by her, one of the girls in charge of keeping score calling out the point. Buttercup frowned as she focused on the game, discarding her thoughts. A genius would've noticed her opponent starting the match.

She wiped the sweat from her face as she drank her water, waving at some of her teammates as she took off. They were thankful their coach didn't believe in practicing during the night, as she drove them hard during the day. Buttercup could already taste the homemade popcorn as she made her way to the apartment. She couldn't remember if they had food at home, so she swung by McDonald's, thankful that everything was within walking distance. She ordered quickly, keeping an eye on how dark it was getting outside. It may be a college town, but there were barely any street lights to illuminate the campus's surrounding areas, something that many students had voiced concern over. There was supposed to be a plan to incorporate more next year, but everyone knew it wouldn't happen that quickly unless something happened, or some rich alumnus offered to help pay for it.

Buttercup snagged her order and headed home, concentrating on not dropping anything. Unfortunately for her, that meant she didn't see the guy jogging toward her. She grunted as she hit something solid, her bag squished between them but otherwise unharmed. He grabbed her arms to keep her and her cup holder steady. Once she recovered, he pulled out an earbud, glancing down at her.

"Watch it-" The words died on his lips as he continued to look at her. Buttercup didn't realize her breaths grew shallower as she gazed back at him. He was handsome in a rugged sort of way. His midnight black hair was styled in a buzzcut, but his bangs fell just above his brows. His emerald green eyes sucked her in, and she had the sudden urge to see if his hair was as soft as it looked. The young man's face morphed into a slow grin as they continued to drink each other in. Neither broke the silence until his phone rang. He debated letting it go to voicemail, but that seemed to break her out of her trance. He answered it as she shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she made to leave. The man quickly ended the call and grabbed her arm.

"What's your name?" She blinked, not expecting his voice to be just her type too. She almost missed what he said, having focused on how natural it felt to have him touch her.

"Buttercup." His grin turned into a smirk as he let her go slowly, his eyes never leaving her as he tested the name out.

"Buttercup." She shivered as she reluctantly walked away, turning to look back at him before crossing the street. He'd turned away from her and started walking away himself, but she didn't mind the view from the back either.