A soft giggle woke Henry Bolet, causing him to groggily rub his eyes to adjust them to the light streaming in through a crack in the curtains. He was on the floor, but he didn't remember it being this uncomfortable last night. The uneven wood slats poked his back through the blanket he was laying on. What the fuck. Where the fuck. This wasn't his dorm room. The source of the giggle leaned against the wall of the tiny closet/hallway that led into the room and served as an entry to the bathroom and an exit from the room. She was smirking, letting him know just where he had woken up. Playful blue eyes were looking him up and down, and Henry realized he was shirtless. Pantless too. Lainey Mitchell surveyed him a moment more before speaking.
"You know, I have class in half an hour. You need to leave." She smiled while she spoke, but there was definitely a little bit of contempt in her tone.
"No problem, I was just planning on leaving anyway." Henry replied through gritted teeth as Lainey turned and went into her bathroom, shutting the door a little harshly. As he dressed quickly, the night's details slowly returned to him. A frat party, an excess of alcohol, and a sudden downpour of rain had led Lainey to drag Henry to her dorm, which was just down the street from the frat house and much closer than his dorm which was across campus. He had gotten to the frat with his roommate, Charlie, who had driven them. But Henry hadn't seen him since they arrived at the party. The details were hazy, but once the alcohol hit his system he was comfortable talking to just about anyone, apparently even Lainey. Surprisingly, Lainey talked to him back. They had stepped outside to share a cigarette before heading their separate ways when the rain started. How they ended up on the floor and not the bed right next to him, he still didn't recall.
Lainey stepped out of the bathroom as Henry was walking out the door, her blonde hair hitting him in the face.
"We don't ever talk about this, do you understand?" She asked a little snappily. She was well known and popular, and she had a reputation to maintain. He would be an embarrassment. Not that he had planned on talking about this, considering she was one of the last people he ever thought he would spend a night with.
"Understood, sweetheart. Get to class." Henry winked at her, then turned and rolled his eyes as he stepped into the hallway. He couldn't believe he was drunk enough to sleep with her. She had always been a total snob towards him, but maybe all of the side-eyes and looks from underneath furrowed brows and long lashes were those of a lioness stalking her prey. Henry shook his head. He needed to stop letting any pretty girl who gave him attention distract him. He had a test later that he hadn't studied for, something he should have been doing last night. And the nights before. But something about schoolwork was just so…boring? compared to the things he could be doing instead. It wasn't like he couldn't stay another semester. He was already graduating a semester late, and at this point his grades were indicating that he would need to make that two.
Henry walked to his dorm, despite the distance, feeling the need to clear his head a little with the after-rain sunshine that made everything feel fresh and bright. When he got there, Charlie was back in bed, buried under blankets. Henry kicked the clothes out of his way as he moved to the other side of the room, and flopped onto his own bed. He groaned rather loudly into his pillow, and rolled over to lay on his back, and he stared at the ceiling, connecting the little lumps the drywall created like constellations. It was already noon, and he had a chemistry test in two hours. One that hadn't been studied for. He wanted to cry out of sheer frustration. Why the hell did a pre-law major need to take chemistry? None of this made sense, and he was fairly certain that his notes had such large gaps in them from skipping class that he wouldn't be able to piece together anything reasonable.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
That afternoon Henry emerged from the classroom with little to no hope that he had passed the test. It was one of the worst hours he had ever spent on this campus, and all he could hope was that somehow the professor would have mercy on him. As he walked into the hallway, he was followed out by a girl who must have finished at the same time. Long red hair in bouncy curls flashed in his peripheral vision, but what made Henry start was that she spoke to him.
"I can't believe it! That literally sucked! Did you know anything on that test?" she gushed in annoyance. She scrunched up her nose, making her freckles blend together, and she fell into stride with him.
"Oh, uh. Not really." Henry glanced over as she walked next to him. He knew her type immediately. If he was being rather vain, he knew he attracted the girls who were bubbly and cutesy, because he interested them. He liked portraying himself as a rather lonely and angsty character. Nothing wrong with some classy gothic influence. He couldn't help it. He grew up in an old Louisianan mansion with an eccentric doctor uncle. It reeked of old money and tragic backstories. He was a little obsessed with that part of himself. It made coping easier.
"RIGHT, like wasn't it just so bad? I'm pretty sure he just made up everything on the test. I'm Summer by the way. I don't think we've met before." She looked up at him under playful lash flutters as she fell into step beside him.
"Henry. Don't think we have." He responded, pulling his phone out of his pocket to see if there were any messages from Lainey. No notifications at all.
"So, do you have any dinner plans? I could TOTALLY go for a burger right now. That test drained me, like what the hell." She asked, flipping open her phone in a flash of pink and chrome. Her fingers flew across the keypad and within seconds had sent her message.
Henry realized they were still walking in the general direction of one of the dining halls known for its burgers and nuggets, no better than the average fast-food restaurant. What the hell. Why not?
"Why not? I don't have anything better to do except cry about this class." He said jokingly, readjusting his backpack strap as they walked. She flashed a smile at him and scrunched her nose again, the corners of her eyes crinkling a little. She was pretty cute.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
After dinner he walked her back to her dorm, which was a few buildings away from his own. She lived in a women-only dorm, something she explained her parents were very serious about. The way she said it made it sound like it wasn't something she was serious about though.
"So does that mean I'm not allowed in?" Henry asked teasingly. He was a guy of course. If he had a shot he was going to take it.
"Well you're not allowed to have a sleepover," she laughed, shifting her weight from one sparkly wedge sandal to the other, "but maybe sometime you can see how I've decorated the place to make it seem less like a dungeon." Dang. But it sounded like there was hope.
"Maybe we should meet up to study for chemistry sometime. There's a lab next week and I think my partner is a genius, which means I have to get my act together." Please land, please land.
"Yeah, sure! Here's my number" She pulled a sharpie from her bag and grabbed Henry's arm. He flinched and yanked it back in surprise. Oops. He looked at her, embarrassed, face flooding with heat. They made eye contact in silence for a moment, then he recovered and offered her his other arm.
"Sorry, I startle easy. Here, this arm doesn't have a tattoo." It was true. But it was still embarrassing. She quietly wrote her number on his arm in pretty handwriting, then blew on it so it dried. He shivered a little. It felt nice.
"There you go, call me sometime if you wanna study!" She winked at him then turned to walk inside, leaving Henry standing outside, watching her hips sway and the peek of a tattoo above the velour waistband. Immediately he knew this marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life.