The Taunting (College Life #1)

I met someone Andreas, and he's great

Andreas P.O.V-

After late practice, I decided to stop by Juliette's place, since I'm already on campus. I haven't seen my friend in a while and we haven't been texting or talking on the phone. With so much on my mind, Jace being in the hospital and our game against Washington weighing down on me, I haven't been the best person keeping things together.

Carlee told me that Elizabeth got my gift, and was shocked that I bought her something after everything that went on between us. I don't know if she opened it or not, Carlee didn't tell me.

But she did eye me suspiciously, unlike Monica or my sister, Carlee won't ask or badger me for questions, but she'll let you know that if you need to talk, then she's there.

My hand raps against Juliette's door, she opens up it immediately, as if she was expecting me.

"You good?" I asked.

"Yeah. Come on in." She ushers me inside, laying on her bed was Ollie.

"Why is Ollie here?"

She shuts the door, "We went to a party last night, and she got super fucking drunk so she crashed here."

I walk over to the bed, kneeling as my knuckles run over her cheek. She stirs awake, "Hey Andreas." She mumbled.

"Hi, Ollie."

"Not so loud!" She winches from my voice. I rub her hair with my hand, then plant a soft kiss on her forehead. She turns away from Juliette and me, going right back to sleep.

"Where did you guys go? There wasn't a party on Greek row."

She points towards one of her stools at her kitchen counter, I sit down right next to her. She hands me a beer, and I drink most of it. I need some liquor in my life, with how it's going and all.

"A football player for the team, Parker Lyon, was having a party at his house in the valley. We decided to go, he raided his parent's liquor cabinet and we went crazy. I only drank enough to where I wasn't drunk, but Ollie went fucking crazy. I tried to stop her, but you know how she gets."

Parker Lyon is a new freshman recruit on our team, and very fucking rich, he lets us know all the time. The guys got a brand new car, an apartment off-campus, and Daddy's credit card. His father renovated our locker room when Parker complained to him about the conditions.

"Yeah, she's a wild one," I say about Ollie.

"Anyway, besides that, what's going on with you?" She drinks some of her beer, then puts it on a coaster. She slides one over to me.

"Me? I've been doing just fine," I tell her, lying through my teeth.

She looks at me like she's unsure of my answer, "It's just- you haven't been around that much, I'm starting to miss my fuck buddy."

I let out a wry laugh, "Oh please, with how hot you are, there should be guys knocking down your door."

"As you can see, it's still on the hinges." She points to her white, oak door that's fully intact. "But. . .there is a guy that I've been seeing."

My mouth widens, "Serious?"

"Yeah."

"What about Dean? No more of him."

Her face twists up when she hears his name, "I'm past Dean. After what happened at the Lucky Barn, I just couldn't deal with him anymore. He fucked Crystal multiple times, even when we were broken up, and was begging for me back. He can fall in a ditch for all I care."

"So, tell me about your new beau."

She smiles, and I can tell you this, I haven't seen her smile so brightly and hard in a long time. I miss that, seeing her truly happy. She's a good girl and deserves everything the world has to offer that's good. She works hard for everything she's got, and hell, she got into Harvard Law School. Tons of people get rejected, they would have been idiots to reject Juliette.

"His name is Adam, and I've known him for quite some time. I had him in critical race theory last semester, he would always talk to me and I would respond, turns out he was trying to flirt and was working up the nerve to ask me out. He, then, found out that I was dating Dean at the time and was discouraged. I hadn't seen him since until I was in the quad working on my criminal justice paper and he saw me and brought over a coffee. I invited him to sit down with me, and we spoke for over 3 hours. I had to pull an all-nighter to finish the paper, but I didn't regret it. I haven't talked to a guy like that, except you, in a long time. It was... nice. After that encounter, we would talk on the quad, he would walk me to class, and I him, he finally asked me out and I said yes."

I pinch her cheek, "Look at you, blushing and shit. I'm glad you found someone, Jules." I then mention something she's probably been thinking about. "What about Harvard Law, does he know you're leaving less than 6 months."

"Turns out he got into New England Law, which is in Boston. We'll only be a few hours away from one another, we'll be able to see each other all the time."

"That's good, I can't wait to meet him."

She finishes her beer, throwing it in the trash next to her fridge. I turn around to see Ollie tossing and turning, mumbling something under her breath. Damn, she's so hungover.

"You will if you go to Parker's party tonight in the valley. I told him about you, how you're the best guy in the world and-"

"How I'm hot as shit." I salute my beer to that.

She rolls her eyes, "I left that part out, I don't think he would be too keen on me telling him another guy is hot." True.

"You guys are going to another party?"

She smirks, "Getting old, Andreas?"

"No way."

She turns the conversation around, "Enough about me, what about you. I heard about Jace, have you gone to see him?"

I tell her no.

"I wasn't able to make it today, we had a late practice and visiting hours were already up. The roomies and I are going to see him tomorrow." I tell her.

"Mhm, I'll try to stop by too. You excited about the game against Washington?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

I drink the last of my beer, "This is the first game that I will be in without Jace. It's all weird, and I don't know how it's going to go. It's always been me, Teddy, and Jace. The three musketeers, but now it's just Teddy and me, a sad duo. I want to win this game for him, to show him that everyone's hard work wasn't in vain."

She puts her hand on top of mine, "He's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Yeah." We sit in silence for a few minutes, and when the silence comes so do my thoughts on Elizabeth. "Hey, Juliette?"

"Yeah." She goes around to her kitchen sink and starts washing the dishes as I watch her.

"You want me to help you," I asked.

"Nah, it's only a few. Now, tell me what you were going to say."

I sigh, laying my entire heart and vulnerability on her marble countertop.