Dangerous Devotion: A Struniolo Fanfiction

Chapter 2

AN: This is a picture of Aubrey!

The next day I went to classes and started getting into a regular schedule. At dinner time, I decided to head to the dining hall to see if I could grab something to eat before heading to the library to study for the night.

Once entering the dining hall, I found groups of college friends eating at tables and little tables to eat alone. In the back corner of the room, someone caught my eye. It was a boy with brown, wavy hair and sunglasses on inside – stereotypical, I know. He was standing with 2 other boys that looked pretty much the same as him – jackets, sunglasses, jeans. They were standing by a table, which was close to the solo tables I was planning on eating at. At first, I felt nervous – they were pretty intimidating. But, I swallowed my fear and headed for a place to sit and eat.

After sitting down, with my tray of soup and a sandwich, I began to eat and look over my reading to prepare myself for a night of studying. Suddenly, I heard a thump next to me, and my eyes were met with a black converse propped up on my table.

"Hey there, you look lost." I looked up to see the boy from before, smiling at me and peering from behind his shades. "Are you a freshman?" He asked, half chuckling.

"Um... yeah, I'm a freshman here." I stuttered, trying not to make eye contact, "Can you get your foot off my table... please? This is where people eat, that's unsanitary." I asked, moving my hair behind my ear.

He looked to his two friends, "Oh... its unsanitary." He laughed, making fun of what I said – even though it was true. Then, he put his foot down and leaned in close to my face, "And who are you? What are you doing eating alone?" He asked.

"I'm Mae, I just wanted to eat and study." I said, pulling back. This guy was really intimidating. "And who are you?"

"I'm Matt Sturniolo, and these are my brothers Chris and Nick." He said with a smile, "It's nice seeing the new freshman girls, they're always so intimidated for no reason." He patted my head and pulled away, "You seem so nervous? What if we take you to a party and loosen you up."

"On a Tuesday?" I laughed.

He laughed back, almost mocking me. "No, on Friday. We could bring you and give you an introduction to the college experience. And we're 21, so we can bring alcohol."

I have never drank before, and hearing about partying was foreign to me. I had never been to a party, the most rebellious thing I had ever done was shoplift a candy bar when I was 12. "I don't think I'd be interested, I'm not the partying type. I need to focus on my studies, I want to be a doctor."

Matt laughed and pat my head again, "Well, if you reconsider – here's my number." He said, and handed me a piece of paper. The three boys walked away, pushing each other around and laughing before disappearing behind a corner.

I went back to my dorm after studying for a few hours in the library. Aubrey was painting her toe nails and watching The Summer I Turned Pretty. "Hey!" She beamed, "Whats up? How was studying?"

"It was productive." I said, before sitting down on her bed and looking through her nail polishes to begin painting my nails, "But, I think I met your friends." I said. Her ears perked, "The Sturniolo triplets... Matt gave me his number and invited me to a party."

"Oh, you're going to the party too? We could pick outfits together!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Oh no, I don't wanna go. I'm not the partying type." I cautioned.

Aubrey slouched, "I think it would be fun! Come with me, its not a gang party, its just a college party and we can meet new people! Plus, if you are feeling uncomfortable, you can always tell me and we can head home." She suggested.

I thought it over, painting my fingers a blue to match Aubrey's toes. My whole life has always been doing the boring thing – never hanging out with friends, always studying, helping my mom and brother – all to get into Harvard. Now that I'm here, I might as well have a fun college experience. Besides, I can always tell her I want to leave if I get uncomfortable.

"Fine." I said after thinking it over, "I guess I'll go with you to the Sturniolo party."

Aubrey eeked and gave me a hug, "You won't regret it! Now let's plan an outfit!"