Seasons Change

8.

Chapter 8.
The problem with picking a fight with my psychotic, too-aggressive roommate was that she was never going to let me live it down. After the prank I had pulled with Madison's help, I'd barely dared to sleep in the same dorm room as Avery for fear that she'd shave my head while I was sleeping or something equally nasty.

She'd been mad about the water incident, and irritated at the honey, silly string, and rubber snake. She was almost murderously irate when the video of her and Dylan getting soaked by water while leaving the dorm room scantily clad had mysteriously surfaced on the school's gossip website. Two weeks had passed since the prank, and I still lived in constant fearful expectancy for Avery's retaliation.

"Are you sure you aren't being paranoid?" Kelsey asked me as I leaned back into my desk chair, propping my phone up on the back of the desk while I video chatted with my best friend.

I grimaced, shaking my head. "Trust me, it's only a matter of time before she does something horribly evil. I have the sneaking suspicion that whatever she's about to do, it will be ten times worse than the prank Madison and I pulled on her."

Kelsey laughed, her eyes dancing in amusement. "I still can't believe that you ran into Madison, of all people. Or that you let her talk you into a petty revenge scheme. I thought you knew better than that, Lilly."

I shrugged defensively. "What else was I supposed to do?" I asked. "Your brother was acting like the biggest jerk on the planet, and Avery's boy toy is nice enough, but not much of a buffer against the wrath of Avery."

Will and I had been hanging out more over the past couple of weeks, since I didn't really have that many friends on campus. He was fun and easy to be around, and seemed to know almost everyone. He was no Dylan, but I did enjoy his company.

"I never thought I'd hear you say something like 'boy toy,'" Kelsey snickered. "Speaking of, how are things going with him? Any prospect of a budding romance? It sounds like he's flirting with you."

I snorted, the noise loud and completely unladylike. "Of course he's flirting," I guffawed. "Will flirts with just about every girl he meets under the age of forty. And even then, that's probably not a hard and fast rule. Besides, I'm happy with Ben. I'm not looking for a new romance. I happen to like the one I have."

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "I hardly ever hear you mention Ben. No offense, but it doesn't seem like the long distance thing is working out well for you. I mean, do you even talk to him anymore?"

"Of course," I said defensively. Although, admittedly, we didn't talk nearly as much as I would have liked. Ben was making tons of new friends, and every time we talked, it seemed like he was going out with a different group of people. I trusted him, and I didn't think he was being unfaithful or anything, but even I had to admit that we were drifting apart. Without having mutual friends and seeing each other almost every day, we didn't have as much to talk about these days. "We talk at least a few times a week," I informed her tartly.

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Lilly, you talk to me more often than that," she said. "I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but maybe you should stay open to the possibility of meeting a great new guy."

"Like you're one to talk," I teased. "Are you dumping Austin for some new guy?"

Kelsey was strangely quiet, and my eyes widened like saucers. "Oh my gosh, did you and Austin break up?!" I exclaimed. Kelsey and Austin had been dating for four years. The thought of them breaking up was earth shattering.

"Yeah," Kelsey said, nodding her head. "He's been weirdly distant for a while now. I mean, he skipped my end of summer party to pack for school, and it's not like it was a last minute thing. He knew I was planning it. He never had time to talk to me. I don't know, I just didn't want to struggle with the long distance relationship thing anymore. So I broke it off with him," she said with a nonchalant shrug.