Freshmen Dorms

Jacob laughed at that, when his memory recalled, how Evelyn was so close to ramming Seth with the lamp.

"Oh don't you worry Seth, so when do you want me to do this public serenade?" Jake feeling confident now.

Seth raised an eyebrpw. Jake sounded dangerously cocky. Was Evelyn that damned easy? Seth was beginning to regret it, but gut instinct kept him going. "Your call. You don't even have to sing to her. Just as long as it's public, with the ten people, and she accepts it...and then she goes on a date with you. But no rules other than that."

Jacob nodded, biting the inside of his cheek he went and grabbed his laptop again and decided to do some searching.

Seth went to his own laptop, after carefully placing Lucifer on his cat bed.

He logged onto his facebook, thinking he should really let Lola cool down.

Jacob felt a massive headache from having to read all these stupid sonnets, and going over song lyrics although he would have rather read a poem since he couldn't sing to save his life.

One thing he knew was that he had been inside for far, too long and he needed to get out of their dorm.

Jake got up stretching and he looked at Seth, "Dude I need to get out of here ,I'm going for a walk I'll be back okay."

Seth glanced over his shoulder. Lola had logged off. Seth thought maybe he'd made some progress.

"Yeah, okay," he replied. He lounged on his bed, flicking to an online game as Jake left the suite.

[[From the Subway/ Streets of Manhattan]]

Jake came up on campus, tired he just wanted to go bed after this long eventful day/evening. As they approached the dorms in silence, it just occurred to him, that how in the hell was he going to bring a puppy into the dorms?

"Crap!" Jake groaned, the puppy looking up at him and giving a whimper, Jacob pet him and looked at Evelyn.


"I don't know how the hell I'm going to sneak him in past security, they'll make me get rid of him, do you have a purse or something I can put him in until we get upstairs?" Jacob asked Evelyn.

Evelyn snorted and shook her head, somewhat surprised Jake didn't sound quite as annoyed as he'd been on the train. "My purse is too small. And it's real leather. I'm not having puppy stink all over it." She reached out and ruffled the top of the dog's head where it peeked out under Jake's chin, almost slicing a fingernail into Jake's throat.

Jacob pouted, "Come on you owe me! Well actually you owe me way more than just sneaking a puppy into the dorms, but this can be part of our negotiation" Jacob stated.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "He won't fit." She showed Jake her purse, barely bigger than a clutch. And then she glanced at the door where the security guards stood.

Evelyn gnawed her lower lip and then smiled faintly. "We need a distraction. Or someway that they're too busy noticing something else...to notice a puppy."

" A distraction." Jake repeated her, and he placed his finger under his chin and went into thought and then the light blub went off.

Jacob put the puppy in one hand, and took off his sweater looking at the guards he put his sweater on Evelyn and stuck the puppy in his sweater zipping it up, as far as it could though leaving it open so it could breathe.

Jacob looked at Evelyn, and said, "Just follow my lead okay?"

Jake took a deep breath, hoping that whatever Lola had taught him about acting really came through, or that he even remembered to learn any of it.

He walked up to the doors and he saw the security guards, one of the guards muttered, "Good evening."

"Good eve--" Before Jake could finish his statement, he started to stagger around a bit the two guards at the door eyed him.

"Hey kid you alright?" One of them asked.

Jacob nodded, rubbing his temples with his hand, "I'm fine... I'm just..." The guards watched Jacob as his eyes fluttered and collapsed onto the cement, landing hard, he tried not to wince, as he heard the guards clamor over him, he really hoped Evelyn got the signal and ran in.

I knew that kid was a lunatic. I really choose them well, don't I? rang through Evelyn's head as she sidled into the shadows around the main entrance to the lobby. While the nearest guard was bending over Jake's prone form, Evelyn cuddled the dog to her chest and slipped inside, almost slamming the door in her haste.

"Did someone go in?" she heard one of the guards ask behind her. Evelyn didn't wait for the elevator. She dove into the stairwell, really hoping there was no pot-smoking psycho around. Jake's sweater was drenched, had absorbed so much water, she only got about two flights before she had to lean against the wall to breathe under the sheer weight of her own jacket and his. Then again, it was Jake's fault she'd stood out in the rain and no doubt gained pneumonia while they bickered.

"He's a nutcase. I sincerely wish you luck, puppy," Evelyn said, looking down at the dog poking its nose over the lip of Jake's sweater. She braced the canine in her arms, feeling them aching out of sheer exhaustion, and then decided she'd catch the elevator on the second floor. She got to her feet and made her way up the next set of stairs. The stairwell was colder the higher she went and she sniffled.

Jacob heard the doors slam, and he then resumed in opening his eyes slowly, he even added in some moaning for effect hoping that the guards wouldn't catch on.

He sat up slowly, then standing up he acted to hobble a bit the guards held out their arm and Jake shoved it away.

"Hey kid you alright?" The guard asked looking him over.

Jacob sniffed, nodding slowly, his head pounding, he knew he fell too hard but oh well he'd worry about that later, "Yeah I ... I guess I'm coming down with something, but I'll be fine I just need to get inside, and get to bed."

The guards nodded, letting Jake pass, he got inside he wasn't expecting for Evelyn to have waited for him downstairs so he walked feebly in the lobby in case any of the guards had decided to stick around and as soon as he got in the stairwell, he booked it up five flights of stairs.

As he made it to the top of the stairs, he almost passed out for real this time, he was out of breath, and clearly tired. He came out into the hallway, and leaned against the wall to catch his breath, looking down the hall to see where Evelyn had been.

Evelyn had just reached the fifth floor. When the elevator doors dinged open, she tightened her grip on the puppy and trudged tiredly down to the boys' end of the hallway to Seth and Jake's suite.

"You know," she said to the dog conversationally - she'd been having a deep discussion with it on the merits of peeing in Jake's sweater back in the elevator - "you're going to earn me a slutty rep around here. I'm dawdling in front of some guy's suite at one in the morning, and Jake and Seth don't have saintly reputations anyways." She glanced down at Jake's sweater. "And I'm wearing Jake's clothing too. If you weren't so cute, I'd shove you down the garbage chute."

The dog licked her chin as if gratified she hadn't killed it. Evelyn leaned tiredly against Jake and Seth's suite door, closing her eyes, and continued talking sleepily to the mutt. "Well, it's not just you. Now Luke will think I'm a total skank. No way is he buying that whole boyfriend thing. He'll think I snuck out for some secret rendezvous. With Jake. Ew."

She heard footsteps down the hallway but didn't open her eyes. Jake had clearly caught up with her.

Jacob trudged down the hallway exhausted, he could have sworn he heard Evelyn talking to the dog, like it was her girlfriend or something.

And she called me crazy?

Jacob arrived to the front of his dorm room and looked down at Evelyn who just looked simply delirious, he came up to her arching and eyebrow.

"You must be sick,cause if you thought I was crazy you should hear yourself right now."

"Screw you," Evelyn responded wearily, opening her eyes. She decided not to tell Jake the dog had peed in his sweater somewhere. Luckily for her, it had been on an outer layer of fabric and hadn't touched her jacket.

Jake was too tired to fight with her right now, he took his sweater and scooped the dog into his arm, "Thanks, I guess I'll see you tomorrow or something like that."

He said turning to his door, and unlocking it opening it quietly because he was sure Seth had passed out awhile ago.

"Hopefully not," Evelyn muttered as she headed back to her own dorm room. She unlocked the suite door and saw the lights out. Alexis' bedroom door was closed.

Evelyn bit her lip. She didn't knwo whether she should apologize to Alexis for the whole stupid Trevor thing or bite her head off about the James thing.

James. Ah, shit. Not even going there.

Evelyn's eyes began to hurt like hell as she closed her bedroom door behind her. She changed into an oversized nightshirt and climbed into her warm bed after fumbling around for some NyQuill.

As she lay back, she wondered what the hell "tomorrow" would bring. She was positive she would try her best not to see James again. She didn't particularly feel like talking to Luke or Ashlee either. Alexis didn't know the whole ugly deal so Evelyn was somewhat willing to let it go with her. Alexis probably didn't know why it was something that would hurt Evelyn.

But it did. It definitely did. Evelyn rolled over onto her stomach, burying her aching head into her pillow. The stone-cold feeling inside her had dimmed away. She hadn't even glanced at James for more than a second and now the full realization of meeting him hurt her insides like poison, seeping through her mind. She didn't want anything to do with him. Not ever. It was just an ugly cycle that she'd escaped for once. Hopefully James would do what she didn't have the will to do: get over it all. But she was fairly certain her mind was made up about him. All he did whenever they crossed paths was rip her a new one.

Really, Evelyn mused, turning back onto her side. What was so terrible about her getting a boyfriend when she was well-aware James had probably been sleeping around? She was less of a whore, in fact. James was no doubt pissed that she'd somehow managed to walk away from him without giving it all up to him. And he was taking it out viciously in his snide commentary. Until tonight.

Wow, he must really have thought me too pathetic to get a boyfriend, Evelyn figured. That was probably why he'd been silent. Her chest gave a contraction, right above where her heart lay, and she didn't think it had anything to do with the cold.

Speaking of boyfriends, what the hell would she tell Jake? She didn't want to taint her fresh NY life by spilling all her drama to him. She didn't know him well enough for that yet. But he definitely would want an answer.

And he wouldn't believe her because he'd already come to his own conclusion. She wondered why Jake had sounded so cold. Almost like he could feel what he thought James felt.

But Jake was wrong. She hadn't been trying to hurt James at all. Evelyn's eyes stung and she wiped at them angrily, furious at herself. James wouldn't have gotten hurt anyways. He was free of her and vice versa.

All she had been trying to do was save face in front of him. Because if James thought she was still stuck over him, he'd never let her live it down. And she needed him to believe she was.

She was positive she was over him. More or less.

She'd avoid Jake, she decided. For now. And since she planned never to run into James again, and to keep out of his sight if she ever spotted him, she was sure the whole boyfriend facade was done with. She'd never need to explain to Alexis what she'd done. Because Alexis wouldn't understand.

Like Jake, she'd assume Evelyn was sinking low.

***

Seth stirred where he'd fallen asleep facedown on his bed taking to Lola. But he didn't wake. Beside him, Lucifer lay curled up, and the cat lifted his silvery head when Jake's footsteps stole across the floor. Lucifer paused and then lay his head back down, drifting off again.

Alexis' clock alarm went off with a shrill 'BHEEP, BHEEP, BHEEP!'. A loud sleepy groan came from the lump which was Alexis, all cocooned in her blankets and her pillows over her head. She had walked home the previous night back to the dorms, after a run in with some hand-sy drunk dude.

She reached out a hand and slapped down the stop button on alarm and dragged herself out of the bed. Her elbow was hurting like hell and she still felt tired. She stumbled off to the bathroom, and flicked on the light, raising her elbow to look at it in the mirror. It was black and blue, which she already figured it'd do from her and Luke's little run in while playing soccer.

Half of her wondered how late Evelyn got in last night since Alexis was up for a while but never heard her come in. She bit her bottom lip hard, hoping Trevor hadn't done anything and then suddenly felt horrible for leaving her alone with that guy around. She brushed through her hair quickly before going out of the bathroom and started towards Evelyn's bedroom door.

Jake's alarm chirped in his ear, and he groaned loudly slamming down on it very hard, he didn't want to get up because he was beyond exhausted, and his jaw hurt him still but he promised someone at work that he would open today, of course when he did he assumed he'd be functioning.

He sat up in his bed stretching and cracking just about every body part he could, he could imagine his mom yelling at him telling him he was going to snap his neck one day, but he loved doing it.

Jacob yawned looking to the foot of the bed and saw the puppy nestled at the foot of his bed, and he smiled, at least there was one good thing about the night, he still needed to name it but he couldn't think of anything to name him at nearly seven in the morning.

He finally got out of bed, and the puppy seemed to wake up instantly he let out a small bark, following Jake into the bathroom as he started to get ready for work.

Alexis' alarm jolted Evelyn out of heavy sleep. She sat up and sneezed. And then sneezed again.

Evelyn flopped back down. She was glad she had no class that day. But she did have her intern position shift in the evening.

Crap. My head feels like it's going to explode. God, I don't want that image in my brain. She decided she'd lie in for that morning. Hopefully her fever would die down by the time she had to go out.

And staying in meant no stupid questions from people. Evelyn turned over and went back to sleep.

***

Lucifer padded out into the living room for his breakfast, sniffing the air. He mewed, catching an uncertain scent.

Lucifer's golden eyes locked on puppy-brown ones.

And the cat's hair stood up on end as he turned tail and dove straight at Jake, digging his claws into Jake like the boy was a cat tree, climbing up his arms and shoulders to perch on his head like he'd done to Evelyn.

But Lucifer wasn't going anywhere this time. He was determined to stay up there and puff up like a furball of silvery snow as he glared down at the dog at Jake's feet and yowled loud enough to wake up every person within a fifty foot radius.

"Ah!! Mudo freaking gato!" Jake shouted at it, reaching at it to pull it off of him, as it dug its claws into his shoulders. Jacob took in sharp breaths cursing in English, and Spanish and every language he knew possible.

Stupid Lucifer had really dug himself into his shoulders, and he tried to rip him off but he just clung even tighter.

The dog growled, and barked up at Lucifer trying to paw his way up Jacob's leg to get rid of the cat.

"UGH! SETH!!! Obtenga su gato de mierda fuera de mí, o te juro por Dios que va a matarte!" He shouted. as the chaos ensued in the bathroom.

Really all I wanted to do was get ready for work, FUCK EVERYTHING!

Alexis', having heard Evelyn's sneezing sighed with slight relief. She must of gotten trapped in the weather last night and got a cold, Alexis mused. She bit at her bottom lip and went back to her bedroom, grabbing some flu pills, than went to the kitchenette, grabbing a cup and filling it with some water before going to Evelyn's room and opened the door quietly, going over to her nightstand and leaving the pills and water there before turning and starting back out of the room, shuddering slightly when she heard Lucifer.

***

Connor jerked awake in his bed, hearing the yowling of the cat next door. He scowled slightly, hating cats and threw his covers off, just in his boxers as he stumbled out of his room and to the wall which should have been connected for someone to hear and he slammed his fists against it a few times. "Shut that damned cat up!"He yelled loud enough for them to hear, or so he hoped as he went over and slumped onto the couch sleepily.

Seth jolted upright, panicked. Where the hell was the fire? Maybe his stupid roommate was trying to cook something.

He scrambled out of bed, nearly tripped over his blankets and then tumbled into the living room. And froze in stupefied shock.

His cat and some random puppy were using Jake as a jungle gym. The puppy was swingign off Jake's arm, probably trying to get to Lucifer, who was perched on Jake's head, hissing furiously.

Jake swore in about ten million languages in the space of five seconds. His face was going red, either in anger or pain.

Seth opened his mouth to call off his cat - and doubled over in laughter. He laughed so hard he stumbled and collapsed onto the couch, holding his sides for fear they'd split.

"Ja -Jake, you," he wheezed, wiping at his eyes as Lucifer continued yeowling in the background. "Your ha - hair looks like - like crow shit, man."

***

Luke had woken in time for his morning class. The first thing he did after his shower was text Alexis to ask her if she was free. He had to let her know the crap going down.

He sent another text to Ashlee asking her the same thing.

Luke wisely decided to leave the apartment before James got out of the bedroom. He headed to the campus quad.

Jake finally ripped Lucifer off his head and tossed him on the floor, "Maldita gato!" Jacob glared furiously at Seth who was laughing.


Lucifer landed on his feet and the puppy barked and growled at the feline, launching itself at him and the two of them rolled around hissing and barking at each other.

Jacob felt a fierce headache coming on, it was far too early for this to be happening, he looked at himself in the mirror and he looked worse now, he could see the scratches from Lucifer on his shoulder and neck, and down his arms and a few on his face.

He even got one that made him look like freaking Scar from the The Lion King Jacob grit his teeth, there was no way in hell he wanted to go to work but he had no other choice.

The two animals still fought and Jacob yelled at the dog, "Hey knock it off!" He reached down pulling it apart from Lucifer.