One Time, Badly Read online

So the name would stay, but she promised herself that very little else would. She wanted to put herself out there and befriend all of the most interesting people living in her dorm. She had her old friends and they would always be there, but this was her chance to meet people that could show her things she'd never been able to learn in the small town that she'd been born and raised in.

  The college she'd chosen was said to be one of the most diverse in the country and she was counting on that to be true. She wanted to meet people from different cultures and to have conversations about politics and to study abroad and to do all of the romantic things every girl imagines herself doing when she finally steps a foot out into the real world.

  What she hadn't counted on was stepping from one bubble right into another one.

  College was tricky that way. Yes, her friends were different. Yes, she was different. But she'd quickly realized that this wasn't what the rest of her life would be like. Nothing could ever be like this again. And it was so good and she was just trying to really take it all in.

  Her entire freshman year was spent with eyes wide open, trying to write down every piece of information her professors relayed and trying to say yes to every invitation she got and join every club she saw a flyer for. It was a whirlwind and by the start of her sophomore year she was tired as hell, plain and simple.

  So this semester she decided to slow it down. Her schedule was a breeze, she'd knocked it down to one club - a women in communications group that featured different alumni each week talking about their careers - and she was definitely being choosier about the invitations she was accepting (there were some frat houses that were best visited only once).

  She'd also gotten into a pretty strict gym routine that she was loving. Running was her new favorite thing and, while she wasn't complaining about the newly toned legs and slimmer waistline, she was more addicted to the feeling she got from it than anything else.

  She felt more focused, but more free at the same time. It was incredible. She was sometimes guilty of the crime that all 20-year-old girls fall victim to every once in a while; of imaging themselves as much more basic, and less exquisite, than they truly are and it seemed that a 4-mile run was all it took to shake that feeling, at least for a few hours.

  Cecelia was feeling balanced in her second year of college. She had settled into a routine, she was knocking down credits and making good grades and she found herself constantly amused by everyone and everything around her. Dull moments were few and far between. Case in point, Louisiana bursting into their room at 8:45 pm on a Wednesday with new plans wasn't so much a surprise as an annoyance.

  "Get up, put your books away, we're going out," She was already getting to work on her makeup and pulling the elastic band out of her hair.

  "Lou, I'm right in the middle of a hardcore One Tree Hill binge. I need to know if Brooke is actually pregnant or if she's just playing Lucas."

  "She's playing him, get up."

  "Lou! Come on! That's so messed up."

  "Don't care, Juice. We just got invited to Theta for Wine Wednesday. I've been waiting for this. We can't say no."

  "Can't you find someone else to go with you? My hair is too greasy."

  "It's called dry shampoo. And, no, I can't find someone else. I want my best friend to go with me. And don’t you want to find that guy again? Who knows, he might be there."

  Cecelia wished that hadn't caught her attention, but it had. Louisiana was right and Cee would be lying if she didn't admit that she'd been hoping to run into Max on her own; something that was unlikely considering the size of their campus. Lou raised her eyebrows as a smile broke out over her face.

  "Oooooh I got you there, Juicy. Get your pretty ass up and throw on some pants. We're doing this."

  An hour later, Cecelia found herself in jeans and a flowy tank top, hair freshly dry shampooed and pulled into a voluminous ponytail, following Lou out the doors of their dorm building.

  After listening to Louisiana chatter on (read: defend herself) about the ethics of spoiling a TV show for a friend in times of great distress for the better part of the past hour, Cecelia found herself in desperate need of a glass of wine, even if it came out of a box.

  The scene in the frat house was as expected. A bunch of people milling about, cups in hand. Some groups were making use of the large, black leather sofas set up in the front room while others were leaning on the countertops lining the kitchen walls. It was less crowded than Cecelia had expected, which was nice. At least she had some room to breathe, unlike the last time she'd been here.

  Lou weaved her way through the crowd until she found what she'd been looking for. Boxes of bagged wine were lined up along a pop up table in the corner of the kitchen. She filled them each a cup of rosé and turned to Cecelia, a serious expression on her face.

  "Now for the real reason we're here," Lou's stare was serious, as was her tone.

  "What? What do you mean real reason? I thought we were here to drink wine and then go home," Cecelia could already feel the annoyance seeping into her voice.

  "Cee, do you think I'd spoil a very minor plotline on One Tree Hill for a glass of boxed wine?"

  "Yeah, Lou. It really wasn't that big of a shock."

  "Whatever, that's rude, but it doesn't matter," she looked around conspiratorially, "I'm here for revenge."

  "Louisiana?"

  "Yeah?"

  "I'm leaving."

  "Nooo! Cee, please. I'm serious! This is really important," Lou's pleading drew the eyes a few people in their vicinity, but she didn't seem to notice.

  "I don't come to Wine Wednesday for revenge. I come to Wine Wednesday for a buzz. I didn't sign up for any craziness tonight."

  "It's not going to be crazy. I promise. We just have to stick around long enough for Joe Hemsley to show up and then I do one minor task and we're out I promise."

  "Were we even invited to this party, Lou?"

  "No, but that's not important. These people are lucky we're here."

  Joe Hemsley turned out to be Louisiana's partner on a history project that she'd been assigned during the first week of classes. As it were, Joe made the mistake of skipping not one, but all three of the scheduled meetings to work on the project, leaving Louisiana to do everything on her own while still getting full credit for his part.

  Instead of mentioning it to the professor (which Lou rolled her eyes at as soon as Cee suggested it), Louisiana had decided to get back at Joe in her own, very Louisiana Atkins way.

  "I'm going to accuse him of giving me an STD in front of everyone," she honestly looked proud of herself. Cecelia couldn't believe it.

  "Lou, that's ridiculous. First off, you're going to tell everyone here that you have an STD, which is just gross. And second, this guy probably won't even care. This is a bad idea."

  "I don't care what people in this godforsaken frat house think of me and he will too care. You should see him during class. Leaning over to whisper to any girl that happens to be sitting near him. Passing notes like it's the fucking 4th grade. He lives for the attention. Meanwhile, I'm pulling all nighters trying to write a 30-page report on my own."

  "30 pages? Screw an STD, tell him you're pregnant."

  "That's my girl."

  As luck would have it, Joe Hemsley just happened to be standing next to one Max Maylor when Louisiana struck.

  "You've got a lot of nerve! I may be cured, but, had you taken the time to respond to any of my texts, you'd know that you, my friend, are not."

  This poor guy, he didn't even know what to say. Cecelia could just see his mind working from her spot next to Lou. Trying to place where he knew her from, probably.

  "Oh, nothing to say? That's fine. It's on you, buddy. I just wanted to make sure you didn't do this to any other poor, unsuspecting girls on this campus. And to think, I really liked you, Joe. I thought we had something."

  And then it clicked.

  "Hey, wait, you’re in my history class aren't you? You're my partner on that project."
>
  "I was, Joe. I used to be a lot of things that I'm not anymore."

  With her cover blown, Lou spun away with a huff of heartbroken frustration and stormed out of the kitchen. Cecelia threw Joe Hemsley a dirty look (30.PAGES.) and was on her way as well when she heard her name called out from behind her.

  "Cecelia? Hey, wait up."

  It was Max. She had to suppress a smile as his tall frame caught up to her in the hallway outside the kitchen.

  "Hey, Max. Fancy meeting you here," she stepped to the side to let a group of girls pass by and Max followed suit.

  "Listen I'm sorry about your friend. Joe can be an ass sometimes," the look on his face was sincere and Cecelia thought this might not have been the first time that Max found himself mediating a situation that Joe could seemingly care less about.

  "Oh, it's ok. No big deal. I actually have to go find her, you know, make sure she's alright." Even though she'd said it, Cecelia made no move to leave.

  Max took a quick glance around the room, his eyes landing on something just over Cecelia's shoulder, and smirked.

  "Well, it looks like she's doing fine to me."

  Cecelia turned around to find Louisiana with a fresh cup of wine in her hands laughing hysterically right alongside good old Joe Hemsley himself.

  "I knew it! She was playing him wasn't she?" Max's smile had morphed into something more amused and, if Cee wasn't mistaken, impressed.

  "She may or may not have been seeking revenge," Cecelia shot him a smirk as she finished off the wine in her cup.

  "Honestly, he really is a terrible project partner. I don't blame her. Can I get you another drink?"

  "Sure," she gave a small smile and a short nod.

  Cecelia followed Max back to the drink table and watched as he peaked into her cup to see what she had been drinking. He promptly picked up the rosé and poured a healthy amount into her cup. She flashed him a smile and took a sip from the top.

  "So the white shirt? Done?"

  "Done," she laughed. "By the time I got back to my dorm it was too late for intervention."

  "I really am sorry," and he had the decency to look genuinely guilty as he said it.

  "It was an old shirt anyway. Not a big deal," Cecelia waved it off, she really hadn't cared.

  "How'd the exam go? You weren't late?"

  "Nope, I made it with a minute to spare."

  "Good, good. I was worried," he was smiling now, playful.

  "Yeah?"

  "Oh yeah. I paced my room for like an hour just praying you made it there," She laughed out loud at that and did a quick scan of the room for Lou, just making sure things were still fine on her front.

  When she spotted them again, they were sitting on the couch, talking close. Either Louisiana was in it for the long game with this whole revenge thing or Joe was some kind of magician. She was tempted to go talk to him herself just to see what the fuss was about, but found herself very happily rooted to the spot she was in.

  "Looks like Joe and Louisiana are hitting it off," Max shot a glance over his shoulder at her words, nodding his agreement as he turned back to Cecelia.

  "Yeah, as bad as he is as a partner, and honestly most other stuff, that's how good he is with girls. It's like a gift."

  "You should take some lessons. It couldn't hurt," Cecelia made a show of raising her eyebrows and taking a long sip of wine.

  His mouth was hanging open when she peered back over her cup.

  "Take that back."

  "I can't. You have two strikes with me and we've only met twice. You're average is not good, Max."

  "Or is my average amazing?"

  "I don't follow."

  "Well, you're here talking to me right? I was just setting myself apart. Anyone can feed you lines, but can they really ingrain themselves in your memory?" Cecelia did her best not to laugh out loud at that.

  "Please don't tell me you spilled two separate beverages on me on two separate occasions to 'set yourself apart'."

  "No, I'm not that dumb, but it's something to think about."

  "What?" it was more an exclamation than a question.

  "Just weird that it keeps happening," he held his hands up, as if to say that he didn't have any part of it, it was out of his control.

  "Yeah, I mean it's definitely not normal."

  "It's like our thing."

  "Oh god, don't say that. I'm going to start walking around with a rain coat on."

  "Well, definitely don't do that," a bit of the playfulness had left his tone. He looked at her with a different gleam in his eye now.

  "No?"

  "No, this is a much better look."

  "So I have a confession to make," she could feel herself starting to blush under his gaze and she didn't want him to catch her slipping.

  "And what's that," he was all ears now, just waiting for what she was about to say.

  "I only really came tonight because I thought you might be here," she made sure to meet his eyes when she said it.

  "It wasn't for the show your buddy just put on?" he was smiling at her, a false air of skepticism playing across his features.

  "No, that was a bonus. I didn't know she was going to do that until we were already here."

  "Well, while we're being honest, I might have been at every single party these animals have thrown in the past three weeks looking for you."

  "Fomo on Cecelia?" she guessed.

  "Fomo on Cecelia for real."

  "Maybe you should take my number so it doesn't happen?"

  Chapter 5

  2011

  October

  The amount of time that it took for Max Maylor to use her phone number was unacceptable. Some (read: Cecelia) might even call it cruel. She'd anxiously stared at her phone for days, her heart jumping at every message that came in, and then plummeting when it wasn't him. She hadn't had a crush like this since Tommy Chambers in her junior year of high school; that one hadn't really gone her way either.

  But Max had seemed so interested! He'd spent that whole party talking to only her. He'd flirted and leaned in close and Louisiana even agreed that it was messed up for him to not even attempt to communicate with her. Joe Hemsley had texted Lou the very next day. Even that asshat had pulled it together.

  So, when she finally heard from Max again nearly two weeks later, it was with the utmost contempt that she unlocked her phone and opened the message. He'd missed his window, she'd officially left the giddy little bubble she'd been in when she'd walked out the door of Theta that night and returned to normal girl status, no heart-shaped eyes here.

  Free tonight?

  So he'd spent the past two weeks thinking of the dumbest, most vague text he could send and landed on this. Fantastic.

  She waited a good 40 minutes before answering, no need to rush on his account. Cecelia was safely tucked away in her 1:00 pm class when she typed back.

  Maybe. What's up?

  She was committing to nothing without the details.

  Wine Wednesday at my place. Come! Bring your crazy friend

  Damn. She loved Wine Wednesday. She shot Lou a quick text just confirming that she was free before she thought too much about her response. She definitely wasn't going alone, so if Lou had plans she'd have to just tell Max she'd see him another time. At least she had his number now.

  Louisiana, of course, was always free for Wine Wednesday. She shouldn't have even bothered asking.

  Instead of answering, Cecelia dropped her phone into her bag and zipped it up. She'd respond after class and let him know that she and her crazy friend would be there.

  Until then, there were notes to be taken and outfit options to mentally plot.

  When Cecelia and Louisiana walked into Max's house that night, it was with the most casually cute outfits they could muster. They'd both agreed that the last minute invite was weak and the effort put in must be minimal.

  For her part, Cecelia was in a pair of skinny jeans with her gray converse sneakers and a white v-neck t-shirt. Her
long chestnut hair still held a light wave from when she'd curled it that morning before class and she'd settled for just a bit of blush and lip gloss to compliment the mascara she always wore.

  Louisiana had opted for a long-sleeved dress and a pair of knee-high boots.

  "I thought we were going super casual? That outfit is semi-casual at best!" Cecelia complained as she and Louisiana locked up their dorm and walked towards the elevators.

  "Cee, there's only a few weeks left to let the legs out before they freeze, I'm taking advantage," she'd explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

  Cecelia took this as confirmation that Joe would also be attending this particular event.

  The house had the telltale signs that only inhabitants of the male persuasion leave behind. Holes in the walls, raunchy posters strewn about and a film of what was hopefully beer on every inch of the hardwood floors. Cecelia could feel the soles of her shoes sticking for just a second with each step she took.

  Lou immediately spotted a few friends from class and dragged Cee over to mingle with them. She spent the next fifteen minutes nodding halfheartedly as the group ragged on their shared professor and shooting vague glances around the room, looking for the person at this party that she knew.

  When Lou finally excused herself from the conversation, the two headed to the kitchen to grab a drink. It was there that Max Maylor was holding court. He was perched on the counter top, drink in hand, telling what seemed to be the most hilarious story ever told. That's if the insane giggling from the group of girls in front of him was anything to go by.

  Great. She came all this way just to watch Max hit on random girls while Lou greeted acquaintances and old friends alike as if she were the mayor of College Avenue. Cecelia seemed to go unnoticed as she and Lou filled up their solo cups with watery beer from the keg in the corner of the room. She was trying her best not to look Max's way, leaving it to him to break away from the group to greet her. She wasn't about to push her way through just to say hello.

  Louisiana was quietly shooting nervous glances at Cee, clearly wondering if they should hang around or grab their drinks and keep on moving. The second Lou handed her cup to her, Cecelia headed for the door leading out of the room. She caught Max's glassy eyes as she walked out of the kitchen and his story faltered for a second, distracted. And then she continued on her way.