When I thought of transferring from high school to college, I thought there was going to be life-changing differences. After all, college was a big deal. But in the summer between graduation and the beginning of college classes, I realized it wasn't much different. Maybe the classes would be harder, and maybe I had more freedom with class choices and times, but it was still school.

            So I wasn't sure why my mom was overreacting about me heading off on my first day of college.

            Well, that's a lie. She was always overreacting. But still.

            "Mom," I complained, turning my face away from the camera she was shoving in front of it. "Mom, stop."

            My mom pouted at me, lowering her camera to her side. "This is a big day. Your first day of college!"

            "Mom, you're supposed to take pictures of me on my first day of kindergarten, not college," I told her, putting a hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm an adult now."

            Tears suddenly sprung to her eyes. "I know! My little girl has grown up... you don't even live at home any more."

            I grimaced. "Mom, don't—"

            She threw her arms away. "You've grown up so quickly! I have to blame Chris! He's stolen you away from me!"

            "Mom," I said exasperatedly, trying to detach her from me. "You're going to make me late. Be a big girl. I'm just going to college. It's not like I'm moving to Mexico."

            Sniffing, she nodded, taking a step away. "You're right. You should go. Tell Chris to come over if he's lonely while you're at school."

            "Yeah, that's happening. Nothing good comes out of you and Chris hanging out together."

            "What?" she responded innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

            I stared at her flatly. "Mom, he told me you said we should think about getting a security detail on me!"

            She raised her chin. "You have caused a lot of trouble."

            "No I don't."

          "Shall we list what's happened over the last year and a half? Chris got shot, you got stabbed, Jeremy got shot, Lance got shot, you got kidnapped, you almost got shot, you walked in on attempted murder... do you want me to continue?"

             I grimaced. "Well, when you put it that way..."

         She nodded, smiling again. "See! Security detail isn't a bad idea after all. Maybe when Chris comes over we can rethink it."

            "Just... no. I'm not letting him come over. You'll see him at Thanksgiving."

            "That's so far away!" she said, horrified.

            "If you behave, I might bring him over for dinner one night," I told her. "But only if you behave."

            My mom brightened up immediately. "Okay!"

            "Okay. I'm going to go then..." I opened up my arms for one last hug. She gave me a quick one and then pecked me on my forehead.

            "Behave."

            I smiled at her. "Always, Mom."

            Western New England University had a beautiful campus. The grass was almost impossibly green, especially for fall, and cut to perfection. Their paths had just been repaved, and new wooden benches installed here and there. Everything looked eerily perfect. There wasn't a rock out of place. It was slightly creepy.

            Students were milling about everywhere, laughing and joking. There were a lot more people compared to my high school, but the good thing was I didn't know any of them. It was refreshing to be around new people and not have to deal with the same people I'd grown up with.

Well, it was mostly new people.

Some people just didn't let you go.

            "Holly!"

            As a reflex, I stepped to the side, just barely managing to avoid a certain blonde as he tried to tackle me to the ground. "Hi, Jeremy."

            My boyfriend's best friend (and I guess my best friend too, now) twisted himself around and grinned blindingly at me, stepping forwards to pull me into a tight hug. "Welcome to WNEU!"

            "Jeremy, I've been here like fifty times already," I pointed out, voice muffled by his chest.

            He sighed, resting his chin on my head. "This is so nice."

            "What is? Trying to squeeze the life out of me?"

            "No," he responded, pulling away slightly and staring down at me, eyes shining. "Being able to hug you without Chris around to yell at me."

            I frowned a little bit. "Actually, it's kind of weird."

            "Aww, miss your boyfriend already?" Jeremy cooed, pinching my cheek. "You're so cute."

            Slapping his hand away, I managed not to blush. "N-no! I was with him last night."

            "Oh? Were you? Please, do share all the details of you and Chris's dirty life," Jeremy said, smirking. "I'd love to use them to blackmail him."

            "You're a pervert," I said flatly. "That's not what I meant, anyway."

            Jeremy laughed. "I know, Holly. Was he sulking again?"

            "Surprisingly, no." Which was odd. For the whole summer, Chris had been sullen whenever we brought up college. With good reason. Since he worked at the high school, he wouldn't be able to see all of us every day like he used to— and by all of us, I meant Lance, Casey, and myself. Of course he still saw me every day because I practically lived with him, but still. I figured he was a little jealous too. We were all still together, while he was by himself. I almost felt bad for him.

            "Well, no sweat off my back. I get to spend precious time with my second best friend," Jeremy continued, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and walking me towards the main campus building. "I'm so glad we have a couple classes together this semester."

            "Yeah, me too— wait, what? Couple?" I turned to look up at him, eyes widening. "We only have Home Ec together..."

            "And Spanish," he said, seeming proud of himself. "I signed up for it too!"

            My mouth opened in surprise. "What? When?"

            "When I realized I needed another humanity and I only signed up for four classes."

            "Chris isn't going to like that..."

            Jeremy grinned again. "I know. I can't wait for you to tell him."

            "You're evil, you know that?"

            "Aw, but you know you love me."

            Sighing, I shook my head. Chris was going to be very jealous. "He's going to kill you."

            "He hasn't yet!"

            "I have to say I'm a little relieved though," I admitted. "I'm a little nervous."

            Jeremy squeezed my shoulders. "Everyone's nervous their first day. It's a totally different experience than high school. Here's the main difference— if you don't want to talk to anyone, you don't have to. You'll see them maybe twice a week for an hour for a couple months and then probably never see them again. It's great."

            "I'm kind of excited to meet new people, actually," I told him. "Especially since now I only have you, Casey, and Lance. And even then, only one class with them."

            "And we all know you're a people person."

            I frowned at him. "Is that supposed to be an innuendo for something."

            "Maaaybe," he responded, grinning. "No need to worry about that now. Everyone's put away. Feels weird, doesn't it? No one's out to get us..."

            "It feels nice," I corrected him, rolling my eyes. "Not weird. It's nice not having to worry about anyone who wants to kill/kidnap/harm you guys or me. I haven't had a nightmare in months. Excluding ones about aliens."

            Jeremy chuckled. "Still afraid of them, huh?"

            I stood a little straighter, jutting my jaw defiantly. "It's a sound fear."

            "Except they don't exist."

            "I'm not getting into this," I said, crossing my arms. "All I'm saying is that I'm glad it's finally over. I can be a normal college student. We can be normal college students."

            "And you're not having a surreptitious relationship anymore," Jeremy added happily. "You're completely normal."

            I nodded. "Yep. And I like this. Honestly, there's not one thing to bother me anymore."

            Jeremy jabbed his elbow into my side. "Spoke too soon, Holly."

            "First, ow, and second, what?" Rubbing my side, I followed his gaze to a certain young man with pecan-colored hair. His grey eyes lit up with amusement when he spotted me and he smirked, waving. "I thought he was going to college in New Hampshire," I hissed to Jeremy as Aaron sauntered his way over to us.

            Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest. "I was hoping he'd be moving to New Hampshire."

            "Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite couple," Aaron said by way of greeting.

            "Aaron, what are you doing here?" I asked wearily.

            Aaron gestured to the campus center. "Going to college. Obviously. I decided I wanted to stay home with Lex... and how could I leave my best friend behind?"

            I started a little bit. Best friend? "Me?"

            "No," Aaron said, giving me a crazy look. "Chris, of course."

            I rolled my eyes. "Not sure if that feelings mutual. Just... don't cause trouble for me this year, okay? I want it to be trouble free."

            "Holly, you're a trouble magnet," Aaron pointed out.

            "She knows," Jeremy said unhelpfully.

            I spared them both a brief half-assed glare before waving them off. "Whatever. I'm going to go meet Casey in the cafeteria. Why don't you two catch up or something?"

            Aaron eyed Jeremy for a moment before saying, "You haircut is hot."

            "I'm going to go to my law class," Jeremy responded before scurrying away.

            Aaron started laughing and I quickly made my escape as well. As annoying as Aaron could be, at least he added a little bit of entertainment to our friend group. If he counted as my friend group. We'd been through a lot together, and he did have his moments...

            I figured he was part of our friend group now.

            Casey was with Lance when I finally made it to the college's cafeteria. It wasn't any surprise when I realized they were both eating waffles. It was all you can eat if you were under a meal plan. Which we were.

            "Watch out for freshmen five," I said as I sat down next to Lance.

            Casey shrugged, shoving a forkful of food into her mouth. "Walking to classes will keep it away."

            "Not if you eat all the time."

            "Hey man, it's free all-you-can-eat food," Lance interjected, gesturing towards the buffet. "Don't put it to waste."

            Rolling my eyes, I snagged a grape of his plate. "I already ate at home."

            "When's your first class?" Casey asked me.

            I made a face. "In twenty minutes. Remind me again why I took math at nine in the morning?"

            "Because you'll be done with classes by one and have the whole day to spend with Chris?" Lance guessed.

            "Why does everyone think I need to be around him all the time?"

            Casey raised an eyebrow. "Don't you?"

            "No! We have separate lives," I defended, crossing my arms. "We just like being in each other's company."

            Lance hummed and gave me a curious look. "Does Chris have any other friends besides you and Jeremy?"

            "I'm his friend," Casey said.

            "Fine, any friends of his that aren't our friends too?" he corrected, giving Casey a quick eye roll.

            I opened my mouth to say yes, yes he did, but realized that no, no he didn't. Or none that I knew of, at least. "I don't think he does," I admitted, feeling a little guilty. "Do you think I kept him from making friends with the other teachers last year?"

            "Probably," Casey and Lance deadpanned.

            "Thanks, guys."

            Lance grinned. "Well, he's an ass too, so that could be why Heywood doesn't have friends."

            "He's not an ass, Lance," I argued.

            "But he's got a nice ass," Casey snickered. "Right, Holly?"

            I held my chin up, determined not to let her embarrass me. "Yes, yes he does."

         "I don't need to hear this," Lance muttered, putting his fork down. "My first class is in the science building, so I'm gunna head out. See you guys in home ec?"

            "Can't wait," I replied with a smile.

            "Good luck!" Casey said to him, waving as he parted ways with us.

            "Where are you headed?" I asked Casey.

            "My first class is criminology," she told me, nodding to the building directly across from the cafeteria. "Jeremy said it's an easy class."

            I grinned at her. "Oh? Is that why you suddenly switched your major over to CJ? Jeremy?"

            She blushed a little and shook her head. "No! Well, he might've encouraged it, but I decided I want to be able to protect people from criminals like Shawn. After what you and Chris went through... I want to be able to stop that from happening to other people."

            Surprised by her answer, I was speechless. "Casey..."

            "And I want to handcuff people too," she added with a grin.

            This time I sighed. "Casey."

            "What? Best of both worlds, right?"

            "You're going to be an awful cop," I told her.

            She pursed her lips. "What do you know? I'm going to go to class. Have fun in math, Holly."

            I waved her off and made my way to class as well. Suddenly the butterflies were back. Swallowing nervously, I entered the math wing and looked for the right classroom. My schedule was imprinted into my mind, and I had it on my phone too, just in case. But there was nothing to be nervous about. It was the first day— it couldn't be too tough.

            And it wasn't. I found the classroom easily, took a seat in the middle, and waited for the professor to come. It was a little weird having students of all ages in the room with me— I was probably the youngest, the oldest probably around forty-something. Even the professor was younger than some of the students. She was short and jovial, and I had a feeling I'd like her.

            Next was English 101, which went by pretty much the same as math. Most of the students in that class were my age though, since it was a basic course. The professor seemed a little weird, but likeable. I could manage. Spanish was the same, only a little more manageable because Jeremy was there. But, surprisingly, he seemed to take his studies seriously, because he listened to the teacher lecture with rapt attention. And he only threw his eraser at me once.

            After class, we walked to home ec together. "Liking your classes so far?" Jeremy asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder again. "First day is always easy."

            "They're alright. It's a lot like high school," I responded, shrugging. "But hopefully this year I'll stay out of trouble and lead a normal college life."

            "High hopes," Jeremy said teasingly.

            "Shut up," I muttered, elbowing his side.

            He grimaced, pulling away from me. "Ouch."

            "What could go wrong?" I asked him as we approached the classroom door. But apparently, I spoke too soon, because the door suddenly opened, and hit me right in the face.

            Jeremy laughed as I stumbled backwards, my hand going up to my throbbing nose. This has happened before, I thought bitterly. Just my luck. Looking up, I expected to see Aaron smirking down at me, but instead, bright green eyes and a horrified— but very handsome— face met my gaze. "I'm so sorry!" the guy apologized, brushing his dark brown hair out of his face. "I can't believe— are you okay?"

            "I-I'm okay," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks heat up.

            "I'm sorry," he said again, folding his arms over his chest. "I really shouldn't wing open the door like that."

            "Yeah, next time you might actually break my nose. If that's what you were aiming for," I joked, smiling now.

            The guy stared at me for a moment and then returned my smile with an adorable, sheepish grin. "Actually, I was only hoping for a fracture."

            I laughed. "Oh, I see."

            "Still, this isn't a very good first impression," he sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "Are you in this class?" he inquired.

            "Yeah," I responded with a nod.

            "Along with me," Jeremy cut in, doing his best to look intimidating— arms crossed, face straight. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

            The dark-haired guy stared at Jeremy, seeming surprised. "Even worse then."

            "Are you in this class?" I asked, ignoring Jeremy's scrutinizing look.

            "Haha... yeah," he said, looking uncomfortable. "Yeah. Um. I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Isaac— well, I guess you should call me Professor Grimaudo. Or no, you can call me Isaac... Professor Isaac?" His mouth twisted into a frown. "Yeah, I guess that's okay."

            "Professor?" I said, suddenly dry-mouthed.

            He shifted his weight and nodded. "I'm your home ec professor..."

            It was silent for a moment. Then Jeremy choked on the air. And I felt my heart sink into my stomach. Professor Isaac gave us a curious look and I faked a smile at him, which he returned with a genuine, gorgeous one.

            "Though this is a surprise," Professor Isaac mused, eyes lighting up as he surveyed Jeremy. "I never expected to see my underling here in college."

            Jeremy bristled. "I was Chris's underling only."

            "Of course, of course," Professor Isaac said quickly, holding up his hands defensively. "I just mean... it's nice to see you again. Some days I find I miss the old gang."

            "Old gang...?" I repeated slowly, turning to Jeremy.

            Jeremy grinned at me. "So much for a normal college life, huh?"

            I opened my mouth to reply, but found I couldn't. Professor Isaac was a part of "the old gang"?

            Crap. Chris so wasn't going to like this.

           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sos guys the epilogue in ASR is set three years in the future, this is barely four months after ASR ends. So no, Casey isn't in a foreign country and Holly is not pregnant.