"Fuck me. Chem will be the literal death of me," I groan loudly. A couple harsh stares are direct toward me and I instantly cower in my seat. 

"Stop yelling in the library," Sonia, my roommate, whispers harshly. 

I silently laugh at myself. I always forget Sonia prefers the quiet floors. With my AirPods in, I don't even realize it's pin-drop silence. Based on everyone else's annoyance, I should probably be more aware of my surroundings.

"Okay, I can't study here, I need to scream," I laugh, packing up my stuff. 

She sends me a desperately panicked look. "But we were supposed to study together!"

"Dude, if I look at my notes for one more second, I'm gonna blow my brains out." When she pouts at me, I add, "Unless you're willing to go to a normal floor."

She violently shakes her head. "Fine, I'll study alone." 

I knew it. Sonia's the type of person who prefers working in complete silence. It's one of the reasons why she can't study in our room - especially considering I'm not the quietest person out there, even though I try. I just get so bored that I end up babbling.

I grin and pat her head, then sling my backpack over my shoulders and jog down the four flights of stairs. When I finally reach the bottom, I'm panting. You'd think that after a whole semester of going here, I'd be used to the number of stairs I need to climb, but nope. I still get winded. 

I debate where to go next. I'm not ready to go back to my dorm just yet. 

The cold January air pricks at my skin as I walk aimlessly. My phone buzzes and I see an incoming call from Audrey, my best friend from back home. I haven't seen her since winter break so it's a relief to hear her voice.

"Hey babe," I answer.

"Speaking of babes, find any hot ones yet?"

I roll my eyes. "Nice to see you too."

"You worry me, El. You can't be single forever. Find some hot piece of ass already," she says seriously. I can hear the clattering of pans in the background.

My cheeks turn a slight shade of red and I blame it on the cold, not embarrassment. "I, uh, might have already."

She gasps into the phone. "What? O.M.G! Ellie you son of a bitch! Who?" 

"He's this guy from my chemistry class. Remember that party I went to last week? He's in that frat and he basically saved me from a bunch of other sleazy guys."

"No way!" she squeals so loud for a moment I think everyone around me can hear her from my headphones. "What a Knight in Shining Armor!"

"Yes, way," I grin, imagining her swooning expression right about now. "But I don't know if he likes me back. You know how those frat boys are." 

She sighs breathlessly. "Yeah, dreamy." She clears her throat before continuing, her voice back to its normal self. "But also scum. Ugh, I have to visit soon!"

"Yes! You'd love my roommate!" 

"Soon, dude, soon. Hey, look, I have to go. Drew's coming back now. I wanna hear about Mister Hunk later!"

"I'll keep you updated. Say hi to Drew for me!" 

"Will do. Bye!" She hangs up.

I smile, even after the phone cuts off. Even though I saw Audrey two weeks ago during winter break, I miss her so freaking much. 

I'm already in my second semester of freshman year. Each second is better than the last. Besides the few mental breakdowns I have about class, everything is running smoothly. I'm truly thriving as a college gal. 

Now it's January and school is back in session. I'm glad to be back. I love my hometown, but staying there for three weeks is too much. I got so sick of my family. 

As for the Harry situation, I'd say I'm doing pretty well. The emptiness inside me is still there, but I don't let it rule me. I don't think of him often unless one of his songs comes on. On those rare occasions, I simply excuse myself and cry in the bathroom. 

I wish I was kidding.

But other than that, I would say I'm moving on. In fact, there's this boy, Laine Kirk. He's dreamy. He's also the frat boy I was telling Audrey about.

I met him at a recent party I went to. I was getting harassed by some boys. They wanted to dance, but I didn't. After I managed to push them away, I ran into Laine. He recognized me from chem and I explained that I didn't have time to chat because two angry creeps were looking for me. 

Like a total gentleman, he told the boys to back off and even threatened them. They cowered back and he took me to his room.

Of course, I was skeptical at first. I blatantly told him I wasn't going to sleep with him. He was offended that I had even thought about that. The whole night we bickered about him being in a frat and how I was right to stereotype him. 

Since then, he's given me reasons to believe he's a sweet guy. 

It's been more than six months since Harry and I broke up. Still, I can't help but feel guilty about moving on. 

Macy, one of my best friends here in college, reassures me that six months is more than enough time.

Sonia, on the other hand, is unsupportive of my new crush. She's a strong believer in the soulmate bond and thinks I'll find my way back to him. 

Nobody knows who my soulmate is, so they don't understand how unlikely it is. 

If I truly were to move on, Laine seems like the best person to do that with. There's just one problem though. I can't tell if he really likes me or if he's just overfriendly. 

He is a frat boy after all... They don't have the purest reputation.

Speaking of Laine, we have a study session in a couple hours. I hate chemistry with a passion, but he gets me through it. Without him, I'd be a pool of tears on the floor. Maybe even a college dropout.

The thing with him is that he's so fun, which is exactly what I need. His mixture of lightheartedness and wit make me laugh more than I have these past few months. After a tough day, I can count on him to put a stupid, goofy smile on my face.

I brush these hopeless thoughts away. The odds of us having a relationship are slim. Most college guys find this time to "explore themselves" meaning they rather sleep around than commit. I personally think it's dumb, but Macy fully supports the idea. In fact, she enjoys exploring just as much.

I decide to take a nap before my study session. When the warmth from the inside of my dorm hits, I peel of my jacket right away. I take the stairs to my room and once I'm in, I hop straight into bed.

My alarm rings thirty minutes before I have to meet Laine. I touch up my appearance and change into something less warm. Macy was telling me the best way to test if a guy likes you is by saying you're cold. If he gives you his jacket, you're set. He definitely likes you. I'm going to test that theory today.

I regret my clothing choice as soon as I step outside. It isn't freezing, but cold enough to make me shiver. Plus, as a Floridian, I get cold once it dips below fifty.

Laine has a table set up when I enter. It doesn't take long to find him. Lucky for me, he doesn't like the quiet floors either. We stick to the first floor, where people chat among friends.

"Hey," I grin, pulling the seat next to him. 

He smiles and waves back. I pull out my packet and place it in front of him. He chuckles, pulling out his identical packet. 

We begin our intense studying and note-taking. He pauses a lot to help explain concepts to me and I'm super grateful for that. Our professor is so boring. He's an eighty-year-old man who's retired. This is what he chose to do in his free time; teach a boring ass class.

"Ellie, focus," Laine snaps in front of my face. I yawn and groan simultaneously. 

"I'm bored."

Oh, so this is why Sonia refuses to study with me.

"I can see that," he chuckles. A shiver runs through my body and he notices. "Are you cold?"

"Yeah, I get cold so easily," I say casually. I hadn't meant to tell him yet, but I'm actually cold. Sitting in the library for two hours makes you feel that way.

"Here," he stands up and takes off his jacket. "Wear this."

Swoon.

"Oh, it's okay, you'll be cold," I weakly argue.

"Nonsense. Take it," he pushes it toward me. I thank him and wrap myself in it. I realize it's his frat jacket and a slight blush covers my face.

Wearing a boy's jacket is one thing, but his frat jacket? That's like a completely different status.

I grin for the rest of our study session. If Macy's right, he likes me! Not even chemistry can bring me down.

We end up staying at the library for much longer. My giddy mood distracts me, and ultimately him too. When we finally finish our review packet, it's dark outside.

The sun sets much earlier since it's winter now. We usually part ways as soon as we leave the library but today is different.

"Shit, it's dark already," he notes as we both exit the building.

"Yeah, we were in there for a while."

"Well, if you hadn't distracted me..."

I playfully smack his arm. "Shut up. Not my fault you don't have a good work ethic."

He chuckles and doesn't make any move to leave. "Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm?"

Normally I'd be offended. What, because I'm a woman, I can't walk in the dark? Instead, I'm a little flattered. But if you know me, I often use humor instead of flirting. "Why, you can't get enough of me?"

Now, I may have imagined this, but I swear he whispers "maybe" under his breath. My heart flutters and I nod, leading the way.

We walk side by side to my dorm. I secretly take the long route, enjoying his company. We finally reach and I consider going around the block again, but he'd definitely notice this time around.

"This is me," I stop in front of my building. "Oh, your jacket!" I begin pulling it off, but he stops me. He grabs the unzipped flaps and smiles.

"Nah, keep it. You can give it to me next time." Using the jacket, he pulls me closer, closing the distance between us. 

There's lingering hesitation in the air, but it clears up as his head slowly leans in toward me. My eyes flutter close as his lips meet mine. My hands instinctively go to his chest and he wraps his arms around my waist. 

I melt in his arms. It's been so long since I've kissed someone, it just feels good to be held. 

It ends too soon. When he pulls away, I'm tempted to pull him closer. Instead, I stand there, frozen. 

"The jacket looks really good on you," he smirks before backing up. He spins on his heel and walks in the direction we came from.

When he's out of sight, my hand goes straight to my lips. He kissed me.

Holy shit!

I float on cloud nine as I go up to my room. When I enter, I see Sonia giving me a disapproving look.

"What?!"

"I saw you and that Laine kid," she tsks. 

"Oh," I smile and plop down on my bed. 

Her eyes widen when she sees the jacket. "Don't tell me that's his jacket..."

I smugly smile. "It is indeed."

She shakes her head, not amused. I text Macy right away, telling her about the situation. I can feel her excitement radiating off the phone, even though texting.

Then, in the middle of a message, Audrey's name pops up. I immediately accept her call. "Hey!"

"Don't be mad," she rushes out. Her face has panic written all over it.

My smile drops. Whenever she starts a video call off with that, it's bound to be bad news. The last time she had started a call with that phrase, I found out she had told my sister about my partying lifestyle.

"I might have given someone your number," she anxiously bites her lip, a habit she picked up from me.

"Who?" My brows furrow as I think of possible contacts. No one new has messaged me yet.

"Niall."

My heart drops into my gut. "You did not!"

"I did! I couldn't help it! He was guilting me. He kept saying he really missed you and wanted to talk!"

"Aud..." I groan. "He's the worst out of all of them. You know he's a blabbermouth." 

It never even occurred to me that this would happen. I haven't thought about Niall or the rest of the boys in so long. 

Okay, slight lie, but I didn't think any of them would take the extra step and use Audrey as the middleman. I'm sure the rest of them have my number by now, thanks to the blond.

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry! I just thought I should warn you!" Her eyes glance down at the upper half of my body. "Wait a minute, what jacket is that?"

"Oh, it's from one of the frats here."

Her eyes narrow at me through the screen. "Holy shit! Your face is so flushed and your lips are kinda swollen. Ellie!"

I giggle. "You're observant. Well, it was the guy I was talking about earlier..."

She squeals. Sonia looks up and narrows her eyes at me. "We need to talk" she mouths. I nod and redirect my focus to the facetime.

"Okay, I have to go now..." I grin. I know damn well that Sonia's going to kill me as soon as I hang up, but Audrey's excitement for me is literally contagious.

Before hanging up, Audrey makes a small comment. "You seem so much happier, El. I'm happy for you."

Even Sonia's harsh glare softens at me. I bid farewell to her and look up at my roomie.

"What's up?" I ask innocently. I know she's not bothered by the facetime call. They're usually short and if I know they're gonna be long, I pop in my AirPods.

"That Laine boy is no good."

"Why? Because he's in a frat?" I ask, very curious as to what her problem is with him.

She shrugs. "Sort of. It's also because you already found the perfect man for you. In the end, one of you is gonna get hurt."

"Look, I appreciate your concern, but my soulmate and I? Not happening. I'm serious Sonia, it's done. It's time for me to branch out," I say seriously.

She looks at me skeptically but doesn't argue more. How could she? She has no idea what the backstory is between us. Besides, college is a time to have fun. Laine is fun for me, and a little fun doesn't hurt. 

Right?

Hello, hello! Good to see you again! 

I'm so excited for this book, especially because I'd actually abandoned it halfway through but one night I reread it and I was sparked with inspiration.

Just a heads up, it's going to start a little slow because we can't have Harry come back right away. He's a busy man! He's got songs to write and tours to go on and... Ah, just kidding. We all know he's basically a hermit with no social media precense. But just bear with me, okay?

Initial thoughts?? What's your opinion on Laine?