"You know, I didn't think he was going to be that great," India exclaimed, walking outside into the gloomy New York weather. She pulled her the hood of her anorak jacket over her head. She didn't want her perfectly first day curled hair to get ruined. It took an hour to get all the blonde strands just right and aligned.

"But he was great wasn't he," Sadie exclaimed, letting the rain drizzle onto her dirty blonde hair that was carelessly thrown into a bun. "I've heard great things about that guy, but also terrible. I'm glad I see him as great."

"Still want to get that coffee?"

"Oh definitely!" Sadie slid her arm through India's, as if they've been friends for years. She pulled her down another sidewalk, nearly running into a group of guys with only football jerseys keeping them warm. They each nearly dove to the other side of the pathway to make way for Sadie and India.

India looked at them oddly. The football players back home didn't act like that.

"Weird huh," Sadie giggled, staring back over her shoulder at the group, who were now stalking their prey: a couple of new freshman sorority girls. "As soon as they find out you're dating a trained killer, they make sure to keep their distance. I told you, my boyfriend is in the Marines."

"Do I want to know how they found out he's a trained killer?"

"Oh god no," Sadie laughed, throwing her head back. "You wouldn't see Bash for who he really is if I told you. But I wanna hear about your boy, I talk about mine enough."

"Well," India muttered. "It's a long story."

"You're in luck. It's a long walk."

...

When the girls walked into the café, the first thing India noticed was the surmountable number of hipsters. The second was the one person who wasn't a hipster. He was a loner, sitting in the corner of the room, dressed in dark colors and glaring at everything around him. But once his eyes fell on India and Sadie, his glare immediately softened, and a smile appeared.

"Bash," Sadie squealed. Her arm untangled from India, and instantly, she felt the cold air hit her.

Sadie dashed from India towards the man who met her half way. He wrapped her in his big arms, her face stuffed itself into his chest.

Even though India was on the other side of the room, she felt as though she was imposing on a moment.

As soon as she wanted to turn away, and head back to campus, the man's eyes fell on her. Their sharp green color pierced right through her body. She felt frozen to her spot, her body under his complete control.

In that instant she knew, he wasn't like any other guy. He wasn't like any other person. There was something about him that captured India. If it were any other person, India would have walked right back out that door. Instead, India waltzed over to Sadie and her Marine boyfriend.

"Oh India," Sadie squeaked, finally taking notice of her. She untangled herself halfway from her boyfriend, but it seemed as though he didn't want her to do so. "This is Bash, my boyfriend. I didn't think he would be joining us. If I did, I wouldn't have yelled and made a fool of myself like that."

"It's nice to meet you," India whispered, offering him only a slight curve of her lips. She was afraid if she showed her teeth, he would bite back.

Bash took one look at India, from her black flats to her perfectly curled hair, then he turned to his girlfriend. "Who is she?"

"Sebastian," Sadie chastised, smacking his chest. "Be polite. We talked about this."

"But you never talked about some new friend. That's not fair."

Sadie rolled her eyes in annoyance. "She's in my British Literature class. Happy?"

He shrugged one shoulder, then gave India another glance over, as if he was seeing if she was worthy of approval.

India felt nervous under his scrutiny, even though she didn't know him.

"Well are we going to sit down or are we gonna stay sitting here awkwardly until you guys have to go back to class?"

Sadie smacked his chest once again, squaring her jaw while doing so. While she took her seat at the table, she offered India her warm smile and her hand. "Come sit. I promise he won't actually bite you."

India looked at Bash for his approval, as if he was the Alpha in control. The only thing he did was stare down at her, before suddenly brushing past her to the counter. India was having second thoughts about this. She thought it would be better if she left.

As she was opening her mouth to tell Sadie that exact thing, her friend was already yanking her into an empty chair. India fell with a squeal, while Sadie apologized.

"He's not that bad, trust me. You should be concerned if he was nice to you. That's just who he is."

India didn't have any words. She didn't really quite believe Sadie, so she simply nodded her head and got situated in her chair. Looking around, she became even more intimidated than she was already. The people here were nothing like she's seen before in Georgia, with tattoos covering their bodies, but dressed in nice clothes, with unique looking hair.

She didn't belong here in her summer dress, golden hair, and flats. Neither did Sadie or Bash for that matter.

In no time, Bash had returned to the table, three cups in hand. He placed two similar ones in front of India and Sadie, then left the other one for himself. He slid into the seat next to his girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the cheek, as if it was a normal occurrence.

Jesse never did that for India.

Bitter, India tried to cover herself up by taking a sip from the cup Bash had given her. She almost spit it out once she tasted it, but not because it was bad. It was amazing, it was her drink that she always orders from coffee shops.

She looked at Bash in surprise. How did he know?

He met her stare with a raised eye brow, almost as if he was daring her to ask him. Instead, she backed out and whispered a thank you instead.

...

No more ink came from the pen, as Jesse tried scribbling out a word on the pad of paper in front of him. He grunted in frustration, then threw the pen to the side.

"Can you grab me another one?"

Sierra looked up from her phone for the first time in ten minutes. "That was my only one."

"Well go look elsewhere," Jesse growled, glaring at her from across the room. He was sitting by the window in a chair, with his legs propped up on a pile of books on the floor. His guitar was beside him, his trusty friend.

Sierra glared back before huffing and jumping off the couch, where she laid lazily. She marched over to the kitchen, her heels clacking along the wood floors. Jesse wanted to pry off each one of her toes with every step she took.

He kept his eyes clenched tight, trying to remain calm. He nearly snapped when she dropped three pens in his lap, muttering under her breath something about new musicians. Instead he grabbed one of the pens and continued writing.

Song writing was the only thing keeping him on track for the past three days. A bare minimum of contact with India left him insane and angry. He missed her, god did he miss her. But she wanted space, so he was going to give her some. He only wished it would be easier on him.

After minutes of trying to write, and coming up with nothing, he decided to call India. He needed to hear her voice, he needed to listen to his angel.

His heart broke when the call went to voicemail.

But like any good musician, he turned the page and focused his emotions on a new song.

...

How do you guys like it so far? Are you still enjoying the story and characters?