I AM SO NOT DATING INSIDE MY MAJOR.

"Good morning, Addy!"

Adeline whined as Mickey's extreme and unnecessarily loud voice hit her ears as soon as she and Cici stepped out of their dorm hall. The sunglasses on her face did nothing to help against the blinding sun that made her headache all the worse. And Cici was no better, just as hungover as she was.

"I hate you," Adeline mumbled as she set her blue eyes on a smirking Mickey, who was holding a handheld video camera and recording her reaction. Randy was at his side, silent but with a grin on his face.

"Oh, you wound me, Princess," Mickey said while slinging his free arm around her shoulder to guide her toward the film building on the other side of campus. Though she was annoyed with him, she was tired and so she leaned into his touch — at least that's the reason she told herself. "You know I'm your favorite."

"When you're not being mean," she specified while shutting her eyes. Since Mickey was leading her, she could take a break from the sun for just a moment. "Why are you being mean? I'm the sweetest girl that ever was."

"Which makes it even more fun for me," he teased.

"Do we have to go to class?" Cici asked, letting out a big yawn. "I want greasy McDonald's."

"It's the first week. We can't skip on the first week," Randy said, chuckling. "And we have to turn our homework in."

Cici and Adeline groaned in sync, neither wanting to be awake at the moment. And class would be agonizing with their hangovers. Not to mention the fact that Mickey was probably going to keep annoying them for his own entertainment.

"We can go after," Randy offered. "It's not that long of a walk."

"I can drive," Adeline said before frowning. Then she looked over at Mickey, opening her eyes once more. "Or I could give you my keys because the thought of driving makes me wanna throw up."

Mickey raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "I'm not your chauffeur."

"Please," she begged, a pout on her lips. "I'll buy your McDonald's."

Mickey glanced at her shiny lips and then sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Fine."

"Yay! Thank you," she said, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek before pulling out of his hold. She grabbed Cici's hand and dragged her toward the film building, leaving Mickey behind, who stopped in his place.

Randy smirked at a stunned Mickey, whose ears were a bit red from the sudden show of affection. "You, uh, you got some lipgloss," he said while gesturing to his cheek, snickering a bit.

Mickey huffed and scrubbed the pink and glittery stain off his cheek before beginning to walk after the girls. "Shut the fuck up, Randy."

☆︎

Kissing Mickey's cheek hadn't been the only way that Adeline stunned Mickey that day. After class was over, the four of them walked to the parking lot beside Ramsay Hall, and Adelina led them to the car of Mickey's dreams.

It was a light blue, vintage Mustang GT Convertible that was in perfect condition. Of course, a girl like her drove a car like that. And he just had to comment on it as she pulled the top down while Cici put their backpacks away.

"Nice car. Did Daddy buy it for you?" Mickey asked with a mocking smirk.

"He did!" Adeline said brightly while tossing him the keys, not taking his comment as an insult. "Isn't it the cutest? Der has one in red."

"This is insane," Mickey said, looking from the keys to the car he could only ever dream of affording.

"You like it?" she asked, twirling some of her hair a bit. Her hangover started to fade halfway through class, but she still didn't feel great. "I remember you said you like cars. You can drive it any time you want."

"Oh, I'm gonna hold you to that," he said with a wide grin. Then he opened up the passenger side door for her as Cici and Randy climbed in the back seat. "My lady."

Adeline giggled, thinking he was terribly adorable for doing so. Then she got in the car, watching as Mickey jogged around to the other side. However, when he immediately put it in reverse, she grabbed his arm quickly.

"Seatbelt," she said in a firm tone. Mickey snorted before complying, putting his seatbelt on. "Now, to the chicken nuggets."

Cici hummed while leaning tiredly against Randy's shoulder. "To the chicken nuggets."

☆︎

Adeline was thrilled when the weekend came. Sidney kept her word, coming over with three Meg Ryan movies that she'd borrowed from Randy. Hallie and Cici joined them on the Saturday night, all curled up on the floor with pillows and blankets and Adeline's stuffed animals as they watched 'Say Anything' together.

But of course, they talked the whole way through, discussing how their first weeks of class had been. Hallie enjoyed her psych classes but was having trouble making friends in the classes — but that was okay because she had Cici, Sidney, and Adeline. Sidney was struggling to break out of her shell, which all of them understood even without her mentioning Woodsboro. And Cici was proving that she was the smartest in every classroom she stepped foot in, which she was very proud of.

And Adeline was just so happy to be going to Windsor with her brother and that she'd made friends so easily. She loved her textiles class the most — she wouldn't get to take an actual costume design class until her sophomore year.

"Well," Adeline said while chewing on a piece of white chocolate. "Let's talk the most important thing since we're watching such a romantic movie."

Cici grinned and turned away from the screen. "Boys?"

"Boys," she confirmed as Hallie and Sidney just grinned. She looked expectantly at Hallie. "And cuties in Psych 101?"

"I am so not dating inside my major," she said, shaking her head. "That's a disaster waiting to happen."

"Fair point," Adeline said, smiling. "But that's not like an official rule we have to follow, right?"

Hallie raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. "Got a crush on one of your buddies in your major?"

"Well, not my major," she muttered, toying with her fingers.

Sidney grinned at that. "So it's the minor," she said. "Which means it's only one person."

Adeline looked at her, pretending to be clueless. "Who?"

"Mickey, obviously," she scoffed. "You so like him."

"I - you don't know that," she stuttered, her cheeks burning. "He's just a nice friend."

"Please," Sidney giggled. "You always save him a seat in the cafeteria. And when we're hanging out on the quad, you're always staring at him."

"Well, maybe. He is nice to look at," Adeline mumbled, smiling a bit. "I mean, I've only known him a week though. But I guess I do like him a little." A noise of disapproval left Cici's throat, gaining Adeline's attention. "What?"

"I don't get it," she shrugged. "He's a snarky asshole to you."

"Well, he's so handsome and tall and he calls me 'Princess'," Adeline said, a smile on her lips. She so adored the nickname that he bestowed upon her.

"He's being mean to you when he calls you that," she said with a grin.

Adeline giggled and leaned on Cici's shoulder. "Doesn't mean I like it any less."

"Well, he's got a funny way of showing he likes you back if so," she said, shaking her head. "Don't waste your time there."

"No way!" Hallie exclaimed, sitting up on her knees with bright eyes. "Don't listen to Cici! Mickey so likes you!"

Adeline bit her lip shyly. "You think so?"

"Please, I may not have my psychology degree yet, but I diagnose him with having a major crush," she said, making all the girls giggle.

"Careful there, Hal," Sidney said teasingly. "If you're wrong, they'll revoke your medical license."

"And we can't have that," Cici said. "Addy's gonna need a good therapist if she's considering asking out Mickey."

"I can't ask him out!" Adeline exclaimed, her eyes wide. "The girl can't ask the guy out."

"Oh, come on," Sidney said with a small smile. "It's the 90s. Women can do anything a man can do — including making the first move."

"Well, not when I've never even had a boyfriend," she mumbled, blushing a bit. "I wouldn't know where to start. I've only been kissed one time, for goodness sake."

All three girls' eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

"Never had a boyfriend?" Hallie asked, shaking her head in horror. "Oh, we have got to remedy this situation."

"Yeah, I don't care if I don't love Mickey," Cici giggled. "He's got to remedy this situation stat."

"Addy, how?" Sidney had to ask. "You're literally perfect — hot, sweet, and funny. That's, like, the trifecta of perfect qualities."

"Awe, you think I'm hot?" Adeline cooed, coming closer. "Sid, you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my life."

"Thank you," she said as Adeline leaned against her shoulder.

"You two could date," Cici offered. "You'd treat her better than Mickey's pretentious ass."

"Yeah, but then Derek might get jealous," Adeline joked.

Instantly, Sidney blushed. "What do you mean by that?" she asked quietly.

"She means Derek is so totally smitten with you, Sid," Hallie said with a smirk. "I have a radar with these things. Mickey likes Addy, and Derek likes you. They're so obvious."

Sideny's mouth gaped open as she floundered on what to say as her cheeks stayed warm. "W - well, like Addy said — it's only been a week. I still need to get to know him."

"Fair," Adeline told her softly, knowing about Sidney's trust issues. "And he's very sweet and patient, so take your time. But I so totally bet you'll be together by Halloween."

"And I bet you and Mickey will be together by next week with the way things are going," she said, only partly joking.

"No way," Cici said. "If Addy isn't making a move, I give it three months or later at least."

"I'm thinking September," Hallie mused. Now, if she meant as in next week when September hit or at the end of the month, she didn't specify. "Twenty bucks each to the winner?"

Adeline scoffed as the other two nodded in agreement. "Are you betting on my nonexistent love life?"

"But of course," Cici grinned. "We may not have known each other long, but teasing you about boys is gonna become a favorite pastime of mine, I can tell. Especially with this only one kiss business."

She huffed childishly and crossed her arms. "I probably should've taken that secret to the grave, huh?"

Sidney smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "Probably."

☆︎

Adeline and Cici had skips in their steps as they made their way to their regular table in the cafeteria, where all their other friends were waiting. There was an open seat next to Mickey — he may or may not have saved it — which Adeline happily slid into while Cici sat beside Hallie.

"Guess who is the newest pledge of the Delta Lambdas?" Adeline asked before anyone could even greet her.

"And of the Omega Beta Zetas," Cici added proudly.

Bid Day had been that very morning, and both girls were so extremely happy that they got the sororities of their choosing — the only thing that would've been better was if they were in the same sorority.

"Congratulations!" Hallie said, the only one besides Derek who was really enthusiastic about Greek life. She said the only reason she hadn't rushed was because she wanted to settle into school, but she planned to look into it the following semester.

"Thanks," Cici said. Then she looked at Derek. "When is your Bid Day?"

"Two days from now," he said with a nervous smile.

"Oh, please, Der," Adeline said, reaching across the table to hold his hand. "You're totally gonna get it, and Daddy will be so proud of you for carrying on his legacy. And then I'll have someone to hang out with at all the parties and events since the Delta Lambdas and Omega Kappas are close."

"Well, hopefully, you'll have sisters to befriend at the events if I don't get in," he told her, still thinking negatively.

"Come on, Derek," Sidney said, shaking her head. "They'll be lucky to have you, and you know it."

"Well, I'd like to think everyone at this table is biased," he said with a smile aimed at all his new friends.

"Not me," Mickey said, lying playfully as Randy grinned. "You're gonna crash and burn and be left without a bid, I'm sure."

"Mickey!" Adeline huffed, moving to swat his chest. "Not nice."

He quickly caught her wrist, keeping her from hitting him as he raised an eyebrow. "And hitting me isn't nice, Princess."

Adeline rolled her eyes, not bothering to pull her wrist free. "Then don't be a meanie to my brother."

"That's fine. You're the Feldman I prefer to be mean to anyway," he said with a smirk.

As they interacted, Cici, Sidney, and Hallie all shared a secretive look, trying not to giggle and smile after their sleepover conversation from the weekend before.

Derek narrowed his eyes as well, catching the flirty smirk on Mickey's face as well as seeing how the boy gently rubbed his thumb back and forth along Adeline's wrist that he still hadn't released. So, Derek leaned in toward a knowing Sidney to question it.

"Do I need to be worried about that?"

Sidney grinned at him and pinched her fingers together. "Maybe just a little bit."