between the pages

Chapter 1

Noah, Age 18

I truly believe that frat boys are a menace to society, and I will stand by that statement until the day that I die.

Approximately fifteen minutes ago, I was reading Wuthering Heights in peace from the comfort of my bed before I heard a crash, the sound of a slamming door, and a blur that I think had chestnut brown hair. It dove behind my headboard into a pile of my clothes.

"Um, excuse me...who the HELL ARE YOU?"

"SSSHHH" he shot up from the pile, my pink mini skirt draped haphazardly over his head.

"Did you just shush me, I--"

"Please, please stop talking, they'll hear you," he whispered desperately.

"Who will hear you?" I whispered back in an effort to calm him down. He looked around with the fear of god in his eyes before speaking.

"The frat boys," he said, trembling. I must've paused for a few seconds before I reacted because I definitely had enough time to memorize the look on his face; the way his lashes fluttered from bewilderment and his jaw twitched as if he was about to speak. His fluffy hair curtained either side of his face and his eyes were a deep green. A lapse in my train of thought led me to wonder if the color was more of an emerald or an evergreen. My analysis of his face must've only lasted a few seconds because soon a grin was breaking out on my face. I fell back on my bed in a fit of laughter, my hand covering my face as I tried to stifle the sound.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I said in between gasps of air.

"It's not funny, " he replied, "They brought out the keg, I could have DIED".

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I--" I was cut off by a banging on the door.

"It's them," he said with a terrified look on his face.

"shut up and hide," I said as I threw my bedspread over him and jumped off the bed to answer the door. I was met by a blond in a blue polo and khaki shorts and the smell of stale beer wafted into my general vicinity.

"Hey," he said with a flirtatious grin on his face, crowding my space through the doorframe.

"Hi!" I said plastering a fake smile on.

"Have you seen a kid with brown hair around here? You see, he's my friend and we're just playing a little game," he peered over my head and tried to scan my dorm room. I shifted to the right and tried to block his view.

"No, I'm sorry, I haven't," I said apologetically. He shifted his eyes back to me and looked me up and down for what I would classify as way too long before I cleared my throat. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

He snapped out of his trance.

"Uh, no sorry," he said in a slightly slurred tone. "I'll just be on my way then," he backed away and I caught him stumbling into a wall before I shut the door. Ugh, men.

I turned around and leaned against the closed door and I let out a huff of relief.

"You can come out now," I said. He crawled out slowly from under my bedspread and peeked over my headboard again.