Love doesn't have to be hard

Chapter 1: Fall

Tessa's POV:

They pull up at school, and Tessa looks at her new home for the next nine months. She is excited to have some freedom from her overbearing mom. 

Her mom does the best she can since her father left when she was nine. It has been rough, but her mom worked to provide for her. 

She has dated her boyfriend, Noah, for several years. They grew up together, and he is so sweet. He is a year younger than she is, so she isn't happy about the separation, but she is going to do her best. 

They each grab some boxes and walk toward her room. They pass a few kids with bright-colored hair and tattoos, and her mom snubs her nose at them. 

They make it to her room, and she opens the door. Her roommate is sitting on the bed smoking a vape with a guy on her bed. She looks at them standing there and smiles. 

"Tessa, hi, I'm Steph, your roommate. I was upset when they paired me with a freshman, but then decided I could be your mentor. I can show you all the fun places to hang out where you won't get carded." 

Her mom huffs and leaves the room. Tessa runs after her and stops her. "We are getting your room changed. That girl is a juvenile delinquent, and I won't have her distracting you."

"Mom, please don't do that. I am an adult, and I can stay on task. I promise I won't let her influence me." 

"Tessa, dear, you have worked too hard for it just to be thrown down the drain."

"I promise, Mom, I can do this. It's me, and you know me." 

"Okay, fine. Let's get the rest of your stuff." They walk to the car and get another load. Steph smiles when they walk back in. 

She goes to the car with Noah and her mom. She hugged her mom and then hugged and kissed Noah. She waves as they pull away. She walks back to her room and sits down.

"Did I freak your mom out?"

"Yes, but she is just very overprotective. It's always just been me and her."

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to freak her out."

Tessa spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting her side of the room in order. Steph had gone out with Tristan.  

Hardin's POV:

Another year of school and this stupid fraternity house. A party is always going on, and I need to find myself a nice, cute hookup for the night. 

He walks downstairs and sits on the couch. The guys are bringing in kegs of beer and bags of alcohol. He stopped drinking because he gets into too much trouble when alcohol is involved. 

He sees Molly, Steph, and Tristan come in. He smiles. Molly is a nice piece of ass, and she gives  okay head. Maybe I will take her upstairs for an afternoon delight.  

She walks over and sits on his lap. "Wanna go upstairs?"

"I just got here. Can we do that later?"

"Sure, I just figured it had been so long that you would be ready for a piece of me."

She licked his ear, "Oh, I know it's been a long time." He smiled as he looked at his friends. 

Before long, everyone was there, and they were sitting around smoking and drinking. He was drinking water from his cup.   

Zed's POV:

He flew in last night, and his roommate had already uncovered the furniture and stuff. He was happy to be back in Washington. He got some sun and enjoyed visiting with his family, but he was ready for school.

He loved what he was studying and loved working with plants. He was ready to go back to work at the mechanic shop he worked at and have independence. 

He loved visiting his family, but three months was enough. He was used to being on his own now, and being back home was different. Seeing his friends from high school and running into his ex was rough. 

He was so happy to board his plane and take a shuttle from Seattle to school. He sat down on the couch after he unpacked his bag. 

He just wished he could find happiness. He thought he had last year when he was dating Stacy until she slept with Hardin. Since then, they haven't been as close. He did that just to be a jerk.

People think I use girls like Hardin, but it's not true. I don't sleep around like he does. I have slept with three girls in college, and that's it. 

Zed turns on his TV to find something to watch; he doesn't feel like going to the frat party tonight. He knows everyone will be there, and he just doesn't feel like dealing with all their bullshit. 

He orders some pizza and watches TV. School starts tomorrow, and he goes to bed since he is used to sleeping in.