Worlds Collide

Chapter Two

Maureen really didn't know how she had let her roommate Summer talk her into this. The two of them had lived together for over two years and Summer knew her better than anyone else–mostly because Maureen was still terrified to let anyone else in–but sometimes she still managed to surprise her and completely ignore their differences.

It amazed Maureen that the two of them had become friends at all. When she arrived at Northwestern, she had no idea what to expect. The outside world was supposed to be a scary place full of dangerous people, and for the first few days it certainly seemed that way to Maureen. The bus ride to Chicago had shown her more of the wide open spaces she had craved and it only left her wanting more, but once she arrived at her college dorm, she realized she was in over her head.

The first clue that she was out of her depth was her roommate. Summer had already moved into the room just hours before Maureen arrived, and so Maureen walked into the dorm to find a girl in tiny shorts and a low cut tank top sprawled out across a hot pink bedspread. This was the kind of girl her mother and father were afraid she would become. But there was something intriguing about Summer. The fact that she was everything Maureen wasn't–loud, brash and unapologetic–appealed to her.

Summer tried to respect Maureen's boundaries. She didn't force her to go to any parties–at least, not the really wild ones. She gave Maureen a sip or two of alcohol here and there, but no more. She warned Maureen about which boys to avoid; that was an area of the outside world that Maureen had absolutely no idea how to handle. The one thing she had never been able to convince Maureen to do, however, was attend a concert with her.

Until now.

“You're wearing that?” Summer asked, incredulously.

Maureen stared down at the sundress she wore. It was one of her most revealing pieces of clothing–it even had little spaghetti straps and its length made her knees felt awkwardly bare. She didn't see what was so objectionable about it from Summer's point of view, but the accusation made her feel even more naked. Without answering her roommate, she scurried to their shared closet and grabbed a cardigan.

She turned back around to find Summer still staring at her. “What? What is wrong with my outfit now?”

“Nothing was wrong with it,” Summer answered. “Not until you mugged someone's grandmother for that cardigan. You actually looked really cute, Maur. Not that you aren't cute, anyway. You know what I mean. I'm just proud of you.”

“Proud of me?” Maureen repeated.

“Yeah. You almost looked... normal,” Summer replied, then frowned and shook her head. “Ugh, this is all coming out wrong. I just meant it's a really cute outfit for a concert and I might have to borrow it sometime.”

Maureen finally relaxed and shrugged back out of the cardigan. Despite the way Summer was fumbling over her words and trying not to be insulting, Maureen knew what she meant. She wouldn't admit it, but she herself was shocked that her outfit met with her roommate's approval. Despite living in Chicago for two years, she still felt like a fish out of water, especially when it came to all the little things like clothes and listening to modern music that made it so obvious that she just didn't fit in.

“I know what you mean,” Maureen said. “So, tell me more about this concert.”

Summer patted the back of her desk chair. “Sit down and let me do something with your hair, alright? And I'll tell you all about the band.”

Maureen nodded and took a seat. “You said they were called Loveless, right?”

“Yup. I've played you their albums before. They're good, remember? They started out sort of country, and now they're more rock. I know you're not all about the religious thing anymore, but they are good Christian boys... well, kind of.”