The fake girlfriend deal. ||BEING HEAVILY EDITED||

One| New Starts.(edited)

College move in day is one of the most exciting yet terrifying days of your life. It's the day you're now independent and free of your family, no longer controlled by the phrase "My house, My rules." But, you're no longer safe, unable to go to mom the second things head South. No boundaries, no rules, no safety.

   No parent teacher conferences. Nope. It's all on you now.

   I took a deep sigh to let the pressure off of my brain which was still swirling with the pros and cons of college. Behind me, I can hear Diamond grunting from the trailer at the end of her car.

  "Okay, tell me why we thought it would be smart to move in alone and not invite our parents here? We could use the extra manpower." She whines whilst staring at a very intimidating futon.

"I'm not making them pay for plane tickets out here and back. They barely had enough to get me here." And that was with the scholarship. It paid for room and board, but not for my plane ticket. "Where's your room, Diamond?"

"West hall, opposite of yours. Help me get this crap in, and I'll help you set up too?" She adjusts her black and white striped pants, her shaved dark blue hair looked teal in the sunlight.

   You know this quote, that every introverted friend must have one crazy extroverted one? Well, that was Diamond. Not to be the cliche female duo in college, but I was definitely more suited to staying home and reading while Diamond loved to get out, make friends and test people. Growing up in a very rural town, it wasn't very diverse. I was the only Asian kid in school and Diamond was the only black kid in school, so we stuck together.

   The bullying really wasn't bad until middle school, when kids were old enough to start hating differences and uniqueness, everyone wanted to be the same and be on trend and we... Weren't. Diamond was so authentically herself though, never apologizing for existing, and it helped me come out of my shell a tiny bit too.

  So I had decided last night, amidst an anxiety attack, that college would be my chance to find myself. I needed to make friends, I needed to socialize, to talk to guys. Books and daydreams weren't cutting it anymore and I admit it really does suck to stay at home all night because no one invited you out.

  I had to do better, I had to push myself.

     I grabbed one end of the bright pink futon while Diamond grabbed the other, and with our equally weak arms, we hoisted it up and grunted down the halls.

   "Ayyyy this is nicccceee." Diamond swung her door open to an empty room, only two beds and desks filled it. She immediately took the bed to the left of the room and set the futon at the end of it.

"Alexa won't be in til tonight, but she agreed if I got the futon she'd bring a mini fridge." Diamond explained while setting out the cushions.

      Her walls were light sky blue, the furniture made of light wood and a large window that overlooked a courtyard. It was small and cramped, but nice. I smile and think of what my dorm will look like, how such close quarters will force me to make friends.

  I can't afford to be worried, if I worry, I spiral and if I spiral I panic and soon I'll be trying to go home. I cannot lose another opportunity because of my anxiety.

And so, I choose to be excited.

   Even as I leave Diamond, with her promising to visit in an hour, I force myself to interpret the rush of adrenaline as excitement.

  The door is closed to my dorm, and somehow I can already smell smoke.

  When I open it, the scent smacks me in the face as if it was solid in form, nearly knocking me down. It burns my eyes and lungs and I let out a cough, squinting into the room to see a guy unpacking a few boxes on the bed to the right.