The Girl in the Boys' Dorms

Chapter Three: With a face like that, you'd think he was an angel.

The Girl in the Boys' Dorms - Chapter Three: With a face like that, you'd think he was an angel. You'd be wrong.

I couldn't believe this was happening again, and in the span of only one week. Already, after living in Chase's dorm for the length of a single day, I was stuck in the midst of a rambunctious party - not unlike the same one I had to suffer through while living with Evelyn. Except this time, it was a hundred times worse. Not only was I trapped in a sweaty room full of drunken boys - and a number of girls who'd managed to sneak their way, unknowingly on my part, in - but I also had nowhere to go outside of it, seeing as how it was past curfew and I was confined to the boys' building for the night. When I'd been in the same situation while staying with Evelyn, I'd at least had the option of seeking refuge in my friend, Kathleen's dorm.

I was closed in, on all sides, with no visible escape route.

And as I stared at the dancing teenagers from my vantage point - underneath my desk, with a blanket wrapped tightly around myself, as though that would protect me from these people - I realized just how different I was from them, how different I was from Chase. While I was cowering beneath my desk, contemplating the choice of jumping out the bathroom window to save myself the agony of being here, he was busy in a corner with one of the girls who had shown up. I was already intimidated by just being in close vicinity to a male, and there he was, pressed up against a female.

We were like water and fire - and he, as obvious as it may sound, was definitely the fire. There was no doubt in my mind that Chase was the more lively of the two of us. He was the loud one, the obnoxious one, the one everyone went to if they ever needed his advice on how to charm a girl. I was the exact opposite. Not only was I quiet and fairly invisible, but I also had virtually no experience in the relationship department - well, unless you counted a quick kiss on the cheek from your neighbor, Lance, once he found out you were moving to New York to attend a boarding school.

My hands found their way up to my ears on autopilot as the music reached a explosive volume. It was bursting from every angle, pushing in on my eardrums, and vibrating what felt like the entire world. Maybe if it was something soft and gentle rather than the metal trash that was being blared from the speakers, I wouldn't have minded. But this...

"Hey, Bailey, come on out from under there," I heard someone yell, and instantly whipped my head up - which resulted in me smacking it on the desk, giving me a spectacular lump and a migraine that would probably last for the rest of my life.

I felt my cheeks redden when I noticed that it was Chase standing there, his arms crossed firmly over his built chest. I could tell that I'd interrupted something important by - well, I really didn't know what I'd done to have him come to where I was crouched, but I didn't comment on it. Instead, I gaped at him, my neck craned at an awkward angle, waiting for him to continue. Finally, after realizing that I wasn't going to answer with words, Chase groaned, annoyed, and sank to his knees in front of me, his emerald eyes narrowed with frustration.

"Why are you here?" He demanded, flicking a strand of golden hair out of his face with such force that I was surprised it hadn't been ripped out by the roots.

"I - I live here..." I stammered, unsure of whether he was asking me seriously or not.

He frowned. "No, stupid, I meant, what are you doing here - under the damn desk?" He emphazied every syllable in the last phrase, as though explaining something slowly to a four-year-old. "People are starting to ask if I'm keeping you as a pet. Either get out and join the party, or go hide somewhere else."

Struck by his abrupt command, I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders, biting back the tears that were threatening to pour out. I hadn't asked to be shoved into the same dorm as Chase, and I certainly hadn't told him to host a party while I was here. It wasn't my fault I was so shy that I could barely speak to new people, let alone be in the middle of a party with them. It was Chase's fault - it was all Chase's fault.