Annie & Shane

Chapter One

        “Thanks for the ride,” I say as I close the door to the cab. I’m probably the only kid to arrive at their first day of college without their parents in tow. I don’t mind much, I’ve been on my own for a while now; I guess it’s been about two years since my parents died. I’m doing just fine, though. I stayed with my uncle for a bit, though he wasn’t really keen on having me.

                So here I am, first day of college. Granted, I’m only here because of this scholarship I got for my grades. I’ve always been kind of a nerd, and I’ve never had any trouble in school before. The only difference with college is the whole, living with some stranger thing. I’m so nervous to meet my roommate; even though I’m more of a stick to myself kind of person, I still hope that I like her.

                I head up the stairs and take the first left. I trudge down a long hallway, with all my belongings in tow. Room 391. I pass several other people, already settled in their rooms. Finally, I come to a stop outside a plain white door. Not that I would expect it to be any different from the others.

         I take a deep breath. Relax, I tell myself, she’s probably a really nice person. After a few more deep breaths, I open the door. I drag my bags through a small hallway before getting to the actual room. Because I have outstanding luck, one of my bags topples over and sends everything spilling out. I sigh, and bend down to gather my things. A pair of shoes appears in front of me. She’s got….big feet. When I rise, I come face to face with a guy.

                “Uh……” I stop there and just stare at him. So, so cute. His skin is perfectly tanned, like he lives every second on the beach. His brown hair and blue green eyes make my knees go weak. He stands a few inches above me, staring down at me. This is so awkward, I have to say something else.

                He beats me to it. He breaks out in a killer grin and sticks his hand out. “Shane,” he says.

                I look at his hand. I look back to him. He raises an eyebrow and I cough (nearly choke), and shake his hand. “I’m Annie,” I say. Thank God, I didn’t screw that up. He turns around and goes back to whatever he was doing before I walked in and made everything awkward.

                “Well, this is so embarrassing. I’m in the wrong room! Sorry, I’ll just get out of your way, then. It was, um, nice meeting you,” I say.

                “What makes you think you’re in the wrong room?” He keeps his back towards me.

                “Mostly given the fact that we’re, um,” I clear my throat, “we’re not the same…gender?” As if this couldn’t get any more awkward.

                He waits a few seconds to turn around. “You’re in the right room. You’re Annie Myer, and I’m Shane Merchant, your roommate.”

                I laugh, then stop because I realize he isn’t laughing. “You’re joking,” I say, dreading his answer.

                He flashes that heart wrenching grin again. “I’m not,” he turns back around and continues to unpack.

                Nope. I turn on my heel and march out of the room, down the hall, down the stairs, and right up to the help desk. There was no way I was going to live with a guy, especially a guy I couldn’t seem to breathe around. I’m going to fix this.

*****

                “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do!?” I’d been at the desk for ten minutes, trying to work things out with the assistant.

                “I’m afraid not, sweetheart. Something must’ve gotten all mixed up, and now it’s too late to change it. I’m sorry, hun.” I give the middle aged woman with the pink frilly sweater my best stare down. When it appears that it doesn’t work, I sigh and head back to my room. Head down, I try to think about what I did to deserve this. All I wanted was a nice, quiet female roommate, and we could just ignore each other and get through the school year. I’m not very good at making friends with girls, let alone guys. I turn the corner, and slam right into something warm and solid. I lean back on my heels, about to fall but a pair of hands reaches out to steady me. I look up into the eyes belonging to none other than my roommate.

                “I was just coming to look for you,” he says. “You didn’t try to switch roommates, did you?”

                I glance at his hands, still wrapped around my upper arms, and he removes them. “I did, actually, but they said it wasn’t possible at this point. I just don’t see how this is all going to work out,” I say.

                He spins me around to face the direction of our room. “Aw, come on!” he throws an arm over my shoulders. We walk toward the stairs. “We’re gonna have a blast! I promise I’m not some weirdo, just another guy, trying to get an education. We’ll make this work, Annie, trust me.”

                I glance up at him, his arm still slung over my shoulders, his eyes twinkling and a smirk set in place. I stare at this beautifully sculpted human, and hope to God that I don’t fall for him.