Boarded apart

one - the beginning of the end

,"Here is to the last year of this hellhole," my roommate, Lisa, says while holding up a glass of sparkling grape juice. Being 18 had its drawls, one of which being that we can only toast to the beginning of the end with sparkling child's juice.

I cheer in confirmation before taking a large gulp of the bubbling liquid. I fell it burn my mouth and throat as it makes its way to my stomach as I regret my decision.  

"Ahh," my mouth mutters once I have finished my drink, "I forgot how much I hate carbonation."

I rise off of the ground of our dorm and move onto the many boxes that surround Lisa and I. Another drawl of being 18 is that you are too old to have your parents help unbox all of your stuff but you are too young to have your own place, at least when you attend boarding school. 

As I pull my many sweaters out of a box and stick them into a drawer in my dresser I watch as Lisa jumps onto her bed with a loud thud. Her parents were less busy, and more considerate than mine, so she is all unpacked, lucky. I turn back to the boxes at hand as the breath of air escapes my lips. 

--

Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knuckles harping on the door of my home for the next 9 months disrupts my casual glaring. Setting down my pile of jeans I head to the door as whoever is on the other side continues to impatiently knock. 

"I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your horses," I shout as the knocking continues. 

I slide the door open as I am almost, I said almost flustered by the pretty boy standing in front of me. His hot breath hits my forehead as I become very aware of just how close he is, considering he is leaning on the door frame. Feeling the heat spread across my checks, I'm sure that I now have a hint of pink to blend in with my freckles.

I roam his beautiful face with my eyes and take in his stunning features, always returning to his crystal colored blue eyes. An urge to run my hands through his disheveled blond hair sinks in as I continue to stare in his eyes, almost as if I am trying to read his soul.  

"So, princess, are you going to stare at me the whole day? Or are you going to ask me my name and intention?" Pretty boy smirks as his hot breath hits my face once again, and it certainly doesn't help the fire erupting on my checks. The hint of pink, I'm sure, has now morphed into a fire of red. 

"Um... name and intention?" I inquire as I shift my focus to my feet. Holding my glaze with him for any longer would be fatal to my ability to speak. 

"Sawyer Grey at your service. I intend to get to know my next door neighbors, which are the opposite sex than which I expected. Do they trust us more this year, or are they just being foolish? And although I love calling you princess I was wondering what your actual name is, princess?" Pretty boy, I mean Sawyer answers with a less obvious smirk on his face. 

"I'm princess River Flynn, although I don't mind the nickname. Nice to meet you, neighbor, do you live to the left or right?" I reply as calmly as possible while as I hopefully take an unnoticed step back. Thinking is easier when there isn't a pretty boy clouding your mind.

"I'm to the left. So River I'm also here to invite you and your roommate to a small get together I'm having in my room tomorrow night. It starts at 8 and the theme is 60's hippies. I would love to see you there." Sawyer responds while getting to the actual reason he is here.

I smirk in response, "small get together or party, Grey? I might have to alert the floor officer. I can't believe that you would host a party the day after move-in, tisk, tisk, tisk." 

He seems to understand my tone as he leans forward. His hand comes to the side of my face and slowly tucks a piece of hair behind my ear as he continues to lean forward. My heart beats as if I had just run a 5-mile race in 15 minutes. What is he doing? When his mouth passes mine and veers off towards the ear his hand is still resting by I suddenly understand.  Once his mouth is right by my jawline he whispers to me, "Well you better come find out and see."
And with that, he leaves me in my flustered state and returns to his room.  

--

"Who was that?" Lisa questions as I turn around, "and why is your face so red?" 

If possible I feel my face heat up even more at the mention of our beautiful next-door neighbor, "That was Sawyer Grey, teenage hotty and our next-door neighbor." 

Lisa's face morphs into a crinkled mess as she lets out cackling chuckle. "Are you done laughing at me, or should I give you a couple minutes more?" I find myself annoyingly saying. 

She shifts on her bed and gestures for me to join her. I roll my eyes and hop up onto her bed, which is easier said than done. Once I am finally beside her I adjust my legs so they are out in front of me while my back rests on the brick wall behind me. I notice how my legs are so much longer than her's, which makes me feel like a giant. 

"What did he want, your number," Lisa questions as she pokes me in the ribs promptly bringing me out of my thoughts. I can't help but dryly laugh at her bold assumptions. Why would a boy who before knocking on our door thought we were guys come over to ask for my number?

"Of course, but I had to kindly tell him that I am unfortunately not interested in his type, pretty boys." 

"Seriously, River, what did he want," Lisa drawls, sounding slightly amused yet annoyed. 

I glance around the room and suddenly remember that if I don't finish packing today then I will have to crash on the couch in the common room, which I just learned is shared with boys. So I do the smart thing and move off of Lisa's bed and return to unpacking my boxes. 

"Wait, sorry, what did you ask?" I asked Lisa as I pulled my many books out of one of the boxes.

"River," she drawls, "listen to me for once in your life. What did Sawyer want with us?" 

"Oh, right! He wanted to invite us to a quote on quote, small get together, as he called it, tomorrow night starting at 8. He said the theme is 60's hippies, whatever that means." 

She smiles as wide as humanly possible, "Well then we have to go! Hopefully Sawyer has a cute roommate since you got dibs on Sawyer."

My only response to that dreaded response is a long sigh as I roll my eyes, "Fine, but you can't ditch me."