Chapter 1

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The booming base from one of the other dorm rooms became more and more of an irritant. I put my headset on and turned to some easy listening. Jackson, on the other hand, stormed out of the room and, from what I heard, yelled at the freshmen who instantly turned their music off.

Normally, you'd think that kids would laugh in his face and turn their music up, just to be defiant little shits, but Jackson was more than head boy. He was also the one who brought the parties, was the life of the parties, and is basically the party itself. But when it came down to school, he was more than serious.

I, on the other hand, was never one of the popular kids. I'm was an introvert. I wasn't comfortable going to parties, or being in a large group of people, so I never really minded not being invited to them. But after Jackson, it's just been a whirlwind of new experiences outside my comfort zone. I didn't mind it much, as it exposed me to what normal university students did.

He came back with a sense of pride, and went straight back to his laptop.

"Babe, you want sushi tonight?" I asked as he studied for his mid-terms.

He let out an irritated sigh. "I can't go out tonight remember? I've go so much going on right now! My exams, papers due..." he stressed.

"Whoa whoa whoa. I was suggesting take out. Not going out." I snapped.

Ok, we obviously had our problems and quarrels, but Jackson knew so much about me that I guess I started to feel comfortable with him.

"Oh. ok, yeah sure." he said as he went back to studying.

I rolled my eyes. He never seemed to be sorry for snapping at me and just went on like nothing he did was wrong. It obviously struck a nerve with me, but I had no more fight in me left. I always thought he would realize what he'd done and come apologize to me himself. But he never did, and I don't think he ever will.

Like they say, men will never do anything until you tell them to.

The morning of our exams, I decided to wake up early to get my morning jog and Tai Chi in. It was a ritual that worked for me before something big like exams came up. It was still dark when I began my jog. My favorite place wasn't too far away, but it was the most peaceful in my opinion. I arrived just as the sun was coming up. The summit of a great mountain. I stood a top of a tall rock and started to meditating my Tai Chi as the sun rose from the horizon.

With all the hustle in life now-a-days, it's important to just take the time to cleanse the mind.

Mid-terms were rough, but I think I did well enough to pass comfortably. Through Jackson's hard work, he thought too that he had passed with flying colors. All in all, I think we were both glad that it was over.

"There's a party at that mansion by Mount Blue Ridge..." he said to me in passing. "Did you want to go?"

Again, I was never big on parties.

I smiled. "I think I'll just stay here and relax."

He shrugged "Ok. Well let me know of you change your mind."

It was a fairly quiet evening. Most of the students were at the party so it was quite nice. I walked the grounds with my mind wandering the stars. I passed the music department and decided to slip into the piano room. No one was here so I didn't need to worry about getting caught. I ran my fingers across the keys of the grand piano before sitting down. I started to play to all the cinematic orchestra compositions from Forrest Gump to "Portals" from Avengers: Endgame. It was a fitting song for the quiet and relaxing atmosphere, as my mind zoned out. Music was my strongest hobby. Many people, who have actually caught me singing, would tell me to get into the music business. But it wasn't something I was sure about. I mean, I could barely stand in front of the mirror to sing to myself before I get nervously sick.

The way I looked at life, one shouldn't subject themselves to just one profession their whole life. There are many things to learn and life is short. Why not master as many as possible?

Of course, society would agree and disagree with you. These days, you needed a job to sustain yourself. In my case, pleasing people came to me at ease, so Hospitality Management was the "go to career" to sustain myself. But thanks to technology, I had access to tutorial videos with just about anything. I was someone who learned most things through YouTube.

The world has lead us to believe that you can do just about anything.

Playing the piano was soothing, but I still had a lot of energy to burn off. Maybe that party wasn't a bad idea after all.

I quickly made my way back to the dorm and got dressed. I'm sure this wasn't a formal party of any kind so I threw on some black leggings, green tank top, and my comfy zippered university sweater. Lastly, I put on the topaz necklace Jackson gave me for my birthday. I grabbed my cell phone to give Jackson a call, but decided not to. It would be a nice surprise for him to see me join in on the party willingly.

When I got there, the party was at it's peak. Everyone was having the greatest of times after the pressure of exams. People were stumbling out on the lawn, drunk out of their minds. Other people were half naked and making out with each other.

I guess this is what normal is now.

I entered the mansion and roamed around curiously. About a dozen drunk guys offered to take me upstairs for a "massage", which I obviously declined. It felt so lively and chaotic, but fun at the same time. It felt like forever just searching for Jackson to surprise him, till I spotted him across the hall in one of the rooms sitting on a living chair.

This going to be great! I haven't surprised him in a while.

But I stopped dead in my tracks, as he had his arm around another girl, extremely cozy. She had wavy light brown hair with cheap highlights she clearly did herself, a skimpy skin tight dress you could see every curve of her annoyingly well toned body, long slender legs and stripper heals. She ran her fingers along his chest as he caressed her upper thigh and her ass cheek.

My heart dropped in my stomach as he then started to make out with her, while the other fraternity boys cheered him on. My head was getting foggy and I was seeing red. Why would he do this to me? What have I done wrong to be treated like this from a guy I thought cared for me. I froze as one of the frat boys spotted me and called Jackson's attention.

I felt rage and embarrassment. He seemed stunned and she had this cocky smirk smeared across her face. I didn't know whether to run over and beat the living shit out of him or just leave it be. I was starting to get dizzy and I didn't think I would be able to handle being there anymore. I whipped around, wanting to get away as quickly as possible, till I stumbled into someone else hard enough for them to knock over a vase.

The shatter certainly caught everyone's attention and I felt all eyes one me. I looked up with him with hateful tears in my eyes, as he looked back at me still with the dumb stunned look on his stupid face. The room was spinning and my heart was in my throat. Since we were a very public couple, everyone had their eyes on me to see what I would do. I was ready to throw up.

You asshole!

I ran as fast as I could out the mansion, holding my mouth in case the vomit shame did come up. I vaguely heard Jackson's voice calling out to me, but I couldn't even bear to look at him. Instead of running back to the university, I ran through the back garden and into the forest, in hopes that he'd just lose me. I didn't realize the stamina I had as I heard his voice getting more distant the longer I ran.

I finally stopped at this small pond. The moon reflected its rays and lit up the place, making it a serenity to take a breath and just cry out all my emotions.

I couldn't believe he would do this! How long was this going on for? How many people knew? How many of my handful of friends knew and didn't tell me. This was so embarrassing!

In the distance, I heard wolves howling, and realized how deep in the forest I was. I also heard a faint buzzing noise coming from the pond. As I drew myself closer, the buzzing noise became louder. There was a mysterious shimmer that I couldn't pry myself away from, and felt the urge to touch it. I slowly stuck my hand out and placed my hand in the water.

At that time I felt my breath knock out of me, and I passed out.

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