For Whitney

Chapter I

PJ sat in MacMillan 117, bored out of his mind. Next to him, Zack was playing Pokémon Showdown. On the other side, Ellen was zoning out, probably focused on some CS soft boy.

PJ sighed audibly, garnering the attention of a few students around him. At the front of the lecture hall, Michael Littman was going on about combinations. As much as PJ loved him, he wasn't really feeling in the mood. He glanced at his wrist. Its bareness gleamed back at him, almost tauntingly.

Meanwhile, Erik sat in Investments. He leaned back in his chair, shuffling imaginary poker chips. He exuded an air of aloofness that explained how he changed girlfriends like others changed socks. However, Erik never changed his socks. He was too cool for that.

As soon as both of their lectures were over, both guys stood up. PJ's blender bottle jangled against his backpack. Erik adjusted his Packers sweatshirt annoyedly. He glanced down at his sleeve as it rode up to reveal a small cup of ramen tattooed onto his arm. It had been there since he was a baby, born in Wyoming. His parents had gasped as they saw it.

"Wow, either his soulmate is Asian or kinda weird, not gonna lie," they had remarked.

Ever since then, people had called him "Ramen Boy". He hated it, even though he lived up to the name. Every night, he chugged a Monster and ate a bowl of ramen.

Little did he know, another student at the school had the exact same nightly routine.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Twelve hours later, Britney sat cross-legged in Grad Center A. She ate a bite of ramen and then washed it down with her favorite energy drink. She felt the sugar surge through her veins and let out a sigh of relief. It had been a long day. 

Next to her, John was playing Smash as his favorite character, Steve. Their friend Lizzie was doing her homework on the couch. 

"Hey," Lizzie said. "Are you guys going out tonight?"

Britney looked up. "No, I want to enjoy a nice, quiet night in."

There was a pause, then they all laughed. 

"Yeah, I think KISA is hosting something tonight. Joey wants to pregame here," Jon commented. Joey was Jon's roommate and loved to blast Mo Bamba whenever possible.

Lizzie blushed at the mention of Joey. It did not go unnoticed by the others, who shared a glance. Lizzie always insisted on hanging out at Grad Center A in hopes of seeing Joey. Unfortunately, he spent most of his free time playing League. 

"Sounds good", Britney piped up. "I can't wait to get lit."

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

"I got hoooes"...

Erik opened an eye, having woken up from his third nap of the day. His upstair neighbors must be throwing another party. This was the third weekend in a row, and it was getting annoying. 

He rolled out of bed and smoothed his hair down. Yawning, he went over to his dresser and grabbed his favorite t-shirt- it boldly proclaimed "I can't keep calm- I do science". Girls loved it. He pulled it on and stumbled into the hallway.

Erik followed the sound of the music, wincing. It had been a long week and he really wanted to catch up on sleep. Of course, his neighbors had other plans. When he reached the door, he raised his hand to knock.

Just at that moment, it swung wide open. A blonde girl wearing fake eyelashes stood in front of him, smiling. 

"BRB," she yelled behind her. She then turned to face him. "I-"

She looked confused as she took in the sight standing in front of her. 

"Oh no, are you okay? Poor thing!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room. There were more people inside than Erik had thought. He began to regret his decision. He also suddenly became aware of the girl's hand. It made him nervous, which was unusual.