જ⁀➴

It took you a few days to notice how much you seemed to run into Abby; passing each other on the way to class, grabbing coffee from the on-campus cafe, sitting a few tables apart from each other in the library. It felt like every day you saw her at least once, and each time the two of you exchanged either a smile or a brief wave.

Soon, the small interactions became little conversations, Abby asking how your day was or what class you had next, and you asking if she had practice or if she was doing anything with or for the frat that day. 

The two of you got to know each other better over the course of a couple weeks; Abby learned you were an only child and had always wanted to go into the major you picked while you learned that Abby had practically come out of the womb wearing skates and that she shared her room in the frat house with her best friend, Ellie, though she was reluctant to use that term. 

At the time you walked into The Den, the cafe everyone seemed to congregate in between classes for a pick-me-up, you would consider you and Abby acquaintances, maybe even friends, but you had yet to get a read on how she felt, so you were still holding back on that label. 

You’re standing in line when you feel a tap on your shoulder, causing you to pull your earbud out and pause your music, turning to face whoever is behind you. 

A smile unknowingly crept onto your face when you saw Abby standing there, one hand shoved into her pocket as her other held her phone. 

“I knew it was you, you just came from marketing, right?”

“Yeah, you stalking me now, Abby?”

She just grinned cockily at you, nodding her head to gesture to the moving line up ahead. You moved forward, trying not to trip over your own two feet as you continued looking back so you could talk, “You got practice later?”

“Nah, but I’ll probably hit the rink before the party.”

“Party?”

“Yeah, first Sigma Theta Phi party of the year. You gonna come, right?”

You froze, you? Go to a party? Yeah, that was something you never thought you’d have to ask yourself. You were never really the social type, let alone going to a frat party where you only know one person. 

“Oh, um- you see, I’m not really a… party person.”

She looked at you like she expected that answer, “So, you should still come. For me at least? I mean, we’re friends now, no?”

“I- I guess.”

“Well, that settles it then, you are coming to our party, great little college initiation. Listen, I highly misjudged how much time it was going to take to get a coffee, and my class starts in 15, you mind if I go ahead of you?” She gave you a slightly pleading look to which you nodded and stepped aside. 

You stared at the back of her head as she ordered, mind reeling with the words she said, “For me at least? I mean we’re friends now, no?”

Someone cleared their throat behind you, and you snapped back into reality, walking towards the girl who was waiting to take your order. After you gave it to her, you reached into your pocket to grab your money but the girl shook you off with a smirk, “Don’t worry about it. She paid for you.” 

Your gaze followed to where her finger was pointing, seeing Abby grabbing her drink as she walked out with someone you didn’t know, but she clearly did. You flushed, thanking her before heading down to collect your drink as well.  

𓍼

“You mean to tell me Abby Anderson asked you to go to the Sigma Theta Phi frat party?”

You looked at your friends sheepishly, “I mean, yeah? I was just getting a drink before class, and we were talking. She told me I should come. Wait- how do you guys know, Abs?”

“Abs?” Sophie squeaked, eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

“We’re friends? I think. We’ve hung out a few times, mostly for study sessions. But that’s just because we see each other a lot.”

The three of them looked at her like you had grown two heads, like the thought of you being friends with Abby Anderson was the most outrageous thing they had heard since they arrived at college. Rose is the one to question you, placing her hand on your shoulder, “You do know who Anderson is, right?”

“I mean she’s on the girls’ hockey team, she’s in a frat. That’s pretty much all I know. What have you heard?”

“Abby Anderson is only the biggest player on campus, and that's saying something, especially considering she’s only a sophomore.” The last of their group, Winnie, pipes up from where she’s sitting on your bed, legs tucked beneath her. 

“O-kay? Guys it’s not like I’m trying to get with her.”

“We know, but just be careful, yeah? We hear she can be pretty charming.”

“I’ll be okay, I promise. Now, are we going to this party or not because-”

“Yes.” The three cut you off, speaking in unison.

You blinked before nodding, turning towards the mirror on your desk that was surrounded by a collection of makeup that you’re unsure of where half of it came from. 

“You’re wearing this.” Rose reached into your closet, finding a pair of jeans and a black top you barely remember buying. 

“No she should wear that skirt, it’s at the bottom of her drawer.”

“When did everyone suddenly become interested in what I was wearing?”

“When you told us you were ‘friends with Abby Anderson’.” Winnie tilted her head with a small smirk.

Your cheeks flushed, looking down at your desk, pretending to be busy, “I thought you told me to be careful.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t look good.”

And you couldn’t really argue with that point. So you allowed them to fight over what you should wear, allowed them to help with your hair and makeup, and allowed them to pick out your accessories. 

𓍼

You could hear the music before you could see the house; your heart was thumping in your chest with nerves as you walked closer and closer to the party. You hadn’t originally elected to walk to Sigma Theta Phi, but your friends had said it was part of the experience, and so you relented, allowing them to drag you almost the whole fifteen-minute walk to the house. 

Your feet didn’t ache as much as you thought they would, opting to wear your Converse instead of the heels everyone else wanted you to wear, and with having been walking around campus for a few weeks already, this was practically light work. 

Entering the party, your eyes hurt from the light show that was happening. You tucked yourself close to Sophie, unsure of what you were supposed to do in this exact moment. The four of you made your way further into the house, Rose trying to locate where the drinks were. 

You spotted Abby first; she was with a few of her frat members, one of whom you assumed to be Ellie based on the loose descriptions Abby had given to you of her. Sophie followed your gaze and smirked, “There’s your girl.”

“She’s not my girl, Soph.”

“Okay, your friend is over there, playing beer pong, and looking incredibly hot. Are you not going to go over there?”

“I might need some liquid courage first.” You swallowed nervously, eyes trailing over Abby’s arms that were on display, the sleeves of her white button-down rolled up as far as they could go. 

The two of you found the drinks where Rose and Winnie already were and handed each other your own drinks. You hesitated at first. Your mom had given you a strict talking to about not taking drinks from anyone, but they were your friends, and if you couldn’t trust them, who else could you trust? 

So you grabbed the drink and immediately started sipping at it, trying to steady yourself from everything happening around you. Though luck seemed to be on your side tonight.

About thirty minutes later, Abby laid her eyes on you, her lips twitching up without a second thought. Ellie glanced over after she threw the ping pong ball, which landed in the cup perfectly, “The fuck are you smiling at?”

Abby’s face dropped, glaring at her roommate, “None of your fucking business.” She turned back toward the table, ignoring the holes Ellie was burning into her head.

Ellie scanned the room, waiting for someone to spark her thoughts about what could be causing her best friend to act like how she was acting. When she saw you, something clicked, and she nudged Abby, “Is that her?”

“Is who who?”

“That girl, is she y/n? You know that girl that you won’t stop talking about and is giving me headaches.”

“Maybe.”

“Well, aren’t you going to go talk to her?”

Abby sighed, looked at you again, watching as you danced slightly with Sophie, “You good here?”

Her roommate nodded, grinning and slapping her on the back. “Go talk to your little friend.”

“Shut the hell up.” Abby hadn’t been more grateful for the heat in the house, which she could blame her blush on. 

Abby made her way over to you, walking up behind you and leaning down so she could whisper in your ear, “Hi pretty girl. You enjoying the party?”

You flinched at the sound of her voice, not expecting it so close. When you turned and saw her, though, your shoulders relaxed, and you subconsciously leaned into her. “It’s loud.”

She let out a low chuckle, “Yeah, parties of this caliber usually are.”

“That’s a big word for you, Anderson.” You teased lightly.

She rolled her eyes, slipping her arm around your shoulder. 

Sophie nudged you with her elbow and tilted her head, silently begging you to introduce you to your new friend, “Soph, this is Abby. Abby, this is my roommate, Sophie.”

Abby held her hand out, shifting her drink into the hand closer to you, “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

Awkwardness filled the silence between the three of you, and soon Sophie announced her departure and headed somewhere neither of you was sure of. You didn’t talk much, just watched everyone in your line of sight due to not only how socially anxious you were, but also how overwhelmed you were growing with the music pulsing through your body and the lights burning your retinas. 

Abby had noticed how quiet you had gotten, and she knew then and there that you would rather be anywhere else but in that house. 

“Hey, you wanna get out of here? I kinda want some ice cream.”

You looked up at her uneasily, like you were somehow inconveniencing her but agreeing when she was the one who asked in the first place. However, you nodded, because leaving was a great idea in your head.

The two of you left the party without another word. You had sent a quick text to Sophie telling her that Abby was most likely going to take you home, and if she wasn’t, you’d find your way back. You followed her to her car, your hands occasionally brushing as you walked. 

“There’s this ice cream place Ellie’s girl told us about last year, it’s a fucking gold mine.”

“Ellie’s… girl?”

“Yeah, Dina. They met last year, they're so fucking in love it’s disgusting.”

You nodded, standing as she opened the passenger door for you and ushered you inside. 

𓍼

The ice cream shop is busy, which is to be expected for it being a Friday night. The two of you slowly get out of the car, and the difference in temperature causes you to shiver. It had severely decreased since you left the party, and now the cool night air created goosebumps across your skin. 

Abby noticed, instantly, shrugging her button-down off and handing it to you, “Here.”

“Oh, I’m-”

“Put it on, gorgeous.”

You flushed and did what she said, letting the button-down warm you up as you walked into the shop. You were taken aback by how bright it was in there; almost all the walls were white with pops of light blue scattered around to create accents. 

Your eyes trailed over the menu, trying to retain as much information as you could from it. Abby didn’t rush you, standing a few steps patiently behind while she waited for you to figure out what you wanted. When you did decide, you nodded at her and offered to let her go first. 

She looked down at you and grinned, “What do you want? I’ll order for you.”

You softly told her your ice cream choice and followed her through the line like a puppy. As the two of you approached the cashier, you fidgeted with your purse to go and try and find your card, but she placed her hand over yours, halting your movements, “I got it.”

“Are you sure? You already paid for my drink earlier, you don’t have to-”

She tapped her card before you could say anything else, pointing toward a table outside for the two of you to sit at. Instead of sitting across from you, Abby plopped down on the same bench as you, your thighs touching. 

“You could’ve sat there.”

“Gotta keep you warm, don’t I? And I also wanted to do this.” She reached over, scooping your ice cream with her spoon and eating it. 

You looked at her, mouth dropped, offendedly, “Abby.”

“What?”

You pouted, “What’d you do that for?”

“I paid for it.”

“Hey, I offered-”

“I know, gorgeous. I’m just teasing. Here you want a bite of mine?” She pushed her cup closer, offering it to you like some sort of apology for her joking words.

You hesitantly took a little piece, nodding as the flavor hit your taste buds. She kissed your cheek as an extra effort to get the pout off your lips, which disappeared as soon as you realized that was what she did. Your face heated at her action, causing her to laugh somewhat obnoxiously that earned her an elbow in her side. 

The two of you ate mostly in silence, the occasional words exchanged when one of you would ask a question. When your cups were empty, she grabbed yours to throw away and then turned back to you, “C’mon, I’ll drive you back.”

“You sure? I can walk.”

She shook her head vehemently, “Nuh uh, there’s some fucking creeps out here. No way I’m letting you walk back this late at night. Plus, don’t want your feet getting blisters.” She held out her hand, waiting for you to grab onto it. 

You slid back into the passenger seat, shivering again. She made quick work of turning the air on and then handing her phone to you, “You can play something if you want.”

You studied her homescreen, a picture of her and some of her teammates from a game they won, you presumed. You put on one of your favorite slow songs, one that would quietly take up the space in the car.

Once you two arrived back at your dorm, you hopped out of the car, shrugging her shirt off before she could even ask for it back. “Thank you for your shirt and the ice cream.”

“‘Course, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Maybe.” You smiled before heading inside the building, leaving Abby a mess.

ⓘ BRIDGEHAVEN UNIVERSITY NOTICEBOARD UPDATE ˎˊ˗

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