Common area, 7:15 pm

“Rowan!” Mandy practically accosted the older girl in the hotel lobby, a large and warm smile on her lips. “Hey! How are you? Having fun? Are you gonna go see Alec? I’m gonna stay with him over the weekend. I’m making him sleep on the floor since I’m stealing his bed.”

Even though she was in a sparkly dress instead of jeans, wearing more makeup than she usually did, and her feet had been stuffed into a pair of heels Carmen found that she was having a good time. But glancing over at her old roomie, Carmen could tell that that wasn’t the case for everybody. “Hey there chiquitita,” she greeted Rowan with a smile. “Having fun?”

There was a calm that settled over Alec as he fought. His mind settled, any worrying or nagging thoughts being pushed away as he focused only on what his body could do and the goal at hand. And right now that was exactly what he needed. He dodged out of the way of Rowan’s high kick and swung low, taking out the leg that she was standing on. A moment later he had her pinned and a broad smile came to his lips. “Pinned you again,” he chuckled before releasing her. “That’s 2/3 for me this time.” 

Lou was stubborn and she knew it; so stubborn that she would hold a grudge until her dying breath if she wanted to. And that stubbornness was the reason that she and Rowan had barely spoken for the past month. It wasn’t like it had been complete radio silence; they had texted and snapped and liked each other instagrams but there had been tension simmering under all of that. And that tension still remained when they came across each other in the gym. “Hey,” Lou greeted as she set down her bag and tightened her ponytail. “Ready for bootcamp?” 

Carmen had trouble asking for help, even when it came to the littlest of things. She blamed it on years of trying hard to prove herself and fearing that asking for help was a sign to others that she couldn’t cut it on her own. But she was self-aware enough to know that when it came to boys and relationships, she needed more than a little advice and thankfully she knew someone who could give it to her. “Knock knock,” she said as she tapped against the ajar door of Rowan’s dorm. “Can I come in?”

“Someone must have pissed in Professor Hamilton’s gravy this Thanksgiving,” Lou groaned as she lowered her body into the spa’s hot tub with Jo and Rowan besides her. Her aching muscles sighed in relief as they were surrounded by hot water and massaging jets. “I mean I get that the semester is gonna finish up soon and they need to push us but come on, you guys have to admit that he was in some type of mood and took it out on us.”

It took him forever to find her, even her bright red hair hadn’t helped him the sea of drunk and dancing bodies that were packed together in the ballroom. “There you are,” Alec said with a sigh of relief when he finally managed to get to Rowan. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I need your help.”