It had been a week since my family had come to campus for "Welcome Back" weekend. Just as I thought, seeing them gave me a small vacation from my anxiety over my social life on campus. Despite knowing the rest of the semester was going to be a big hurdle for me, I was looking forward to the clubs that I had joined. The video game club would meet on Tuesday evenings, and the anime club met up on Friday evenings.

Last night was the first meeting of the semester for the video game club, and I was anxious to meet the club members since introductions and I were like oil and water. However, once we started talking about actual video games, I was able to relax a bit. All of the club members were kind to me, which was something I wasn't used to. I admit I actually enjoyed myself, and it sucked that our session only lasted an hour.

Today was Wednesday, and the day went by pretty quickly. Though, I noticed that my homework load had gotten heavier, so I was currently in my room, working on it. It wasn't due for a few days, but I refused to let my school work pile up and fall behind.

"Did you even eat today?!" Calinida implored.

I bit my lip guiltily. "Yeah..." Between classes, and trying to get homework done, all I managed to eat was an apple, and I drank a bottle of water. But if I told Calinida that, she'd probably throw a fit.

"You're a terrible liar, Lovebug. You need to eat something," she insisted. "You can't get good grades if you're sick."

That was definitely true...

"I can just eat that last cup of ramen from our stash," I told her.

"No you can't."

I glanced over at my cousin, who was laying on her own bed with her laptop in front of her.

"And why is that?"

"Because it's gone; I ate it," she retorted.

"Fine… I'll have a frozen dinner—"

"Nope, they're all gone too. You must have eaten the last one and don't remember or something because the freezer in our minifridge is empty. We'll have to go shopping, like tomorrow," she answered.

I sighed. No more ramen, and no more frozen dinners, that meant I had to actually go get something from the Dining Hall before it closed. Unless, we ordered take out… I checked my phone for the time, and there was only twenty minutes left before it would be too late for me to buy something at the Dining Hall. Could I make it? I pondered.

"You think I could make it to the Dining Hall and cash out before closing?"

I watched as my cousin peeked at the time on her laptop, and then she sneered.

"Good luck! You know you won't be the only student trying to get their crap at this time of night. All the stoners got the munchies," Calinida chuckled.

Damn…she was right... Twenty minutes was pushing it.

"Just come with me to the cafe. My friends just invited me, and the place sells food."

The only thing I liked from her whole sentence was the word "food". And what cafe was open at nine o'clock at night?! It sounded sketchy to me.

"A cafe that stays open this late?" I questioned.

"Yeah I guess so," my cousin shrugged. "Don't worry, I swear I won't lose you this time."

She grinned. I really didn't want to be around Calinida's friends again, but now, I was pretty hungry, and my hunger outweighed my social anxiety.

"You better not," I retorted.

"I won't, I promise!"

"Fine," I relented.

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After Calinida and I met up with her friends Sloan, Trish, and Deedra, we headed to the cafe. The car ride was awkward, which I expected. No one talked about a single thing I was interested in, so of course I just stayed quiet. Thankfully, the drive to the cafe wasn't long, and before I knew it we were pulling into the parking lot. A white neon sign with the words "Lava Java Cafe" was on the front of the building.

Once Trish parked the car and everyone got out, all that Calinida's friends cared to talk about was who would be inside the cafe. As we passed by the cafe's window, making our way inside, Calinida's friends squealed.

"What?! What is it?!" Calinida implored.

"Oh my god! I think I see a few of the guys from the baseball team in there!" Deedra swooned.

I watched as my cousin and her other two friends glanced through the window.

"You're right!" Trish gasped.

"How do you even know what the guys from the baseball team look like?" Sloan questioned Deedra.

"I tried out for the softball team here, which Was a success by the way," Deedra replied, then paused to flip her hair and smile. "Some of those same guys were there, and told me they played on the team."

Calinida and her friends began to debate on where to sit. I wanted to sit towards the back, away from people, but they wanted to sit close to the guys from the baseball team, so guess where we ended up? Two tables down from them. We weren't seated long before a waitress came over to us and handed out menus.

Once we all ordered, the waitress collected our menus and walked off. We happened to be sitting close to the exit, so anytime someone came into the cafe we got a full view. While we waited for our drinks, another group of girls sauntered in. They were talking loudly and giggling before they headed in our direction. The girls stopped at the table where the guys from the baseball team were sitting, and started chatting with them.

"Look at the way they're throwing themselves at those guys," Deedra scoffed.

"Calinida, isn't that the president of Kappa Gamma Nu?!" Trish questioned, her voice low and her tone hysterical.

"Yup," my cousin replied.

The waitress returned with our drinks, and handed them out. I don't do any coffee related drinks because it makes me more jittery, so I ordered hot chocolate.

"Didn't the two of you sign up to pledge for that sorority?" Sloan asked.

"Yeah. We both start pledging next week," Calinida announced.

"Congrats!" Sloan exclaimed.

"I knew you two would be accepted," Deedra added with a wide grin.

"Thank you," Trish replied and smiled.

Calinida flashed a huge grin as well. "Thanks!"

As I waited for my hot chocolate to cool, the sound of Calinida and her friends talking faded into the background, and this weird feeling came over me. Soon after I couldn't help but stare over at the guys from the baseball team. I had to admit, none of them were ugly, however… That sensation I felt, it seemed to draw my eyes to one particular guy…

This boy had dark brown hair that was long enough to cover his eyes, and he had light skin. I ogled him as he talked to a girl with bright blonde hair. My heart pounded as I stared at his lips, imagining what his kiss would taste like. I slowly looked up from his mouth until I reached a pair of piercing hazel green orbs that were gazing back at me. I swallowed hard.

"Who's that?!" I blurted.

Calinida and her friends giggled.

"What's so funny?" I questioned.

"You're practically drooling," Deedra retorted. Then everyone giggled again. I could feel my body overheat with embarrassment, reaching all the way to my ears.

"Who could blame her!" Trish chimed in. "They're sexy as hell!"

Sloan and my cousin nodded in agreement.

"Well, that one said his name was…" Deedra began, referring to the guy I was staring at, but then she paused to think before she spoke again. "Burton!"

"Burton...?!" Calinida, Trish, and Sloan, implored at the same time.

"Yeah, Burton. Cody Burton," Deedra affirmed.

Cody Burton... I thought to myself… Who are you?