It was 9:30pm by the time we arrived back at the dorms. I desperately wanted to just go to sleep and forget about the most mentally exhausting day I've ever had. While Lexi was off on cloud nine taking off her makeup in the bathroom I gave her a heads up I was going to bed.

"Really? But it's so early Quinn. Are you feeling okay?" turning to me with a slight worried look in her eye.

"Yeah, I'm fine Lex. Some people are just drainers, you know?" She stood wide eyed mocking shock by holding her heart.

"Not you dummy." I look down to play with my fingernails. "Just... other people. Anyway, I better hit the sack so I can wake up early tomorrow and start job hunting." I gave her a small smile and padded out of the bathroom and to my cosy bedroom.

10:03pm and all I could do was just lay there and stare at the ceiling making myself crazy with all the thoughts running through my mind. I wanted to be a normal 22 year old but my life circumstances had made me anything but. That coupled with the fact that I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't attracted to Mason had made me lose my patience.

"That's it!" I threw the covers off and reached for my acoustic guitar and played the first song that came to me, hoping to empty my mind of the back and forth conversations with myself.

Problem by Ariana Grande (cover by Haley Klinkhammer)

I played until my fingers were numb and my eyes started to feel heavy. I re-racked my guitar and pulled the covers up to my chin.

Tomorrow will be better. No college. No Mason.

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I peeped through squinted eyes to look at the time. 4:14am?

Okay, I'm done trying to sleep. I've had enough tossing and turning for one night. May as well put my brain to work.

Tiptoeing out to the lounge room with my laptop, I fall into the cream pleather couch in defeat.

Crap!

I scrunch my face up at the loud noise and quickly turn to see Lexi's door still closed.

Phew, don't want to go waking up sleeping bitchy.

That's about the only time Lex is not bubbly and happy-go-lucky. When she's woken early.

I start my search for part time jobs scrolling and saving page after page of ads. Finding a job somewhere in the music industry is difficult so I thought I better take my chances and even look under pub jobs, just in case. I gave myself by the end of the week so I wouldn't fall too far behind in tuition fees.

I have to earn my family's trust back all on my own for them to even consider accepting me back home and that meant proving I was self sufficient.

40 minutes passed by and I called time out. Searching for work was making me nervous and even a little doubtful so I decided to take out some of that negative energy in the gym.

I did tell Lex I wanted to check it out after all.

With the whirlwind romance of Lexi's and the most jam packed first day ever , I'd completely forgotten.

Slowly cracking open Lexi's door I whispered,

"Just going to the gym."

"Mmm don't go Zach." I put my hand to my mouth trying to keep my laughter inside but it ended up coming out as a weird half snort. You know, real lady like. I settled on putting pen to paper and leaving a note for her instead.

Gone to the gym. Hope you enjoyed your dream.

I quickly went back in my room to change into some gym gear.

Hmmm, 5am. There could be the slimmest chance that someone might be there. I better dress accordingly just in case. I was very insecure about the way I looked.

So I slip into some slim fitting clothes to allow for mazimum range of movement but without flashing any skin apart from my neck and face. I finally pull on my gloves and shove my towel, protein shake and ipod into my overused 'gym' bag. By 'Gym' bag I mean a nike knockoff from a secondhand store.

Luckily it was only a short walk through the dorms and down a few flights of stairs that connected to the college. I made my way through a locker room and past the showers on the left. It smelt surprisingly fresh for a gym, like lemons and chlorine.

I drop my bag onto the mat infront of the mirror which encompasses the walls from top to bottom. I start with 5 minutes on the treadmill to warm up and then get stuck into the boxing bag in the far right corner. Right, left, right right.

With each punch I chant in my mind 1, 2, 3, 4. My mind then veers to Mason counting in the band 1, 2, 3, 4. I frown at myself and continue punching.

Shut ,up ,stupid ,brain.

I resort to getting my ipod out and blasting the thoughts out with some loud music. I click the headphones into the jack, place them over my ears and give them a small pat to make sure they're in place.

Try and think about Mason now, heh.

I click the music onto shuffle and the first song that came on was 'Go Fuck Yourself'.

Must be one of Lexi's songs. I smiled to myself at the irony. Do you ever read into weird coincidences a little too much like random songs that play on the radio explaining your very predicament. Guilty.

Go Fuck Yourself by My Crazy Girlfriend

To the beat of the song I started doing squats and lunges. Dipping low doing walking lunges towards the back wall. Once I ran out of room I turned around and there he was.

Mason, just standing there at the weight rack in his black workout shorts and white tank top looking as masculine as ever. I tried to keep the surprise off my face but im sure my eyes widened like I'd just seen a ghost. My music was still blasting in my ears when I saw his chest rise and fall a few times indacting... a laugh?

I didn't even notice I was staring at him until I stepped on the chord to my headphones and ripped them straight out of the ipod.

Baby go fuck yourself just happened to be the lyrics that were sung from the small speaker of the player. I felt my face turn red hot and I scrambled on the floor to turn the damn song off before he could hear any more.

Maybe he didn't hear the song.

"Interesting song choice." A small line formed in between his eyebrows with a smirk on his face.

He definitely heard.

"Uh, yeah. It's on shuffle." I tried to defend myself and blame it on the mp3 player. I start picturing the different ways I can torch my ipod later on.

Unable to keep eye contact I looked down and noticed I not only ripped out the heaphones from the input jack. I ripped them clear out of the headphones as well rendering them useless. A loud sigh escaped my lungs.

"You know they have a dock here you can put your player on?" Mason said.

"Oh, cool. Do you mind listening to my music?" I was sort of scared to share my playlist with him for the next half an hour. Listening to a persons music is like peering into their soul. I wasn't sure whether I wanted him to know me like that.

To hell with it. I might even succeed in scaring him off with my poor song choices.

I smile at the thought.

"Not at all. I need some new material anyway. I'm in a bit of a slump." He said with his back turned to me picking up some dumbbells. I stood there looking around for the dock.

"It's over there." He pointed. He had already turned back around and had his eyes glued to me. I nodded a few times and tried to walk as normal as I could with him watching me.

Whenever his eyes were on me it was like I forgot how to walk normally. I didn't feel human.

How can someone just forget how to walk casually?

CLICK. The ipod snapped into place on the doc.

They say you're only young ones. Young ones but we live for we die for we live for forever.

Young Ones by Johnny Third feat. Jeremy Fowler

Mason stopped doing his bicep curls and looked back at me with a hint of something in his eye. Understanding? I ran my hand through my ponytail fiening calm as I went to the pullup bar. My heart was beating like I'd just run a marathon. It felt like I was baring my soul to the one person I didn't trust to see it.

I shut my eyes to refocus and put up my wall. Gripping the bar I went to work lifting my chin over the bar and slowly back down counting the tempo in my head to keep my mind occupied. 1, up, pause, down 1, 2, 3. I let my eyes wander over to Mason doing lat pulldowns on the machine now.

He was breaking a sweat and the noises he made we're... interesting. A warmth began creeping from between my legs and up to my stomach which made me squirm a little. Watching his back muscles contract and loosen made my stomach do backflips. Or was it my uterus? He returned the bar back to the top of the cable and ran his big hands through his glistening dark hair.

Crap.

I only then realised I was hanging on the pull up bar. Just hanging. Staring and hanging like a stalker girl.

All Signs Point to Lauderdale by A Day To Remember

Finally, a song I could take my anger out with. I decided to pick up some dummbells and resume my workout as if Mason wasn't there needing to feel that all familiar burn.

You only get out what you put in.

Rep after rep I kept repeating in my mind what was important.

Prove yourself to your family. Don't slip up. Don't let anyone in too close. Trust no one apart from Lexi. Apply yourself in college. Support yourself.

It was like chanting a mantra to myself. I needed to re-focus, set my eyes on the goal and get on with it.

I managed to block all my hormonal impulses to perve on him for the rest of my workout. A miracle in itself really considering how attractive he looked in minimal clothing. He could have been a model for Abercrombie and Finch.

It was 6:30am by the time we both finished working out. I let the last song play out on the player while we both did cool down stretches.

"You know, you're tough. For a girl." Mason smiled as he sat drinking his shake. Sweat dripping down past his thick, dark eyelashes that framed his intense blue eyes.

"And you've got a lot of self-control for a player." I laugh stiffly. He continues to watch me pack my gym bag with a frown on his face and his jaw muscles working under his remarkably smooth skin.

"You don't like me do you?" he questioned, his gaze stuck to my back.

"Please, I barely even know you." I scoff trying to pack my bag quicker. I didn't want to talk to him about this. How can I explain that he is the most attractive male I have ever layed my eyes on but I didn't want to get to know him for fear of him getting to know ME.

"Exactly. You shouldn't be so quick to judge missy." Smiling he points a finger at me like he's telling me off. As I'm busy winding my mutilated headphone chord in a spiral I feel his hand take mine and he pulls me to face him. He moves closer and arcs his head down so he can torture me some more with those eyes. Still with my hand in his firm grip he takes a deep breath.

"I'm not trying to sleep with you if that's what you're thinking." He says in an almost whisper. His mouth said one one thing but his body language was on a whole different agenda.

"I'm sure that's what you say to all the girls as you invade their personal space." I snap and rip my hand out from his panicking as my glove slipped down and showed a few centimeters of skin. I hastily pulled my glove back up hoping he saw nothing. His eyebrows raised and he put up his hands in mock surrender.

"Okay, no touching, I get it." He lowered his hands back down and into his pockets.

"Both our best friends seem to be getting along like a house on fire so we're going to be spending time together sooner or later."

Damn it, I didn't think about that.

He could see I was contemplating what to say.

"How about I promise not to hit on you if you promise to loosen the screws a bit?" he said with a small smile on his face, watching me for my reaction.

It seemed like a pretty decent offer. Like he said, we were probably going to be seeing a lot more of each other if Lexi and Zach kept going the way they were. Then again, it's only been 2 days so there was a chance it might not work out at all and then I'd have an out, as horrible as that would be for Lexi. I want to see her happy but I also don't want to have to spend any more time with Mason than I had to.

He could see I was hesitant so before I got a chance to say anything he added,

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll tone down the PDA. No more library incidents."

Why would that make me feel better? It's not like the feelings I have towards you are romantically inclined.

For Lexi's sake and the sake of my sanity, I decided it was probably the best option to agree.

"Okay, deal." I held my hand out to close the deal on our wager. Mason just looked at my hand and back up at me like he didn't know what to do, smiling his boyishly cute smile.

"On my terms touching is okay. Handshaking is friendy. Hand HOLDING is a little too friendly." I tried to explain.

"Aha." He nodded and we shook. His hand eclipsed mine it was so big.

"So why are you here so early?" I ask, suspicious that he may actually be a stalker.

"Couldn't sleep. You?" he asked.

Maybe he had to sneak out on one of his one night stands still in his bed.

"Same." I admitted, embarrassed because it was from thinking about him that I couldn't get a good nights shut eye.

We both left the gym at the same time and walked through the shadowy hallway which led to the dorms.

"I'm this way." He pointed over his shoulder with thumb. It was the opposite direction I needed to go.

"I guess I'll see you in class. Music major right?" he said as he adjusted his bag on his buldging shoulder.

"Yeah. See you Friday then." I said, grinning like the stupid Cheshire cat from Alice in wonderland as I turned around.

"Oh, and remember to loosen up the screws, yeah Quinn?" He asked rhetorically leaning through the door flashing his cursingly gorgeous grin. I nodded and did a one syllable laugh that sounded more like a honk.

Embarrasing. I just sounded like a goose.

I brought my palm to my forehead in disgust with myself.

This was either the beginning of something really good or really bad. I couldn't tell which one just yet.