Jeremy barely paid attention in any of his classes. It was all basic, entry level courses that were simply going over how the class would run. For something he had to pay to attend, it was turning out to be pretty boring so far.

It probably didn't help that Michael had classes at completely different times. He couldn't even have his best friend to keep him from dying of boredom. By the time his first day was done, he was practically trudging to the dorm room.

When he pushed the door open, he was greeted by the smell of weed and two figures on Michael's bed. One sat upright while the other was resting flat on their back.

"Jer!" Michael grinned as Jeremy kicked the door shut. "How was class? You look like ass."

"Thanks..."

"What's wrong?"

Jeremy dragged his feet across the floor instead of answering. He let himself flop face first onto the bed before screaming into the bedding.

"What's happening?.." A tired voice carried through the air, as if its owner had just woken up.

"Just Jer, Rich." Jeremy heard Michael respond before hearing the sound of Michael tapping his hand against something. "Rough day?" This was directed at Jeremy.

Jeremy pushed himself up, causing the mattress to squeak underneath him from his shifting positions. "I don't know, man." He sighed once he was done moving, "It doesn't feel any different from where we just left..."

"It's just the first day!" Michael exclaimed, "Give it a chance, look forward a bit."

Rich mumbled something from where he rested on Michael's side, but he appeared to already be drifting to sleep again.

"What did you give him?" Jeremy asked, tilting his head at their now lightly snoring friend.

"He had a rough night." Michael shrugged, "Just some sleepy time stuff."

"It's four in the afternoon."

"Naps can be taken at anytime, fight me, Heere."

Jeremy laughed, despite his earlier mood. Michael had that effect on him. Somehow, Michael could turn any mood around to something positive. "Point made! Rich say why his night was so bad?" Jeremy nodded to their sleeping friend on the bed.

Michael shrugged. "Bad dreams. Just like you had for awhile."

Jeremy bit the inside of his lip. for months after the squip had been defeated, Jeremy suffered from such vivid nightmares that he would wake up, finding it hard to breathe or with tears streaming down his cheeks. They calmed, but it didn't fully stop them from popping up on occasion. He didn't have the squip nearly as long as Rich, however, so he could only imagine how much worse Rich's nightmares were.

"Care for a hit?" Michael asked as he pulled a rolled up joint from his sweater pocket.

"Of coffee, maybe." Jeremy shook his head at the offer, "This place dished homework on the first day."

"Bummer." Michael brought the joint to his lips before pulling a lighter out of his other sweater pocket. He lit the joint and inhaled deeply, letting the smoke swirl inside of his lungs before releasing it.

Jeremy let himself fall back to the mattress he sat on, watching the smoke swirl into the air.

Outside of the room, Evan hurried down the hall. He held a folded piece of paper in his hand as he silently repeated the directions to the on campus coffee shop to himself. He hesitated at the doorway of the dorm building. The sunlight was muted by a dark overcast sky. A cold wind blue, making Evan shiver. Maybe he should have grabbed a sweater before leaving...

"You've still got time."

Evan snapped his eyes shut at the sound of the voice. "I-I'll be fine." He tripped over the start of the words, mentally blaming the cold rather than the phantom voice. He stepped out into the cloud covered day.

His breath came out in small clouds as he made his way to his destination. He passed a few other students, nodding politely and offering nervous smiles all while ignoring the way his heart rate picked up with each brief encounter. He willed himself to calm with a deep breath. People didn't know him here, he was fine.

Soon enough, the coffee shop came into his sight. Evan hurried to it, flinching at the freezing door handle, but sighing with relief when he opened the door and was hit by a wave of warmth. A bell chimed as the door shut behind Evan. He should have gone straight to the counter, but he hesitated to steal a glance around the shop.

The customers that sat with their beverages to enjoy the warmth was surprisingly minimal. There was a dark skinned boy with his poofy hair pulled back. He was eyeing a textbook as he slowly stirred a spoon in a gray mug. On the other side of the space, a blond girl sat with someone in a school colored jacket. She was rather close to him, feeling his arm as they spoke lowly back and forth.

Evan walked up to the counter. There didn't appear to be anyone attending to it. He looked down at the help wanted ad in his hand.

"Hello?" He called out. He brought his hands up to the counter, tapping it as he waited for a response. He was ready to call out again when a girl suddenly popped up from below the counter. Evan jumped back, barely suppressing a squeal.

The girl had wide eyes that quickly softened when she looked at Evan. She smiled before pushing her short, brown hair out of her face. "Hey. Evan, right?"

"Y-yes?" Evan was confused at first. How did she already know his name? It took him a moment to register that he was looking at the same girl that had given himself and Jared their room arrangements, minus her purple sweater. "Oh! Veronica?"

"The one and only!" She declared, holding her arms out to her side and gesturing to her coffee shop apron. She smiled at Evan. "How can I help you today?"

Evan smiled back at her. It felt nice that someone he had only met once actually remembered his name. "I-I saw a flyer for this place." He brought up the paper that he had been holding onto, "It said you're hiring?"

Veronica took the paper from Evan, looking it over with her lips pursed to the side. After a moment, she nodded with approval. "Seems we are!" She looked back at Evan, "Are you looking for a job?"

Evan nodded.

"Have you ever handled coffee before?" Veronica inquired.

Evan nodded.

"Are you good at making coffee?" With this question, Veronica raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Evan nodded, nervously grabbing his wrist.

Veronica grinned. "Congratulations! You're hired!"

Evan's mouth dropped. He quickly recovered from that, but his stutter took control of his voice. Veronica held up her hand to silence him.

"Look," She said as she dropped her hand, "you seem nice. I need someone to take the shifts I don't work. You're the first to come in, so you win." She ducked under the counter again, this time emerging with a rolled up apron. She tossed it to Evan, who fumbled at first, but caught it. "Let's talk your class schedule so we can set up your hours."

"O-okay!" Evan looked down at the apron in his hands. A swell of accomplishment filled him, despite how easy it had been.

"You worry too much."

Evan shut his eyes at the voice. He knew it wasn't real. He knew it wasn't real...

"Evan?"

Evan opened his eyes to see Veronica walking around the counter. She looked at him curiously. "Ready to get started?"

He forced a smile, adding a thumbs up for good measure. "So ready."