308...308...308...

Room 308's door stands closed in front of me. Students and their loved ones crowd the hallway of Crawley Hall. Giving my parents a nervous smile over my shoulder, I take a deep breath and open the door.

The small shared living room houses a single two-seater couch and a coffee table. The couch has definitely seen some things from the dull copper color and its frayed edges. The four of us barely fit in comfortably in the shared space.

The door at the back of the room sits wide open and shows a small bathroom with a small bathtub shower combo. The tiles on the walls and floors are a sad and plain beige color.

The other two doors are situated on either side of the living space. 308B on the left and the one on the right, 308A. An uneasy feeling settles in my gut. Four girls, one small dorm. This is either going to be the best year or a shitstorm.

I shuffle to the one side and open the door on the left. Each side of the room mirrors the other exactly with two twin-sized beds in each corner with matching desks and wardrobes shoved into any remaining space against the walls.

"Well this looks lovely, Clary," my mother says, placing a box filled with some of my belongings on one of the beds. My dad drops one onto a desk before grumbling about grabbing the others out in the main hallway.

"Yeah," I mumble looking around, "It's perfect."

"What was your roommate's name again?" Jenna, my younger sister, asks as she dumps my laundry hamper filled with random stuff I panic-grabbed out of my bedroom, onto the floor.

I hold up the piece of paper in my hand, "Ingrid... Hayes." The piece of paper should have the other two girls names that will be staying in the 308A but it looks like they've been scratched off with a pen. Weird.

"What a name," Jenna mumbles, glancing around the room.

"Oh hush, Jenna, I'm sure she's lovely," my mother smiles, digging through a box and pulling out my bedsheets. I twist my fingers, trying to stop from snatching them out of her hands.

"Mom, you don't have to, I can do it," I say with a strained smile.

Her eyebrows furrow in concern, "Are you sure, Honey? I don't mind helping you unpack."

I grab her hands to stop her from pulling out my butterfly comforter, "I'm sure." I squeeze her hands gently, "You guys have a full day ahead, I wouldn't want to keep you."

Her hand comes to cup my cheek. "Oh Darling, you are too sweet," my mother leans forward and kisses my head softly.

Jenna coughs, "Suck up." Our dad walks in, dragging two more boxes across the floor.

I stick my tongue out at her.

My mother shuffles her feet, uncertainty shadowing her expression, "Well if you're sure..."

"I'm sure," I reply quickly, "Miss you already." I lean in to hug her and she laughs.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you don't want your family to embarrass you on your first day." She rolls her eyes but squeezes me to her chest.

"Bye Clarebear," My father says with a grin, crushing me against him, "Remember, if you need anything, and I mean anything, call your mother," he says with a wink and I pinch my lips together trying not to laugh.

"Jen, meet us by the car," my mother says, squeezing my sister's shoulder and blowing me a kiss. Before I can turn to Jenna, her head pokes back into the room. "And don't even think about taking any detours, straight to the car."

Jenna rolls her eyes. Once our mother has verbal confirmation that Jenna won't do anything stupid and leaves we lapse into silence. Her sneaker slides across the floor nervously. "You suck."

I breathe out a chuckle, feeling the emotion gather behind my eyes, "I know. At least I'm only a train ride away, it'll be like I never left."

"I guess," she sighs, looking around my room again.

"You can always come visit," I offer lightly. I'm sure my roommate wouldn't care if Jenna crashed in my bed every once in a while.

She scoffs with a smile, "As if." She moves towards me, "Okay, I gotta bounce." She jerks her thumb towards the door. "People to see, lives to destroy."

Before she can escape, I throw my arms around her and squeeze tight. She's a few inches taller than me so she has to bend down to hug me properly. Jenna doesn't look at me when she lets go and heads for the door. Before she can walk out she stops short and places her hand on the doorframe, "Oh yeah, tell Val I say hi," she grins.

"Bye Bitch," I call out.

"See ya, Slut!" she calls out loudly, no doubt making a few heads turn toward her direction as she steps into the main hallway.

Thirty minutes later I'm lying on my bed which is still unmade, paging through one of my textbooks for class. I'm going to need to get ahead of my classmates if I want to be prepared for the next decade of my life.

My roommate and the girls that'll be next door haven't shown up yet. Oh God, did I get here too early? Am I lame?

My bedroom door slams open, hitting the wall, and standing there in the doorway is none other than my best friend. "Valentina!" I hiss, scrambling off the bed.

Wearing a black pencil skirt she's altered to make shorter, a cut-off white tank top, and a denim jacket over it, she stares at me with a single eyebrow raised. Dark brown hair hangs almost to her waist.

She takes off her sunglasses and places them on top of her head, pursing her blood-red lips. "Are you looking at a textbook?" She demands, strutting into the room. "I leave you alone for two days and you've already turned into a nerd? Kill me now." She walks over to my bed, picks up my textbook, and throws it into one of my boxes.

"Do you know how expensive that textbook was?" I nearly screech, hastily checking it for any dents or rips in the pages.

Valentina ignores me, peering around my baron room, "Roommate?"

"Not here yet," I reply without looking at her. I carefully hide my textbook under my pillow so she doesn't do something stupid like throw it out the window.

"Huh. Well then, she doesn't get to come shopping with us," Valentina digs through her purse and pulls out a shiny silver card.

My eyes widen, "Is that...?" That same sense of dread from earlier fills my stomach again.

Her grin turns mischievous, "Yup. Now, let's go shopping before my mother reports it stolen to her bank."

|| 📚 ||

"Did you see her face? She looked like her head was about to explode," Valentina laughs, each arm holding up multiple shopping bags as we make our way back towards my dorm building.

Valentina insisted on using her mother's credit card to pay for all of our purchases but I had to remind her that her mother is very much capable of murder. A shudder runs through me again. No one messes with Isabella Rosa and gets out alive...except maybe Valentina. I may need to change my name.

We're still laughing about one of the sales clerks from the last store we went to when I go to push open the entrance door.

The door jerks in the opposite direction, and I stumble into the building with a squeal and fall onto the carpeted floor, my bags sprawling around me.

Valentina bursts out laughing behind me.

"Are you okay?" A voice from above asks me.

Brushing my hair out of my face, I see a cute boy staring down at me. "Yeah, I—I'm fine," I wave my hand dismissively and crawl onto my knees, collecting my things.

"That, was totally hilarious," Valentina's voice echoes as she walks into the building, still unable to control her laughter. Her shopping bags rustle as she comes to a stop beside me. Her legs shake as she leans down, grabbing hold of some of my bags.

The glare I give her in reply does nothing to dampen her mood. She looks up at the boy, her red lips pursed. "Thank you for doing that, you just made my day."

He doesn't say anything at first. He just stares at Valentina. Her eyes dart to mine in confusion before snapping back to his. He stands there awkwardly, his face slowly turning red. Valentina silently raises an eyebrow. His eyes widen a fraction before he runs a hand through his hair. "Again, I am so sorry," he says, barely sparing me a glance.

"Totally fine, you wouldn't believe how common this kind of stuff is with me." Once I have all my bags back in my hand, I slowly climb to my feet, rubbing the red carpet burn now on my elbow.

An arm quickly grasps mine as the boy helps me stand, finally coming to his senses. "I'm Johnathan, by the way," he says to the two of us—mainly Valentina. "Johnathan Grace."

"Clara Johnson," I reply, shaking his outstretched hand.

Valentina grins, placing her hand in his delicately, "Valentina Rosa," as she says her name she exaggeratedly rolls the 'R' in her last name making her Spanish accent more prominent.

"Johnathan." He says again, a dazed look on his face as he stares at Valentina.

"You already said that," she replies giving me a confused glance and pulling her hand out of his. "Come on, Clary, we have much to do!" She grabs my arm and yanks me back down the hallway.

"Ow, Val!" She loosens her grip but stays silent as we walk up the stairs to my floor. "He was cute," I comment casually. She still doesn't speak. "He definitely noticed you." Again, nothing. "Val, come on, he was super cute!" I tell her as we stop outside my door.

"Never going to happen," is all she says, offering me a hard look.

"Why not? If he got into Columbia then he's got to be smart." Unless his parents paid for the building we're in.

"I'm sure he is but there's one problem with him. He's a rich white boy," she says, blowing a piece of hair out of her face since her hands are full.

"How do you know he's rich and not on scholarship?" I ask pointedly.

She levels me with an unimpressed stare. "He was wearing Ralph Lauren, Clary, he's rich."

"I didn't say you needed to marry him." Rummaging through my pockets for my keys, I slip them into the keyhole and jiggle the handle. "Besides, what your mother doesn't know won't kill her," I try to reason with her as I unlock my dorm room and walk inside.

"My mother is many things but an idiot is not one of them, she'll know, trust me she has contacts everywhere watching my every move. Especially now that I'm not home for her to do it herself."

We stand in the doorway, "All the more reason to live your life now! You're going to college in New York City, you can be anyone you want, and do whatever you want. Hell, you can sleep with whoever you want," I say loudly with a laugh, making her crack a smile in reply as we walk further into the room.

Boxes litter the living space. So many boxes that I can't see the couch anymore. Good God. Valentina nosily reads the perfectly written words on each box, describing their contents. She gives me a silent look.

Licking my lips nervously, I shuffle to the open bedroom door opposite mine. The other two girls' names that were scratched off have finally arrived.

The back of a head forces me to freeze in my tracks. Valentina knocks into me and slaps a hand onto the doorframe, startling the two people standing in the room.

A girl with brown hair, so dark that it's almost black, stares at the two of us with a scowl on her face. But the other one...I know him.

I can just visualize the look on his face as I watched him standing outside the gym building while I told him he was hot as my sister sped out of the parking lot after we'd kidnapped his school mascot.

Pete was his name.

He's already staring at me when we make eye contact and I know that he recognizes me too by the small smirk on his face. I glance back at the girl to see her folding her arms across her chest. Not off to a great start.

"H-hi, I'm Clara, I'm in 308B." Her eyes trail over my clothes. I clear my throat smacking a smile on my face. "And you are?" I ask awkwardly, placing my bags on the floor.

Her face is blank. "Ingrid Hayes."

My mind short circuits. "Oh! You're actually rooming with me," I say with an awkward laugh, pointedly glancing at the bright gold 308A sign on the door, "My orientation sheet didn't say who was staying in this room but—."

Ingrid holds up a hand in the air and I naturally fall silent. "I'm staying in this room."

Valentina's face leans over my shoulder, suddenly interested in the girl in front of us. I refuse to even risk looking at him though.

Another uncomfortable laugh leaves my lips. "Right, but the list—."

She looks up at the ceiling and releases a sigh. I slowly lean my head back, clinching my fists so I don't smack the shit out of her. Valentina is oddly silent right behind me.

"I refuse to share a room with anyone." She turns to a box in front of her and starts pulling out clothes hangers. "My father has already discussed it with the Dean. He wouldn't let me have the space to myself so this," she gestures around her, "was the compromise. I get my space, you can have yours. Fine?"

What would look worse to my parents right now? Dropping out of school or a murder charge?

Pete glances over his shoulder at her with a soft smile. "Indy, be nice." Ingrid offers him a blank stare. Indy? Oh my God is this his girlfriend? I might die.

Valentina runs her tongue over her teeth. "Right. Well, I'm Valentina, Clary's best friend." She steps further into the room. "I'm attending NYU," she says with a passive look, taking in the two of them standing there. Her eyes narrow in on Pete. "Are you Indy's boyfriend?" she asks boldly.

Ingrid's head snaps up to glare at Valentina, who smiles viciously, her blood-red lips only adding to her intimidating appearance.

Pete rubs the back of his neck, his eyes glancing my way for another second. His smile is awkward and shy. My eyes soften at how uncomfortable he looks.

He holds out a hand and moves closer. "No, I'm Peter Hayes, Ingrid's twin brother." My stomach drops.

Twin?

|| 📚 ||

Hey Everyone! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I'm glad to hear that so many of you wanted my to continue this story, its a lot of fun to write!

I can confirm this story will not be super long. I just wanted to write this as a general "How they got together" book since we all technically know how it ends...

Things will move quickly because in my head things did move quickly between Clary & Peter. When you know, you know.

Until next time,

Sammipott xx