The next few days came and went. I saw Mason and Luke everyday, outside of class. I don't know what was weird; the fact that they are now constant for me or the fact that I consider them constant. My phone was on speaker and I was laying in bed talking to Amy.
"So they hang around all the time?" I laughed.
"It feels like that but no. Not all the time, just most of it."
"So what did they do yesterday?" I thought back. It was Friday night so of course they wanted to do something.
"They kept blowing up my phone but I ignored them because I was in the library studying." I felt proud of myself to be able to resist temptation, no matter how sweet the texts.
"What were they saying?"
"Well Mason was being flirty. He called me babe, sexy, gorgeous. Luke just said things he liked about me. Like he said I miss your smile, come hang out or I said something stupid come roll your eyes at me." Amy laughed. "I'm telling you, they guys are seriously weird." I started to laugh myself.
"They sound fun, you should hang out with them." I shook my head even though she couldn't see me.
"Amy, I'm paying to get an education and I plan on getting the best one I can." She was silent for a moment.
"Sometimes I want to argue with you but your right. In your mind that is the best option."
"No, not just I'm my mind. It is the best option." Suddenly I felt like I was floating in a pool, on the verge of drowning. Life was pulling me down and knowledge was keeping me afloat. They say knowledge is power, right now it was just a floating device.

My conversation with Amy didn't last much longer. When our choices of staying home and working and college became of topic it got awkward. We both wanted the world for each other, that's true. We both wanted different worlds and that's a hard pill to swallow. Amy was miles away from me and I felt like our friendship was fading. The worst part is; in the silence, I know she feels it too.

They say that if a friendship can last 7 years it can last forever. I banked on that information. Amy and I had been friend for nearly a decade. That's a long time to know someone; that's also a long time to grow apart from someone.

My mom and her best friend can be so polar opposite sometimes. Ariel and my mom had been best friends since high school and even went to college together. That's where their differences started to part them. My mom met my dad, Ariel got a good job using her degree. My mom get married, Ariel became a single mother. My mom had me, Ariel got a huge job promotion and move across the state. Ariel liked pastels, my mom like earthy tones. It was funny watching them plan Ariels wedding. They disagreed on almost everything. Even though they were so different they loved each other so much. I guess if you do make all right turns or all left turns you'll eventually make a square and meet back in the middle. They always seemed to do that.

I must of fallen asleep after hanging up with Amy because the knock at the door startled me awake. I brushed my hair on the way to the door and opened it. It was Mason.
"Hello Mason." My voice was dull.
"Well hello to you!" He smiled and pushed his way into my room. I plopped back down on my bed so he took Ellie's. "Is this a Kurt Cobain poster over her bed?"
"I don't know." My voice was muffled by the pillow. Mason looked at his phone and sat up, he headed for the door. "Okay, bye." I didn't move. He opened the door and Luke stood on the other side, he came in too.
"I'm not leaving." Mason smiled. Great, Lukes here. Mason fell back on Ellie's bed. Luke came over to me.
"Scoot over." He instructed.
"What?"
"Scoot over." Luke repeated.
"Go lay with Mason." He laughed.
"Scoot over." His voice was lighter.
"Find your own bed to lay on." I whined. Luke just smiled, how annoying. Eventually, after a long staring contest I rolled over. Luke laid next to me. It felt weird to be so close to him. We weren't touching but it felt like static between us. Like you just rubbed a balloon on both our arms and the hairs are touching each other. We both we staring at the ceiling above my bed, I didn't have a poster. "So what are we doing?" I had to break the silence.
"Well right now, I'm enjoying this bed."
"And without the girl, wow!" I retorted to Mason. Luke smiled but didn't laugh, not out loud at least.
"You think you're funny, don't know?" Mason chuckled. I'm glad he laughed. Another knock came at the door, I rolled my eyes and climbed out of bed. I opened the door to a guy who was just a touch taller than me. He was cute, sort of smug.
"Do you know where Ellie is?" My mind was having an issue pulling his name up.
"Russ, is it?" He nodded. "Well she went out and didn't tell me where or when she'll be home so." I scrunched my face awkwardly. She'd been saying how she wants to break up with Russ. "Sorry." He slowly nodded and back away from the door. I unfortunately grew to feel numb to this, but I still felt bad for them.
"Rough break." Mason said. I nodded and sat in my chair.
"She does this all the time. I've gotten used to it." I paused looking down at my mix-matched sock. I always started the break up process for her. "She'll break up with them in the next 2 days. She always does."
"Why?"
"They never compare to someone else." I look up at Mason. He was staring at the poster above her bed. I shook my head. What did Ellie see in him?

We all stared at the ceiling from where we were. We sat like this for a long time. My neck started to hurt so I sat up. Mason and Luke were both asleep. I shook my head, they weren't so bad when they were sleep. Them being asleep left me time to do some homework, uninterrupted.

I only got just over a half an hour to myself, but I'll take what I can get. Mason started to stir but didn't wake up. Luke on the other hand wake up. So much for quiet.
"Hi." He whispered. His voice was husky and low. It's no surprise girls fell for him. My heart was a mess just looking at him.
"Hi." I turned back to my homework.
"What are you doing?"
"Finance homework." He leaned his head on his hands and looked at me. I wish he wouldn't. It made my insecurities pop out like  a Jack in the box.
"What do you want to do with your life?"
"Own a business."
"What kind of business?" I didn't answer. Truth was, I didn't know the answer. I could tell you how to run a business. What it needs, how to keep in afloat; but I have no idea what kind of business I want. Finally I look at him, our eyes met. He smiled a little. I held back an eye roll because I think he was being genuine.

I kept working on home work and Luke looked around the room. Mason was still asleep on Ellie's bed. For the third time today, someone knocked on the door. I sighed and got up. Mason jolted awake with all the sudden noice. It was Russ again.
"Ellie still isn't here." He nodded.
"I know, I've seen her already." I leaned in the doorway, hugging the door to me. "Are you single?" He blurted out.
"Am I- what?"
"I mean, you're nice enough. I've seen Mason Heckle and Luke Sands hang out with you," I pulled the door even closer to me, making sure he couldn't see even a sliver of either of them. Not even a shoe lace. "you can't be all that bad." I barked a laugh.
"Wow, what a compliment." He blushed.
"Give me a chance, I'm not great at this." I studied him for a moment. Russ was a shyer guy, he only got sucked up into the popular crowd due to his brother Adam.
"I don't do someone's seconds, sorry." He smiled a little.
"Well unless you're someone's first everything you're always getting seconds." I mulled this over. He was sweet, good looking. Russ might have been a full 180 from the two knuckleheads sitting in my dorm now. Sure he was smug, but that I think was an act.
"Find, tomorrow. Lunch. It's not really a date, it's a casual," I paused looking for the right word. "meeting."
"How about a rendezvous?" He smiled brightly. I squinted at him.
"Call It that again and it won't happen." His smile faltered.
"Right. I'll be here at 12 tomorrow." I nodded and closed the door. The room was silent. This was a different kind if silence. The guys are never silent. I slowly turned around. They both stared at me.
"Get on with it. What?"
"Did you just steal your roommates boyfriend?" My stomach felt like a stone in my body.
"No, he asked me. I didn't ask him to come back nor did I ask him out."
"Is that even okay?" Mason looked at me.
"Oh what do you know, your moral compass is all screwy anyways." I snapped.
"Ouch." He chuckled.

They spent the rest of the in my dorm annoying me. They were asking me questions and looking through my things. I was going crazy with them.
"Okay! I've had enough of you too." I finally snapped like a rubber band. They both looked at me. "Please leave, I want to get dinner."
"We'll go with." Mason volunteered.
"No, no. We've spent enough time together."
"You agreed, once a week." I gritted my teeth at Luke. He was right, I agreed.
"You pay, nonnegotiable." They both nodded. "After dinner, you go home. Or wherever honestly, as long as it's not here." They nodded again. "Fine, lets go." I grabbed a zip up since I was only wearing a tank top.

We went to the closest place to eat there was. It was actually in the building over from us. I scarfed down my food as fast as humanly possible.
"Wow, you're hungry." Mason looked at me as he still munched on his fries.
"I still have a lot of homework to do." Which wasn't a lie, I was just tired. Partially of them but mostly of the day. Today seemed so long I forgot I was on the phone with Amy earlier. I sucked down the rest of my smoothie. "Alright, that's it for me boys." I stood up from my seat.
"That's it?" Lukes eyes almost looked like glass.
"Yes, I see you two plenty. I'm sure I'll see you both tomorrow." I rolled my eyes. Mason shrugged his shoulders at the idea of me leaving. Luke was more stubborn about it.
"We can walk you back if you wait."
"I'll be fine." We stared at each other for a moment. It felt like an eternity. His brown eyes were becoming sometime I remember vividly. The way the light hits them, the way they sparkle when he smiles. I shook my head, enough of that. "Okay, goodnight." Mason waved.
"Goodnight Miley." Luke spoke somberly. I gave him a half smile and left.

Within a matter of an hour I was back at my dorm and asleep. I hadn't realized how much I need the sleep until I laid in my bed. Part of my pillow smelled of Luke, so I flipped it over. I woke up early and Ellie wasn't here. She either spent the night at a friend's or with some guy. Whichever one it was, I didn't want to know.

My side of the room was normally neat but my nerves had me trying on everything I owned. It all seemed wrong. Everything was wrong. I settled on jeans and faded t-shirt. Nothing says causal more than this. Now what to do with my hair...

At 11:45 I was banging on Mason's door, praying he would answer. To my surprise, he didn't, neither did Jared. Luke answered.
"Hello Miley. Excited about your date?" He smiled coyly. Mason appeared over his shoulder.
"You were right, I was wrong. Please let me in." Mason and Luke smiled. I detested them right now.
"I'm sorry?" Mason pretended he couldn't hear me, but he could.
"You're moral compasses is still screwy but you were right, I was wrong. I can't do it. Now, please let me in!" I stomped my foot. Luke stepped aside, letting me enter. I disappeared into the room.
"So what made you change your mind?" I crawled onto Masons bed. The sat on either side of me. I said nothing. "You know, if she makes you break up with them, it's not completely wrong to take one." Luke talked about them like they were candy or a blow dryer.
"The guys she dates aren't even my type. The only guy who was maybe my type was Russ. She got there first. I can't break girl code." I shook my head.
"Yeah, we have that too." Mason looked at Luke. "Luke dated a girl, but she was off limits, she tried hard though." I looked at Mason. "Bro code is a thing too, you know." I nodded, I did know.

I heard a knock from the hall. My body froze. That was Russ, knocking on my door.
"I got it." Mason stood up and went to the door. Luke threw his arm around me, oddly it was comforting. "Hey Russ, right?"
"Yeah." I heard him quietly from the hall.
"So listen, I know you're supposed to meet with Miley-"
"Isn't it Milly?" I cringed.
"No. Anyways, she's not there."
"Why?" My heart beat heavily in my chest.
"You know how we have bro code?" There was silence. "Well there's girl code too. Ellie's her roommate man, she can't do that to her."
"How do you know?"
"She came over here before she left. She didn't know what to tell you and she didn't want to hurt you."
"Where is she?"
"Not important. What important is, you know she can't break code like that."
"Yeah, you're right. Shame, she was really pretty too." I was pretty? "Thanks Mason."
"See you." Mason closed the door. He sat back down on the bed next to Luke and I.
"Thanks." I mumbled.
"Yeah."
"Now what?" That was a very good question Luke Sands, now what?