[ for those that read my twisters fics and are keeping up: I did quit my job for reason I'm not getting into but I have a new one starting today! nothing fancy. just gamestop ]

☆︎

ARE YOU ASKING ME OR TELLING ME?

"Cici!"

"Addy!"

As soon as the two blondes saw each other, they were running into each other's arms, hugging the life out of each other.

All of the friend group agreed to meet at the coffee shop near campus that they liked to hang out at. Derek, Adeline, Sidney, and Mickey were the first to arrive. Cici was next, and Adeline was acting as if she hadn't seen her in months.

"Tell me everything about going home," she said, leading Cici by her hand back to the couch she was sharing with Mickey. As they reached it, her boyfriend pulled her back down onto his lap.

"It was great," she said, pulling her winter coat off, showing off a brand-new designer sweater. "Though my little brother, Joshie, is just so annoying. Could've done without him. But our big shopping trip was such a success. What about you guys? I'm so jealous you were all together."

"It was so fun," she gushed. "We hung out by the pool and showed Mickey and Sidney all over town. We went to the movies and shopping. And it snowed on Christmas, so it was just perfect. Then we threw the biggest New Year's Eve party."

"What was your favorite part?" Cici asked, crossing her legs.

"New Year's, hands down," Adeline said, only Cici noticing how her cheeks heated up subtly. She raised an eyebrow, knowing she'd have to investigate further once she had her roommate alone.

As the group chatted some more, they were soon joined by Randy. And when he arrived, Sidney grinned brightly and got up to hug him.

"How was home?" Sidney asked him once they were sat back down.

Randy blew air through his nose, sounding exhausted. "Rough," was all he said at first. "They're doing, like, tours and shit. Showing where the principal was hung from the goalpost and where Billy lived. It's sick. And only gonna get worse when that shit movie comes out."

"Now, come on, Randy," Mickey said, shaking his head. "You saw the trailer that dropped last week, I'm sure. It looks like it's gonna do well in theaters and you know it."

"Yeah," he grumbled. "If I wasn't involved, I'd be so freaking stoked for something like that."

Sidney rolled her eyes. "Of course, you would."

"Guys," Adeline huffed. "No 'Stab' talk. We're boycotting that movie!"

"Really? 'Cause Vince Vaughn is playing Stu, and you love him," Cici reminded her.

"But I love Sidney more," she said softly.

"Awe," Sidney cooed, holding out her arms. "I love you too."

Adeline beamed and moved off Mickey's lap to move to Sidney's, who wrapped her arms around the blonde girl. Sidney grinned when Adeline kissed her cheek cutely, resting back against her.

It wasn't long after Adeline swapped cuddle partners that Hallie finally arrived. And when she sat down, she had wonderful news for Adeline — but horrible for Cici.

"I've decided to rush. I wanna be a Delta Lambda."

"Yay!" Adeline exclaimed, sitting straighter.

"But what about the Omega Beta Zetas?" Cici asked with a pout on her lips. "We're so much better and classier."

"Hey! I'm classy!" Adeline whined. "And Hallie will be too."

"Addy, you can't deny that your sorority has a less-than-stellar reputation," Randy said, smirking as the others nodded in agreement.

Adeline huffed and crossed her arms, ignoring all of them but Hallie. "Don't listen to them. I'll introduce you to Allison and Melanie to get the process started. I'm not a pledge anymore, so I can really help you get a foot in the door."

"Thanks," Hallie said with a smile. "And it'll be fun. We'll be sisters and everything."

"God, this is already the best year ever," Adeline said, excited for Hallie to be recruited. She just knew the girl would get a bid. "I don't think anything can ruin this semester."

☆︎

"Spill!" Cici exclaimed when she was with Adeline in their room, Sidney and Hallie there as well.

"Spill what?" Adeline asked innocently as she sat down on her bed.

"You know what," Sidney said with a smirk. "Tell them about why you and Mickey snuck off during the New Year's Eve party."

Adeline's eyes went wide. "How do you know that?"

"I went to see where you were — was missing you," Sidney said, her smirk morphing into a soft smile. "Got an earful when I pressed my ear to the door. You and Mickey were getting freaky."

"Oh, my God!" Cici squealed, grabbing Adeline's hands. "You slept with him? Tell us everything."

"And I mean everything," Hallie said, sitting at the desk, getting comfortable. "What was it like? How did it start?"

"Well, we went up to my room to just get away from the party. And I told him that I loved him," Adeline explained with a sweet, shy smile. "And he said it back. Then we... you know."

"Oh, no, keep going," Cici said, shaking her head. "I may detest him half the time, but my nosy side needs to know every little — or big — detail."

Adeline's cheeks were on fire. "Well, I don't know how to explain it."

"We'll help you," Sidney laughed. "For starters, what was it like? Did you have a nice time?"

"Really nice," she said softly. "He was so sweet and slow with me. And I thought I'd be nervous since I'd never done it before, but it felt so right and natural, you know?"

Sidney smiled a real smile, coming to sit next to Adeline. "Good. You deserve someone as sweet as Mickey. And that boy is totally a goner for you. I'm just glad he made it special for you — gave you what you deserve."

"Well, I have to ask the most important question," Hallie said, snickering.

"What's that?"

"Was it big?"

If Adeline's cheeks weren't red before, they were now. "I - I don't know how to answer that," she mumbled.

"Give us a visual," Cici said, lifting Adeline's hand, making her form a small O with her fingers. "This?"

Adeline shook her head before opening her hand more so that her fingertips weren't actually touching. In an instant, all three girls squealed in sync, making her laugh as well.

"Damn, Altieri," Hallie muttered, shaking her head. "Who would've guessed? Not me."

☆︎

The first day back to classes wasn't too bad. Adeline was happy that she knew all the familiar faces in the second sequence of her film studies class. But everyone else was entirely new to her — but that excited her, as it was just a new opportunity to make new friends. And she got to take a theater class to fulfill her required fine arts credit. Sidney was in that class, meaning they'd be seeing plenty of each other on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

And of course, Professor Mac just had to assign homework on the very first day — at the very least, it was review work, but Adeline hated it nonetheless.

Rather than feed her answers, Mickey was sitting with her in the coffee shop and talking her through the review. Randy and Hallie were there as well, doing their own homework that teachers had cruely assigned.

"And what film made the Dutch Tilt a staple in filmmaking?" Mickey asked. He thought the way Adeline's face scrunched up as she thought hard was incredibly adorable, but he'd never let her know that he thought so.

"Um, 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'?"

Mickey narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you?" she asked uneasily, not confident in her answer, clearly.

It made Mickey sigh and chuckle afterward. "You're right even though you were so asking me."

Adeline smiled as he leaned in, kissing her softly as a reward for being right — his lips were far more motivating than a letter grade.

As they all worked on homework, they were soon joined by a bright-eyed Cici, who didn't even bother unbundling from her jacket and scarf before grabbing ahold of Adeline.

"You'll never guess who asked me out!" she exclaimed, not caring how loud she was being.

Mickey glanced at Randy, seeing how he froze, his eyes on his textbook but clearly not reading a word.

"Who?" Adeline asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember that Ted guy from the Kappa Sigma Theta party last September?" she asked.

"The one that was drunk and flirting badly with you?" she clarified, earning a nod. Ted had used every cheesy pickup line in the book on Cici that night, but he'd never come across her again on campus and talked to her.

"We have the same history class this semester. And he asked me out to dinner this weekend! Can you believe it?" she asked, clearly so excited. Ted was handsome and on the soccer team and a senior, so lot's of girls were interested in him. "And his eyes are so blue! Ugh."

"Blue eyes are nice," Adeline said, smiling vainly as she thought of her own — even though they were kind of mixed with green, she considered them blue.

"What about my eyes?" Mickey asked with a pout, unable to go five seconds without Adeline's attention, it seemed.

Adeline turned around and cupped his jaw, staring deeply into his beautiful brown eyes. "You have the prettiest eyes in the world, baby," she assured him. "And the best hair and handsomest face and nicest smile — actually, no. Sidney has the prettiest smile in the world, but yours is a close second."

"Ha," Sidney laughed as Adeline faced her. And she had a smile on her face, showing off her teeth as her eyes crinkled. "I have a better smile."

Mickey rolled his eyes playfully, taking no offense. Truthfully, he knew why Adeline liked Sidney's smile so much — because it meant the girl who had gone through so much and seen horrible tragedies was happy. All of them just wanted Sidney and Randy to be happy after what happened to them.

"Yeah," Cici said, now smirking at Adeline. "Sid has a nicer smile, but Mickey has a bigger—"

Adeline had never moved so fast, covering Cici's mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. And Mickey's jaw dropped in disbelief, realizing that Adeline had shared more than she should've about what transpired on New Year's.

"You're such a gossip," Mickey said, shaking his head dramatically. "Is nothing sacred?"

Randy narrowed his eyes at him. "You definitely told me about how Addy—"

"Randy!" Mickey hissed, now glaring at the boy as Adeline looked at him accusingly. They had both been a little loose-lipped, it seemed.

"Okay, now everyone knows that Adeline and Mickey banged," Cici said, snickering. "No more secrets."

"Der doesn't know," Adeline said, biting her lip. "And I'd like it to stay that way. He's my big brother, after all. I'd like to avoid that incredibly embarrassing conversation."

"What's embarrassing?" Derek asked, having come up behind the couch Adeline, Mickey, and Cici were on.

Adeline whipped around, looking like she was caught red-handed. "Nothing."

Derek looked at her curiously but didn't question her as he moved to the seat next to Sideny. "So, what are we talking about?"

"Um, some guy asked Cici out," Randy murmured.

"Yeah, Ted Andrews!" she said, beaming. "Have you met him?"

"Yeah, at a few parties," Derek said, his eyebrows furrowed. "He's a party animal for sure. Good luck with him."

"Cici doesn't need luck," Adeline said, smiling at her friend. "She's perfect — Ted will be lucky to have her."

☆︎

It was late as Mickey walked Adeline back toward her dorm after another movie night — they watched 'A Nightmare on Elm Street', and she liked it well enough, but spent a lot of it hiding in her boyfriend's chest. Now, as the cold wind hit her cheeks, Adeline was missing being on his couch and wrapped in his warm arms as he kissed her neck any time she flinched at a jump scare.

"I can't wait for the warm weather again," Adeline mumbled as they got closer, squeezing his hand that was intertwined with hers. "This is horrible."

"Me either. I miss your cute little sundreses," he said in a flirty tone.

Adeline scoffed jokingly and smacked his chest, only for him to catch her other hand and bring it to his lips, kissing her cold fingertips. Then they reached the entrance to Ramsay Hall, both coming to a stop.

"Meet for breakfast in the caf tomorrow with the other two?" Mickey asked, already dying to see her again when she was still holding onto him. Of course, 'the other two' meant Cici and Randy. They all had Film Studies first thing in the morning.

"Of course," she said, letting him pull her close until their chests were brushing. "I'll let Cici know if you tell Randy."

"Sounds like a plan. Now, get in and get warm," he said, eyes on her red nose.

He leaned down and kissed her nose, making her giggle. Then he kissed both of her cheeks before settling on her lips, making her sigh happily into the warm kiss. She moved to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer as he held her waist tightly.

"Goodnight," Adeline murmured against his mouth, her eyes still closed as his nose brushed her jaw, neither really wanting to separate — but the RAs were so strict about the visitation hours. "Love you."

Mickey smiled like he did every time he heard her say those words. "Love you too."

After one last kiss, Adeline parted from Mickey and let herself into her dorm, leaving him behind with his hands stuffed in his pockets for warmth, his eyes on her, not leaving until he knew he was safe inside. Then, he turned to leave, that smile still on his face.

And Mickey was all too unaware of the set of eyes watching him from a distance — eyes identical to his own. Eyes that Adeline loved. Eyes that would be fooling her at times in a matter of days if things went his way.