There isn't much of a social scene at Carrigan State. The academic clubs aren't too inclusive and the campus doesn't have anything interesting to do on weekends. Unless you're 21 and can get into a bar then you're stuck dealing with frat parties and kickbacks, which aren't too bad. It just creates a routine that can get tiring. Take my typical week for example: I endure the stress of classes and work before going out on Friday and then Saturday. If I go to a party, what happens there is up for grabs: I can go home with someone, go home alone, or I can just go to either Rex or Danny's apartment. That's the only variety in my life, so it seems.

So here I am at standing in the kitchen of yet another frat house flirting with a pretty girl, who seems just as interested in me as I am in her. She places one of her hands on my arm when I say something that makes her laugh and I begin to get excited. "You're really funny," she coos as she pushes a red tendril from her face. "I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?"

"No, thanks," I shake my head and she nods. Her curls are pulled back into a slightly messy bun and her green eyes are playful and teasing almost.

"Will you be here when I get back?" she wonders and I give her a quick nod. I spot Gen watching me from across the room and I raise one of my thumbs to signal that we're a go. My friend rolls her eyes, laughs, and returns back to the conversation she's having with the guy in front of her.

It takes a few minutes for the girl, whose name I think is Karla, to return. She's barely a meter away when someone cuts in front of her and advances towards me in a surprisingly fast manner. In a startled and slightly irritated state, I look up at the male figure only to find that it's Cameron. I peer around him and watch Karla frown in dismay as she hesitates before turning back the way she came. It's too loud for me to tell her to wait up so I am left to watch as she disappears into the crowd.

I return to my gaze to the curly haired boy with a sour glare. "Thank you, Cameron," I snap as I raise and drop my hands in a huff.

"Hey, you remembered my name," he cheers with a small smile before catching on to my tone. He glances behind him curiously before returning his large eyed gaze to me. "What'd I do?"

"The girl I was talking to is now lost in the sea of people because you cut in front of her," I retort as I motion to the dancing people behind him.

"You were talking to her?" he asks in slight surprise as he points his thumb behind him.

"Yes," I reiterate with a flat look on my face.

"You were going to play that innocent looking girl?" he gasps teasingly, which gets a furrowed brow from me.

"What?" I grunt as I lean in a bit to encourage him to repeat himself. His grin doesn't waver as he analyzes my expression.

"Were you going to try to play her, too?" he wonders aloud, which causes my head to jump back in pure shock. He catches on to my confusion and explains further. "You have to know that you're a player."

"I'm a what?" I ask him to repeat and he laughs loudly from his place a foot away from me. I stare up at with squinted eyes. If it weren't for the crazy mess he's talking, I would be distracted by how good he looks in the deep red sweater hanging off his shoulders.

"Last Friday night, you did all of that just to sleep with me, right?" he queries with an angled head. I have a feeling he already knows the answer to that question but I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of agreeing.

"H-Huh?" I stammer as I stare up at him. I'm caught off guard at the fact that he's actually calling me out for it. Most people would avoid someone who attempted to play them out of embarrassment or discomfort. However, he's unmoving in his goal of getting me to admit it. His dark brown eyes even search mine with a sense of merriment, as if he's enjoying making me squirm under his interrogation.

"I know because I've used that technique. Approach, flirt, make them think you're nice, and then go in for the kill. I have to admit it's weird to be on the other end of that interaction," he elaborates as he scrutinizes me. "It's also weird because you don't look like a player at all."

"I'm not a player," I dismiss him with a shake of my head.

"Let me guess- you were going to sleep with me and, if I didn't hint at wanting you to leave after sex, you were going to sneak out of my apartment when I was asleep and never talk to me again," he guess as he waves his hands around as if weighing odds. I stare at him and slowly sip my drink, unsure of how to respond. He's not wrong. What do I say to that? "And you're not replying because you know it's true."

"Or maybe I just like flirting," I counter weakly with a quick glance up into his eyes. His lashes tangle together as he blinks dubiously at me.

"I don't have a problem with it. I can't. That'd make me a hypocrite. Maybe I should've let you play me so I could've gotten a taste of my own medicine," he ponders with a slow shrug. "I just want to know what made you think I was a good candidate to play."

"I wasn't trying to play you," I lie yet again. I know I should admit it but I can't bring myself to. "I wasn't trying to have sex with you either."

"Really?" he asks doubtfully. His thick brows raise on his forehead and his smile is unwavering.

"I wasn't," I fib as I strongly move my head side to side. His gaze is one of pure bliss and his smirk is knowing, so I shake my head again in an attempt to throw him off. When he doesn't even blink, I throw my hands up in frustration. "I wasn't!"

"Okay," he accepts, though I can tell I haven't convinced him. A silence falls over us as I silently fume about him not believing my lie. "But I know you think I'm cute."

"Ever hear of beer goggles?" I retort with a slight scowl. This lie may be pushing it. I openly called him cute a good two or three times. He even called me out for using the word.

"You weren't that drunk," he scoffs at me with crossed arms. I admire the way his muscles faintly show through the cloth of his sweater.

"I wish I was now," I mumble as I run an antsy hand through my hair.

"Alright, player," he coos with a smirk. I groan in frustration but he continues. "The whole pretending you don't know me card you pulled in the library- that was a nice touch, I must admit."

"I genuinely didn't remember," I continue in a horrible attempt at covering my tracks.

"Okay," he goes along with a large smile.

I groan as I kick off the counter, coming only inches from his chest. He doesn't move like I expected so I place a finger against his chest and lightly nudge him backwards. He chuckles quietly and takes two steps away from me. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find Carmen...Karla...the girl."

"You barely know her name," he gasps with raised brows.

"It was loud and I couldn't hear her," I confess. Though partially true, I also didn't really care enough to listen when she said it.

"Did you tell her your name?" he wonders as he takes my previous position against the counter.

I give him a flat look before taking another step back. "Even though I don't want to, I know I'll see you around," I bid him adieu before setting off on my search.

+++

I stare at my textbook, blinking back sleep. I look up at the computer screen and see that it's barely 2:45PM. I don't get out until 5 and it already feels like I've been here for seven years. Only two people have come in since I clocked in at 1 and both were here less than five minutes. I glance back at my bosses door and wonder how much trouble I'd get in if I get caught taking a nap. I shut my eyes for a second, figuring I'd rest them until the next person comes in.

"Sleeping on the job?" a voice disrupts and I jolt awake. I look around in fear and am (surprisingly) relieved when I discover that it's only Cameron. Though confused as to why he's here, I'm happy it wasn't my boss that caught me. I look at the screen of the computer and notice that only five minutes have passed since I shut my eyes. He couldn't give me another five minutes?

"What do you need?" I ask him as I wipe the sleep from my eyes.

"Were you up late last night partying?" he wonders aloud as he tugs lightly at the straps of his bookbag.

I glance up at him and repress the urge to sigh. I swear if he wasn't so obnoxious, I'd probably be blushing from embarrassment right now. "It's Wednesday. I was up studying," I correct him as I stretch out tiredly.

"What were you studying?" he questions as he peeks at my textbook. I make it a point to shift my papers over the pages.

"I was studying the concept of minding my own business. Have you heard of it?" I retort, which results in his mouth dropping into a shocked 'O'.

"You're a great worker. First, you sleep on the job and then you're rude to the students," he observes with a slow nod. "You should get a raise."

"Tell my boss that," I dare him with a small glower. "Speaking of, are you here for a meeting?"

"I am," he answers as he glances at the clock behind me. "3:15."

I log in and look at the schedule where I find his name scribbled in as C. Woods. I click it and confirm that he's here, which sends a notification to Professor Harper that he's ready when she is. "You can sit down," I wave him off dismissively in hopes that he'll leave me alone.

I watch as he walks towards the lounge area and let out an alleviating sigh. Instead of taking a seat as instructed, he grabs one of the chairs and drags it over so that it's directly in front of my desk. As if a casual action, he removes his bag from his back, drops down, and releases a relaxed breath. "So how is your day going?" he wonders aloud as he stretches out in the chair. His long legs hit the desk as he leans forward with his arms on his knees.

His chocolatey gaze encapsulates me as he waits for a response. "You're blocking me from students," I surmise when I break my eyes away from him. Just to be convincing, I look over his shoulder at the door. I can see perfectly fine down the hallway and it's clearly desolate.

"If anyone comes, I'll move," he insists with a wave of his hand. He licks his lips and nods us back into the conversation. "So...how's your day so far?"

"You know, I'm 95% sure you're stalking me," I confess as I lock eyes with him again. A grin breaks out onto his face and he tips his head back slightly and lets out a deep laugh.

"What do I have to do to make it 100%?" he jokes and I watch the way he rubs his hands together.

"Leaving me alone would make me certain that you are," I answer with a tight lipped smile.

"Somehow I feel like that'd be counterintuitive," he rebuts before his eyes drop to my top, which is just a plain pink t-shirt. "It's a good thing they don't make you wear name tags. That'd definitely blow your whole Nameless act. Or do you only refuse to tell your name to people you're trying to sleep with and then leave...Player?"

"You're ridiculous. I'm not a player," I dispute with a small scowl. "Besides, I told you my name."

"How'd things go with that girl, by the way? Is she heartbroken?" he asks as he leans back now. His long legs extend far enough that the sneak under the desk.

"She's fine," I answer vaguely. That night, we went out to her car and made out but that was disappointingly all. Then, she hit me up to hang out, so we did, and all we did again was makeout. So things aren't looking too hot so far but that's none of his business.

An email pops up in the corner of the screen and I grab a sticky note, write down the person who sent it, and stick it to the computer screen. He watches with interest as I place the pen back into its designated cup. "What are some of the things you do here?" he asks as his eyes scan my desk curiously. I figure the question is innocent enough to answer.

"I answer students' questions. I schedule appointments. I keep track of emails and phone calls for Professor Harper. I keep the area neat. I occasionally file paperwork," I list as I also take a look around.

"It sounds easy enough," he nods before pointing at my hidden textbook. "You get paid to do your homework, basically."

After nodding in agreement, I explain the downside. "But it's also extremely boring. I work through lunch so everyone's either eating or in class. I also work close and no one comes in because they're done with classes and are napping."

"Do you always work this shift?" he questions as he squints at me. His gaze is playfully suspicious and I raise a pointed finger at him.

"Not if you're going to pop in," I answer, which gets a loud laugh from him. Before he can answer, Professor Harper's door opens and she looks at the two of us.

"You can come in, Cameron," she announces. He gives her a short nod and stands up. I allow my eyes to scan him as he does and I'm not disappointed. Like he promised, he places the chair back in the waiting room before joining the professor. I return to my textbook and try my best to focus on the blur of words scrawled across the page. Once I manage to get into the groove of things, the sound of the professor's door opening breaks my concentration

"Same time next week?" he inquires with a large beam as he stands before my desk. I roll my eyes and shoo him away like a fly. I listen to his laughter travel down the hallway and repress the urge to rip my hair out. Why do I see this boy everywhere? And why does he have to be so cute?