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Dedicated to Still_Just_Me for taking the time and effort to edit this story.

Thank you for reading, if you like it, please drop a vote on each chapter so others can find and read this story too. Chapters are a little on the long side but this story is filled with lots of humour, love-hate tension, sexual tension with tinges of drama, and a whole lot of heart.

Why were movies, novels, and television series so misleading? They made college feel like the best time of people's lives, students always had fun, partied almost every day, and actually had a life outside of school.

As a college student, I detested that false illusion set by urban culture television; college was nothing to the way they portrayed it. If anything, college was life-draining; it sucked all signs of life and happiness out of you. Assignments, essays, presentations, and studying took away from basic living necessities like sleeping, showering, and even eating. I barely had time to think let alone have a social life and was close to a mental breakdown at least every other day.

So, when a rare opportunity arrived to let my hair down, I took it, but, unfortunately, not everyone felt that way.

I've observed two kinds of people in college - one was the kind who wanted to make a career for themselves and become something and the second were the ones who were there just for a good time no matter what the consequences.

"Remind me why we have to go to this party again?"

"Because you're a prude and you need to get out more. Plus, when do we ever get invited to frat parties? We were together during college and lived like nuns. Now that we are in this amazing med-school, there is no way I'm missing out on living."

"Why do I let you convince me to do things?"

"Because deep down in your very old, boring heart you know I'm right and that inner animal in you wants to be unleashed."

"When you put it that way I don't want to go anywhere."

"You'll thank me by the end of the night, just you wait and watch."

Our words sounded like a typical conversation between a studious, shy friend and an eccentric, free spirit one, and it was. Going off our conversation alone, it might've appeared that I was the former friend who whined about not going and my evil friend slash roommate convinced me to ditch my books for a night and just let loose, but that wasn't quite the case.

As a second-year medical student at Harvard Medical School, I was very much the lifeless college student but not by choice. I wanted a career but also wanted to live a carefree life when time permitted. So, on the rare, occasional reminder that I was an actual breathing, human being who had a life outside of an Anatomy textbook, I grabbed my social opportunities.

I was recently invited to a fraternity party by a classmate's friend who attended Boston University. The moment I got the invite, I knew I was going and not just by myself, I was bringing a plus one.

My plus one was my shy, prudish friend Faith. We'd known each other since our pre-med days and by sheer luck, we both got accepted into one of the best medical schools in the world. We shared an off-campus apartment since we both cringed at the idea of communal bathrooms. I supposed I could've called her my best friend, although I tried not to give my relationships sentimental titles – heck, I hated using the word relationship.

"Mils, I really do not want to go," Faith whined as she brushed through her dark brown hair.

"Do not," I mimicked. "Why so proper, Ms. Adley?"

"What am I supposed to say?" Faith questioned.

I shrugged, "Don't. It sounds so much more colloquial than do not."

I had an odd obsession with using certain jargon for specific occasions and felt that the tone should've been light and less formal when conversing casually with someone.

Faith raised a brow, "You're the one saying colloquial."

I was done with our baseless conversation; I knew Faith and she would've loved to kill time and miss the party by arguing about words and how we used them.

"Oh, enough with the chatter. Do you want to get trashed tonight or not?" I smiled suggestively.

"Not," Faith replied as if I was stupid to even ask that question.

I rolled my eyes, "You know I read somewhere that it's during college that you meet the man of your dreams... your soulmate and the man you'll marry and have babies with one day."

Faith was a sucker for love stories, she loved love and always dreamt of the day she'd meet her soulmate and drive off into the sunset. I, on the other hand, thought that was utter bullshit. The sentiment was sensationalized as sweet and great, but life wasn't a fairytale and I believed love could be a recipe for disaster and self-destruction. However, I couldn't fully judge, I'd never been in love so I couldn't vouch for much.

Faith's eyes beamed and she looked up at me as if I was her fairy godmother or something, "Really? You read that?"

Poor Faith was so naïve, she thought I would read something like that – she should've known better but her heart was pure and she trusted and believed easily.

"Oh yeah," I drawled, "It was so touching and raw that tears formed in my eyes."

I felt bad for taking advantage of her trusting nature sometimes but that was only my privilege, I never allowed anyone else to take advantage of her in any way. That was why we hit it off so well; I was there for her to protect her precious innocent heart from the big bad world and she was very motherly and caring.

"Okay, I'm in," Faith smiled.

I grinned widely at her before going back to getting ready. As a tall girl with five foot nine, I used to be insecure about my height. As I got older, I embraced my body and learned to appreciate it. I had long, brunette wavy hair that reached mid-back, almond-shaped blue-green eyes, and a pretty athletic figure that I inherited from my father's genes.

I chose to wear a well-fitted, mini light blue, floral dress in an off-the-shoulder style with a puffed sleeve and a false button-down detail. To complement the dress, I matched it with white sneakers, a cropped jeans jacket, and minimum makeup with a berry lip.

After a once-over in the mirror, I ran my hands through my wavy hair and grabbed the sling bag off my bed before heading out.

The drive to the fraternity house wasn't very long at all and when I glanced Faith's way, she looked a little sick. Once I pulled up at the side of the road, I turned off the engine and raised a brow at her.

"You look like you're about to be sick, everything okay?" I asked, "Actually, get out before you answer that, I do not want vomit on my seats."

"Real compassionate, Mils," Faith rolled her eyes, "I have social anxiety, seeing all these cars and the people outside are making me anxious."

I pitied her since Faith didn't do well with crowds and a lot of people around her, which was one of the reasons she didn't go to parties. However, to break her free from that shell, I thought it was wise to go out once in a while.

"Okay take deep breaths, Fay, in and out, in and out," I chanted.

Poor Faith was slightly out of her comfort zone and I felt awful but I also knew her well, she was always apprehensive when it came to going out but once she settled in, she unwound and started enjoying herself.

"I'm not in freaking labor," Faith huffed.

I laughed before sincerely saying, "I'm sorry, but let's head inside for a while and if you're too overwhelmed, I promise we can leave."

She let out a breath, "Alright, I trust you."

"Of course, you do. We're bitches for life."

"Yeah yeah, I know the only reason you dragged me here was so you have a designated driver to take you back," Faith mumbled as we made our way inside.

"You wound me." I gasped. "But yeah, that was one reason... only one," I honestly said before adding, "I really do want you to have a nice time for once."

The house was a double-story Tuscan style home that was painted a light sandy color on the outside and all the doors and window panes were a dark brown. The front lawn was covered with people all with red plastic cups in their hands, filled with alcohol I presumed.

Walking past the many people, we made our way up a few steps before reaching the front door. A fairly cute guy grinned at me, shamelessly checked me out. Figuring looking was harmless, I returned his smile with a wink before walking past him.

Faith looked at me wide-eyed, "You're going to give him the wrong idea."

"So? He was cute," I answered.

"Where did I find you?" Faith murmured under her breath.

We entered the house and stood at the entrance hall where the loud music from the backyard throbbed in my ears. The place was crowded and reeked of alcohol and even a slight stench of body odor, I took in my surroundings and wondered if the many high school parties I missed out on were similar to this.

"Feeling better?" I glanced Faith's way.

"No," she sourly answered.

Why did I even bother asking when I knew that would be her response.

I sighed, "Let's just go."

We made our way to a large living room filled with even more people than outside. The room screamed boy's fraternity with the large billiard table in the center of the room, far off people crowded around a set of couches, and another table was set up on the opposite end of the room, where a bunch of people played beer pong.

"Beer pong," I hid none of my excitement when I grinned at Faith.

"You don't even like beer," Faith pointed out.

"I know because it tastes like moldy bread but this is a drinking game that kind of involves a sport," I mused, "Do you understand why I don't mind it?"

Faith furrowed her brows and looked at me as if I was the oddest person she knew, "No but then again, you're the hardest person to understand."

"Thanks." I grinned at her, "Now come on, let's go play."

"No," Faith pulled her hand out of my grasp, "I don't like beer and I don't feel like drinking."

"I knew you wouldn't drink; I mean, you are my designated driver today," I replied, "But you can at least spectate and cheer me on."

I could tell by Faith's rigid body language and scowl that she already hated being here but that was also because, in her mind, she decided the party was going to be awful. I knew her, once she set her mind on something, it was near impossible to change unless I did the convincing.

"If I don't join you, are you going to leave me standing here alone?" She crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow.

She really does know me well.

I scoffed, "That thought didn't even occur to me. Which is why I must insist you join me."

Faith sighed, "It's honestly sad that I know you so well, yet still you always get your way with me."

A grin slowly grew on my lips, I adored Faith, and how difficult she said no to me.

"Stop being an old lady and let's just go," I gestured for her to follow me.

At the beer pong table, about six people were playing, each took swigs at the filled cups of beer. There were four guys and two girls, the girls I assumed were two of the guy's girlfriends since they were extremely close to each other.

"Care for another player?" I announced.

Four out of the six guys were more than keen to let me join, the other two remained quiet and one of the two girls mumbled a 'sure.' My guess about two of them being spoken for was confirmed by the response from those two guys and one girl.

You can't please everyone in the world.

"Sure thing," A blonde guy with green eyes grinned. "Is it just you or is your friend joining too?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Faith stared at me wide-eyed and shook her head no.

"Looks like it's just me," I casually shrugged.

A tall guy with darker hair and dark eyes walked around the table and he did a quick once over of me before he said, "Wanna go first?"

I took a moment to contemplate if drinking beer was a good idea. I wasn't a big drinker but the few times I had beer never ended well for me.

Softly huffing, I thought there was no harm in having one or two. So, with a small smile, I replied, "Sure, I just got here, and I might need a little starter before I hit the good stuff."

I took the ping pong ball and began throwing it in the cups. I never played as many sports as I wanted growing up but had engaged in a few games with my grandparents' neighbors' kid while growing up.

My skills hadn't gone in vain because I sunk all the ping pong balls in a row and triumphantly grinned with each round.

"Someone is good with balls," one of the guys remarked and I rolled my eyes while laughter erupted around the table.

I paused and internally cringed at his stupid remark, he thought he was being funny when in fact he only looked like a bigger idiot.

"Coño," I murmured, "vete a freír espárragos."

"Pardon me?" His smartass mouth quickly shut and was replaced with a confused look.

I ignored his question and purposely missed the last one, tutted, and feigned a defeated look. I walked around to get the cup filled with beer, picked one of the balls from the cup, and dropped it to the floor before my foot stepped on it and crushed it flat.

"I'm good at crushing them too," I flashed a tight lip grin, "Especially when it gets on my nerves."

I lifted the cup and brought it to my lips, downing the bitter liquid as quick as I could in hopes to not get much of the taste.

The blonde guy and a few others laughed and cheered me on. I chugged down the beer and knew at the back of my mind that was a mistake because I was a lightweight and beer didn't go well with me.

A while passed and I was quite enjoying myself, I lost a few rounds of the game and drank about four or maybe five cups of beer when I decided to call it quits; I'd had enough.

"Alright, boys I'm out," I announced.

"Aw come on, you were like the best player here." One of the guys stopped me from walking off.

I dramatically sighed, "I know, I know but I gotta spread my sparkle to the rest of the party." I saluted them with my index finger, "Until we meet again, fellow pong-mates."

I walked away and hearing myself talk I knew I was already tipsy, well maybe more than tipsy. But I was enjoying myself and I didn't want to stop the night there.

I looked around the room where I left Faith and frowned, she just disappeared. My eyes scanned the area but she was nowhere to be found. With a frown, I walked out of the room towards the opposite room that was most likely the dining room and checked out the area, but I couldn't see her anywhere.

As I turned around to exit, I pulled out my phone to call her but just as I was about to, I spotted the familiar mop of hair on the further end of the room.

She was seated on a chair and next to her was a guy. I rubbed my eyes and checked again to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. Faith was sitting at a party without me and that too with a guy and to make matters more unbelievable, she was laughing.

The guy was attractive with an athletic built, dark blonde, long slicked-back hair, and blue eyes. His strong jaw wasn't hidden by a beard and his clean-shaven face showed off his handsome features. He was seated so I couldn't tell how tall he was but by his posture I guessed he was around the six-foot mark.

Faith wore a smile and her flirt was on as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, and he seemed pretty into her with the way he leaned into her when he spoke. His eyes were fixed on her and looking at the pair, I assumed their surroundings were blurred and their only focus was each other.

Shocked, I made my way to where she sat and tapped her shoulder. She looked up at me and her smile dropped.

"Oh boy," She said more to herself, "How much did you drink?"

I couldn't have been that wasted already, could I? I only chugged down a couple of beers and even though I felt a little buzzed, I was nowhere near drunk enough.

Feigning offense, "Do I look drunk to you?"

She nodded, "Uh-huh, your eyes go extra blue when you're drunk."

That couldn't have been possible? Could it? I knew with different lighting my eyes changed at times but with alcohol? I didn't buy it.

"How is that even possible?" I asked, "Nowhere in any textbook of mine does it say that."

"Well, the textbook authors are yet to meet you," Faith mumbled before adding seriously,

"Alright Mils, do we need to go?"

Glancing at the guy next to her told me that he felt the same way I did with Faith's questions. The poor guy looked as if someone punched him in the gut. I could tell how much into her he was merely by his body language and sitting position, his arm was draped over the backrest of Faith's seat and his legs leaned towards hers.

He was probably just starting to get to know her and here she was, seemingly ready to leave. I bet that must've left him feeling a little dejected.

However, lucky for him, I was not ready to leave as yet.

I shook my head as if she was insane, "We just got here, I'm not ready to leave."

Faith didn't look too displeased by my answer and the gentleman she was with looked a lot less relieved when she said, "Alright. When you're ready to go, you know where to find me."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise and amusement, she almost seemed like the Faith I walked in with some time back had been replaced with a far more relaxed and laid-back version of her. I idly wondered if the guy sitting next to her was the reason.

Before I could say anything else, the guy next to her chuckled, "Are you the parent-friend?"

Faith sighed, "One of us has to be."

"Um excuse me," I began as I sat on my friend's lap, "I am the parent-whatever you said. She only takes care of me when I'm drunk, which by the way is very rare."

"I take care of her all the time; I need to protect Faithy from all the big bad wolves in the world."

"Mila," Faith warned under her breath.

I smirked at her, normally Faith hadn't minded me saying that but the way she reacted and the pink tint on her cheeks told me she liked this guy and he evidently liked her too.

"Okay, okay I'll shut up and leave you two alone," I raised my hands defensively as I stood up.

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy chuckled again as he extended his hand, "I'm Owen."

I grinned and shook his hand, "Mila."

"Nice to meet you, Mila," he politely responded, "I hope you don't mind me stealing your friend. I noticed you were having lots of fun at beer pong," he said before he added, "That's where I bumped into Faith and thought I'd give her some company."

I scrunched my face, and still tasted the beer in my mouth; I hated the taste, "Ugh, you reminded me, now I can taste moldy bread."

He looked at Faith then at me with a small frown, "Moldy bread?"

Yet another one of my weird perks was my dislike for beer, apart from past occurrences where beer didn't go down well, it tasted like yeast gone bad.

Before Faith could reply, I thought I'd elaborate, "Beer tastes like moldy bread; I have no idea why I