Chapter Text
September always felt like a fresh start, at times even more than New Year’s Eve. Heather had always felt that way. School, ballet classes, the start of her favourite TV shows; every event in her life had revolved around that month, and this September, with the start of the third year of university, was no exception.
She was a Communication and Design student at Muskoka University, a college situated near the Georgian Bay, in Ontario. It was not too far from Toronto, but far enough that her parents did not have to think about her for the entire academic year.
The feelings were more than reciprocated. They did not like her because they never understood her, and she did not like them because she understood them too well.
She looked outside the cab’s window distractedly, recognizing the familiar line of trees that indicated they were near the Institute. All her things were already in her dorm room, but her makeup, her perfumes, and her laptop were in a bag she had shoved in the passenger seat.
Her phone’s ringtone distracted her, drawing her eyes to the notification bubble on the screen.
Josee: did u get there already? Jacques says hi.
Josee and Jacques, her best friends. They had known each other since kindergarten, and even though they had done almost everything together, seemingly attached at the hip, they had decided to stay in Toronto for their sports degrees and their ice-skating training.
Heather: almost.
Josee: lmao, gwen’s nightmare is coming back
Heather: poor thing 😂
Separating from her best friends had been hard, at first, but then it turned out just fine-ish.
She felt the car slow down and looked up to see the familiar historical brick building. Muskoka University was an old, repurposed convent, and by now she knew the way through its four floors by memory.
The car turned left and, finally, she saw the dormitory’s building. It had been built when the convent became a university and, by the look of it, it was a failed attempt to replicate the campus’ architecture.
The moment she stepped down from the vehicle, she recognized a few of her mates.
“Mean girl’s here” Leshawna exclaimed.
Heather rolled her eyes, took her bag and, without even a word of dismissal, walked up to the group near the door.
“Heather, hi! How did you spend the summer?”, Bridgette asked, her eyes contrasting with the tan on her skin.
“Vacationing. You and Geoff went… surfing again?” she raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, we did! The girls and the guys came too!”
“I know, I saw the pics.”
“I saw Duncan and Courtney came to visit you!”
“Yes, we are friends. Sort of.”
It was a little bit of an understatement. She had become very good friends with Duncan and, when he and Courtney got together, she discovered they too had many things in common. She did not have to pretend with them, just as it was with Jacques and Josee, and, in return, they could be as annoying as they wanted. She did not care that much, anyway.
Bridgette nodded off, called back by Leshawna and Gwen.
“Heatheeer! O-M-G, you are here too!”.
The blonde hair. The shiny, innocent blue eyes. The high-pitched voice.
Lindsay. The reminder of her wrongdoings personified in a silly girl who had just wanted to be her friend. She had used her and mistreated her throughout the whole first year, and the consequences of her actions, though she would rather have eaten sand, still haunted her at times.
So she tried to smile and play nice, if only for her conscience.
“Yes, you too!”
“I went to the boys’ side to say hi to Tyler and there was a guy I’ve never seen before!” the blonde said.
“Are you sure it wasn’t Tyler?” Gwen asked, an amused smile playing on her lips. Everyone was aware of Lindsay's small lapses in memory, and Heather too was a little inclined to agree with Gwen despite their usual animosity.
“Hey! I know what my boyfriend looks like!” Lindsay protested.
Heather would have asked other questions, but a pair of arms hugged her shoulders from behind.
“Hi, Queen Bee!”. She could almost hear Courtney’s smile and could not hold back her own.
“Hello, C-I-T. Linds was telling us there is a new guy”.
“Oh, yes. Duncan and I got here together, I saw him but then ran straight to this side. He’s a looker, better than Justin!”, Court smirked, clearly still intending to find her a boyfriend.
“Hopefully he’s not as smart as Justin”, she rolled her eyes.
It was then that she saw the guys come from the archway, and right away she spotted the new guy among them. Courtney had said he was a looker, but for once she had to admit that this one was a little more than just that. Tall, medium-length brown hair, olive skin and the greenest eyes she had ever seen. He was handsome, and by the way he moved she had the sneaking suspicion that he knew it.
Duncan high-fived Gwen, then approached her.
“Here you are! Ready for another year of boredom?”
“You know you could just drop out, right?” Heather asked, her question laced with sarcasm.
“Heather, don’t put ideas in that head of his.” Courtney rolled her eyes.
“Nah, who’s going to pull you and princess out of your asses?” he looked sideways in the direction of the new addition, who was already introducing himself. “That guy, he’s cool. Real cool, maybe a little too much”.
Heather would have replied with one of her snarky comments, but the subject of the conversation approached them and extended a hand toward her.
“Hi, I’m Alejandro, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” he said, a perfectly friendly smile plastered on his face and glinting eyes to accompany his introduction. She had seen the way everyone seemed to fawn over him and his flirty ways, but there was something- she could not put her finger on it, though she knew it was there- that made him seem sinister to him. As if he were playing a game no one knew about.
“I guess, I am Heather” she replied with sufficiency.
“And I am Courtney!” the brunette shook hands with him, noticing Heather had not moved in the slightest. “Heather is not the most welcoming, I am sorry”.
“I don’t care, and I’m definitely not sorry” she glared at the brunette who kept ignoring her.
“Oh, that’s okay!”, Alejandro hinted a smirk, “I’ve always liked strong women.”
“And I’ve never liked morons,” she turned towards Courtney, “Are we going to our room or are we staying here?”
“Alright, alright. Alejandro, excuse us, we’re off to check our rooms. But hopefully we’ll see you around. I don’t know if Duncan mentioned it, but Geoff usually throws a party to start the year with a bang.”
“Yes, I already got the invite. Don’t let me keep you ladies anymore. We’ll see each other around”. Alejandro’s unfazed manner irked her, so she took Courtney’s hand and rushed both of them inside the building.
They were in the elevator when Courtney turned to her, amused by her antics.
“You couldn’t be a little nicer, right?”
“When have I ever been nice?”, she replied.
“Touché. He’s cute, though. Seems like a nice guy”.
“He looks fake. Have you seen those stupid bitches and the way they fawn over him?”.
“Come on! He is handsome and knows how to get people to like him. Doesn’t seem like something to crucify him over so soon.” Courtney chuckled as she looked at the mirror wall inside the elevator. She glanced towards the mirror as well and met her eyes.
“I don’t care, really. Our new room this year is the most interesting part so far”.
A part of her felt unsettled but she did not know why, and the idea of thinking about it for too long annoyed her. The year had just started, and she was determined to make the most of it and show everyone who she was.