Round Ten - University - Repercussions

Things are only just getting back to normal after Liliana and Ashlee's disastrous fling, and now Liliana's cousin Gabriel, who's had a bit of a crush on Ashlee for a while, has joined them and Maya at S.S.U. Will they all keep it together long enough to graduate?

Liliana had barely talked to him at the party, only tangentially knowing Allyn in the first place, so she's surprised when Tom Darwin calls her out of the blue. Liliana may be heartbroken but that doesn't mean she's been lying around crying and getting stuck out of the loop. She knows her gossip, knows that Tom and Allyn, while still most certainly a couple, are seeing other people.

"We should go on a date sometime," he says with a debonair sort-of-a-laugh.

"How about tomorrow? Coffee on campus? I mean, if you've got time and it's not too much of a journey. I'd meet you back in Serenity but, yanno, can't afford a car what with dorm payments and all..." She keeps her voice casual even though she knows she's rambling a bit, plus she's gripping the receiver hard enough to hurt.

If he cares about her hidden nervousness he doesn't show it. "Sure. 5pm good for you?"

"Awesome. See you then." Click.

They don't drink much coffee in the end. Sure, he buys her an espresso (he can certainly afford it) but Liliana's got more on her mind. She wants to forget all about Ashlee and that awkwardness, so she doesn't hesitate to make her move.

He's not the first Darwin man she's been after - Sam caught her attention once upon a time, after all - but Tom's an easy one to catch right back.

After a very pleasant kiss goodbye she wonders if she should invite him back to the dorm... she just bought a double bed for her room, seems a shame not to use it. But she doesn't want to look easy. She is most certainly not easy, a lot of boys could tell you that, but Tom just DOES something to her. He leaves for his big new house in Serenity Hills, a long drive from S.S.U.

(I lost my pictures of the date. Tom looked really shifty THE WHOLE TIME, looking over his shoulder!)

Gabriel wastes no time getting re-acquainted with Ashlee to a much "friendlier" level than they had before. She's learned from last time and told him straight out that they're not serious or exclusive, and he's okay with it, although maybe deep down he believes he can change her mind.

So Gabriel doesn't have anything more than Liliana could have. But it doesn't change the way she feels. He keeps trying to be all FRIENDLY and HAPPY and it annoys the hell out of her.

Like the morning after another big party when, before she's even had an opportunity to get caffeine and fried food into her system, he settles down next to her on the battered old sofa and starts going on about the fine art market. They're both majoring in Art with the intention of going pro so it's something they should be able to talk about, but she can't take it.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear about all your stupid financial stuff. Save it for someone who cares." She gets up and storms off to her room, and pulls her cellphone from her pocket...

So he sticks to hanging out with Ashlee. She's... not dumb, that's not the right word at all. But she isn't academic or serious and they never have arguments. They never really talk much.

Liliana and Tom don't talk much either. All the "playing hard to get" kind of stopped happening. As the semesters seemingly fly by, he's over at the S.S.U. campus a surprising amount, driving Allyn's flashy sports car.

The college years are over all too quickly for Ashlee, Maya and Liliana. They graduate, although none with honours, and get ready to head off home.

"We can still hang out and stuff, I'll visit whenever," says Ashlee cheerfully to Gabriel. "I mean, yeah, we're open to meeting new people, but I like you a lot."

"I like you a lot too." It's true. Gabriel does like her... but he doesn't love her. He's sure of that now, and he's also sure that he does want to be in love. Maybe time away from Ashlee and the way she makes his brain go all fuzzy is for the best.

On moving-out day there are tears all round, especially for Maya and Liliana. Ashlee's moving in with Maya and her mother but Liliana has already found an apartment in downtown Sim City.

"Don't cry, May! I'm, like, an hour's drive away, not dead."

"I know, I know. I'll miss you so much. I'd move out with you too, but my mother needs me and - "

" - and Ashlee's about as self-sufficient as a baby so she can't live on her own, and there's no way I'm living with her."

"That too."

Maya dries her eyes and breaks from the hug. "I'll miss you. Come and visit whenever you want." She knows it probably won't happen. There's still too much bad blood between Liliana and Ashlee. But she hopes Liliana will come around.