Nathaniel King, Tom Darwin and Jace and Petal Bhalli have all taken the plunge and headed off to university. Will they have an easy time of it or will they face unexpected obstacles - especially Tom, who's convinced he can just breeze through it all? University's just one big party, right?
(I'm naming most of the university rounds after songs and lyrics from the college rock and new wave stations because it's fun, and those two stations have provided fitting music during dramatic situations!)
Jace Bhalli was a little surprised to find out that their other dormmates at SSU were Allyn Bachman and Solveig Tellerman. They'd all gone to school together but Allyn and Solveig had always been in the "popular" crowd and he'd assumed they would head off to college somewhere with a beach and hot boys, but here they were. Allyn looked pretty similar to how she always had, but Jace couldn't help noticing that Solveig had a lot more clothes on and a lot less makeup... and that she was utterly beautiful.
The first semester started with a proper freshmen kegger. Tom went to get a drink and was met by a very tipsy Allyn.
"Hey. Isn't Alan a guy's name?"
"Allyn with a Y is a girl's name, okay?"
"Sure it is. Doesn't help that you drink like a guy, though!"
"Watch it. I can drink you under the table any time."
"Is that a challenge? You're on."
Allyn and Tom weren't the only ones hitting the booze; Solveig had more than her fair share too, and it ended with her and Tom having a drunken makeout session before Solveig passed out in bed.
The next morning Solveig was studiously avoiding him, but Allyn seemed to have been encouraged by his good-natured teasing.
"Great party last night, huh? I don't know about you but I could do with getting some coffee, my hangover's killing me."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" laughed Tom.
"What do you think? Come on, the campus coffee shop's not THAT bad. The geeks stick to the library."
Soon life fell into a comfortable routine. Jace, Petal, Nathaniel and Solveig spent most of their time studying while Allyn and Tom neglected it all in favour of hanging around, flirting, kissing and generally engaging in gratuitous PDA.
Solveig watched Tom and Allyn with interest but no jealousy - in fact, she was pretty sure she'd dodged a bullet there. Tom was bad news, and she hated that her former best friend was getting sucked in by his smooth ways. But what could she do? Allyn WANTED to be sucked in, and Solveig had more important things to worry about if she was going to make the Dean's List and get into medical school.
She was getting closer to Jace Bhalli, much to his delight. Sure, they had chemistry, but it wasn't all about flirting - they helped each other with schoolwork and he would even put up with playing chess against her. Jace was developing something of a crush, especially after learning that she wanted to be a doctor not some party-girl like he'd always thought, and Solveig was beginning to realise she liked him too.
Eventually she decided to be brave and make the first move. Jace was sitting around on his own playing computer games after a particularly gruelling study session (he was bright enough, but nowhere near as driven as his twin) and she went for it.
"Hey, Jace?"
He jumped up eagerly. "What is it?"
She stepped closer and stroked his cheek. "I don't want to seem too forward, but... I really like you. Let's go out sometime."
Jace didn't need asking twice.
Nathaniel had so far failed to get lucky in any way, shape or form. He was generally outgoing but Petal Bhalli continued to terrify him after her early "eww, cooties" stage and he needed some advice. Unfortunately he went to Tom to get it because his only other options were Petal's brother and his uncle Duncan, who was now her stepfather.
"There's this girl I like, and I was wondering... well, you and Allyn hit it off really quickly and I know you had girls all over you in high school too. How do you get a girl to make out with you?"
"Seriously?" Tom laughed, a little surprised. "You've never even kissed a girl before? Wow, how did you get through being such a jock at school and stay so clueless?!"
Seeing as Tom had failed to give him any advice Nathaniel decided to throw himself into his schoolwork instead. Romance could wait.
Allyn and Tom ended up losing their virginities on the moth-eaten sofa in the communal lounge. Hey, why spend money on big space-eating beds when there was a perfectly good couch? Of course, the huge amount of time they spent fooling around meant they never turned in assignments and even skipped classes, but they didn't care.
When they weren't defiling the furniture they spent their time painting. Tom was considerably more skilled at it than Allyn but he managed to pull himself out of his own vain little world long enough to help her improve her style now and then.
Unfortunately, Allyn and Tom couldn't coast forever. After their final exam of freshman year they got such terrible grades Tom was put on academic probation. Allyn got the worst of it, though - she was expelled. She took it better than he did.
"My dad is going to kill me..." he muttered. "And you! It's my fault you have to leave!"
"It's fine! I never really wanted to go to college anyway. I don't need school to be a good artist." Allyn was shocked - she'd been kicked out of school but he was the one crying.
Tom didn't let his guilt upset him for long, of course. Not when he could be kissing someone.
"Do you really have to go?"
"Of course I do. The cab's going to be here soon!"
"I'll miss you."
"I love you too," said Allyn, ignoring what he'd actually said. "You can visit me whenever you want. You've got my cell phone number, babe, use it."
Allyn collected up her belongings and left campus without fuss. She'd found an apartment online that looked pretty good and (most importantly) was within her meager budget. At least that meant she and Tom would have a PRIVATE makeout space!
But Tom's mouring period didn't last long. It only took him days to hook up with a cute freshman...
...and get her to do lewd things on sofas too.
Solveig was so glad she'd avoided doing anything beyond that first drunken hook-up. Especially now Jace had said those three magic words.
"I love you, Sol."
"I love you too."
(Athena's POV)
Athena King is no great scholar, but with her family's encouragement she's got her first ever A+ on her report card. She crows about it for days!
There was a certain routine in their dorm now. The others would study while Tom wooed unsuspecting freshmen and sophomores.
Tom had indeed fallen off the rails. Instead of going to classes he'd head over to the Student Union or the coffee bar, and as soon as he was done introducing himself to one girl another would make her presence known. He was getting a reputation on campus as a heartbreaker and a layabout but his over-inflated view of himself left him believing he was a casanova and natural genius at art who would get over this whole "academic probation" thing with ease.
Nathaniel didn't need to worry about winning over Petal Bhalli for very long; she made the first move.
And the next move, too! Petal was very forward, a real go-getter, and Nathaniel could see himself marrying her... except for the weirdness that was the fact she was now his step-cousin.
Jace and Solveig were moving forward too, with considerably less weirdness. Jace had known for a while that Solveig was the one for him, and when he proposed she accepted without a moment's pause.
Nathaniel wasn't the only one who'd noticed the messiness on the family tree - Petal was kind of freaked out by it too.
Tom ended up failing out entirely and the school wouldn't keep him on academic probation forever - he had to leave.
Jace had told his mother about his engagement straight away, and soon Alima came to visit. She was heavily pregnant now, which weirded Jace out a bit, but he was glad to see that she got on well with Solveig.
Plus it was nice to be able to begin bonding with a new baby brother or sister!
Even though they'd met before and got on pretty well, Nathaniel was nervous about talking to Alima now he was dating her daughter - especially considering the fact that the big baby bump contained his future cousin. But Alima's friendly manner put him at ease and all the oddness finally dissipated.
So much so, in fact, that Nathaniel worked up the courage to propose. He'd liked Petal since they were teenagers, and now they were in love - a perfect story.
Petal accepted with a squeal of glee and a huge hug.
College days can't last forever, and soon the final exams had come and gone and it was time to leave.
The term ended with sadness as well has happiness. The twins were going to be split up for the first time in their lives; Petal was moving in with Nathaniel and his family, and Jace was going home to Alima and Duncan and bringing Solveig with him.
Jace Bhalli was a little surprised to find out that their other dormmates at SSU were Allyn Bachman and Solveig Tellerman. They'd all gone to school together but Allyn and Solveig had always been in the "popular" crowd and he'd assumed they would head off to college somewhere with a beach and hot boys, but here they were. Allyn looked pretty similar to how she always had, but Jace couldn't help noticing that Solveig had a lot more clothes on and a lot less makeup... and that she was utterly beautiful.
The first semester started with a proper freshmen kegger. Tom went to get a drink and was met by a very tipsy Allyn.
Allyn and Tom weren't the only ones hitting the booze; Solveig had more than her fair share too, and it ended with her and Tom having a drunken makeout session before Solveig passed out in bed.
The next morning Solveig was studiously avoiding him, but Allyn seemed to have been encouraged by his good-natured teasing.
Soon life fell into a comfortable routine. Jace, Petal, Nathaniel and Solveig spent most of their time studying while Allyn and Tom neglected it all in favour of hanging around, flirting, kissing and generally engaging in gratuitous PDA.
Solveig watched Tom and Allyn with interest but no jealousy - in fact, she was pretty sure she'd dodged a bullet there. Tom was bad news, and she hated that her former best friend was getting sucked in by his smooth ways. But what could she do? Allyn WANTED to be sucked in, and Solveig had more important things to worry about if she was going to make the Dean's List and get into medical school.
She was getting closer to Jace Bhalli, much to his delight. Sure, they had chemistry, but it wasn't all about flirting - they helped each other with schoolwork and he would even put up with playing chess against her. Jace was developing something of a crush, especially after learning that she wanted to be a doctor not some party-girl like he'd always thought, and Solveig was beginning to realise she liked him too.
Eventually she decided to be brave and make the first move. Jace was sitting around on his own playing computer games after a particularly gruelling study session (he was bright enough, but nowhere near as driven as his twin) and she went for it.
Nathaniel had so far failed to get lucky in any way, shape or form. He was generally outgoing but Petal Bhalli continued to terrify him after her early "eww, cooties" stage and he needed some advice. Unfortunately he went to Tom to get it because his only other options were Petal's brother and his uncle Duncan, who was now her stepfather.
Seeing as Tom had failed to give him any advice Nathaniel decided to throw himself into his schoolwork instead. Romance could wait.
Allyn and Tom ended up losing their virginities on the moth-eaten sofa in the communal lounge. Hey, why spend money on big space-eating beds when there was a perfectly good couch? Of course, the huge amount of time they spent fooling around meant they never turned in assignments and even skipped classes, but they didn't care.
When they weren't defiling the furniture they spent their time painting. Tom was considerably more skilled at it than Allyn but he managed to pull himself out of his own vain little world long enough to help her improve her style now and then.
Unfortunately, Allyn and Tom couldn't coast forever. After their final exam of freshman year they got such terrible grades Tom was put on academic probation. Allyn got the worst of it, though - she was expelled. She took it better than he did.
Tom didn't let his guilt upset him for long, of course. Not when he could be kissing someone.
Allyn collected up her belongings and left campus without fuss. She'd found an apartment online that looked pretty good and (most importantly) was within her meager budget. At least that meant she and Tom would have a PRIVATE makeout space!
But Tom's mouring period didn't last long. It only took him days to hook up with a cute freshman...
...and get her to do lewd things on sofas too.
Solveig was so glad she'd avoided doing anything beyond that first drunken hook-up. Especially now Jace had said those three magic words.
"Hi, kids!" said Alima as she got home from work, a smile plastered on her face.
Soon the dreaded day came when the twins moved out and went to university. Jace was busy packing all their suitcases into the taxi while Alima said goodbye to her daughter.
The house was lonely without the twins and that meant Alima called her fiancé Duncan over even more than usual. She still had a few doubts but now she was all alone they were much harder to pay any attention to - she was finally completely sure she loved him.
Still, he couldn't be there all the time... and Alima was growing increasingly tired of waking up alone.
"I know this is kind of a shock, but... will you move in with me?"
And so it was that Duncan King finally moved out of his big brother's house and joined the love of his life.
Alima and Duncan's last date may have been a little disasterous, but things were getting back to normal. She had explained that she was a bit skittish - she hadn't dated anyone since Petal and Jace's father, and he'd run a mile when she'd gotten pregnant. But Duncan wasn't like that and he was trying his best to put her at his ease. Still, Petal couldn't help being a little resentful at the drastic change in the status-quo.
Whatever they were doing, whatever time of day, it seemed like Duncan was always there. He wasn't, of course - he had a job and responsibilities of his own. But still...
Jace had no such qualms. He really looked up to Duncan - he'd never had a father-figure in his life, seeing as his grandfather had pretty much disowned Alima because of him and Petal, and it was a pleasant change. Petal left them to it.
Duncan wasn't the only member of the King family getting all up in Petal's personal space. Jace had made friends with Nathaniel and he often came over. In Petal's opinion he was just a dumb jock - the fact they were in various honours classes meant nothing! Nothing! And so what if he was cute...
But soon she got a little more accustomed to Duncan and Nathaniel being around and bothered to get to know them. Nathaniel may have been into sports, but he was actually kind of funny and could talk to her about physics and mechanics for hours if she let him. Plus she was beginning to realise how cute he was... sports were a wonder for the body, it seemed.
Jace wasn't quite as scientific but he tried to get in on their conversations when they all sat down for a post-school snack.
Alima had decided to take her relationship with Duncan to the next level. She knew he was in love with her and didn't know if she felt the same yet, but it couldn't hurt to try, right? Anyway, why shouldn't she have fun? She had needs, just like anyone else, and it HAD been a while.
The twins still made time for their car in between their new-found passion for socialising, and it was nearly finished! Jace couldn't wait to have a ride of his own...
Soon all of them were back to their usual selves as Petal came to terms with the fact her life was changing, but they'd always be a family.
