Something About You

by J. Nathan

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not considered to be real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by J. Nathan.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Edited by Stephanie Elliot

  Proofread by Gem’s Precise Proofreads

  Cover Design by Y’all. That Graphic.

  Cover Photo by Michelle Lancaster @Lanefotograf

  Cover Model Anthony Patamisi

  First Edition June 2021

  CHAPTER 1

  Shay

  I hurried down the third-floor hallway, pulling a large plastic storage bin behind me while balancing a cardboard box in my arm. I could’ve left the box outside the dorm where my Uber dropped me off. But, where I came from, you didn’t leave your things unattended or someone would’ve claimed them as their own.

  “Ummmph,” I cried as the box in my hand flew up in the air and unceremoniously crashed to the floor sending my belongings scattering all over.

  “Watch it,” the girl I’d collided with said as she continued down the hall without even stopping to help me retrieve my things.

  I glared at her retreating form, making a mental note of the swaying hips, too short cutoffs, and perfectly curled blonde hair cascading down to her butt. I needed to know who I should avoid at all costs at Cranmore University.

  As if reading my thoughts, she glanced over her shoulder for a split second. Of course, she had to be beautiful. Why did the mean ones always get good genes? “Loser,” she mumbled as she disappeared into a room on the right.

  I shoved my glasses up my nose, only to have them slip back down as I dropped to my knees in the middle of the hallway. I glanced around me, but despite all the open doors lining the hallway and the music drifting through them, the hallway was empty. I grabbed the framed photo of me and my mom that had landed in front of me, careful not to look at it for too long. Today was supposed to be a good day. A new start. No need to let in the sad memories. I stuffed it into the box then scooped up my trophies for academic decathlon that lay on opposite sides of me. I quickly shoved them into the box, embarrassed two trophies brought me such pride.

  “Excuse me.”

  I glanced up to find a pretty brunette with her parents trying to get by me with boxes in their arms.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled as I pushed my things to the side so they could pass by.

  “Need some help?” the father asked with pity in his eyes.

  I lowered my head and mumbled, “I’ve got it.”

  They didn’t force their assistance on me and moved to the girl’s room as I stuffed a few of my notebooks, the refurbished laptop I saved enough money to buy (praying it hadn’t been destroyed), and some small trinkets into the box.

  I pushed myself to my feet with the box in my arm and searched the room numbers, spotting room 333 ahead on the right. I grabbed hold of my bin and moved to it. I halted in the doorway. The family who’d just passed me hurried around the room unpacking and decorating.

  “Hey,” the dad said with a smile when he noticed me standing there. “We know you.”

  I forced a smile before glancing to the brunette who I now realized was my roommate Kendall. Her social media account didn’t do her justice. She looked like she could be a model. Maybe she was. Given her wide eyes taking in my long brown braids and five-foot-two, ninety pounds stature, she was just as surprised by my meek appearance. We’d spoken via DM, but it didn’t take long to realize we were exact opposites. She’d be pledging a sorority, and I’d hopefully be volunteering for the science department in a lab until all hours of the night. “Hi, Kendall.”

  Her eyes softened. “Shay?”

  I nodded, trying my best to give off the impression that I was like all the other college freshmen super stoked to be living the college life. Don’t get me wrong. I was happy to be on my own and starting over. But not the way others were. They saw no supervision, late nights without questions, and parties. I saw freedom from daily stress and the unknown.

  “What happened out there?” Kendall’s mom asked. “Did your box give way?”

  “That’s what I get for using cardboard,” I lied.

  She eyed my box and container. “Would you like help bringing up the rest of your things?”

  I blushed. “This is all I have.”

  “Oh,” she said, suddenly looking as uncomfortable as I felt.

  “I’m low maintenance. I need very little to survive,” I continued, hoping I hadn’t insulted my new roommate who seemed to have triple the things I had.

  Kendall’s dad smiled. “I tell Kendall all the time that less is more.”

  Kendall rolled her eyes at her dad and then looked to me. “I’m relieved you’re a minimalist. Where would all my stuff go otherwise?” She smiled, and I realized that maybe having a roommate who was my opposite would work out better than having a roommate who was as neurotic about school and succeeding as I was.

  “Kendall said you’re from Colorado,” her mother said as she unpacked Kendall’s bed linens.

  “About thirty minutes from here.”

  “Wanted to stay close to home?” her dad asked.

  Nope. “I actually received a full scholarship, so it was a no-brainer.”

  “Full scholarship?” Kendall asked. “I didn’t know that. What’s your major?”

  “Biochemistry.”

  Her eyes widened. “So, you can help me with my science classes?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I sense the beginning of a great friendship,” her father said.

  I expected sarcasm when I looked to Kendall. But, instead, she just smiled. “Me too.”

  Relief swept over me telling me—despite the rude girl interaction—that this was going to be a great first year of college after all.

  ***

  Bass of a rap song next door rattled our wall. I’d covered my ears with headphones hours ago. I’d tried to sleep with a pillow over my head. But nothing drowned out the sound—or the vibration of the wall against my bed. I grabbed my phone from the desk beside me. Two in the freaking morning. Now, I wasn’t opposed to other people having fun. I got it. This was college. This was the first time most of these kids had been on their own. But classes started in a few hours. And since I had all seven o’clock classes, I wasn’t going to be able to function if this kept up. Maybe they didn’t even realize how loud it was. I glanced to Kendall’s bed. She was sound asleep. The girl clearly slept like a rock.

  The song ended and laughter drifted through the wall. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I could handle laughter. But all too soon the familiar sound of bass returned.

  That’s it!

  I kicked my feet out from beneath my worn comforter and trudged into the hallway until I stood outside the room next door. I wasn’t trying to be a buzzkill, but it was late and I needed to sleep. I banged on the door with the side of my fist so they could hear me over the music. I waited. The music sounded even louder in the hallway. Hadn’t anyone else complained?

  The door flew open and the blonde who I’d collided with earlier stood there in only a T-shirt glaring at me. “What?” she snapped.

  “I was hoping you could turn down your music. I’ve got a seven o’clock class, and I really need to sleep.”

  “No.”

  My head whipped back. “No?”

  “No,” she repeated before her eyes drifted over my pajamas. “Are those footie pajamas?”

 
I glanced down at my pajama choice. “Yes.”

  She burst out laughing. “Oh. My. God.”

  “What?” the guy in her room asked as he pulled her door open the rest of the way. “Oh.”

  Whoa. His ruffled dark hair, very bare chest, sleeve of tattoos, and boxers set me off balance for a second. I’d never been that close to a nearly naked guy—not to mention one that good looking—before.

  His blue eyes took in my red footie pajamas. “That’s something you don’t see every day.”

  “I just need you to turn down the music,” I said to him, hoping to appeal to his sense of reason.

  “This is college, Little One,” he said.

  I gasped. “Little One?”

  He chuckled as his eyes once again drifted over my pajamas. “If the shoe fits.”

  “If the shoe fits,” I gritted out, “I’d be calling the two of you inconsiderate assholes. But, I didn’t do that, did I? I asked nicely.”

  “Did she just call us assholes?” the mean girl asked.

  “That she did,” he said to her before his eyes met mine. “Beat it, geek. You interrupted us, and if there’s one thing I find inconsiderate, it’s being interrupted.” And without the slightest show of remorse, he slammed the door in my face.

  I stood in the empty hallway stewing. My cheeks pulsed with heat. How had I for even one second paid him the slightest bit of attention? There was nothing worse than people who thought they could do whatever they wanted.

  But, they had.

  And, the music continued to pound off my wall until I left for class the next morning at six-thirty showing me they had no plans to back down.

  Great.

  CHAPTER 2

  Shay

  If my seven o’clock calculus class had been any indication of the rigor of the school work I’d be receiving at Cranmore, bring it on. I sat in the front row of my physics class with my laptop fully charged, and my brain ready to absorb every bit of information Professor Raymond was willing to share. I lived and breathed science and math. It never got old and always required my mind to work overtime. I thrived on the challenge. I yearned for it.

  “How’d you sleep?”

  My head shot to my right.

  The mean guy from next door slid onto the stool beside me at my table with a cocky grin.

  Despite his crisp arctic scent wafting its way through my senses, I scooped up my things in one arm and hopped down from my stool. “Not a chance.” I walked to the opposite side of the room, taking a seat beside a girl who was typing on her laptop. No way I’d be sitting next to him for an entire semester. Not when I knew what lay beneath the good-looking exterior.

  “Okay, ladies and gentlemen,” Professor Raymond said as he walked into class and dropped his briefcase down on the front table. “This is Physics 101. If you’re in the wrong place, you best run now because if not, you’re in for a hell of a trip.”

  I smiled as a few students ducked out quickly.

  For the next hour, I was in my zone, feeling very much at home amongst terms I knew and knowledge I couldn’t get enough of.

  “I’ll see all of you on Wednesday,” Professor Raymond announced as he shut off his presentation. “In the meantime, read pages twenty through fifty in the textbook. There’ll be a quick quiz at the start of class, so be on time.”

  Everyone collected their things and moved to the door. I took my time, hanging back so I could speak to the professor. I approached him once the room cleared out. “Professor Raymond?”

  He looked up from his phone. He was younger than he seemed from my seat, the slight gray in his goatee telling me he was probably in his late thirties or early forties. “Yes?”

  “I’m Shay Miller.”

  A smile spread across his face. “You’re Ms. Miller?”

  I nodded.

  “Mike Wilson called me about you.”

  I smiled, knowing my high school physics teacher had made the call.

  “He said you’d like to volunteer, maybe in the lab or something,” he continued.

  “Yes! It’s my dream to work in research. I’ll even sweep floors if it gets my foot in the door.”

  He laughed. “We have custodians for that.”

  “Right.”

  “Let me think about it,” he explained. “I’m sure I could find a role for you.”

  “Awesome,” I said, feeling for the first time that I was right where I was supposed to be.

  ***

  I shot up from a sound sleep that night. The incessant banging on my door had my heart racing and my eyes jumping around my dark room. Kendall’s bed was empty. She must’ve forgotten our door code. I grabbed my glasses and pushed them on, noting it was after midnight on her alarm clock. I climbed out of bed and pulled open the door.

  Mean guy stood there with his hands grasping the door frame. “Seriously?” he said.

  “What?” I asked, totally confused by his question.

  “You didn’t want to sit next to me?”

  My lips parted. “You woke me up for this?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is about your ego?”

  He dropped his arms from my door frame and crossed them across his chest. “No.”

  “It is. You can’t believe someone doesn’t want to be near you.”

  “Not true.”

  “Then why the hell are you here?”

  “Because I wanted it noted that I was doing you a favor by sitting next to your geeky ass.”

  “My geeky ass? Is that term used widely or just in your small-minded circle of friends?”

  His eyes dropped to my blue footy pajamas. “If the term fits.”

  “Listen. I can see you struggle. But, let’s see if you can understand this.” I grabbed hold of my door and slammed it in his face.

  I expected him to bang on it. To yell through it. To get mean girl to have his back. But he didn’t do any of those things. So, I crawled back into bed and closed my eyes, letting thoughts of mean guy drift from my brain.

  And, though I didn’t think it was possible, the music that switched on next door was even louder than the night before.

  Asshole.

  CHAPTER 3

  Kason

  I checked the newsfeed on my phone, watching the sick videos of Ousterman catching air on the halfpipe. The guy was a douche, but his tricks were fucking dope. Not that I’d ever admit that to anyone. Especially since I’d be up against him in January in the XGames for slopestyle. I’d qualified in Switzerland back in February. But, with no snow in Colorado until October, getting quality time snowboarding before the Games would be difficult.

  “Good morning,” Professor Raymond said as he hurried in, running a little late for physics on Wednesday.

  It didn’t bother me. I sucked at science. But, if I wanted to graduate next year, I’d have to tackle the beast again—because I already failed it last year.

  “I hope you all managed to get those pages read because as promised, you have a quiz.”

  Groans erupted around the room. My eyes darted over my shoulder only to see Little One grinning like a fool. Was she seriously excited about a quiz? She was so damn weird. But I’d give her one thing. She hadn’t knocked on Cora’s door since Sunday night. And, despite the dark circles under her eyes behind her glasses, she dealt with the noise.

  “Once you open your laptops, you’ll find the link for the quiz in your emails. Close your laptops when you’re finished. You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

  Fuuuuck.

  I opened the quiz link and inwardly cringed. I hadn’t read the pages nor would the information have made much sense to me if I had. I knew I struggled with reading. It had been a lifelong thing for me. But I knew how to compensate—usually. Sometimes, I’d used the text reader feature, but with science and math, it didn’t help. I stared at my laptop screen, willing the answers to come to me. But after fifteen minutes, I had a feeling I’d need to drop the class. I wanted to be a pro snowboarder. Not a physicist. But if I didn�
�t want my parents to disown me, I needed to get a degree to fall back on. It was the deal I’d made with them long before I had my sponsorship deal with Slopes snowboarding gear. It’s why they paid for me to snowboard every weekend since I was ten. Why they hired me a coach to work with me on weekends. Why they paid for my travel to competitions before I had Slopes footing those bills.

  “Close your laptops,” Professor Raymond said.

  I slammed my laptop with a little too much vigor, causing a few students to glance over their shoulders to look at me.

  “Now, let’s talk Charles’s law,” Professor Raymond continued. “Who can tell me what it is?”

  I glanced around the room, wondering if anyone knew the answer because I sure as hell didn’t. Little One’s hand shot into the air.

  Professor Raymond smiled. “Ah, Ms. Miller.”

  Ms. Miller? He already knew her name?

  “Enlighten us.”

  “Charles’s law is the principle that all gases expand equally for the same rise of temperature if they are held at constant pressure.” Professor Raymond opened his mouth to speak, but Little One—Ms. Miller cut him off. “It states that the pressures of all gases increase equally for the same rise of temperature if they are held at constant volume.” Professor Raymond again tried to speak, but Ms. Miller continued. “The law is actually now known to only be true for ideal gases.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Professor Raymond finally said. “Does anyone know where the name stems from?”

  Ms. Miller’s hand shot into the air. I glanced around but hers was the only one up.

  He smirked. “Ms. Miller?”

  “The name honors Jacques Charles who experimented with how the volume of gases depended on temperature. It was unfortunate, really, that he never published the work he did back in the late 1700s because others did.”

  My theory that Little One was a geek had been spot on. And, she was a science geek. The best type of geek. At least when I needed help.

  Shay

  I scooped up my things and stuffed them into my backpack, knowing I aced the quiz. I heaved my backpack onto my back and headed for the door. Before I could even step into the hallway, my nemesis stood in front of me, blocking my exit with a skateboard in his hand. “Move,” I said.