Author's Note: Sorry - this took way longer than I thought it would because of a ton of exams and competitions. The chapter also turned out to be a lot longer than I first planned, whoops!

I have APs and a competition in the next 3 weeks so there will not be a chapter until the third or fourth week of May. Thanks for waiting, and hopefully the length of this chapter makes up somewhat for the length of the wait.

Chapter 4: A Young Man

Only a disjointed set of chords had been set to paper by the time Laney and the band closed the day. Meck, putting his hand on her shoulder, reassured her that he would continue working on it at home.

"And don't forget your promise," he added.

Laney packed her things and zipped up her jacket. She caught Corey looking at her, and his gaze flitted to his guitar case. She dared not glance at him again and after bidding a frankly awkward farewell to Ricky, Meck, and John, she walked out the practice room, went down the elevator, and left the building.

Laney couldn't help replaying the day in her head on the bus ride back to university. Why had she been so unprofessional? Wasn't she always so much more disciplined, more calm, more rational than this? What did Ricky and John think? Was Meck really going to do work at home? Why did Corey make her so uncomfortable? What did he expect? What did he want? Why was he even there?

She stepped onto the sidewalk, feeling worse than when she had boarded the bus. A stone-faced man, a woman with shades, a warmly dressed girl, and a heavily-tattooed bodybuilder pushed past her. Had she been able to take the time to sit down to lunch with them, perhaps they might have all been friends - but the strangers offered no comfort.

"Laney!" A tanned, black-haired girl approached her. "Are you going to the party, too?"

"Hey, Ellie. And no, I didn't hear of one."

The girl giggled. "I thought everyone knew about it. Well, want to come with me? You and I, we'll be two singles hunting for guys!" She laughed again at her own rhyme.

Laney managed a small smile. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not really looking for anyone."

"You really ought to get back in the game. There are guys out there who'd die for your brains and your curves and those - "

"Alright, alright, knock it off, Ellie," said Laney, taking a swat at her in jest.

"But you'll go?" pleaded Ellie, who pursed her lips into a pout. "Pweeeaaase."

Laney rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright." I could use a bit of alcohol anyway, she thought to herself. She still had to figure out what to do about Corey. "Just don't expect me to get any guys. Today's really not that kind of day for me."

Ellie put her arm around Laney. "Aw, girl, every day's that kind of day! Trust me, you'll feel so much better once you find love again." She turned to Laney. "It makes me want to cry, how this pretty face has never kissed a guy."

"It's not like I haven't - "

"Never fear! I'll help you find the guy who's right, even if it takes all night!"

Laney rolled her eyes again. But, she thought with forced optimism, at least someone cared about her. Yet as Ellie dragged her friend across campus, Laney felt herself sink into her earlier gloom. Strangers offered no comfort, and sometimes friends weren't much better, either.

Laney sat, beer in hand, watching the ruckus of the party. She was fairly certain the same song had been played four times already and muttered to herself jokingly that the DJ should be fired. Perhaps, even, replaced by a band - ha, if she'd only been 13, then perhaps she'd be sitting in a garage with Kin and Kon and Corey and not some stranger's house.

What would he say then? "Those grad students need a DJ - but that's where us, Grojband, comes in! We'll play at the party and BAM! New fans!"

And of course, her rebuttal: "But grad students aren't going to let a bunch of 13-year-olds into their party. Trina won't even let you into her room."

"Sure they will!" Corey would put his arm around her, his other arm outstretched to demonstrate his grand vision. "They don't have to know we're 13."

"I'm 14," Kin and Kon would say.

"Same thing."

Laney could never understand why it was she missed her pre-college years so much. She was enjoying herself at university and she'd found new friends. She had no trouble finding guys to go with to dances or parties; it simply was that none of them were relationship material. She'd learned a lot from her failure with Corey, thought Laney to herself. Repeating the same mistakes would be -

"Not in a mood to join the party?" A fairly well-built young man took a seat next to hers; unlike almost everyone else in the room, he seemed quite sober.

"Not really," she answered. Her old train of thought suddenly and entirely derailed.

"It's alright," he said. The young man fiddled with his thick, ornate watch. "I tend to sit off to the side as well. I've never been much of a partyer."

Laney raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she said; "I'm honestly pretty surprised. You don't seem the type."

The young man smiled. "My friends say that to me often. They also tell me that I probably would have had a girlfriend by now if only I was more outgoing."

"That's funny."

"Hmm?"

"I've been told the same a lot. But about boyfriends." Laney looked into her half-empty beer. "I actually did date occasionally, but it never went anywhere." She chugged the rest of the beer.

The man laughed. "You don't seem the type, either."

"You think so?"

"I've noticed that you spend a great deal of your time with guys," he explained. "I thought you would have had at least two or three boyfriends by now."

"I had one," admitted Laney, who was thinking of getting another beer.

The young man pushed up his glasses and smiled gently. "Then how, pray tell, has someone as pretty and good-natured as yourself only ever had one boyfriend?"

Laney furrowed her eyebrows. "I see you're taking the opportunity to hit on me."

"Oh, no, I don't mean it that way at all, really. It's an honest question." He raised his hands as if to gesture surrender.

Laney scrutinized his expression. Partially from a genuine need to talk to someone and partially from the influence of her liquor, she finally said, "I had a boyfriend in high school. We were close childhood friends and we, you know, started going out. We broke up before we went to college, though." She stood. "I'm gonna get another drink, I'll be right back."

"Don't drink too much," said the young man as she left. He repeated his caution when she returned.

"Nah, this is my second. I'm done after this one." Laney cracked open the can. "So anyway, I had a boyfriend in high school but we broke up before college."

"Mhm."

She took a gulp. "I've got a problem with him, though," she said.

The young man shrugged. "I don't see why not, seeing that you two broke up."

"No, I mean I've been suffering awkward encounters with him lately."

"Ah." The young man ran his finger over his fancy watch as Laney slowly spun the can around. Bud Light. Nutrition facts. Bud Light. He looked up when she opened her mouth to speak.

"I never thought I'd have to think about him again, since we were going to different colleges in different states, which I thought was good, because" - gulp - "because then I didn't have to see him or anything. And I didn't. For seven years. But by some ridiculous coincidence I have to work with him for a few days on a project for my internship."

The young man simply nodded. The nutrition facts came back around.

"So my ex-boyfriend invited me to have coffee with him at some place and I couldn't stand it. He just pissed the hell out of me."

"What did he do?"

"He - " Laney paused. She shook her head. "He didn't do anything specifically. I guess I was pissed that he could just walk in and act as if we were still on good terms."

The young man shrugged. "Maybe that was his way of making amends."

"No, he would have just said sorry from the get-go. I know him well enough."

"Alright." The young man nodded slowly. "How does this all wrap up to why you've only ever had the one boyfriend, then?" he said, grinning.

Laney eyed him in a slightly irked manner. "You're really not letting that go, huh."

"It's the million-dollar question."

She took another swig of beer. It didn't taste good anymore. "I just know that things were never the same when I started dating again. It just never felt right."

He nodded. "So you miss him?"

"No, I hardly thought of him over the seven years we didn't see each other."

"Maybe you keep comparing him to your new dates?"

Laney shook her head. "Nah."

"Are you sure? Perhaps you simply haven't let him go. You were childhood friends, after all; I can see how it would be hard to forget him."

She glared at the young man. "Look, pal, I'm way over this guy. I just need to stop being pissed at him before I go back to work tomorrow."

The young man took a deep breath. "If you say so." He rubbed the face of his watch. He was about to open his mouth to speak again when he saw her stand up from her chair. "Are you leaving already?" he asked, visibly surprised.

"Yeah, I need to, you know, have some time to think." Laney tossed the two beer cans into a nearby trash bin.

The man stood up as well. "Shall I walk you home?"

"Area's pretty safe."

"At least allow me the honor." He bowed, inducing a laugh from Laney.

She rolled her eyes. "I permit it, then, good sir." She stuck her tongue at him.

A shy moon hardly dared to show itself from behind opaque clouds. The city lights pushed out any possible view of the stars, and bright signs and car headlights made poor compensation.

"I think it's only proper to know the name of the lovely lady I'm escorting," said the young man in a cheeky manner.

Laney shot him a cold stare. "I don't need escorting. You're just along for a walk. And there you go, hitting on me again, eh." She checked the time on her phone.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat. "My name is Stephen. I'm studying chemistry."

"I'm Laney. Business."

"Impressive." Stephen nodded slowly. "Ah, and, if you don't mind me asking, why do you object to being hit on?"

Seeing that he had gotten the message, Laney breathed a quiet sigh and regretted his companionship a bit less. "Sure, it's nice to know people think you look good, but... at some point, I realized that people don't do it because they're nice." Laney kicked away a half-crushed bottle. "People do it because they just want to get with you. It pisses me off."

"Did your old boyfriend do that?"

She paused. "I don't know," she answered. "I don't think so."

"Then he was probably a good man, hmm?" Stephen smiled.

Laney looked at him. He had his head turned up to gaze at the starless sky; he seemed content enough. Corey a good man? she asked herself as she turned her eyes back in front of her. "It's not that simple," she rebutted. "And good men aren't always good boyfriends."

"I'm aware. But you needn't be angry at him anymore, I suppose."

Laney shrugged.

"Anyway..." Stephen peered at her curiously. "Are you sure you've moved on from this ex of yours?"

She groaned. "What makes you think I'm not?"

"It just seems as if you're rather ambivalent about him. I find it odd that you claim to detest him yet agree to have coffee with him, and then protest his apparent offensiveness when he didn't do anything offensive in particular."

"It's - " Laney clenched her fists. "I don't like him. Seriously. He's frustrating and he never thinks things through, and he apologizes at the end only to do it all over again later. "

"But he's a good man."

Laney threw her hands in the air. "Alright, alright, he's not bad, but my point is, I'm done with him. Period. End of story. No sequels."

Stephen grinned and shook his head, but didn't say another word. Laney caught him and added, "You don't have to believe me. I'm just still mad at him."

He shrugged. "What for? Just let it go. Being cross about him after seven years is horribly unnecessary."

"Euuggh." She waved her hand as if to dismiss the subject.

They remained quiet until they reached campus. Laney chewed over Stephen's advice. Maybe she was taking things a bit too far after all. Or even if she had a right to be angry, if Corey wasn't mad at her, then it'd be easy to befriend him again and get her internship project back on track. Be practical, she thought to herself. She wouldn't have to see him again if she didn't want to. She hoped.

Finally, Stephen said, "I truly feel I should say this in spite of your claims, Laney. If you like him - "

"I don't, buddy."

" - from the way you've been talking about him, you probably do - "

"Thick skull there."

" - just let things happen naturally."

Laney knocked lightly on his head. "Oh, it's hollow!"

Stephen chuckled and tapped the side of hers. "Nothing but rock in here, I'm afraid. And very dense, too."

"It's dense because of my concentrated smarts," replied Laney in jest. "Anyhow, I think I know what to do about Co - my ex now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Like you said, he's not bad, and I guess I don't need to get so worked up. You're right, it's really all in my head. And I do need to get the project done." Laney smiled. "Thanks."

"You're quite welcome." Stephen put his hands in his pockets. Both opportunistic and feeling a bit guilty, he finally allowed himself to entertain an otherwise long-lingering thought.

"My dorm's this way," she said at the fork in the pathway. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Wait," he said.

Laney blinked, but this had happened too many times for her not to guess the next words out of his mouth.

"Would you like to exchange numbers? Yes, you are pretty, but you're also nice to talk to." He saw Laney about to interject and he spoke hurriedly. "We needn't go on dates, but perhaps if there are any social events, we could go together as friends?"

She hesitated, but quickly decided there wasn't any harm in it. "Sure." She turned on her phone. "I guess I owe you one for helping me out of a rut anyway."

"Would you like to come with me, then, to my fraternity's formal dance next Friday?"

Well, that was quick, thought Laney. "Uh, okay."

Stephen's face lit up immediately. "That's great! I'll let you know the details later this week." He rubbed his watch a bit nervously; perhaps out of embarrassment, she surmised.

After keying in each others' numbers, they parted ways at the fork in the sidewalk. It was starting to get cold and Laney's jacket did little to keep her warm. She walked briskly to her dorm and, after locking the door and throwing her bag onto the floor, dove into by a cozy blanket and some much-needed solitude.