"Laurie, you really don't have to," I insisted. "I mean, Kate–"

"Kate has a family to go home to," Laurie interrupted, closing her half packed suitcase and looking me in the eyes. "You don't, unless you want to go home to your drunken aunt, of course. I mean, my family isn't great, but I'm not leaving you on campus to get creeped on by Johnny McEntire for a whole weekend."

"Hey, it's a good thing I learned karate in middle school! I think it makes him afraid of me." We both laughed. After I regained my composure, I looked at her and said, "Thank you."

"Duh," She chuckled. "And anyways, Kate's a whore. I'm the whore. And, you're pretty and all, but we both know that when I want someone, there's no competition."

I didn't take offense to that. There was no need. I enjoyed the banter Laurie and I had; she was a really good friend. I hadn't known her too long since we had become roommates in September, but she wasn't who everyone on campus made her out to be. Sure, she was manipulative and snarky, but what teenage girl isn't? And, I hated to admit it, but I needed someone like her in my life. I was usually the loud one amongst a group of insecurity, so it was nice to be able to relate to someone for once.

"Well, you always go for the pretty boys anyways!" I huffed. "They're so dull and half of them aren't out of the closet yet."

"But they sure are good in bed," She gave me a grin and continued packing her clothes.

The last few days of classes wrapped up and soon enough, we were on a bus headed to a little town in the middle of nowhere called Point Place. Laurie told me that it was pretty boring where she lived but at least they had a drive in and two cool restaurants; she also told me how she was disappointed because the closest mall was an hour drive. I didn't really care. I was a pretty simple person – although, the drive in sounded cool. Surprisingly, I'd never been to one. I almost went to one with my mom when she was still alive, but all the boys who ever asked me out only wanted one thing and I decided it would be better to skip pointless dates and just get down to business. And, to put it bluntly, I don't really care if you want to judge me for that because why would anyone want to actually feel a connection for someone just to engage in casual sex? That being said, I didn't do it often – at least, not since junior year.

"Oh, I have to warn you, my brother has really annoying friends who hang around the house for some reason," Laurie said. I lowered my book to listen to her. "Just try to avoid the basement unless you want to be plagued by imbeciles."

I chuckled, "I don't know, it might be fun. I mean, my brother's kind of a dumbass, so I'm used to it."

She shrugged and picked her magazine up, "Don't say I didn't warn you, Claire."

I handed Laurie her suitcase from the overhead before reaching up to get mine. I could already feel how cold it was although I enjoyed the cold so while Laurie bundled herself up, I just laughed to myself. I'd been raised in Colorado where the winter nights froze over and the mornings brought with it a graceful sun. It never really got warm where I lived but it was temperate enough most days – nonetheless, I think living there gave me a thicker skin for the cold.

"Mommy, Daddy, this is Claire," Laurie's voice went falsetto as she threw her bag to the ground and rushed to hug her parents.

I didn't say anything, opting to smile instead. Strangers didn't intimidate me, but adults did.

Her parents ran off to the car, Laurie in tow, leaving her luggage behind. I was left with her younger brother.

"You're Eric, I guess?"

"Yeah," He said, picking up Laurie's abandoned suitcase.

"I mean, you look like a nerd, but you're probably not as nerdy as my brother. I think we'll get along just fine."

He gave an awkward chuckle and said, "Yeah, well, I mean, you look like a slut, but you're probably not as slutty as my sister, so I'm sure it'll be cool."

I laughed.

"Oh, Eric, we are going to get along great. Let's catch up with the others, it's starting to get chilly."

After a fifteen minute drive, we arrived at the Forman residence. It was a cute home, I had to admit. I wasn't used to small towns – I'd grown up in the city.

"Eric, help Claire get her stuff to your room," Mr. Forman said, as we unloaded the car.

"Oh, I really don't mind sleeping in the basement," I smiled.

Mrs. Forman laughed, "Oh, don't be silly – the mattress in the basement is at least ten years old. Eric's is only a few years."

"I really don't mind."

"Trying to convince them otherwise will do you no good," Laurie said in my ear. "And anyways, my room's right next door and we can just gossip all night. Or, there's a tree outside Eric's window that we can climb–"

"Laurie, can you come help me?" Her father asked, interrupting us.

"Yes, daddy," She perked up and rushed over to aid him.

"Okay, Eric, let's see the nerd cave," I said, taking my bag from him.

"Follow me, m'lady," He did some nerdy bow.

He definitely reminded me of my brother. It made me miss Cooper. He's a good kid. I hadn't seen him since my dad took him away and moved to New York when I was fifteen. Coop was twelve at the time, which means he'd be around sixteen now. Damn, time flies…

"Oh, cut the crap," I laughed. Laurie must've heard this too because I heard a loud "Ha!" from the driveway as we made our way into the kitchen.

Before we could make it into the living room, two people came barging up from the downstairs basement, bickering at one another.

"No, Michael, you're being stupid," A brunette girl said to who I assumed to be her idiotic looking boyfriend.

"Oh, come on, Jackie!" His attention was redirected when he saw me and Eric. "Oh, hey, Eric, who's your friend?"

"Laurie's roommate," Eric said.

I smirked, "Nice to meet you, I'm Claire."

Before he could say anything else, two more teenagers hustled up the steps. One had on a pair of shades whilst the other looked foreign.

"Oh, hello, pretty lady," The obviously foreign one said, pushing the one called Michael out of the way. "I am Fez."

"What the fuck kind of name is that?" I asked. This earned a chuckle from Sunglasses and Michael.

"In my country, it means 'Sexy'," He said.

"Kay, well, in my country, I don't care," I said.

Eric sighed, "Okay, guys this is Claire. Laurie's friend from college. Claire, this is Jackie, Kelso, Fez, and Hyde. Now, guys you can't be here or my dad'll throw a fit. Come back later."

They all groaned and pouted before trudging back down the steps. The only one who went out the kitchen door was Jackie.

"Some interesting friends you've got," I said as we made our way into his room.

"Yeah, they're okay," He shrugged. "But you'll love Donna – if you stay long enough to meet her. She's so awesome and beautiful."

"Ooh, nerdy boy's got a girl," I squealed. "Well, I owe time to Laurie to help her unpack but maybe tonight I'll stop by the basement if she's here."

"Oh, she'll be here. We're going to The Hub later, but we should be back by eight."

"Sounds good," I said. He left, which gave me time to make fun of his room. The only thing that appealed to me was all the Star Wars décor – Coop loved Star Wars and would always make me watch the movies with him. But, Eric even had some of the comics.

While I was waiting for Laurie, I picked one up to read. It was going to be an interesting weekend to say the least. Way better than sitting alone in a dorm.