Dark of the Moon

Since when do I get into colleges? After getting arrested, I got a letter addressed to me. What was inside was a form from Yale university, someone’s paying for my college fees. A full ride to Yale.

Now, if I was a normal, geeky person, I guess it’d be exciting. But actually school is the last thing I want to deal with.

School, what a waste of time. It’s the same shit too. Same shit, different day. Why do we even have to go to school? Why can’t we just be taught at home? But no, we are forced to come here.

“And in the Dropbox folder you’ll find-” the professor stops talking as I walk in and take my seat towards the back of the classroom. “-you’ll find the class curriculum and semester schedule.”

“Hey, move yo damn hair,” the guy behinds me whispers. I flick my ponytail left and right, a smirk along my face.

“I swear to god...” he growls.

“Hey man, cut it out,” the guy right next to him says. He moves his brown hair out of his shiny blue eyes, “sorry about Eric. He has a bit of a temper...” I roll my eyes.

“Whatever. I don’t care what he has. Just don’t make my stay here terrible. I don’t want to be here as is,” I state. I turn around in my seat to face them. Eric looks like a typical fuck boy: shaved sides, brown eyes, olive skin. He seems muscular; either that or he wears extra small shirts.

“This is Yale, one of the most prestigious universities in the nation... you don’t just get accepted here and not do the work. How much are you paying to hate it here?”

“I got a full ride from a anonymous sender,” I admit lamely. His eyes widen into bowling balls.

“Damn, you’re smart. Do you think you could meet with me at a cafe or something sometime to study?” he says, then freezes, “my names Kaden by the way.” He half-heartedly smiles realizing he asked me out to coffee before even introducing himself. I scan him up and down. All I have to say is one thing: he's, admirably, hot.

“I’m Crescent, and think I’d like that.” He flashes a smile at me. Yet his friend doesn’t seem so happy...

“Dude, you can’t just ask someone out the moment you meet them,” Eric whispers. Kaden’s face turns red, realizing he, once again, made another mistake.

“Shit, I’m really sorry. Should I have waited? Or maybe not asked at all? Should I have asked you more intimately? Should I have asked for your number first?” Kaden panics. I laugh at the poor, nervous kid.

“It’s okay. You didn’t mess up. Plus, I like adventure and this seems like it’ll definitely be interesting,” I admit. His eyes light up again.

“Well, could I have your number..?” I nod, writing my number down on a tiny piece of paper. My first date of the year, and I didn’t even have to try. I wonder how far we’ll go... maybe I can bring him to my apartment...

“Dude, you’re hella rushing into this,” Eric chides. Kaden rolls his eyes.

“Since when are you Mr. I-Take-My-Time? You literally have one night stands every other day!” The class is dismissed, and the professor couldn’t have gotten out of there faster. “All you ever do is make fun of me when I try to ask someone out! So fuck off man!” Kaden yells, knocking Eric’s books over. He stomps out of the room. His friend runs off behind him, but all I do is stay behind and laugh. This is most certainly a show.

I go home, since that was my only class for the day. I have some online classes I have to complete, but that’s nothing major. My apartment is small, and it isn’t even an apartment. I’m actually just renting a basement from Rose. She’s an older lady, in her mid 70s. After her husband died, she’s been renting her basement out to college kids to help pay for food and whatnot. She’s such a sweetheart.

“Hi sweetie,” she says to me as I walk in. I wave at her, and set beside her a caramel frappe. She puts down her knitting tool and takes a sip. “You’re too good to me.” I halfheartedly laugh. She’s too good to me. She’s charging me only 60$ a week for the basement, and she cooks. She’s not too strict either. Her only rules are to keep the house clean and to not bring drugs/alcohol in. I go into the kitchen, grab a coke and an orange. My phone buzzes.

Hey... it's Kaden. I smile at the text message, and I feel like I've ingested live butterflies. I text back quickly.

Hey. What's up?

Do you have any classes tomorrow? Then another text comes from him, sorry for the abruptness. I'm just reading. What are you doing? I giggle at the nervousness in his text messages.

No, I'm free tomorrow. Haha it's okay. And I'm just eating dinner.

Well... do you think I could take you out to coffee tomorrow?

Oh.. um, sure. Why not.

Okay, awesome! Could I get your address? I text him my address and he responds quickly. Awesome, I'll pick you up at noon. If that´s okay with you?

Yeah, that sounds perfect. My first date of college. Maybe even my first hookup of the semester. I can add it to my body count. I close my eyes and fall asleep.

I wake up at eleven. And I rush to get ready. I´m silent, so I don´t wake Rose up. At 11:55, there´s a knock on my door. He's early, that's cute. I put a lock of my straight, pastel blue hair behind my ear, then open the door. He's in a nice t-shirt and some jeans, holding a single rose with a nervous smile plastered on his face. I smooth my skirt out and the suspenders attached to it.

"Hey," he says, handing me the rose. I take it, smiling like an idiot. He's cute. I hate to admit it, but he really is. I wish I would have meet him sooner, like when I was depressed. Then again, I wouldn't want to put that on him. He seems too soft and good for that. I wouldn't want to hurt him like that. "You look good, Cress." I blush at his comment.

"Thanks, you do too," I say. I grab my wallet, and follow him to his car. It's not top of the line luxury, but it's definitely nicer than my beat up truck. I get into it, and the smell of him hits me in the nose. The car is clean too, and the seats feel so nice. "Your car looks nice," I add. He smiles.

"Thanks. So... what's your favourite kind of coffee?"

"Eh, I actually prefer hot chocolate over most coffee." His eyes widen. I get scared, does he not like my opinion? Actually, fuck him if he doesn't like my opinion.

"Really? I prefer tea over coffee. I've never met a single person take something over coffee." I relax. He pulls up to a cute, quiet little cafe on the other side of town. The cafe is Paris themed. How cute. We get out and order our drinks. We go to sit inside, by the window, looking out onto the street. It's silent between us for a bit.

"You know you're really pretty," he admits, then relapses, "I'm sorry. Was that too soon? It was too soon wasn't it? Oh jeez I messed this up..."

"Kaden you're fine. Literally, fine. It wasn't too soon silly," I laugh. We chat about silly things, like how he once ate silly string as a child and had to go to the doctor for it. I told him about my first foster home and my hellish foster siblings.

I hated all of my foster homes. The first one was probably the worst though. My two older foster siblings were troublemakers. One was traumatized from seeing his parents murdered, so he has terrible flashbacks and tries to attack everyone. My other sibling was a street fighter and a prostitute. She had guys in our room every other night. Though my foster parents were okay, but they couldn't do much to help our traumas. We were just hurt kids, we couldn't do much. I was the youngest, I was eight. The boy was eleven and the girl was sixteen. We were so young and hurt. I wonder how they're doing at times, but most of the times I could actually care less.

Kaden's phone goes off, it starts ringing. His face flushes red.

"Answer it," I say. He picks it up, and puts it on speaker.

"Hello?" Kaden asks.

"Dude, where are you? I'm at your house with two bitches and I thought you'd wanna smash 'em," Eric says through the phone. Kaden's face turns redder than a tomato. I hold back laughs.

"No, I'm good. I'm actually on a date..." he stutters.

"Whaaaat? Dude, bring 'er home. Dick her down! Then I can have some fun with 'er too."

Kaden gulps, "I'm on a date with Crescent..."

"So? She's hella hot! If you fuck her on the first date, I will give you two hundred dollars. No fucking joke. I heard she's a hard catch dude. She has like thirteen guys tryna hit 'er up!" Kaden hangs up on him and puts his phone on silent.

"So... that was awkward," Kaden laughs. I tap the table awkwardly.

"Just a bit..."

"Don't worry I'm not going to try and fuck you for that money. I'm not like that," he assures.

"Mhmm sure, as Eric and two sluts are at your house probably fucking, waiting for you to join in."

"I don't join in. I'm actually a virgin. He just goes to my house to fuck girls in the spare room sometimes. He says it's more fun to go to different places..."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're a virgin?" I ask, shocked. He puts his head down in shame.

He whispers, "yeah..."

"But, you're definitely fuckable." I would definitely fuck him for 200 dollars. I'd fuck him for a dollar. He's hot.

"Well I'm glad you think that.. Nobody else does."

"Have you even dated someone before?" I ask.

"Yeah, I actually got out of it pretty recently."

"Who was it?"

"Miah Ruter, she's a junior. She was in my trig class." I nod.

"So... I'm a rebound?"

"What? No, no, no, no, no. She left me almost a year ago. I'm just trying to move on. Eric said it might help me with my depression. Miah cheated on me with like five different guys, I was just the pawn in her game..." I feel bad for the kid. He just wants some love, but all that happens is that he gets used. Him and I are very similar, yet different.

We get into his car, and he takes me on a short drive through a little park, then back to my house. We sing songs on the car radio, talk about our terrible childhoods and play I Spy. He's actually a really chill, fun person to be around once he's comfortable.

Then he takes me home. But once I stepped out of his warm, peaceful car, I knew I had just left home.

"Thanks for today," he says grinning. I stand in the cold air, shivering. Though I don't show discomfort, because I think he's more important than the fact that it's cold outside.

"Anytime. I'm usually available," I admit. He smiles, rolls up the window and drives off.

Rose is in the kitchen, baking a pie when I enter.

"Who was that dear?" she asks, kneading dough.

"Oh, um, Kaden.. he's a friend of mine. He's in my composition class," I explain.

"Oh, well he seems very charming," she chimes, then goes back to cooking. My phone buzzes.

Hey, a friend of Eric's is hosting a party tomorrow. I was wondering if you'd want to attend with me? Kaden asks. He knows me so well. I wouldn't pass up a party any day of the week!

Yeah of course.

Also, I was wondering if you would want to come to my place beforehand? He says. Then another message pops up. Well, if you want to. I don't want to rush into it or pressure you into it or anything. Also, also, am I rushing this friendship? Am I being too pushy? Am I asking too many questions? I laugh at his texts. He's so nervous, or maybe he's faking it..

Yeah I'll come to your house. And I don't think you're rushing. No and yes. Just talk to me Kaden. It's okay. I have learned that the older you get, the faster relationships progress. In middle school, it took months before a couple would kiss or even hold hands. But now in college, we're out here fucking people we just met. Befriending people in my classes and falling in and out of love real quick.

Ok. Well goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow. I turn my phone off, set my alarm clock and go to sleep.

The next morning, I get ready for work and work my part time shift, then I head home and do some online work. All I could really concentrate on was the fact that I'm going to a party later on that night. A party with Kaden. Maybe then we can get drunk and hook up. No, bad Crescent, you can't be so focused on sex.

I get out of my uniform and into the shower. I've always been a cold shower kind of person. I get into a silver dress, and curl my hair. Time for first impressions, also known as the most important impressions. I do my make-up very extravagantly, blues, golds, and silvers. All very pretty. Fake eyelashes, winged eyeliner, and poppin' highlighter. It's been a bit since I went to a party, and I want to see how Connecticut parties. I get into my truck and look at the messages from Kaden, find his address and drive there. When I get there, I immediately feel like trash, the apartment building was beautiful. It's so lavish, and clean. He said apartment was number 98, the middle floor. I gulp, then quietly tap on his door. If we're going to be honest, I almost don't want him to answer..

But he does.

"Hey Cress, nice seeing you," he says. His house smells like vanilla and...

"Waffles," I mumble out loud.

"Huh?" My face turns beat red. Shit, I said that out lound. Shit, shit, shit.

"Um... well, your house smells like waffles. And, I love waffles." Waffles remind me of my second foster home, who were vegetarians. They were better than the first one, but had one too many kids.

"Oh," he chuckles, "well yeah, I made them for our dinner. You know, like breakfast for dinner?I thought you'd like it." He's so damn adorable. I hate it. Why am I falling so fast? Damnit Crescent Lilliana Cain, catch yo' damn self. He invites me inside, and the house is clean. And super tidy. It looks so nice. There's some artwork on the wall, and photographs. On his little dinner table for two, there's a vase full of flowers in the middle, and two candles on the side. The lights are dimmed, how romantic. He brings me my food, and sits down at the table.

"I hope this isn't too much," he says sheepishly. I'm in awe. he did all of this, just for me?

"No... just wow... nobody's ever done this for me before, ever." His smile lights up, and my heart feels warm. "Oh my god these waffles are fucking amazing! Jesus fucking Christ are you in some culinary class?!"

"Actually, my mom and dad were chefs, and I learned from them. Plus they made me take culinary classes all throughout middle school and high school.

"Oh, well your cooking is fucking amazing." We eat in silence, and then he says,

"Do you want a tour?" he picks up my used dishes and puts them in the dishwasher. He shows me where the bathroom is, the two bedrooms and the balcony.

"Are your eyes naturally purple?" he asks, standing beside me on the balcony. he's so close to me. I can smell his cologne. He smells so good I just want to kiss him stupid. Kiss him Crescent, fucking kiss him. No, shut up, wait until your drunk dumb ass. Then if he doesn't like it, you can blame it on the alcohol.

"Yeah, it was a genetic mutation," I admit. I've always been self conscious about my eyes. They're just so dark and purple. I look weird with them. Pale skin, pastel blue hair, dark violet eyes. How out of place.

"Well, they're beautiful," he adds. He places his hand on mu shoulder, but takes it off quickly. He's so damn warm. "hit, it's almost six, we're going to be late, we need to go."

"Shit," I mumble. I grab my cardigan and run with him to his car. He puts it in reverse and u-turns out of the parking lot. I never realized how hot it was for guys to be driving fast and acting all concentrated. Focus is hot as hell.

"You can turn on the music, it's going to be about ten minutes before we arrive. Two songs and one ad later, we're pulling up to a loud barn. There are at least seventy cars in the grass around it, lights are flashing and people are yelling. Wow, this is one hell of a party. I turn to look at Kaden, who's smiling at me.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Damn right,'' I say. He shuts the car off and we walk up to the doors together. we part ways for a bit. I go to the bar and get a few drinks, talk with some people and then drink some more. Underage drinking at its finest. I love it. Four margaritas later and I'm starting to feel the drunk. I amble around the place, until I'm approached by a group of guys.

"Hey," the black haired one says. He puts his hand on my waist and pulls me closer to him. He starts to grind up against me. I struggle to get away.

"Get off me," I slur. Nothing happens.

"Get off of me." I state, getting louder. He uses his other hand to smack my ass.

"Get off of me!" I scream. I fling a fist to his face and hit him in his cheek. "Aaah!" I punch him again, but in the stomach this time. It's not happening again sweetheart. Kaden runs up behind me and shoves the guy aside.

"Cress, are you okay?" he asks, heavily breathing from running I assume.

"Mhmm..." I fall into his arms.

Oh jeez, you're drunk aren't you? How many drinks have you had?"

"Six?" I ask. He chuckles.

"Come on, let's not stay any longer." He helps me to the car and opens the door for me. When he gets in, I grab his head, and I kiss him.

And I kiss him hard.