Acting

Chapter 1 Cosmos Faryn Smith swept her long auburn hair over her shoulder as she ruffled through the last of her college papers. It was early August, almost time to leave for her freshman year at SCU. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she became more and more stressed because of dealing with all the papers. Frustrated, she placed the 5-inch-thick booklet on her large dining room table, and made her way to the kitchen.

Faryn pulled an apple from the bottom drawer of her fridge and plopped down on her parents’ over-priced sofa in the living room. She never liked how much looks mattered to her parents. Speak of the devil, Faryn thought, watching her mother glide into the room. “Faryn, darling, go get dressed, it’s Dr. Rashid’s birthday this evening. He’s one of your father’s closest friends, you know.” “Yes, mother, I know.” Faryn heaved a sigh. He was one of her dad’s only friends. Considering her dad’s snooty attitude, he was lucky to have any friends. Sometimes Faryn didn’t understand how she was related to her snobby parents. “Don’t use that tone with me. Where did you get those horrible pants?” Linda Smith’s tone was full of disgust. Faryn looked down at her grey sweatpants and shrugged carelessly. “They’re Steph’s, she lent them to me.” Faryn knew that her parents never took a liking to her best friend, Stephanie Williams. “Oh dear, you don’t know where that girl has been. Return those to her and don’t do it again.” Faryn shook her head at her mother in disappointment. “Understand?” Linda snapped. Faryn nodded sharply and studied her mother’s Botox face. Linda’s skin was wound so tight that it looked as though it could tear at any second, revealing her thin bones. Her face was bathed with pounds of makeup that was supposed to make her look ten years younger, but in Faryn’s opinion, made her mother look twenty years older. And that wasn’t exactly a compliment, considering that Linda was celebrating her fortieth birthday in a month. Although Linda was telling everyone it was her thirtyfifth. “I laid a dress out on your bed, now go!” Faryn knew her mother was now annoyed. Just as Faryn reached her bedroom door at the top of the spiraling staircase, she shouted, “I’m inviting Steph!” She slammed her door shut before her mother had a chance to protest. Faryn slid her iPhone from her pocket and tapped Stephanie’s number to open a new text conversation. HEY STEPH, 1 OF MY DAD’S DOCTOR FRIENDS PARTY TONIGHT. COME? Faryn tossed her phone onto her pillow and stared at the horrible dress that was placed across her bed. Her mother always seemed to insist that she wore the ugliest dresses to her father’s “special occasions.” Faryn threw the dress into one of the dark corners of her huge closet and skimmed through her hundreds of party dresses. There were some perks

to having rich parents. Her sight landed on a strapless ice blue wrap dress that stopped mid-thigh. She knew her mother would never approve, so she pulled it from the hanger and smiled to herself. Faryn wasn’t a bad kid, but she definitely enjoyed going against her parent’s all-looks-no-fun mindset. She heard her phone vibrate and read over Steph’s message. UR RENTS R GONNA H8 ME, ARENT THEY? LOL SURE B THERE IN 10 A smile formed across Faryn’s face and she began to remove her sweatpants and tee. The unfamiliar silk slid over Faryn’s tan, smooth skin as if it were made for her. She struggled with the side zipper, but managed to get it up. She buckled her feet into her white, platform Jimmy Choo’s and gazed at her reflection. Just to add to her bad-ass look, she ruffled her hair that was just about waist length. Her phone vibrated again and Faryn laughed at Stephanie’s message. COME GET ME. IM AFRAID OF UR MOM. Faryn peeked out of room to make sure her parents weren’t there and scurried down the staircase to greet Steph at the double front doors. “Hurry up! Just go to my room.” Faryn rushed Stephanie in and followed closely behind her as they ran up the stairs. Faryn quietly shut the door and turned around to smile at Steph. “You look amazing.” She breathed out, looking at Faryn up and down. “Thanks.” Faryn looked at Stephanie and laughed. She knew that Steph never wore her own clothes to parties. Stephanie shrugged and hooked a strand her of long, blonde, straight hair behind her ear. Steph waited patiently, hinting to Faryn with her light green eyes. “Take whatever you want.” Faryn finally gave in and pointed to her closet. Steph squealed and rushed into the closet. Faryn laughed under her breath and sat on her white, leather couch. She was messing with her phone and wasn’t prepared to be hit in the face with a platinum colored clutch. “It goes perfectly with your outfit!” Steph shouted from the closet. Faryn opened the small bag and took out the filling that was in all her new, never-before-used bags. “Faryn Elizabeth! Fifteen minutes!” Phillip Smith’s voice boomed from the lower floor. “’Kay!” She shouted as loud as she could. “Steph, hurry up.” Faryn hissed. Stephanie walked out in a one-shouldered royal blue dress that stopped just above her boney, tan knees. Her spider-like legs were extenuated with 5-inch black heels. “Lovely.” Faryn said in one breath. She walked to Steph and stood behind her, pulling the sides of her hair back that ended at her ribs.

“Thanks Far (pronounced fair), let’s head out.” Steph wrapped her slim fingers around Faryn’s wrist, but Faryn stopped in her tracks. She ran back into her room and came out with two white, short button-up sweaters. She stuffed one into Steph’s arms and began to put hers on. Stephanie had a confused expression plastered on her pretty face, but followed Charlotte’s actions. “My dad would freak if he saw the straps.” Faryn whispered and began descending the stairs. Steph nodded and followed. “Mom, dad, we’re taking my car! We’ll meet you there!” Faryn called into the house from the front doors. "I'm so sick of their stupid first-class parties. I went to a tea party last week! How ridiculous is that?" Faryn and Stephanie laughed and settled into Faryn's red Range Rover. "So, college?" Steph said quietly as they drove away from the Smith's enormous house. Faryn had tried desperately not to bring up the depressing subject with Steph. "I'm leaving a week from today..." Faryn's voice trailed off. In attempt to change the subject, she asked Steph a different question. "So what are you planning to do?" Stephanie's family couldn't afford to send her to college and she'd applied for dozens of scholarships, but nothing was in her price range. "I'm probably going to travel a bit with Angelo. I don't really know." Stephanie didn't mind missing out on college. She never enjoyed school, so why not travel the world with your super hot boyfriend that you met while vacationing in Italy with your best friend? "Oh, I didn't know you guys were still in touch." Faryn's eyebrows rose as she watched the moon glare off the road. "Of course we are! I mean, I've hooked up with a few guys since spring break, but Angelo doesn't have to know." Stephenie smiled her perfect, white smile and shrugged. "I don't understand why you'd want a long distance relationship when there are so many hot guys around here that would go out with you." "I don't know, it's just foreign guys are sexier then local guys and long distance relationships are exciting. There aren't rules or restrictions to the relationship, but you can also be like, I have a boyfriend when you have to." Faryn laughed at Stephanie’s ridiculous speech and parked on the curb in front of the Rashid's mansion. Dr. Rashid, his wife, and his daughter were just like Faryn and her family. Except that Mahiya, Dr. Rashid's daughter, was completely swallowed up into the whole I'm-better-than-you-because-I-have-more-money-then-you thing.

"Brace yourself." Faryn warned before stepping out of the car. She and Stephanie smiled politely to the butler that led them into the ridiculously large home. "Oh, Cosmos!" Stephanie squealed and grabbed a glass from the tray that a passing caterer was carrying. "My mom will call yours if she sees you drinking that." Faryn couldn't understand her friend’s careless attitude. "No she won't. Your mother would never talk to 'white-trash' as she puts it." Stephanie threw the alcohol down her throat and searched the room for more. Faryn gasped. "I'm so sorry! I don't understand how the woman can be such a bitch!" A cold hand landed on Faryn's shoulder, causing her to jump. "No vulgar language." Her mother hissed. She watched her mother’s eyes go to her cleavage. "Darling, you look like a prostitute. Why aren't you wearing the dress I set out for you?" Mrs. Smith stared past Faryn for a moment to look at Stephanie. Faryn rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It was hideous." Faryn said simply. "You need to stop dressing like that, sweetheart." Linda Smith's hard face turned to a warm smile as Mrs. Rashid approached. "Linda!" The Indian woman exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Faryn's mother. "And Faryn! You look...nice." Mrs. Rashid cleared her throat and turned her back on Faryn to talk to her mother. "Let's get out of here." Faryn snapped at her half-drunk friend. "Hold on one second, I need to grab a few more drinks." Stephanie ran through the crowd and returned with four cosmos in her arms and two tequila shots in her palms. Faryn couldn't help but stifle a giggle. Stephanie smiled and stumbled her way towards front door. Too bad she ran into Mahiya and poured alcohol all over her sequined dress. Faryn panicked and grabbed Stephanie’s hand, sprinting out the door and to the car. Stephanie was laughing hysterically as she buckled herself in the car. "That was awesome!" She shouted. Steph took a deep breath and smacked her lips together. "But your mom was being a bitch." At this point, Faryn didn't care anymore. "Yeah, tell me about it. I can't wait for college."

Chapter 2 Hangover Liam Hudson yawned and pulled his hung over body out of bed. As soon as he was on his feet, Liam stumbled and landed on his computer chair. "Liam! It's time to go!" He heard his mom shout through the wall. Time for college, he thought, slipping on a pair of jeans. He pulled a graphic t-shirt over his perfect, California tanned body. "I'm coming!" He answered back. Liam ran his large hand through his hair and grabbed his stuffed duffel bag. He flipped open his cell phone and rolled his light blue eyes at all the missed calls from his girlfriend, Lacey Brown. He chose to keep it simple and let her down easy. It wasn't like she was actually Liam's girlfriend. Liam doesn't do relationships. Poor Lacey assumed that hooking-up a few times meant that they were together. OFF TO COLLEGE. I DONT WANT YOU TO SUFFER A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP. GOOD LUCK! Liam smiled to his cocky self and slipped his phone in his pocket. He took a last look at his small room and shut the door with one thought. Hot college chicks. Sure, Liam was majorly cocky, but he still had a heart. Or so everyone thought. Liam wasn’t ready for his mother’s tearful reaction to his appearance in the kitchen. “Oh, my little boy!” Cheryl Hudson couldn’t help but cry as she watched her little Liam leave for college. She put her plump hands on either side of his face and kissed his cheek, leaving a lipstick mark. “Mom, we’ve talked about this.” Liam laughed at his lovable mother and tore her hands from his face. She nodded and caught a tear from her cheek. “I’m going to miss you. Remember that Mama loves you.” She threw her arms around his wide torso and stood there for a few seconds, then pulled away and smiled at her son. “I will, Mom. I love you. Bye!”As Liam walked out the door, he blew his mother a kiss like he did when he was a child and slung his duffel bag into the bed of his ’99 Chevy Silverado. He chuckled once again at his mother and got in the driver’s seat. It wasn’t a very far drive to SCU, only about an hour or so. Liam pulled out of the driveway and rolled down the windows, turning up the radio and enjoying the blistering August heat of California. Liam was ready for college. He wasn’t just ready, he was born for college. He was

beyond tired of the same girls in his little California town. He imagined college as heaven for himself. There were tons of girls and parties and booze. Sounded good. Liam admired the gorgeous ocean as he drove down the coast, he happened to love nature, almost more then he loved himself. There were only three important things in Liam’s mind. 1: His mother, 2: Nature, and 3: Girls. There were plenty of people, female and male, that hated Liam for number three. But he classified those people as unimportant. If they didn’t like his way of life, then he didn’t care. Just as he was getting mixed up with directions, he spotted a red Range Rover with SCU stickers on the bumper. He pulled up so that he was driving next to the passenger window, and rolled down his window. “Hey, are you on your way to SCU?” He shouted to the beautiful blonde in the passenger seat. He hoped the answer was yes. “Yeah, why?” She shouted back. Liam caught a glimpse of a brunette in the driver’s seat, but continued to stare at the blonde. “Mind if I follow you? I’m kind of lost.” He admitted, winking to her and using his famous tilted grin. A wide smile spread across her face and she bit her plump lip. “Sure. See you there.” She flirted. Liam winked again and fell behind the Range Rover. He couldn’t wait for the first frat party, maybe he could get the sexy blonde in the car in front of his. He couldn’t help but wonder why the brunette hadn’t even acknowledged his existence. He was gorgeous, how could someone not notice that? Liam let the subject slip from his mind and he began singing to the radio. He smiled as he drove up the SCU entrance, he even may have felt butterflies. He purposely parked next to the Range Rover, on the right side of it to be exact, so that he could be next to the blonde. He slid out of his truck cab and “accidentally” ran into the blonde. “Hey, thanks again for letting me follow you. I really appreciate it.” The blonde smiled and pressed herself to Liam, shrugging. “No problem.” She answered. Before Liam could say anything else, another female shouted from the other side of the car. “Come on, Steph!” Liam assumed the brunette shouted. Liam followed the blonde around to the back of the car. She turned around abruptly, causing Liam to run into her again. “I’m Stephanie.” She said, sticking her hand out. Liam smiled and placed his hand in hers. “I’m Liam.” He said with a grin. He was about to walk on, but she placed her hands on his chest. “Before you meet my friend, I just wanted to let you know that I’m single.” She rushed out, taking a quick look over her shoulder. She’s afraid that I’ll like her friend better than her. Liam smiled and nodded. “Alright.” He chuckled and felt the butterflies again. If a girl as beautiful as Stephanie was afraid that he would go for her best friend, then

Liam couldn’t wait to see her friend. She took a deep breath and Liam swore that he could smell rum coming from her mouth. Stephanie turned around and led Liam to the other side of her car. At first, all Liam saw the back side of a girl. She was tall and thin. Her brunette waves reached to just about her waist and she was tan. She was wearing jean shorts and a SCU t-shirt. “Far, this is Liam, the guy that followed us here.” Stephanie said to her friend. The brunette nodded without turning around and knelt down next to her suitcase and duffel bag. “Excuse us one second.” Stephanie said, smiling quickly and running to her friend’s side. Liam laughed and waited, leaning against the Range Rover, looking cool for when the brunette turned around. The girl stood up and slung her duffel over her shoulder, and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. So Stephanie’s not going to college here, Liam thought in disappointment. Finally, the brunette turned around. Liam couldn’t have prepared himself for her beauty. She was probably, no joke, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her eyes were the most piercing, deep shade of blue, and they swallowed up his soul. He, once again, felt butterflies. The girl looked at him sympathetically and shrugged. She was apologizing for Stephanie’s behavior. She took slow steps toward him and finally offered her hand. “I’m Faryn.” She let out in a breath. After a couple seconds, she looked at Liam with her eyebrows raised. His eyes fell to her outstretched hand and he hesitantly placed his hand in hers. The sparks were electrifying for him, but Faryn looked completely unchanged. “Yeah, sorry, I’m Liam.” He held onto her hand and heard Stephanie groan in the background. Stephanie was used to being second choice when Faryn was around. Her best friend couldn’t help her beauty. Faryn kindly slid her hand from Liam’s and turned to Stephanie. “Thank you so much, Steph. I’m going to miss you so much.” Faryn threw her thin arms around Stephanie’s neck. “I’m gonna miss you too Far. Don’t go get yourself a new best friend.” A pout was set on Stephanie’s face and Faryn laughed. “Never.” Faryn said. Most people do their pinky promise, right? The two girls stuck out their middle fingers and crossed them together as if they were doing a pinky promise. Stephanie laughed and waved. Faryn tossed Stephanie the keys to the car and waved, turning around. Liam pulled himself off the car and ran to catch up to Faryn. Her ridiculously long legs were an unfair advantage. “Mind if I walk in with you?” He asked, winking. But Faryn’s eyes were fixed on the map she was carrying. “Sure.” She said carelessly. Liam didn’t understand this girl. It was like she was invincible to his charm. “Do you want to sit together at orientation?” He attempted to get her attention. “Sure.” Faryn said once again, not removing her eyes from the map.

“So, what are you majoring in? Have you decided?” Liam asked, hoping for a deeper conversation. “Drama, you?” She wouldn’t take her eyes off that map. Liam hoped to be cute when he did this. “Promise you won’t laugh? Plenty of girls have laughed at what I love to the most.” Faryn finally looked at him and he was hit by her beauty again. A smile spread across her lips. “I promise.” Liam held out his pinky just to be sure. (Or cute.) She wrapped her pink around his and he finally got the chance to wink at her. She laughed and pulled her hand from his. “I’m majoring in drama, too.” He watched her eyebrows raise and she smiled again. “Wow, who would’ve thought?” She laughed again and sat on a stone bench. He placed his duffel on the ground and sat next to her. “What is that supposed to mean?” He asked, faking offense. “Well, considering the acting that you’re doing right now, I wouldn’t think that you act.” She burst out laughing and shook her head. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Liam chuckled and resting his elbows on his knees. “So what’s the real reason?” “You just seem too…jock.” She said, shrugging. “Well, I’m here on a lacrosse scholarship.” “You’re lying.” She said, smiling. Liam shook his head and scrunched his eyebrows. This girl was a complete mystery to him. “I’m on a lacrosse scholarship too!” She exclaimed. “Well, it seems we have a lot in common.” Liam clarified, smiling to himself. “It seems so. Like the fact that we both have to be at orientation in five minutes!” She jumped up and scurried down the hall. Liam ran after her and placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Faryn, we have to get our stuff to our dorms before we go. Don’t worry about it. Where’s your dorm?” She handed him a piece of paper and another grin spread on his face. “Looks like we’re in the same dorm, Faryn Smith.” Faryn nodded and began walking again. Liam threw his duffel on his bed and frantically unzipped it, grabbing his Ax cologne. He quickly sprayed himself and rushed to the elevator outside his dorm. He pressed the L key and waited impatiently. Just as he stepped off the elevator, he saw her. She was standing outside, with her back turned to the doors of their dorm building. He jogged outside and stopped next to her. “Ready?” He asked offering his hand. She looked hesitantly toward it and placed her hand in his. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Faryn said, still uninterested.

Chapter 3 Greetings

Faryn took a seat next to Liam after orientation and waited. He still had a good grip on her hand, but she didn’t mind that much. She wasn’t stupid enough to fall for his little games. Liam was obviously a womanizer, and he wanted Faryn as his next victim. She could play along though. He seemed like a cool guy, they could probably be friends since they shared a passion for acting and lacrosse. “Classes don’t start for another few days, so do you want to go get a bite to eat, off campus?” He asked, watching their entwined hands. Faryn stood up, slipping her fingers from his. She was preparing herself to take part in his game. Faryn couldn’t deny that Liam was gorgeous with his sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, but growing up with her parents had definitely taught her that looks were deceiving.

“I think I’m going to meet my roommate first.” Faryn smiled to herself, she’d never played hard to get. Hopefully, Liam would get bored of playing and move on to a different girl. “Um, ok, how about after?” Liam stood up next to her and smiled. His cologne was way too strong, causing Faryn to take a step back. She managed to stop herself from laughing as a confused expression came to his face. “Maybe…call me.” She pulled a pen from her purse and took Liam’s forearm. His muscles tensed as she scribbled her number across his forearm. She hadn’t noticed until then, but Liam was definitely strong. “And if you want to go on a date, just be straight forward about it.” She smiled at him and turned around, strutting away. When she returned to her dorm, she flopped on her bed and sighed. She didn’t like being bitchy and playing hard to get. It wasn’t nice the way that she was treating Liam. Even if he just wanted to hook up with her, he was being nice about it. She decided to return the favor. Her phone buzzed and she smiled at the unknown number. “Hello?” Faryn answered. “Hey, uh, Faryn…would you be interested in going out on a date with me tonight? To, uh, get to know each other?” Liam continually stuttered. Faryn smiled at the phone. “Yeah, sounds fun.” She said in a long breath. “Meet me down in the lobby in, let’s say an hour?” Liam’s confidence returned now that she had said yes. “Sure. I’ll see you then. Bye, Liam.”