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JD tossed the stress ball some cheery-faced sophomore had handed him earlier up to the ceiling, catching it easily in his hand before tossing it again.
“Wow, fun night.” Heather Duke stood in his doorway, dressed to go out. “I knew you’d be a quiet roommate, but damn, you’re downright boring.”
He rolled his eyes. “Have a good night, Heather, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She shook her head, tossing her sleek auburn hair over her shoulder. “Nope. You’re having a good night too. We’re going out to a bar I heard about; they don’t card and tons of freshmen hang out there. We’ll meet people.”
“I don’t like people,” JD groaned, rolling over so he didn’t have to see Heather’s irritated and perfectly made-up face.
“Jason Alexander Dean, you are not going to sit in here all night moping about Veronica. I said we’re going out, and we’re going out. This is college and we’re going to have some fucking fun! Or else!”
“My middle name isn’t Alexander.”
“Do I look like I give a fuck?” Heather marched into his room and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to face her. “Get up, get dressed. You have ten minutes.”
He didn’t have the willpower to argue with her, so after she’d left the room, he hauled himself out of bed to find a decent shirt.
Her critical eyes appraised him when he got to the door with five minutes to spare. “Oh good, you didn’t put too much effort in. I don’t want to compete with you for girls, y’know, since we have the same type.” Her smile was teasing, and her tone gentler than earlier, and JD got the impression that if he hadn’t shown up, she would have stayed in and watched a movie with him or something. A part of him wanted to ask her to, but she looked so excited.
“I don’t want to stay out too late,” He said, “I’m not exactly feeling social.”
She laughed. “Good, then you’re no competition at all.”
The bar was crowded, but not horribly so, and JD was pretty sure he recognized a couple people from orientation. That relaxed him slightly, and he managed to act somewhat naturally as he and Heather approached the bar together.
Abruptly, Heather stopped, gasping and digging her fingernails into his arm.
He stopped sharply. “Heather, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Her eyes had gone very round as she stared ahead, looking petrified. She choked on her words a couple times before finally squeaking, “She!”
JD’s eyes followed the direction she was pointing until he spotted the girl at the bar that had reduced Heather to this.
She was pretty, with short dark hair and wide, bambi-ish dark eyes that were currently staring absentmindedly at the shelves of bottles behind the bar.
Heather sighed. “Do you think she’s straight?”
JD looked at her again, tilting his head to assess her. She was wearing a crop top that said “Punk’s not dead” and a pink skirt so full it looked like it belonged in a ballet. He shook his head, “No way.”
“Oh my god, what do I do?” Heather looked up at him, as if he might have the secrets to hooking up with lesbians.
“Talk to her?”
Rolling her eyes, some of Heather’s usual attitude returned. “I can’t just talk to her! I don’t have anything to say! And she’s so… Shit, how the hell am I going to do this.”
A slow smile made its way onto JD’s face. “I could talk to her for you.”
Heather lifted one eyebrow, “And what would you say to her? Hey, my friend’s gay, you two should hang out!”
Snorting, JD shook his head. “No. I’ll go talk to her, and then you can rescue her from the annoying guy who’s trying to chat her up.”
“You would do that?”
“I once promised you I’d help you get with the hottest girl you’ve ever seen. I owe you.”
A smile broke across her face, so enormous JD swore the room got a little brighter, and she leaned in to hug him. “I love you. Don’t be a douche or anything though, I don’t want her to think I live with an asshole, or she won’t come over.”
“Don’t you think you’re planning ahead a little--”
“Just shut up and go talk to her!”
Laughing, JD obliged, sidling up to the bar next to the girl. “Hey.”
She looked up, snapped from whatever she’d been thinking about, and thoroughly unimpressed about it. “Hi.”
“So… are you a student?” He attempted a charming smile, but probably didn’t quite manage it. Everything about this girl screamed Not interested in you .
“Yeah, I’m a freshman.”
“What’s your major?” He was aware that he probably sounded like every asshole idiot that she’d spoken to since arriving on campus, but conversation with strangers wasn’t really his strong suit.
“Undecided.” She glanced away from him, fiddling with the straw in her almost empty drink.
“Me too, I was thinking english, but I’m not sure. I like music and architecture too.” After a long pause where she didn’t even look at him, JD said, “So, do you want another drink?”
With a beleaguered sigh, she looked up. “Look--”
“Oh my god, JD, there you are!” Heather moved in, shouldering her way between them. “Hi, I’m so sorry, my roommate is super awkward, was he bothering you?”
The girl smiled at Heather, glancing at her with less than subtle interest. “Not really. I’m Bex.”
“I’m Heather.” She held out her hand, and the other girl took it, presumably to shake, but both girls stood frozen, staring at each other.
JD backed away a step, watching as they dissolved into giggles, finally letting go of each other’s hands. Neither of them noticed his departure, so he backed further away.
After obtaining a much-needed drink, JD retreated to an unoccupied corner, keeping an eye on Heather to make sure she was doing okay. He watched her flirt from a distance, smiling unconsciously whenever she did. If anyone deserved this, it was Heather, and he hoped to god it worked out for her.
Eventually, just watching Heather have fun wasn’t enough to occupy him, so he dug out his phone and started messing around. He lost track of time, and was started when Heather skipped up to him almost an hour later.
“Guess who has a girl’s number and a coffee date on Tuesday!”
JD laughed and smacked Heather on the back. “Nice! I’m happy for you, Heath.”
She rolled her eyes at the nickname, but it didn’t dim her smile at all. “Ugh, I can’t believe that worked! You’re the best, thank you so much!”
They walked out of the bar together, and JD listened absently as Heather described, in perfect detail, every aspect of her conversation with Bex.
“I swear JD, she’s the coolest girl I’ve ever met,” She gushed, squeezing his arm.
“Great so I’m never going to have to do that again? I fulfilled the terms of my promise?”
Heather’s smile grew even broader, “And then some!”