Fall Quarter

To most parents, college is seen as the end.

The end of good-night kisses and teary cries for a band-aid. The end of tea parties in the backyard or fort wars in the living room. The end of being able to just walk in their son or daughter's room when they know something's wrong and just talk.

But to the student, going off to college is the beginning.

The beginning of complete freedom. The beginning of self-dependence and the discovery of who you are. The beginning of the rest of your life.

So you can understand why Jasey Rae Villanueva was just a bit scared of it all.

It wasn't that she didn't want to be free. She did. The promise of a new beginning and a place where no one knew her name or story was largely appealing to the young woman. But knowing that she wouldn't be able to just head downstairs to ask her mom about something killed her. A new start was what she wanted, but what if she screwed that one up too?

"I'm so proud of you, Jasey," her father said with a teary smile. It was the most emotional that she had ever seen him before. Maybe it made sense because she was going to be living her dream - or at least the dream that he had planned out for her anyways. Jasey had graduated not just at the top of the 2014 class, but was the top. She was valedictorian. In addition to that, she had also been accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles. Her father could already see it now: Dr. Jasey Rae Villanueva.

That sounded about right.

Jasey offered him a small smile back, happy to make him proud. Moving to LA didn't seem that bad. After all, she had lived in San Diego all her life. Her childhood had been dotted with weekend trips to the City of Angels to visit family or just simply for a getaway. The place was familiar to her. But even with a new school to go to and a seemingly bright future, she still didn't know what to do with her life. Jasey had agreed to all the little things that her dad would gush about, "med school" and "becoming a doctor", but she wasn't so sure about it anymore. But telling her father that would crush his heart, so she kept it to herself.

"Thanks dad," she sighed, wrapping her arms around his middle. She closed her eyes, taking in his distinctive scent of aftershave before stepping back.

"You be good now," he warned. "I don't want to be hearing about you getting into any trouble."

Jasey made a small face, knowing fully well that by "trouble", he had meant "boy trouble". There might had been a good reason for him to warn her about that specifically, but she didn't take to being reminded of it constantly. "Don't worry dad. I'll be fine."

He looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it, nodding and taking a step back instead. He trusted her.

It was just the boys that he was wary of.

The young woman then turned to her mother, who had been silently crying ever since the family had stepped through the front door to say goodbye to Jasey. It was odd, seeing her like this. All of a sudden, the small wrinkles by her mother's eyes became more prominent, reminding her of how much time had really gone by. Gone were the days of running with a scratched knee, begging for a kiss to make it better. In a quiet voice, she said, "Bye mommy."

Mrs. Villanueva looked at her daughter with definite pride in her eyes, happy of the splendid young woman that she had grown up to be. There were definite bumps in the road, yes, but Jasey had overcome them all. "Be safe," she warned. "Call us when you get there."

Jasey nodded, already expecting that much. It had been procedure whenever she had gone over to a friend's house or gone to the mall. But this time, she wasn't going to come home the next morning.

She was really leaving.

"Will do," she promised, gathering her mom in one last tight hug. The two cried in each other's arms before Jasey pulled away, wiping away some stray tears before bending down to her little sister's level.

"Hey Ambel," she said, smiling through her tears at the small seven year-old. "How are you holding up?"

The smile wasn't going to fool her sister though. With a sob, Ambel threw herself into Jasey's arms, crying profusely onto her shoulder. "Do you have to go?" she gasped between tears. The thought of her older sister no longer being just next door was scary for the little girl. She wasn't going to like how quiet the house was going to be.

"I'm sorry, Bellie." Jasey ran her hand through her hair a few times, trying to console her. "But I have to go."

"But why can't you go to school here?"

The young woman let out a light chuckle at her sister's desperate attempt to get her to stay. "Because Bels, I'm too smart to be here anymore," she said, making a face.

Ambel let out a small sniffle. "You can pretend," she urged.

Jasey laughed and pulled her little sister in another tight hug. "I'll visit, ok?"

"Promise?"

Pulling back, she looked into her the small girl's brown eyes and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Promise."




It was weird for Jasey, driving away from her house and knowing that she technically didn't live there anymore. It would still, in all cases, be the place that she called "home", but just not where she went to sleep anymore.

The farewells had been tough, and her mother had gotten quite emotional over the "I love you"s that they exchanged. But Jasey had to go eventually, and somehow she managed to get in her car and drive away. She had anticipated that the three hour long drive would seem endless, but Jasy found herself looking upon the tall buildings of LA much sooner than she had anticipated.

"Hello, UCLA," she whispered as the familiar buildings came to view. The campus had been a popular spot that the family visited whenever they were in town, and Jasey knew the layout pretty well. It was just so different to her now, seeing it as her school.

She was in college now.

In all technicalities, Jasey was now back at the bottom of the totem pole - a freshmen once more. But all the freedoms that she had gained by just moving out there made that little fact obsolete. She was scared, yes, but this freedom was quite nice. She could get used to this.

After verifying her dorm assignment with the junior that was assigned to her building, Jasey walked the halls, mumbling, "Room 232," under her breath as she scanned the metal plaques mounted next to the doors. Her steps suddenly halted as her mumbled numbers suddenly matched the ones on the door.

This was it.

Jasey bit her lip nervously, pushing the key that she had been given into the lock. For a moment, she worried that it wouldn't turn. That there had been some freak mess-up and she hadn't really gotten into UCLA, but Lasey Mae Velacaria did.

And then the key turned.

Slowly, she pushed the door open, dragging her suitcase in as she went. The dorm was small - embarrassingly small - as her cousins had warned, but it was nice. There was a bunk bed and a single bed placed on opposite sides of the wall with a huge window in between them. A small nightstand, a desk, and a shabby looking lamp also furnished the small space. The walls were plain white with some small holes in them near the desk, signs of the room's past inhabitants. Other than that, the room was bare.

This was it. This was college.

Jasey collapsed on the bottom bunk, looking around the room. So this was going to be where she was going to spend the next year of her life. This was where everything changed. She was in some deep philosophical train of thought when the door was pushed open, revealing another girl struggling with an especially large suitcase.

"Here, let me help," Jasey said, immediately getting up off the bed to assist her.

"Thanks," the new girl huffed, shoving her dark hair impatiently behind her ear. With one last tug, the monstrous thing managed to get into their room, the door slamming shut behind them. She took a moment to catch her breath before turning to face Jasey. "I'm Nicole Martin." She stuck her hand out, looking at her new roommate expectantly.

"Jasey," she replied hesitantly, shaking her hand. "Jasey Rae Villanueva. Nice to meet you."

"You too."

The two stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to drag up some random topic of conversation that they'd both be able to comment on. However, before Jasey had the chance to open her mouth and comment on the weather, the door opened once more, this time revealing a blonde girl. Like Nicole, she seemed to have a bit trouble with her bags.

"Oh, this luggage is complete rubbish," she groaned as she tried to work with the malfunctioning wheel.

Nicole and Jasey traded indiscreet looks.

British.

She was British.

Jasey knew that even though Americans liked to group all English accents into one stereotypical sound, there were slight distinctions to them in each region. Without that knowledge though, she could tell that this newcomer was of money. Her designer clothes and upright posture said it all.

A amused look came upon the blonde's face as she looked over her new roommate's shocked faces. "Thought that I was just another American, didn't you?"

Jasey just blushed and looked at her shoes while Nicole said, "Well, yeah. I did at least."

She laughed and held out her hand. "I'm Tilly by the way."

Nicole was the first to shake it. "Tilly..."

"Bloomfield. Tilly Bloomfield."

"Ah."

Jasey shook her hand as well, smiling. From the looks of it, the three of them were going to get along just fine. It would be an absolute disaster if her roommates turned out to be unbearable. "It's nice to meet you."

A grin came on the blonde's face. She could tell that they were going to get along. "You too."

"So," Nicole said, looking around their practically empty room, slightly dismayed. "Shopping trip?"

Tilly nodded fervently. "Yes please."




It had been quite amazing, really how well the three gelled so quickly. By the end of the day, Jasey was already planning on borrowing about half of Tilly's wardrobe and Nicole had promised to teach them some of her make-up techniques. Truth be told, some of Tilly’s British-speak did confuse them at first, but Nicole and Jasey were intrigued by their roommate. After a few weeks, the roommates seemed to be settling in quite nicely.

“So, where did you live in the UK?”

Jasey popped open the microwave and poured the popcorn into a bowl. None of them had felt like doing homework and called for a lazy hour, using it to indulge in one of the few snacks they had allowed themselves to buy on their money tight budget. The three of them were positioned on the single bed that Nicole had claimed, trying to get to know each other more.

“London,” Tilly answered as she reached out for the bowl.

“Wow.” Nicole’s eyes lit up. She had wanted to go there her whole life. “What’s it like?”

“It’s amazing,” she said, with a dreamy look in her eyes. “Especially at night, when all the lights are on and well, it’s just stunning. Everyone that I know is back home,” Tilly continued, her face falling a bit. “But it’s alright, it’s always been a dream to study here in the States,” she assured Jasey and Nicole when they opened their mouths to comfort her. “I just miss them sometimes.”

Jasey threw a piece of popcorn in her mouth with a glum face. “Me too,” she admitted, thinking of Ambel. She had called her little sister just yesterday. Ambel had urged her older sister that she was alright, but Jasey knew that she was still a little down. She was still a bit lost herself. Classes were much harder than she was used to and her new schedule was a bit disorienting. But her new friends were definitely helping with that. It was nice to see that she wasn't going through this alone.

Tilly's eyes suddenly became calculated as she looked over Jasey and Nicole. “You know, you two should come with me tomorrow."

Nicole picked up a handful of popcorn and picked at the pieces. "Where?"

“I’m meeting some friends from back home,” Tilly explained to both of them, her blue eyes dancing in excitement. "It'd be wicked if you two came too!"

“Uhm, well, I don’t want to just barge in or anything like that,” Jasey said politely.

Tilly rolled her eyes. “You won’t be ‘barging in’,” she assured. “I’m inviting you.” She looked at Nicole and Jasey each in turn. "Please?"

Jasey looked uneasy about it still, but eventually agreed. "Ok then, sure. Why not?" If they were Tilly's friends, chances were that they were nice. And plus, Jasey had it set in her mind to make as many new friends as she could. This was a great opportunity to meet new people.

Nicole looked suspiciously at the blonde. "No weird British friend ceremonies or anything?"

Tilly scoffed. "I'm English, not Martian, Nicole. It's just lunch, I promise."

She sighed, knowing that with Jasey on board now, there was no getting out of this one. "Oh, alright."

Tilly cheered in victory and then grabbed her phone. "I'll tell them right now! You two will be glad you agreed to this, trust me," she said with a wink.

Jasey traded a look with Nicole. What was Tilly planning?




On the day that Jasey and Nicole were due to meet Tilly's friends, the Brit had been off-the-walls excited, gushing about how much they'd like them. But whenever the two would try and get more information rather than, "so sweet and innocent" or "cheeky and flirty", Tilly would just wink and say, "You''l get it soon enough."

Even in the car, Tilly had been positively glowing over the upcoming meeting. Nicole was a bit glad when she finally told Jasey to turn into a parking lot. It was almost as if her friend was sick with some sort of happiness virus.

"Tilly are you sure this is the place?" Jasey ashed as she slowed her car down, approaching the fancy hotel. Dozens of girls were posted outside and the security team in place seemed to be barely holding them back. That was definitely not what she had been expecting to pull up to at all.

Tilly rummaged around in her purse before pulling out her phone. "Hotel Palomar, right?" she asked, peering at the screen,

Nicole leaned closer to the dashboard, peering up at the tall building. "Yup," she said, once she caught glimpse of the sign.

"Then this is it!"

The roommates piled out of the car and almost were immediately deafened by the girls screams. Even though Jasey had parked her car on the far side of the parking lot, their shouts seemed to echo everywhere.

"What are they all here for?" Nicole grumbled as they made their way to the front of the hotel and closer to the horde. It wasn’t that she had anything personal against them, but they could hold back on the screams. Some people wanted to be able to hear for the rest of their life.

"Beats me," Jasey answered. As they got closer, she noticed that they all looked about her age, a year or two older or younger. They also had posters, she realized. They were waving them much to wildly for her to really get a good look though. Some celebrity was probably staying there, Jasey figured. It was LA after all.

Tilly must had talked to the security, since the trio was allowed clear access to the entrance of the hotel. "Come on," she said, holding the door open as they entered the fancy lobby. Jasey and Nicole followed quickly after her. The two were glad to get away from the fangirls, some of them now screaming about how it was unfair that the three were being let in. Tilly also had a quick chat with the receptionist at the desk before they all filed into the elevator.

"What floor?" Jasey asked.

"All the way to the top," she said happily, jabbing a button on the top row.

“Tilly, who are we meeting?” Nicole asked slowly. People on the top floor were important. They were untouchable. They were the type of people that, well, the type of people that would have bunches of girls screaming outside the hotel.

“Well, you see, my families kind of well off in London,” Tilly started. The two followed her out of the lift once they reached the top floor. Nicole smirked as they continued to walk. So she had been right. There had been a certain vibe that she had felt from Tilly when they first met. It wasn't that she was snobby or anything, but there was definitely something different. Well, this explained the heaps of designer clothes that were taking up most of their closet space back at their dorm as well. “That’s why I was able to come here to the States. It’s really all because of my dad’s job.” She paused as she knocked on the door in front of them. “He’s a manager of this band and-"

Tilly wasn’t able to finish, as the door had swung open. “Hey Tilly, come on in,” the person that had opened it was saying - yet in another British accent.

Nicole and Jasey hadn’t completely processed that “back home” also meant “people from the UK that also have accents like me”, so it took them by surprise.

“And you guys must be the roommates she was telling us about,” the person continued with a cheery smile.

And then Jasey's breathlessness took on a complete other meaning.
Her mind was reeling. It couldn’t be him, but it was. Then three of them walked into the room and Jasey was met with yet another heart attack. They were there. All of them. It was just so surreal that she couldn’t completely process it all.

How...

And what on...

But Tilly was...

British.

British.

“One Direction,” Jasey managed to choke out weakly, her hand gripping the other girl’s forearm.

Tilly turned around. “What?”

“Your dad,” she stammered. “He manages One Direction.”

Her roommate laughed at her obvious shock. “Welcome to my world, love.”

Notes

Sorry! I know that at least 1/2 of you saw that Tilly was going to know that band, but I promise this is WAY less cliche than you assume. So please hang in there (:Thank you SO MUCH for reading, and don't be shy to review!!

~Sianna