(no subject)

[longsufferingly]

Taylor sends her a list of rules, e-mailed, with the subject LISTEN TO ME I AM OLDER AND WISER!! She reads them on her Blackberry, while dad drives.

1. use condoms
2. dont sleep with anyone who doesnt want to use condoms even if he agrees to he is a dbag
3. make out with a girl (yes i made out with a dude once that is what college is for little sister)
4. dont tell me about your sex life unless it goes wrong
4b. if it goes wrong i will beat the shit out of anyone you want even if s/he was not involved. bad sex = one no questions asked beating
5. go to class as much as you want to or as little as you can get away with
6. dont be stupid about illegal shit (ie drugs drinking etc)
7. if you have issues call me before you call mom & dad i can help i know people
8. HAVE A BLAST!!!

She reads it three more times and grins the whole way through.

"What's that?" asks dad.

"E-mail from Taylor," she says. "Advice. About school."

Taylor is the best older brother in the world, as fair as Aimee is concerned. He's the perfect combination of annoying and endearing, and she likes him better when he's living in New York. With him, absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.

when did you make out with a dude? she e-mails back. do i know him? deets plz

"And what's Taylor got to say for himself?" asks dad.

"Just giving me some advice about college," says Aimee. "You know, buy my books online, find the best dining hall early..."

"I know your brother, and I know that's not what he said," says dad. "But I also know him well enough that I don't want to know what he really said." Dad smiles. "You should do that stuff you made up too."

Aimee smiles, looking out the window. "I'm going to be fine, dad. You guys don't have to worry."

you didn't know him, but he was a pretty awesome kisser. if he was straight, id give you his number. i got ur back.

Aimee smiles wider. "It's going to be great."

*

Aimee gets to school before her roommate. They've communicated via e-mail already--her name is Miranda, she's from Wisconsin, she likes dogs, and she plays tennis. They're even Facebook friends, and from that Aimee knows that Miranda is dark-haired and pretty and enjoys taking goofy pictures of herself making faces with friends. Aimee figures they'll get along decently enough; besides, Miranda is bringing a minifridge and a TV. Aimee already likes her.

"You got everything?" asks dad.

Aimee rolls her eyes, with a fond smile. "If I forgot anything, I forgot it at home, not in the car," she says gently. She leans up to give him a hug. "It's fine, it's all here."

"It just looks so empty," says dad, making a face. "You sure you don't want me to run out and get you a pony? Just to fill it up?"

Aimee laughs. "There's a whole other person who's living here too. And she has most of the big stuff. And the pony wouldn't be happy in here anyway."

Dad smiles, gives her another hug. "Okay. You sure you don't want me to stay the night? I could get a hotel. Make sure you're all settled."

"I'm all settled," Aimee assures him. "I promise. I am completely settled. And there are other people around, and stores--I'm going to be okay."

Dad smiles, but he looks sad too. "Okay. But you call if you need anything. I can turn around and come right back."

Aimee nods. "I will, I promise. You call when you get home, okay? So I know you made it?"

"Okay." He kisses the top of her head. "I love you, baby girl."

And then he's gone.

Aimee looks around the room, which really does look empty. She figures there isn't much point in unpacking until Miranda shows up, in case she has strong opinions or something. Instead, she heads out into the hall, armed with her room key and a vague idea of where the student center is so she can get her ID.

She's barely three steps down the hallway before she's stopped by a couch.

"Oh, hey!" says the guy holding it. He's about her height, with a nice smile and all-American good looks. He looks like someone who'd show up in an Abercrombie and Fitch ad. "Sorry, we're trying to get this in here, it'll just be a second. Dude, come on!"

"I'm trying!" someone else calls back. "Physics does not work this way!"

"I think you need to kind of tilt it," says Aimee. "Toward me."

The guy gives it a try, and Aimee goes over to help position it, and between the three of them, they manage to get the couch in the room and set up.

"Thanks," says the guy. His friend is a little shorter than her, with curly black hair and a nice smile.

"Every year, moving this thing sucks. You're lucky I took pity on you," says the guy's friend. He holds his hand out to Aimee. "I'm Percy. And this is my friend Zach, he's gonna be one of your RAs this year."

"Nice to meet you," says Aimee, shaking both their hands. "I'm Aimee, I live in 105."

"Well, welcome," says Zach. "I'm around if you need help with anything. Other than moving couches, I guess. You're clearly an expert. And Adrianne is your other RA, she's going to show up in a few days."

"Dude, you scored Adrianne Palicki? Sweet! How did you not tell me this?" asks Percy.

"You're always convinced you're going to be able to convert her to heterosexuality," says Zach. "It's gross. I didn't want to encourage you."

"I would also be happy if she let me watch," says Percy.

Zach rolls his eyes and punches Percy in the shoulder. "Seriously, you need anything, just let me know."

"I was going to go to the student center?" she says, not sure why she makes it sound like a question. "Get my ID card and stuff."

"Yeah, that's probably good. You know the way?"

"I think so."

"If you don't you can follow--" he sticks his head out into the hall. "Hey! Madison!"

"What?" someone calls back.

"You still going to get your ID?"

"Yeah!"

"You want to show Aimee the way?"

"God, stop yelling," says the girl he's been talking to, coming in from the hall. She's pretty, curly brown hair and eyes, and a smile that lights up her face. "Hi!" she says, bouncing over to Aimee. "I can show you the way to the student center! I went over there earlier, but there was some problem with my registration, ugh, so lame. Anyway, I'm Madison Burge, I'm in 112." She elbows Zach in the side. "And I went to high school with this loser, I can't believe they put me in his dorm, ugh."

"Will you two just get going?" asks Zach, sounding fondly amused. "I have to make this place look good, and you're not helping."

Madison gives him a mock wounded look. "We are two very pretty girls you're talking to!" she tells him. "We make every room look better. Right, Aimee?"

Aimee laughs. "Right," she agrees, giving Zach a her best stern look.

Percy laughs. "Walked right into that one, man."

Madison tugs on Aimee's arm. "Fine, we're leaving. But this room better look awesome when we get back."

Madison is a talker. Aimee isn't exactly surprised, but it's a little overwhelming. She was apparently on pep squad in high school, and is looking for a new way to show her school spirit now that she's in college. "I'm thinking I'll just join, like, a million clubs, and see which one I like best, right? I mean, there are tons, there's got to be one for me. There's a fair a week from Sunday, all the clubs will be there and you can figure out what's good for you. What do you do?"

Aimee's a little taken aback at the question. She had hobbies in high school, but most of them were just so she could use them for college. She was in the band, but she doesn't want to keep playing the trombone, and she ran track, but she kind of sucked at it, and she got good grades. It's not like she doesn't have interests, but she doesn't do anything yet. She's a student.

"I like to read," she says, carefully. "And, um, I like animals? I'm planning on being an Anthropology major. Probably. I like bones."

"Oh," says Madison, like she wasn't expecting this. "Well, I mean, there's all kinds of stuff to do on campus, right? You'll find something!"

"Right," says Aimee. She lets Madison carry the conversation from there.

*

By the time Aimee gets back, Miranda is in the room, and she's gotten Zach and a really tall guy with brown hair to help her move stuff. She looks like the kind of girl who can just look cute, and people help her do stuff.

"Hey!" she says, grinning when she spots Aimee and putting down the box of stuff she's carrying. "You're Aimee, right?" She holds out her hand. Aimee already likes her. "I'm Miranda."

"Yeah, nice to meet you. I figured I'd wait to unpack until you got here."

"Yeah, we can figure out where to put the TV and stuff. Have you met Zach and Jared?"

"Zach yes, Jared no."

"Hey," says the tall guy, holding out his hand. "I'm Jared, I'm the RA on the third floor. Nice to meet you, welcome to Holland. It's totally the best dorm, you lucked out."

"Thanks for the help with my stuff," says Miranda, giving them both a smile. She looks over at Aimee. "My parents were in a huge hurry, they pretty much left me on the curb with all my stuff."

"Wow, really?" asks Aimee. "I could barely get my dad to leave, he was so worried."

"Yeah, well," says Miranda, shrugging. "My two sisters already had the really tearful college goodbyes; at this point, it's not really new for my parents anymore. And they're only an hour away, so it's not really a crisis."

Aimee nods. "My brother drove himself to college. My dad wanted to do it right with me."

Zach and Jared take off with waves, and Aimee and Miranda survey the room. "Okay, so--why did we let those guys leave before they moved the TV for us?" Miranda asks. "That was dumb of us."

"Zach is right next door. And it's probably not that heavy." Aimee nods. "We can totally do this."

Miranda grins back at her. "Totally."

*

It's almost dinner by the time they get the room set up--Aimee's mom sent some nice decorative stuff, so they've got curtains and pillows and even a little rug, and with everything clean and put in its right place, it looks positively home-like. They share a high five, and Aimee shows Miranda over to the student center to get her ID set up before they scout dining halls.

"I hear Talbot has Mexican night on Tuesdays," says Miranda. "And it's not too far." She tucks her hair behind her ear. "My oldest sister went here too, she gave me lots of tips."

"My brother gave me tips, but they were more kind of general," says Aimee, and then brings out her Blackberry to show off Taylor's life lessons, which Miranda gets a kick out of.

"Clearly he has your best interests at heart," Miranda teases.

"Oh, always. He means well."

"Have you met anyone else here yet?"

"Madison, from down the hall. She's nice, but--a little perky for my taste. Pep squad. Lots of school spirit. She was disappointed by my lack of club interest."

Miranda laughs. "Sounds--kind of overwhelming."

"I think it was a lot nerves," Aimee admits. "She went to high school with Zach, I think she's got a crush on him. Not that I can blame her, he's cute."

Miranda shrugs. "I'm not really into guys,"she says, overly casual.

"Oh," says Aimee. She wonders if college is always going to involve this much lesbianism. It seems like there's been a lot today. "Well, that's cool. Zach said our other RA is gay too. But she's not here yet, I guess."

"Oh, really?" asks Miranda. "Wow. I'm not really used to--being out about it, I guess? I mean, I knew in high school, but I didn't want to tell everyone. I figure, college, it's a good time to be myself, right?"

"Yeah," Aimee agrees, although it kind of brings her back to Madison, in a weird way. She really doesn't know who she's supposed to be in college yet. "Yeah, definitely."

"Thanks for being cool about it," says Miranda, with a smile. "I mean, not that I thought you wouldn't be! I just figured I'd rather tell you in person than over e-mail."

"Yeah, definitely. I don't mind." She gives Miranda a wink. "Maybe you can be the lesbian experience my brother is convinced I should have."

Miranda laughs. "As long as I'm not your one free beating, it's a deal."

*

Over dinner, they hash out a few roommate ground rules--music, study times, when to be quiet, who wakes up when, how to indicate sexile--and Aimee isn't sure how necessary they are, but she figures it's good to have them anyway. After all, it's way less awkward to make rules before you need them.

She toys with her straw before she says, "So, um, are you planning to sexile me a lot?"

Miranda shrugs. "I guess that depends on how many gay girls there are here. And, I mean, if I like them. I'm not a slut or anything, I swear."

"I wasn't worried about that," says Aimee quickly. "I just--I was curious." She bites her lip. "I mean, um, I've never--"

"You've never--oh! Oh." Miranda smiles. "I haven't either, actually," she says, with a shrug and a smile. "But I figure--college, you know? Maybe."

"Yeah!" says Aimee. "I mean, I'm totally going to. Someday. And I'm not, like--I've had boyfriends, and stuff. I've just never--you know." She flushes.

"Rounded the bases?" asks Miranda, with a teasing smile. "It's okay. I'm totally not judging you. I mean, I made out with my best friend a lot in high school and then I figured out I was gay, and she wasn't." She makes a face. "Wow, that really sounds bad when I say it like that. It wasn't, like, teen angst! High school horrors! Crying in the bathroom! Just--she liked guys, and I didn't, and she has an awesome boyfriend, and I am happy for her. I wasn't, like, pining away with love."

"Noted," says Aimee. "I had a crush on this senior when I was a freshman, and he didn't know my name, and I pined a lot. It was such a cliche, it's pathetic."

Miranda laughs. "I think everyone has to go through some variation of that in high school. I went to a joint middle/high school, and in eighth grade I liked the senior who was the lead in the musical every year." She pauses. "And he was kind of girly and I'm pretty sure he's gay now, so in hindsight, that makes sense."

Aimee laughs. "Okay, well. If I decide to lose my virginity to anyone, I'll put a scrunchy on the doorknob."

Miranda laughs too. "Yeah, that's all I ask."

*

There are a bunch of people hanging out in the hall doing introductions when they get back to the dorm, so Aimee and Miranda hang around to meet people. There are eighteen rooms in the hall, two for the RAs, four singles, and twelve doubles, so the entire hall has thirty people, all freshmen except for the two junior RAs, and half of them, including Zach, are in the hall already. Aimee absorbs maybe three names--Madison, of course, she already knew, and her roommate is Selena, another gorgeous girl. Aimee thinks their hall must be uncommonly attractive or something. Michael and Matt are the two guys who live across the hall from them--Matt is a lacrosse player and Michael is into rugby--and they both seem friendly enough, if a bit jock-y. Aimee stutters on what to say about herself--it's not like Miranda goes with Hi, I'm Miranda Cosgrove, and I'm a lesbian! but she's got tennis to fall back on.

"Hi, I'm Aimee Teegarden, I really like bones," she ends up blurting out.

"Like the TV show?" Selena asks, after a pause. "With the guy from Buffy?"

"No, like--I want to be an anthropology major."

"Oh," says Selena. "That makes--actually, less sense. But cool. Do you have a lot of experience with bones?"

"Bet she's got a lot of experience with boning," says one of the guys whose name she missed, and she sees Zach elbow him hard and give him a chastising look. She does her best not to flush.

"Um, kind of! I got to do this summer program after junior year of high school, it was really cool. And I used to volunteer at this natural history museum. I didn't really get a lot of, um, hands-on experience, but it was pretty cool."

That seems to be sufficient, because the guy next to her picks up with, "Hi, I'm Nick, I really like to play the guitar. And the piano. And I sing some. You can check me out on YouTube if you want." And that diverts everyone's attention from Aimee.

Once the introductions are done, Zach interrupts the buzz of conversation to say, "Okay, guys, this was great. Everyone should be here by tomorrow, and Adrianne, your other RA, called and told me she's coming in on Thursday morning, so we're having our first official dorm meeting Friday night." There's some noise from the Michael and Matt and the other guys. "Yes, you will have time to go to parties after."

"There are already parties?" Aimee whispers to Miranda. "We don't even have classes."

"I think there are always parties," Miranda whispers back.

"Official orientation stuff starts on Thursday too. Everyone have schedules? IDs? Okay, awesome." Zach nods. "Then go forth and socialize. I'm done."

*

By the time Aimee and Miranda make their way back to their room, they've got Madison, Selena, Nick-the-guitar-guy, Jake, his roommate, and Matt with them. Miranda suggested they could watch a movie, since her TV is set up, and Aimee's not against the idea, she's just not really sure about these particular people. She likes Miranda a lot, but she takes a while to warm up, most of the time.

College is all about new experiences, she reminds herself. Being social with unexpected people is one of them. It's not like she has a clique she can join already.

Jake is tall, with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, and he sits a little too close to Aimee, which makes her twitchy. It's not that she doesn't like him so much as she doesn't know him, and she's not used to that. Every boy who ever flirted with her at home had known her since she was a kid, and there'd always been an undercurrent of familiarity. Jake is new, and it doesn't excite her like she thought it would. She always thought she wanted to be that girl, the one the boys came to. Now it's just kind of strange.

Jake keeps whispering things to her as the movie goes, and she replies, but it distracts her from the plot. It's been a day! Why is he already hitting on her? Miranda keeps shooting her glances, kind of amused confusion, like she doesn't get what's going on. Aimee honestly doesn't either.

By the time the movie's over, Aimee only has half a clue what happened, and she thinks Jake was put off, but she can't tell. They all leave, though, which is the important thing, and as soon as the door is closed, Miranda teases, "He liiiiiiikes you."

"He thinks I'm pretty," says Aimee, rolling her eyes. "He doesn't know me."

"Well, you are pretty," says Miranda, and for some reason when she says it, it just makes Aimee feel kind of warm and smug. "It's not like not knowing you is a crime."

"I know," says Aimee. "It just seemed--weird."

Miranda shrugs. "There's worse things than a little flirting, anyway. And if it gets bad, I bet Zach will talk to him for you. He seems cool."

"I don't think he's a serial killer or anything," Aimee protests. "I'm just not sure he's my type."

"Nothing wrong with that," says Miranda. "I think I'm gonna head to bed."

"Yeah," says Aimee. "Me too." She gives Miranda a smile. "Have I mentioned I'm glad you're my roommate?"

Miranda laughs. "Not yet. But me too."

*

It's not even eight when her phone rings the next morning--it's playing "We Are the Champions," which means Taylor.

"What," she says, groaning.

"Now that is not the sound of my little sister being happy to hear from me. Be happy!"

Aimee groans and rolls over, hoping Miranda is still asleep in the top bunk. "It's seven-forty in the morning. Why are you awake?"

"Because I work for a living. Why are you asleep? Don't you have college things to do?"

"Orientation doesn't start until tomorrow. Classes don't start until next week. Is there any reason I shouldn't hang up on you?"

"I'm calling to see how you're doing! This is all brotherly concern. Did you get wasted last night? You can be honest with me."

"I did not get wasted, oh my God!"

"Huh. Well, you should get wasted tonight. Woo hoo, college! Shit, that's my train. Love you!"

And then he hangs up. Aimee stares at the phone for a minute and then groans, drops it back on the floor, and goes back to bed.

*

When Aimee wakes up properly, at ten-thirty, as God intended, the only way she can be sure Taylor actually called is finding the call on her phone and verifying that it was real. She sends him a text that says, wake me up again and die and then hauls herself out of bed. Miranda's checking her e-mail, but smiles when she sees Aimee.

"Morning! Who called?"

"My stupid brother," says Aimee, groaning. "Apparently he thought it was a good time to check in."

"Wow."

"I guess now would be when I explain that he always thinks it would be a good idea to make my life a living hell," says Aimee.

"Clearly. I didn't get breakfast yet, you wanna go?"

"Yeah, sure," says Aimee. "Just let me grab a shower."

They spend the rest of the day exploring campus and getting various essentials--some snacks for the fridge, some posters, the usual dorm stuff--and meeting people. There's something about it just being freshmen and RAs that makes everyone really friendly; no one knows anyone, so everyone wants to meet everyone else.

They grab dinner with a few other people from the dorm, and when they get back, there's a tall, gorgeous blonde girl in the hallway, fighting with her door.

"Oh, fuck you," she's muttering. "Fuck you, come on, Jesus, will you just--"

"Um," Miranda offers. "Can we help?"

The girl looks up. Her hair is curling around her face, and she has a mole right between her eyebrows. She must be six feet tall. In all honesty, she looks vaguely unreal. "Oh shit." She flushes, laughing. "Wow, good first impression. I'm Adrianne, I'm your other RA. And I cannot get my door open. God. I'm sorry I'm late, it's been crazy."

"We thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."

"I wasn't, my car got fixed early. I was supposed to be here yesterday." She rubs her face. "Anyway, hi guys! Nice to meet you. I swear I am not always this much of a crazy person."

"Do you want me to try the key?" Miranda offers.

"Me and Nick can help get your stuff," Jake volunteers. Nick does not look thrilled by this prospect. Then again, Aimee has yet to see Nick really look thrilled about anything.

"Okay," says Adrianne. "Thanks." She gives them all a smile. "I swear, I am competent. I am just having a really terrible day."

Between Aimee, Miranda, and Adrianne, they manage to get the door open. Adrianne jokes she'll never be able to lock it ever again, but it's only half a joke--the lock really is finicky. The guys bring in the rest of her stuff, the boxes that weren't in the hallway, and Aimee finds herself volunteering to help unpack, if Adrianne needs the help.

"No, that's okay," she says, with another one of her unreal smiles. "But thanks. You guys should go do exciting things. Be freshmen. But also responsible. Don't drink. Or drive. Unless you're sober and have a car." Adrianne groans. "I will never recover from this. Please go."

"I think there's a party in the next building," Jake offers finally.

Miranda and Aimee exchange a look.

"Sure," says Miranda. "Why not?"

*

Aimee is drunk. She's never been very drunk before--she doesn't like beer, so Miranda said they should do shots. She doesn't like shots either, but shots go fast, and when they're done, you're drunk! It's like magic.

"I'm drunk!" she tells Miranda.

"Me too!" says Miranda. The music is really loud. Yelling is necessary. "You should talk to Jake!"

"What?"

"Jake!"

"Why?"

"Make out!"

Aimee makes a face. "But he's Jake!" Having talked to Jake, she feels even less inclined to make out with him. "You make out with him!"

"He has a dick!" says Miranda. And that is apparently the funniest thing either of them has ever heard, because they both end up laughing their asses off about it.

*

Aimee skips parties for the next week, because they are loud and sweaty and kind of gross, and she is a responsible, mature person. She goes to orientation stuff, which is a lot about getting to know the area, and her fellow students, and she gets the proper dorm introduction (which mostly boils down to, we cannot officially support you drinking, and if we catch you, we will have to report you, so don't be idiots, and tell us if anything is on fire), and even gets started on classes. She feels like a competent, intelligent, moderately successful college student.

Then, on the first Friday after classes start, Taylor e-mails her. how many times have u been drunk?? be honest. no judgin.

1, she sends back.

i lied, i am judging. DRINK MOAR xoxo.

Taylor is the worst older brother in the universe.

"I think we should go to a party tonight," says Aimee. "But only if you promise not to try to set me up with Jake."

"I can promise that. He's not your type? Is Nick more your type?"

Aimee considers this. It's not that Nick is unattractive--he's definitely good looking. It's that she has this kind of fond affection for Nick, because he is grumpy all the time. She kind of thinks of him as the little brother she's never had. "No," she says. "Not Nick."

"Oh good. Did you know he has a fan club? Actually, I think he has several."

"Really?"

"Really. If you look up Nick Jonas on YouTube you find all his stuff, and he has all these comments from girls who want to marry him. And this girl in my chem class was gushing about him."

"It's been a week?"

"I know! The boy's got skills. So you would have competition."

"I do not want to date Nick Jonas," says Aimee firmly. "I don't really want to date any of the guys here. I mean, they aren't very--I don't know." She rolls over onto her back. "What about you? Are you gunning for Adrianne?"

Miranda laughs. "No, not really. She's not my type."

Aimee nearly falls off the bed she rolls over so fast. "Not your type? How is she not your type? She's gorgeous!"

Miranda looks surprised. "Um, she's too tall?" she says carefully. "I mean, don't get me wrong, she's really beautiful, she's just--not my type. If that's okay with you," she adds.

"It's fine! I just, you know. Wow. I thought she was everyone's type."

Miranda just looks vaguely unnerved.

"Anyway," says Aimee, a little desperately. "Party? We can go to a party. I like parties." She makes a face. "Is there a party somewhere we can go to?"

Miranda gives her a pitying look. "It's Friday. It's college. There's always a party."

*

In the end, Matt from across the hall knows a girl who knows where a party is, and Aimee and Miranda follow him, Selena, Madison, and Nick over to the house. Madison may or may not already be drunk--Aimee honestly cannot tell, and it's kind of weirding her out. That kind of perkiness should not be natural.

She wonders if Madison is Miranda's type.

"So how are classes?" Matt asks. He's the kind of guy who looks nice when he relaxes, but doesn't seem to relax much. "Good?"

"Good," says Aimee, nodding. "I've got a lot of reading. But Miranda is already dying of problem sets, and I'm not. So that's cool. How about you?"

"Pretty good," he agrees. "Kind of hard to tell, but the syllabuses look good. What are you taking?"

The discussion of classes and professors gets them as far as the party, and once they're inside Aimee sticks with Miranda, and Selena, who's apparently decided to join up with them.

Miranda seems to have made it her mission to find Aimee someone to make out with tonight. Which is fine with Aimee, if a little confusing. And kind of hilarious, because usually it goes like this:

Miranda: HI!
Aimee: HI!
Miranda: SO I LIKE FISH!
Aimee: WHAT?
Miranda: JEFF!
Jeff (?): HI!
Aimee: HI!
Miranda: I'M GONNA GO!

And then Aimee tries to talk to the guy, but she can't hear him, and he can't hear her, and she gives up.

Somehow, she eventually gets drunk enough to make out with a cute guy with dark hair whose name may or may not be Brock. It sounded like Brock, but that's not really a name. And he kisses with way too much tongue, and they're both drunk enough that they're probably not bringing their A game.

Aimee is not sure how long she and Brock (Rock? Is Rock more of a name?) make out, but by the time they stop, Aimee is a little dizzy, and she thinks it's probably time to go home, before Brock decides that making out means she wants to go home with him or something.

She looks around, trying to find Miranda and--Miranda is in the corner, making out with Selena. Which is just weird. Maybe Miranda is Selena's girl she makes out with in college. Can she still be Aimee's, if she's already Selena's?

Aimee's already out the door before she realizes it would kind of suck for Miranda if she was just everyone's the girl I made out with in college. Adrianne should be her type.

The air is a little chilly, and it goes some way toward sobering Aimee up. She doesn't feel that drunk, but some distant part of her is aware that she's doing things she shouldn't, and she can't quite figure out what they are.

It takes her like five tries to get the door to the building open, and she spills into the hallway and directly into Adrianne. Of course.

"I'm responsible!" she says quickly. "I'm responsible!"

Adrianne blinks. "Okay. I believe you." She nods. "I can see that. I am going to give you a pass. I assume you are very, very caffeinated."

"I am!" says Aimee. "Very." She looks at Adrianne. Adrianne is very tall. And pretty. But she doesn't look much like Selena. If you wanted to make out with Selena, making out with Adrianne would not be the same. "Is Brock a real name?"

"Um, yes?" says Adrianne. "Come on, I'm going to help you back to your room. Never tell Zach about this."

"About what?"

"Your caffeine addiction."

"You're really pretty. Really pretty. I can't believe anyone would like girls and not be into you," says Aimee. "That's crazy, right?"

"Um, I don't know," says Adrianne. "I've never really thought about it." There's a pause. "I think I'm not allowed to say that everyone has to be into me."

"Oh," says Aimee.

"My girlfriend's into me," says Adrianne. "So I'm pretty zen. Where's your key?"

Aimee roots around her bag and finds her keyring, handing it over. Adrianne gets the door for her. The rest of what Adrianne said catches up to Aimee.

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Yes," says Adrianne. "You were just saying you couldn't believe anyone who liked girls wasn't into me, and now you can't believe I have a girlfriend?" She sounds amused.

"I had a lot of caffeine," Aimee mumbles. "I'm glad you have a girlfriend. And you brought me home." She salutes, very poorly. "Thank you."

"Have some water," says Adrianne. She looks thoughtful. "Actually, stay here. I'll bring you water. You might lock yourself out."

Aimee faceplants into bed and is asleep long before Adrianne gets back.

*

Aimee's phone wakes her up with a trill, and she fumbles and says hello before she realizes it's the noise it makes for text messages. She opens it up and blinks at the message, which has punctuation and capital letters and is therefore not from Taylor.

Are you okay? If you're with Brock, please just let me know! You disappeared, I'm worried!

It takes a few more blinks for Aimee to see the name at the top, which says Miranda.

Well, that makes sense.

in roob am fine no brovk aok, she sends back, and falls back to sleep with the phone in her hand.

*

Aimee wakes up before Miranda the next morning, drinks as much water as she can without feeling like she wants to vomit, which is tough, given she already feels like she wants to vomit, and then tries to put the night back together. She made out with Brock or Rock or Block or whatever. Miranda made out with Selena. Aimee left the party to give Miranda some privacy. Miranda texted at some point in the night to make sure she was alive. Miranda is in the top bunk, so Miranda came home, which means she did not sleep with Selena.

Not that Aimee thought she would, exactly, but Aimee didn't really have many rational thoughts by the time Miranda was hooking up with Selena. Making out with Selena. Doing whatever she happened to do with Selena.

Anyway.

Aimee realizes about then where the water came from, and then remembers the entire horribly embarrassing thing with Adrianne, and is out the door and down the hall to knock on Adrianne's door before she's fully thought it through.

Maybe she's still drunk.

The girl who opens the door is wearing an over-sized t-shirt and no pants, and she has killer legs and Aimee probably shouldn't check them out, but they're hard to ignore. She's pretty in general, but her face is looking kind of dubious, while her legs--her legs are just hot. And very out there.

"Um, hi," says Aimee, trying not to flush. "I was--who are you?"

"Danneel," says the girl. "You must be one of the freshmen."

"Yeah, um. Is Adrianne here?"

"She's showering," says Danneel. "If it's an emergency, you want Zach."

"Um, not really, I just wanted to thank her? She helped me out last night."

Danneel gives her an appraising look. Aimee suddenly feels very young, and very foolish. Her hair is in pigtails. Why is her hair in pigtails? She thought it looked cute last night. "Oh, so you're Aimee?"

"Yeah," says Aimee.

Danneel grins. "I like you."

"You do?"

"You think everyone should be into my girlfriend. I happen to agree." She smiles, more gently this time. "How's the hangover? You need to come in?"

"No," says Aimee, smiling a little. "I just--wanted to apologize."

"She didn't mind. But I'll pass it along, okay?"

"Thanks," says Aimee, and heads back to her own room feeling even more dazed than before.

Miranda is awake now. She looks rumpled and kind of confused. "Hey," she says muzzily. "Where were you?"

"Trying to talk to Adrianne. Got her girlfriend instead. Her girlfriend has really nice legs."

"Why were you talking to Adrianne's girlfriend's legs?" asks Miranda. She sounds deeply confused.

"I was talking to all of her, just her legs were there. And I was apologizing for being drunk at Adrianne last night."

"Wow," says Miranda. She flops back on Aimee's bed. "So we could just lie here and watch TV with the volume turned very low. For the rest of the day."

Aimee flops down next to her. "Deal."

*

On Sunday, Madison makes them go to the club fair. Well, she makes Aimee go, and Aimee makes Miranda go, and Selena follows along, apparently to snark. This seems to be Selena's primary function at any event.

If Miranda and Selena have anything going on, they certainly aren't acting like it; Miranda hasn't mentioned anything, and they've been acting perfectly normal together. Aimee is starting to wonder if she hallucinated the whole thing, except she's pretty sure she didn't. And it would probably be weird to ask, given Miranda doesn't know Aimee saw anything. If she saw anything. Which she probably did.

Nick is already at the fair, playing the guitar and surrounded by a gaggle of girls, who are all really impressed with him. There's a cute older guy with him, dark hair and clunky black glasses, who seems to be giving him a hard time.

"Nick is gonna be the dorm playboy, isn't he?" says Miranda, sounding vaguely amused.

"He has a purity ring," says Selena, dismissive. "Which makes some girls like him more, go figure. Plus, his brother is there too, so that's only half his fanclub."

"That's his brother?" asks Aimee.

"Joe," says Selena. "He's, like, the king of a capella. I'm amazed he's allowed to hang out with Nick when he's playing guitar."

"Really?" asks Miranda, perking up and looking over. At the look Selena gives her, she tones it down. "Because I would be interested in a capella. A little."

"You sing?" asks Aimee. She has no skills. This is becoming apparent. She is okay at drinking and making bad life choices. That's it.

"A little," says Miranda. "I'm going to go talk to him."

Aimee realizes that her options are stay with Selena and Madison or follow Miranda, and it's not really a decision so much. "I'll come too!"

Nick stops playing as they approach and offers them a sort of half smile. Which is honestly more than Aimee expected from Nick. "Hey, girls. Joe, this is Miranda and Aimee, they're in my dorm. This is my brother, Joe."

"Hi!" says Miranda. "I heard you were someone I could talk to about a capella?"

"I am! You're interested? We've got a lot of different groups." He gives Aimee a smile, and she feels herself flushing ridiculously. He's really cute. "What about you?"

"Me?" Aimee asks. She shakes her head. "Oh, no, not me. I don't sing. I mean, I do sing, but just, you know, in the shower, or along to the radio. Not, like--singing. No."

Miranda and Nick both give her vaguely horrified looks; Aimee can't blame them.

"Okay," says Joe, sounding amused. "Well, are you interested in all girls or co-ed?" he asks Miranda.

"Um, either one, I guess," says Miranda, and Joe starts leading her through a variety of questions trying to find the best group to fit her individual interests. It's kind of amazing, the sheer number of groups that apparently exist.

"Do you do a capella?" Aimee asks Nick.

Nick shrugs. "Not really. I'm going to join a band. I like instruments."

"Yeah," Aimee agrees. "They kind of add something to music."

"Besides, if I do a capella, I'll just be in Joe's shadow all the time."

It's an interesting point, but it mostly just makes Aimee wonder why Nick came to this school in the first place, if he was worried about that. "Yeah, I guess," she agrees. "Are you joining any other clubs?"

"Nah. I'm pretty busy with my YouTube stuff."

"Right," says Aimee. She assumes that if Nick does not make it big with his music, he will become a super villain and dominate the world, just to get his revenge. Nick seems to be a driven guy like that.

Miranda ends up signing up for three of the a capella tryouts, and Joe comes back over to talk to Aimee.

"So, if you don't sing, what are you thinking about doing?" he asks.

"Um, I don't really know yet. I was thinking I'd browse around, see what looked cool."

"Well, there's rugby," says Joe. "If you're into heavy drinking and violence."

Aimee makes a face. "Not so much."

"Hmm, okay. Well, there's chess club."

"Definitely no."

"Literary journal? My friend Dave runs that, he's always looking for new recruits."

"For writing or reading or what?"

"Come on, I'll introduce you," says Joe, putting his arm around Aimee's shoulder to guide her over in the direction of the literary magazine's table.

Dave is apparently David Henrie--"Please don't call me Dave, I hate when people call me Dave."--and he's a senior. He's looking for editors, contributors, graphic designers and basically anyone who's willing to come to a meeting once a week to talk about things. He has an air of vague desperation, which Aimee appreciates.

"I'm doing my thesis this year," he explains. "On Russian poetry in translation. It is going to eat my soul. I need all the help I can get."

Aimee laughs. "Okay, well, that's pathetic. I can't say no to that."

"Interestingly, that's the same way Dave here gets dates."

"Oh, screw you, Jonas," says David mildly. "I don't see you volunteering to help."

"That's because you keep rejecting my poetry."

"You wrote a limerick! About a warthog!"

"It was from the heart." He grins at Aimee. "So, can I con you into anything else?"

Aimee flushes. "I don't know. What did you have in mind?"

"How about--dinner tomorrow?"

"I have a night class on Mondays." She smiles. "But my Tuesdays are wide open."

Joe grins. "Okay, so, dinner on Tuesday."

"Yeah, I could do dinner on Tuesday."

"Yeah? Awesome."

Aimee kind of glows all the way back to the dorm; Miranda even makes fun of her about it. Whatever, she doesn't care. College is already so much better for her social life than high school was.

*

By the time Aimee's Tuesday date rolls around, Joe has sexiled Nick three times, and he's decided that Aimee and Miranda's room is his refuge of choice. Aimee is mildly put out by Jake's general man-whoring--it makes her feel a lot less special about him hitting on her, for a start--except that Nick seems to take it as his personal mission to give her as much dirt on Joe as possible. So she goes into the date armed with the knowledge that Joe used to run around in his underwear with a Batman towel wrapped around his neck as a cape, and has some sort of embarrassing trauma that not even Nick knows the full details of that has led to a phobia of sheep.

It's kind of a weird perspective to have going into a first date, honestly. Aimee feels bad for knowing so much random childhood stuff, but it's all hilarious.

"So Nick made it his personal mission to tell me as much embarrassing stuff about you as possible," Aimee tells Joe, as soon as they meet up outside the restaurant.

Joe laughs. "Yeah? What'd he get through? There's no way he got everything."

Nick's stories of Joe's childhood--elaborated on with good humor by Joe--get them through a good half of the date, with Joe of course giving her tons of insider knowledge on Nick while he's at it, and when that well runs dry, Aimee shares a few of her own embarrassing childhood secrets (most of which involve around Taylor being a jerk) just to make things even. And then they're done, and Joe is picking up the check and agreeing to walk Aimee home, like a gentleman.

It's kind of a perfect date, right down to Joe giving her a chaste kiss outside the door before she goes inside, and Aimee has to wonder why she's not more--giddy.

Joe is very cute, and very funny, and a lot of fun to be around, and she has the usual buzz of omigosh a boy likes me! but there's nothing deeper than that.

She's still musing when she gets back into the room, and she's unspeakably grateful to find Miranda is there and Nick isn't. Jake must be getting laid somewhere else tonight.

"Hey," says Miranda, pulling out her headphones. "Welcome back. How was the date?"

Aimee shrugs off her coat. "I dunno. I mean, it was fun and all. There just wasn't any--spark," she says, finally.

"You seemed like you were sparking all over the place at the club fair," says Miranda.

"I know! I mean--it's always kind of exciting, you know? When someone flirts with you? Unless it's Jake. Jake is kind of skeevy."

That gets a laugh out of Miranda. "Yeah, I guess. So, you're not going to be Aimee Jonas?"

Aimee makes a face. "Definitely not." She flops back on her bed. "What about you? Any cute girls in any of your classes?"

Miranda shrugs. "Cute, yes. Interested in girls--not as far as I know. A guy in my psych class asked me out."

"Bummer."

"Eh," says Miranda. "I'm not rarin' to find a girlfriend or anything."

Aimee feels vaguely put out. "I'm not trying to find a boyfriend either."

"I know," says Miranda, but her tone is a little odd. "Boys just keep finding you."

"I guess," says Aimee, feeling weirdly guilty. "I've never met this many new people before. It's kind of nice not being Taylor's little sister to everyone I know."

"Yeah," says Miranda, sounding closer to normal. "I'm really not judging you or anything. I guess I was just--hoping college would be more different for me."

"Well, hey, it's just the second week of classes!" says Aimee. "We've got tons of time for college to be different."

Miranda laughs. "Yeah, you're right. And there's a LGBT club meeting on Thursday. I think I'm going."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I think so. Just to see how it is, you know."

"Yeah, that's awesome," says Aimee. She can't help thinking about Selena, about what Miranda isn't telling her. "Maybe you can finally meet some girls who'd be interested."

"Yeah," says Miranda. "Maybe."

*

Aimee goes out with Joe again on Thursday mostly because it feels kind of unfair to not go out with him, and because Miranda is going to the LGBT thing, so she doesn't have anyone else to hang out with. But mostly because it would be unfair. She might still like him, after all--she definitely shouldn't dismiss him after just one date. But, as fun as Joe is, she just can't see them ever being much more than friends.

He seems pretty surprised when he tells her, but not offended.

"It has been a really long time since a girl told me that," says Joe, laughing. "Seriously. I am very popular with the ladies."

"Even with lines like that?" Aimee teases.

"Even with lines like that," Joe agrees. "It must be my stunning good looks."

"It must be," Aimee agrees, laughing. "Anyway, we can still be friends. And your brother can definitely still tell me embarrassing stories about you."

"Can I tell you embarrassing stories about him too?"

"Obviously."

"Oh good, because I've got a ton of them."

Aimee laughs, and Joe walks her home again, but leaves with a hug this time, and Aimee thinks that, as first semi-relationships in college go, that one was fairly painless.

*

Miranda gets back around 10, and Aimee can hear her saying goodbye to Adrianne and Danneel, so apparently the GLBT club got pretty good attendance from within their dorm. Aimee isn't surprised by Adrianne, but from her brief encounter with Danneel, she wouldn't have pegged her as the type.

"Hey!" she says, grinning at Miranda. "How'd it go?"

Miranda shrugs. "Okay. Fun. It seems like a good group. They have events and stuff, so that's good. Adrianne and her girlfriend were there." She gives Aimee an odd smile. "Her legs did look nice."

"They're nice legs," Aimee agrees.

"How was Joe?"

"We have agreed to be just friends who team up to pick on his brother," says Aimee. "It's for the best."

"I'm sure Nick will love that," says Miranda, laughing.

"Maybe he'll write a song about it."

"Ooh, if he puts it on YouTube, you could get famous."

"His hoards of fans would hate me."

"They'd just be jealous he was singing about you."

"Probably that too," Aimee agrees. "You should see if he'll duet with you, it could be your big break."

Miranda laughs. "Maybe if the a capella doesn't work out." She climbs up to her bed and lies on it quietly for a long moment before she speaks again. "Hey, so, one of the guys in the LGBT is having a party next weekend," she says. "Kind of a start of year mixer thing. I, um, I wanna go, but I'd feel kind of weird going alone. And I guess you'd feel kind of weird going, since you're, um--but it's not gay only or anything! Straight people are welcome, so--"

Aimee cuts her off with a laugh. "Oh my God, calm down. Yes, I'll go. I'll totally be your wing girl. I can't promise I'll be good, but I'll do it."

"As far as I know, I don't need a wing girl," says Miranda, laughing. "But thanks for the offer all the same."

*

Taylor calls again the next Tuesday, at four. "The day is almost over and all I have done is play Farmville," he says. "This is life after you graduate, little sister. It is grim."

"Is that why you keep sending me produce? I don't want produce."

"You always say I never give you anything. How is college? Mom says you just say everything is good and don't give her any details. I hope this means it is awesome and you are having illegal good times."

"Um, not really," says Aimee, rolling her eyes. "I joined the literary magazine. I go to parties. I'm going to one this weekend with my roommate."

"Will there be boys there? Do you have a chaperone?"

"There will be boys," says Aimee, rolling her eyes. "They will all be gay."

"You're going to a gay party?"

"Yeah. My roommate's a lesbian, so she wanted to go, but she didn't want to go alone, so now I'm going too. It'll be fun, I think!"

"Wait, your roommate is a lesbian? Is she hot? Have you hit that?"

"Ugh, Taylor! No! She's my roommate."

"My roommate sophomore year is hot. I can say it. I am secure in my masculinity." He pauses. "I did not hit that, but it was close a couple times."

"She's hot," says Aimee. "I like her a lot. I am not hitting that. It would be awkward."

"I have taught you nothing," says Taylor. "Any dudes?"

"I went on a couple dates with this one guy. We decided to be friends."

"Your maturity disgusts me," says Taylor. "Be more dumb."

"Thanks. You're really helpful."

"Shit, boss is coming. Hit that!"

"Bye," says Aimee pointedly.

She calls mom after that, and makes a point of talking about all her classes and all her friends, just so no one thinks she is being as irresponsible as Taylor. She never wants to be as irresponsible as Taylor.

*

"Do I look okay?" asks Miranda. She's twirled in front of the mirror what seems like a billion times in a billion outfits, and they've all looked great. Aimee doesn't understand the stressing.

"I am pretty sure there is nothing you can do to not look hot," says Aimee. "Don't worry about it. The other lesbians won't know what hit them."

Miranda laughs. "Thanks for your support," she says, but it sounds genuine. "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready for, like, hours," says Aimee, with a gentle smile. "But you could tell me I look pretty. That would be the polite thing to do."

Miranda smiles. "You look amazing. You'll steal all my lesbians."

*

Aimee didn't think she was going to steal all the lesbians, or even some of the lesbians, except she accidentally ends up making out with this girl named Minka, who's a friend of either Jared the other RA or Adrianne--they're both here, hanging out in a cluster with a bunch of upperclassmen. Jared apparently has a boyfriend he likes to kiss a lot. Aimee is good with this.

Anyway, Minka is pretty and asks her to dance, and Aimee isn't going to say no, and that somehow ends up with her and Minka making out, because Aimee gets easy or something when she's dancing with someone and they get handsy.

It's--kind of good. Okay, it's actually really, unexpectedly good. Minka's about her height, and she's a great kisser, and Aimee likes having her hair to put her hands in, and her breasts are right there, and the whole thing is--kind of overwhelmingly great.

To an extent that makes Aimee freak out and run away.

Overall, not her most mature moment.

*

Aimee pretty much went directly home and directly to bed, because thinking about how she felt making out with another girl was--weird. She knew about arousal an stuff, like how she was supposed to feel when she got turned on, but she'd never felt that way with any guys. And feeling that way with a girl was--weird.

To make matters worse, when she wakes up the next morning, Miranda isn't home. Which should make things better, but Aimee feels horrible for going to a party with her, making out with a girl, and then running away. She is the worst roommate of all time.

She drags herself out of bed and down to the shower, and feels marginally more human until she catches sight of herself in the mirror. She's got a faint hickey on her jaw. Fantastic. She hasn't even been at school for a month and she's already kissed three different people and is in the midst of a sexuality crisis. What is with the universe?

She pulls on clothes and realizes that, if nothing else, at least she's not hungover. Small blessings.

Hey, please text back so I know you aren't dead in a ditch somewhere, she sends to Miranda. Hopefully Miranda got laid. Selena wasn't there, but--well, she has no idea what was up with Miranda and Selena. So maybe she found someone else.

The idea doesn't exactly thrill her, but that's one more thing she really doesn't want to think about right now.

Instead, she figures now is a good time for some RA advice, and she heads over to Adrianne's.

Of course, because this is how her day is going, no one answers. Maybe this is karma in action. She was so shitty last night, she is already being punished.

She really does need to talk to someone, though, and while Nick might listen, she can't imagine him having anything useful to say about lesbian crises. And Jake would just ask to watch.

Zach opens his door immediately. He doesn't even look tired. She hopes Zach parties sometimes. He seems nice. He deserves to have a life.

"Hey, Aimee, what's up?" he asks, letting her in with some mild confusion.

"I just, um." She pushes her hair back. "I was having a crisis, and Adrianne could probably help more, but she's not home, so--"

"So I'm your second choice?" asks Zach, but he sounds amused. "Come on in, I'll see what I can do."

Aimee follows him into the room and sits down on the couch she helped him move in. It's nice, big and comfortable, and totally worth the effort it took to bring in.

"So, what's up?"

Aimee opens her mouth and then closes it again. "You know, none of the questions I was going to ask really work if I'm asking you."

"Try me anyway."

Aimee rolls her eyes. "How did you know you were gay?"

Zach blinks. "Oh. Oh. Yeah. Uh. One of those questions. Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Well, uh, I can tell you how I knew I wasn't gay?" says Zach. "That might help."

"Huh," says Aimee. "Sure. Couldn't hurt."

"Okay," says Zach. "So, you know Jared? The RA upstairs?"

"Sorta."

"Well, his boyfriend's this guy Jensen. He was my roommate when I was a freshman."

"Okay."

"And, you know, he's a good looking guy, I guess? I dunno if you've met him, but he is. And he's gay, obviously, because he's dating Jared."

"Right."

"So, yeah. He was good-looking, and I thought if I saw that, maybe I was gay? Or into guys? I didn't know. I guess it kinda weirded me out, having a gay roommate. It wasn't bad or anything, it just made me kind of wonder."

"You aren't just saying this because you know my roommate's gay, are you?" asks Aimee warily.

"No!" says Zach. "No, no way. But it's true. I mean--he was hot, and I didn't deal that well. And we got drunk one time and I told him, and he kissed me, and, uh, it was weird. Not cuz of him, just--he was all stubbly. And a dude. And definitely not for me. So, uh--yeah. I'm pretty sure I'm not gay. And I might not be totally equipped to deal with this."

"So, uh, if I made out with a girl and liked it?" asks Aimee.

"Then it's probably worth thinking about. And maybe asking Adrianne."

Aimee laughs. "Yeah, probably not a bad idea." She gives Zach a smile. "Thanks," she adds. "That was actually very helpful."

Zach smiles back. He's--really a good-looking guy.

Aimee realizes just thinking that probably doesn't mean she's straight.

Which is--a weird thought.

When she gets back to the room, she's got a text from Miranda--Am fine, slept at Danneel's, will be back soon!--and checks the time. Nine-thirty. Perfect.

"It is not an hour God intended man to wake up," says Taylor, when he picks up. "What do you want?"

"I made out with a girl last night. I think I might be gay. Or bi. Definitely into girls."

"Oh man. Was it your hot roommate? I am proud!"

"It wasn't."

"How many hot girls do you know?"

"So many," says Aimee. "I know so many hot girls."

"No wonder you're going lesbo on me. I approve. Don't tell mom until you're sure. Or have a girlfriend. Get a girlfriend and mom will love her."

"Mom won't care."

"No," Taylor agrees. "But she will try to set you up."

"Oh God. Point."

"So, seriously? Into girls?"

"Yeah," says Aimee. "I mean--90% sure I'm into girls."

"Make out with like two more. I mean, I only needed one to be sure, but it was Sophia Bush. That girl could do things with her tongue."

"La la la you're my brother la la la you don't have a sex life la la la."

"I have such an awesome sex life. Hey, does this mean we can talk about hot girls now? How good did Megan Fox look in Transformers 2?"

"I'm hanging up now!"

"Enjoy muffdiving!"

"Ugh, you are gross!" It's hard to really effectively slam her cell phone, but Aimee does her best. Despite Taylor's overall stupidity, she does actually feel better.

Until she turns around and sees Miranda looking at her.

"Um, hi!" she says. "Welcome home?"

"Hi," says Miranda, warily. "Did you--were you telling your brother you're gay now?"

"Maybe?" Aimee tries. "I mean--not to be all wishy-washy about it, but--I kind of think I am?"

Miranda licks her lips, which Aimee--notices. Kind of a lot. Oh God. Her roommate is hot. And into girls. And--Aimee is into girls. This is so bad.

"I mean--I was making out with this girl last night?--which I'm sorry about! I really was going to be a good wing person, but we started dancing and we started kissing and I was getting into it and--I'm kind of processing a lot right now, but I'm sorry I ran out on you at the party. That was really shitty of me."

"It's okay," says Miranda. "Sexuality crisis is a free pass." She sits down on Aimee's bed. "So, you think you're--gay?"

"Maybe," says Aimee, sitting down next to her, a little awkwardly. "I mean--I liked kissing Minka a lot more than I liked kissing--any guy I've ever kissed. And it's not like I don't think girls are pretty. So--it kind of seems logical."

"Yeah," Miranda agrees.

Aimee lets out a breath, laughs a little. "Taylor thinks I need to make out with more girls, but that's Taylor's solution to everything. I mean, he--"

And then, Miranda is kissing her. Aimee has to wonder if this is going to be how college always is--truly confusing amounts of kissing.

But before she has time to think too hard about it, Miranda is pulling back, and Aimee realizes--wow, does she not want that, and she follows Aimee's mouth, follows her, and suddenly Miranda is flat on her back and Aimee is on top of her and they're really, really kissing.

Aimee really, really likes girls. And--well, kind of Miranda. Specifically.

She pulls back, sees Miranda looking a little dazed, but--happy.

"If we're going much farther, we should put a scrunchy on the door," Aimee says, a little breathlessly.

Miranda laughs, a little disbelieving. "I think it's a little fast to jump into full-on lesbian sex." She licks her lips. "Are you sure you like girls now?"

"Yeah," says Aimee, awkwardly climbing off even though she doesn't want to. "Um--thanks?"

"No problem," says Miranda, a little too quickly. "I need to--shower," she says.

"Huh," says Aimee, falling back on the bed. It's really a day of way too much to process.

*

By the time Miranda gets out of the bathroom, Aimee has made up her mind about a few things. Mostly, Miranda is awesome, and gorgeous, and Aimee kind of likes her. A lot. Unlike Zach, who had an awesome gorgeous roommate he apparently wasn't into. Aimee is definitely into hers. And even if Miranda doesn't feel the same, it's probably important for Aimee to get her feelings out there. It's kind of unfair for Miranda not to know.

So, when Miranda gets back, clean and dressed, Aimee sucks it up and says, "So, do you want to have dinner? Like, a date. Not like we always have dinner. Because--I think I like you? And if I don't tell you now it'll just get more complicated, so you can turn me down, and I'll get over it, and--"

And then they're kissing again.

*

They make out for like a half an hour on the bed, which is awesome, and then Miranda is kind of exhausted, so they nap a little, and Miranda confesses what happened last night.

"Pretty much I saw you making out with Minka and got jealous and went over to Danneel's and cried on her and Adrianne about how I had a crush on you and you were making out with girls who weren't me," she explains matter-of-factly. "It was pretty embarrassing."

"Sorry I missed it," says Aimee. "I would have made out with you. I wasn't really thinking. Or making good decisions." She makes a face. "Did you make out with Selena? Like, the first week of school?"

Miranda buries her face in Aimee's neck. "Oh God? You saw that?"

"Yeah. I think I got jealous. And ran away."

"You're always running away from parties," says Miranda. "I should get you a bell."

Aimee laughs. "So, you guys were...?"

"Trying to make you jealous? I think? It was Selena's idea, I was pretty fuzzy on the logic at that point and, you know, cute girl offering to make out with me. I was gonna go with it."

"Yeah, good call," says Aimee. She licks her lips. "So--are you like my girlfriend now?"

"Um, probably, yeah," says Miranda. "That would be one word for it."

"It's a good word," says Aimee.

"Yeah," agrees Miranda.

"Okay, so, girlfriend."

"Girlfriend," Miranda agrees. She pokes Aimee in the side as she gets out of bed. "That means you're paying for dinner. And I have reading to do."

Aimee laughs. "Deal."

*

In the middle of dinner, Aimee's phone buzzes, and, of course, it's an e-mail from her brother.

"Revised life rules now that you are a dyke," Aimee reads aloud.

"Solid title," says Miranda.

"It's better in capslock."

"I bet."

The e-mail itself is, as usual, direct and to the point.

1. you cant get pregnants, grats!
2. do you know what a dental dam is? i had to look it up on wikipedia you should too. EDUCATE YOURSELF.
3. i dont like beating up girls but i will if i have to. just let me know.
4. hook up with your hot roommate as much as possible it is like LIVE IN SEX a++ just try not to let it get awkward
5. actually the other stuff still applies do all that
6. oh wait if you do a sex tape tell me only so that i will know to beat anyone i know who watches it
7. watch transformers 2 & then well talk about megan fox

"Solid list," says Miranda.

"Very."

"Megan Fox is hot."

"I guess. Is it really rude if I reply to him now?"

"I think the rude part was bringing out the phone in the first place," says Miranda. "So it's not any worse."

"Oh good," says Aimee, laughing.

on date with hot roommate, leave me alone she sends quickly.

Taylor immediately replies, thats my girl!!!!!!

"So you should probably never meet my family," says Aimee.

"No, probably not," Miranda agrees. "I'm okay with that?"

"Not a dealbreaker?" Aimee asks.

"Definitely not."

*

The next time she's at a party, it's thrown by one of Miranda's psych classmates, and when she has to introduce herself, Aimee can say, "Hi, I'm Aimee, I'm Miranda's girlfriend." And it's clearly not an identity or anything, but it feels--nice. Good.

It's a start, anyway.