Jay was disappointed when the girl’s face fell. He had hoped she would be at least a little bit excited to have him as a partner. He had been about as friendly towards her as he could get. Instead, her big blue eyes widened like she was drowning in a sea of silent anxiety. It wasn’t the kind of look that gave a guy confidence. He looked back over his shoulder at the other students. Most of them seemed to have chosen their partners already and were leaving the room to discuss topics. There weren’t many solo people left.

His eyes wandered to the group of Chi Omega girls, who were still passing glances at him and talking amongst themselves. It seemed like they were waiting to find out the results of his interaction with the food hub girl. They continued to pat their friend on the back—the brunette who had originally shown interest in Jay—and nod at her encouragingly, as if they knew his interaction would go poorly. He wondered if they could see food hub girl’s expression from where they stood. Either way, he had to admit that they were probably right; things weren’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped.

[i]Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad,[/i] Jay thought, eyeing the sorority girl. [i]Maybe she’s not like the others. This time could be different. It doesn’t even have to turn into anything more than a partnership. Nobody said I have to date her.[/i] Still, the thought left an uncomfortable weight in the pit of his stomach. In his heart, he knew that a partnership with that girl would turn into something more. It was clearly what she wanted, and he knew he couldn’t turn down a pretty face, even if that face belonged to someone in a sorority. He turned back to the blonde woman, whose demeanor still cried of quiet fear.

It didn’t seem he had a choice.

Jay opened his mouth, about to retract his offer, but she spoke first, accepting the proposal and giving him her name: Annabella. He froze, surprised by her sudden change of heart. He had been certain she would turn him down. Perhaps he had read her wrong after all. “Yeah, sure,” he blinked when she suggested that they go somewhere else to discuss the project, regaining his composure. “How about the library? It’s usually pretty quiet there.” He held out a hand, gesturing for her to walk ahead of him, and headed towards the door of the classroom.

On their way out, he couldn’t help but glance back at the Chi Omega clique. The girls were now shaking their heads, their previously approving looks had been wiped away and replaced with sneers of disgust. He could even hear faint whispers of the snide comments they made to cheer up their sullen friend:

[i]What a jerk. Who would ever turn you down like that?

I saw him looking at you, too. Like he was interested. Such a dick move.

Yeah, you can do [/i]so[i] much better.

Come on. Let’s find you a hotter guy. Look, what do you think of that one over there…[/i]

Jay fought the urge to curl his lip. He knew how sorority girls operated—they always put their sisters before men—but he hated how they were so quick to slander him just because his intentions didn’t line up with theirs. Their venomous words reminded him of his exes. He shuddered. It was a good thing he hadn’t backed down and gone with the brunette after all. 

“So, Anna,” Jay met his new partner’s gaze as they left the room, attempting to distract himself by engaging her in conversation. “What kind of topics are you interested in?”