This is an edit/remaster of chapter 1. I hope you guys like the fresh new paint. And shout out to my editor Stubby for taking the time to polish this chapter and all my future chapters. Enjoy!
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I met Laena during college. She first introduced herself to me in a class we both shared and eventually we started to be really good friends. We started to hang out with each other more often. I was dating this one guy, but towards the end of my tenure in college that relationship went to total shit.
Laena really helped me through my break up with my now ex. We often went out to watch movies, play video games in our dorm, and help each other study in the school library. She really helped me get through college during one of the deepest lows in my life. Laena even got me to start going on jogs with her, which really helped me clear my mind.
Eventually we became inseparable. Some of our guy friends in our group would sometimes joke and ask if we were banging each other. I would laugh it off but when I looked at Laena her face would often turn beat red and then she would punch whoever made that joke.
Over time I started to look at Laena differently. As our friendship deepened, the physical distance between us shrank into intimacy. We would unknowingly sit very close to each other, cuddle during movies, and sometimes share a bed; it just felt very natural to us. Laena and I would often joke around and kiss each other, but usually it would be a quick peck on the cheek or if we were feeling extra silly, on the lips. But our physical interactions always had this sort of playful tone, never really getting too serious.
Laena was someone you would describe as a tomboy but she still liked to be a bit feminine. She used to have longer hair during the first year of college, but eventually she cut it shorter, mostly out of convenience because she competed on the college track team.
She had brown hair and some of the prettiest eyes I had ever seen. They were emerald green and were very mesmerizing. She was slightly taller than me, standing at 5 foot 7. She was pretty fit compared to me, she had a well toned body and very nice legs. Sometimes I would catch myself staring at her for too long.
Who am I? My name is Hannah, I was raised in an asian family. My parents were second generation immigrants so they were less conservative than my grandparents. Thankfully I was blessed with good genetics, I stood at 5 foot 6 with a slim body, but I had curves in all the right places. I was happy to have a modest c-cup, I considered myself lucky since my family is known to have smaller breasts. My brown eyes matched well with my naturally black long silky hair, but I dyed my hair blonde mid-way through college.
I would often bring Laena back home during holiday breaks since her parents were divorced and didn't host family events. Eventually my family grew to adore her. Especially my two brothers, since both Laena and my brothers enjoyed watching and playing sports. I would often catch them shouting at the TV watching a basketball game, and I would roll my eyes and continue catching up with my parents or playing on my brother's Nintendo Switch.
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My relationship with Laena would change during one fateful night.
It was the day leading up to that night. I was in the school courtyard with my legs crossed waiting for Laena to finish her team practice before we headed out for some lunch. I was scrolling through my phone when I saw someone sit right next to me in my peripheral vision.
"Hey, Laena" I said without looking, except it wasn't Laena who sat next to me. It was my classmate Zach.
"What's up beautiful, watcha doin'?" he said as he put his arm around my shoulder.
Zach was about half an inch taller than me, he was a little lean, and he had curly jet black hair. I would have been lying if I said I didn't find him attractive. Sometimes I would catch myself staring, but any girl would.
"Just waiting for Laena before we head out for lunch," I responded as I put my phone down to look at him.
We talked about some in-school drama and about some new albums from our favorite artists that had recently come out. We had always had good chemistry with each other. I had thought about dating him but, for some reason, every time I thought about it, I would think of Laena instead. If I were to date Zach, I would have to spend more time away from Laena, and I didn't want that.
"There's a party off campus tomorrow night, you should come," he said as he played with my hair.
I didn't really like to go out to those kinds of parties since they can be super sketchy sometimes. But I could just take Laena with me: I knew she would look after me if something happened. Plus, I wanted to be nice so I accepted his invitation.
"Yeah, sure I'll go, you don't mind if I bring Laena with me, do you?" I responded as I checked my phone to see if Laena had texted me.
"No problem, the more the merrier. I'll see you there," he said, standing up.
He took my hand and gave it a kiss as he said his farewells and walked away. I was a bit flustered by his actions, but before I could give those feelings much thought, I saw Laena walking towards me. She was wearing her tracksuit and carrying her duffle bag over her shoulder. I stood up and walked over to her, greeting her with a tight hug; she returned the favor and hugged me back.
"Who was that?" Laena asked as we pulled away from our hug.
"Oh, that was Zach, you know him," I responded as we walked together to go eat lunch.
"He seems very fond of you," she said to me, leering at me in a jealous way.
Laena wasn't the type who disliked guys. Hell, she hung out with more guys than she did girls. But she was very protective of me, especially if some dude tried to talk me up.
"Oh, that, he was just being nice and if it makes you feel better I am more fond of you than him," I replied, giving her a friendly kiss on her cheek.
Her jealousy quickly dissipated, and she returned to a happier mood as we walked until we arrived at a local restaurant.
"You want to come with me to a party tomorrow night?" I asked Laena as we were waiting for our food.
"I don't know, Hannah, those kinds of parties are pretty sketchy. And what makes you suddenly want to go out and party, you usually don't participate in those kinds of things," she responded.
Not wanting to tell her that Zach had invited me, I just told her my friend Christie had been bugging me to go all week.
"We're not going to stay long, I just want to have a couple drinks, then we'll head out, plus I got you to watch my back, right?" I said to her, smiling. Laena was still hesitant, so I put on my cute begging face which worked on her most of the time.
"Fine, I'll go, but don't go too crazy,'' she said, finally relenting.
I smiled with joy, then our food finally arrived. We continued to talk about school and how her practice went as we ate.
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It was the night of the party. Laena and I were having fun and a bunch of frat boys were hitting on us throughout the entire party. Personally I enjoyed the attention a little, while Laena paid them no mind. One football jock even came up to us and asked if we wanted to do a threeway with him. Laena just groaned in annoyance and grabbed my arm to pull me away from that guy.
I had always been a lightweight when it came to drinking, and after a few drinks I was beginning to feel a bit tipsy. Laena told me she was going to use the restroom. As soon as she left, someone took the opportunity to try to get a chance at me. It was Zach, he saw me and immediately walked toward me. When he reached me, he gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"You made it. I didn't see you earlier so I was starting to think you hadn't come," he said, pulling away from our hug and looking down at me.
"Yeah, sorry, Laena has been moving me around the house to avoid some of these frat guys," I spoke into his ear because of the loudly-blaring music.
As we talked, he began to move a bit closer to me. Soon, he was standing right over me, so close I could smell his cologne.
"You look very pretty tonight," he said.
I was surprised because I hadn't worn anything too special. All I had on was a gray hoodie, some ripped jeans, and a pair of white Nikes.
"Thanks, but you're being too kind," I replied, trying to keep my composure.
Then he moved even closer to me. My face began burning as he gripped my waist in his hands. It had been a little while since I had broken up with my ex, so I thought I was entitled to have a little fun. Plus I was already tipsy enough that I might not have been thinking straight. Zach then grabbed my chin and pulled me in for a kiss. Just as his hot breath touched my lips, my arm was grabbed and I was yanked away from him. I was drunk enough that I didn't know what was happening. As I began to piece together what was going on, I realized it was Laena dragging me out of the frat house.
"What the fuck are you doing!" I shouted as she kept hauling me along. Laena kept ignoring me until we reached her dorm. She grabbed her key card from her pocket, unlocked her door, and quickly shoved my tipsy ass into her room.
"What the hell were you doing with him?" Laena demanded in an angry tone.
Her dorm was faintly lit by a single lamp. I could just barely see her face in the dim room. She looked very jealous and angry as she paced back and forth in the living room.