All characters are 21+.
------------------
Eli had finally mastered his shapeshifting powers. He didn't have any grand plans for them yet, he wanted to start with a more manageable goal: To fuck Madelyn, the hottest girl in his college. He was a senior at a very small but prestigious college, a school where most of the students came from a private high school, where the students had known each other for years and almost everyone knew everyone. Social classes were defined and there wasn't much change except for the few transfers that happened every year. Most students just hung out with who they lived with or people who lived close by.
Eli lived by himself and he was very happy with the freedom it provided. He could be as messy as he wanted, watch whatever he wanted, and bring home girls whenever he wanted. He still hung out with a lot of houses and went to all the major parties, but Madelyn was just in a different social class. They'd talked, sure, late in the night, both of them drunk, but neither of them would mention it the next day, two ships passing in the night.
He didn't know what was different with her, but she carried herself differently. There just was an air around her; she was untouchable. She didn't even give the college quarterback a second look, though their school was small enough that football took a backseat to academics. Madelyn was a work of art behind a glass box, and Eli planned on shattering it.
------------------
"Nah you have the absolute worst taste in men," Eli said laughing, putting down his drink.
"I do not," Meg shot back.
"The guy from Kerry? And the other one from Tinder?"
Meg brought her head down, feigning shame, Ali and Amelia laughing alongside Eli.
"And the guy at the cafe?" Ali asked, promoting another round of laughter.
It was late into the night, the four of them hanging out in the girls' basement after the party they just threw. People were flirting in and out of the basement, the smell of beer in the air.
"So who on campus even has good taste in men?" Eli innocently asked. "Madelyn maybe?"
"Oh please, I don't think I've seen her with anyone," Amelia interjected.
"I did hear a rumor that she was seen with the quarterback over at Kerry," Meg said.
"Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, pretty much the guy version of her?" Amelia asked, friends with a decent number of Kerry students, another college close by.
Ali raised her hand, excited to contribute to the conversation. "Ooh actually my cousin at Kerry one hundred percent said he saw her talking with someone at the bar and they were definitely flirting. He was tall, dark hair, a rugged look, so dark and mysterious. Big forearms too." She sighed, thinking about her own single life.
"Actually I think I've heard that too. He was visiting from out of state but never ended up committing," Amelia corroborated.
"A brooding stare and forearms go a long way."
"And being mysterious."
Eli sat back nodding, thinking of his plan.
------------------
Despite having a little bit of a hangover, Eli found himself going out on Saturday. He went out as Mateo, a tall, dark hair, big forearmed guy with an air of mystery around him. Very original. He at least made the decision to head to Carl's Tavern, one of the more lowkey bars on campus to catch the end of the Saturday Night Football game. It made it not awkward for him to be sitting alone at the end of the bar, sipping on an IPA. A perfect drink for a mysterious gentleman.
He made small talk with some of the regulars around him, acting like a newcomer in town. He'd noticed some friends at the other table but ignored them, adding to his air of mystery. It wasn't long before someone came up to talk to him. It was Sophia, a girl that some of the guys knew a little too well. She'd been around.
"So what's a cutie like you doing in a place like this?"
He looked at her, uninterested. "Visiting."
"A man of few words huh. One of whatever he's having," she said, pointing at Mateo's IPA.
Mateo raised his eyebrow, expecting her to get the fruity cocktail special of the week. He committed to keeping his illusion up.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude but I'm pretty focused on this game," tilting his beer up at the screen.
"Really? Are you from one of those states?"
He just nodded. Sophia grabbed her beer, deciding to leave him alone. Mateo decided to at least pay for that beer as an apology. For both his indifference and the taste of the IPA. As the game wound to a close, he paid off his tab and made some rounds, complimenting some of the mouthier girls to make sure his appearance was noted, although he didn't stay much longer after that. On the way back he walked past a bunch of groups going out, avoiding eye contact to stay mysterious. Eventually he reached the edge of a forest where he transformed back into Eli and headed back home.
------------------
By Monday he'd heard from a couple people about the mysterious stranger from out of town. Some of it from Sophia who mouthed off about his rudeness, but it was combated by the other girls who mentioned his nice compliments. Everyone was trying to find out who he was. His plan was going along nicely. He couldn't wait for Friday where he planned to enact the next part of his plan.
------------------
Friday came around and Eli had turned into Mateo, making his way down to the 530 house, where the party of the week was going down. A 6 pack in his hand, he made his way over with a sense of purpose. It was already an hour in and people were getting sloppy. He waded through the crowds to the kitchen where he cracked open one of the beers, put another in his pocket, and stashed the rest in a kitchen cabinet where he usually put it as Eli.
He found Ellie by the keg, a close friend of Emma's.
"Excuse me, I just wanted to say I like your earrings," he shouted, knowing that it was an important hobby of hers and was proud of it.
"Thank you!" She shouted back, surprised to see Mateo.
"Have you by chance seen Levi? Tall, blonde hair, kinda lanky?"
"No sorry, he's usually pretty hard to find."
He thanked her and walked into the living room, still with much purpose. Levi was the perfect person for his plan. He was notoriously hard to find, always disappearing into a bedroom or taking a walk outside. He got hammered and did it quickly. He was exactly the type to get really drunk, start talking to a mysterious stranger, and invite him to the next big party. It was perfect, Mateo had an invite to the party and an impossible task so that he wouldn't have to sit around and make small talk. In his mind, he blessed Levi.
Feeling too crowded inside, he wandered to the back where at least he could get some fresh air. He leaned over the porch railing, large forearms on the wood, sipping his beer and staring off into nothingness. Another girl came up to him, a year below him and although she was gorgeous, he just asked again if she'd seen Levi and excused himself to find him when she said she hadn't.
It was back in the kitchen when he finally got a breakthrough. He saw Madelyn standing in front of the cabinet he'd stored his beer in, talking to Ellie.
"Scuse me ladies, just gotta grab my beer."
He reached up and between them, making sure to face Madelyn so that she got a nice whiff of his cologne and a nice look at his arms. Closing the cabinet, he waved it in front of them.
"Want one?"
"What is it?" Madelyn asked, trying to get a look at the label.
He turned the label towards her.
"Mango beer. One of my friends got it for me. It's not too bad considering it's a fruit beer."
"Oh I love mango! I wanna try it," Madelyn said, oblivious to the fact that Mateo already knew this.
"Thanks, I'm Madelyn by the way. Friends call me Maddy."
"Nice to meet you Maddy, I'm Mateo," he responded, grasping her outstretched hand in a handshake. He turned to Ellie.
"And you?"
"Ellie."
"You still haven't seen Levi right?" Purposely ignoring Madelyn, he kept up his ploy of asking for Levi.
"Nope, did you check the back?"
"Yep."
"This street?"
"Why would I check the street?" He said, feigning confusion.
"You know how Levi is."
"I don't actually. I just met him last week."
Ellie tilted her head. "Then how come you're trying so hard to find him?"
"Cause that bastard invited me to this party last week saying he had something he really really wanted to show me. He wouldn't tell me no matter how many times I asked so I came to find out. Where does he go then?"
"He's always just taking walks," Madelyn interjected, wanting to be part of the conversation.