i love vaughny
Cadet
Chapter Six
An innate smile tugged at Sydney’s lips as she watched Vaughn sleep beside her. “Heaven,” she whispered. She could barely hear herself, let alone be heard by anyone else. Vaughn was finally rebooting, making up for the hours he missed during the previous night and the early morning. He looked relaxed, and peaceful, and above all, happy. They were both content, though one was conscious and the other was not. Each knew, in their own mindset, that happiness was the only emotion that ever needed to be experienced in life. Once a person was happy, other circumstances no longer mattered.
And both obtained that very sentiment each and every moment that they were with the other.
A while later, Sydney observed him beginning to stir, gradually transitioning from sleep to perception. Gingerly, she planted a kiss atop his lips. Vaughn simply basked in the sensations he felt, knowing that there would never be anything better. In truth, not knowing that the kiss was coming perhaps heightened the feelings, as surprises often do.
On the drive back to Sproul Hall, Sydney’s cell phone rang. She answered without checking the caller I.D.
“Sydney,” her father’s voice greeted her in an uncommon chipper tone. “How’s college life treating you?”+
“Dad,” she sighed, with a smile on her face, making the sigh almost sound like laughter, “classes haven’t even started yet, and I’ve only been here a day, not even,” she informed. Sydney glanced over at Vaughn in the driver’s seat. He caught who she was speaking with and nodded, giving his understanding. Without a doubt, her relationship with her father was in no way one hundred percent mended or worthy of any medal, but it certainly was different now that they were both putting forth effort to repair the ruins.
“Ah, that’s just fine print, sweetheart,” he replied. “How was your first night?” he inquired, genuinely curious.
And so Sydney reached a metaphorical fork in the road. She could go one way, which meant fibbing and saying that it was fine and that the only real problem was not being able to fall asleep right away, because she wasn’t just yet used to the twin mattress. Or, she could tell most of the truth, saying that she hated her roommate because she was insane, and that she had a terrible headache all night. Naturally, she would just not add that she ended up spending the night in her boyfriend’s hotel room. Drawing a breath, she said, “Well… not as great as I’d hoped, honestly.”
Jack was more attentive to her now. “Oh?”
“I know it’s only been a day and all, but I hate my roommate,” she admitted. “I just…,” she sighed, “don’t like her, Dad. We’re complete opposites.”
Absorbing this newfound information, Jack pondered the possibilities, not necessarily needing the minute details of the dilemma to come up with a solution. He was quiet as he calculated his plan.
“Dad?” Sydney prompted, staring out the windshield at the landscape passing by. “Are you there?” She checked her cell phone LCD screen; it had four bars, which meant battery power and signal were both strong.
“I’m here… I was just thinking,” he said. “You’re going to have to inform your RA of your situation immediately, that way you may still have a chance to pick a new room,” he advised. Sydney was not expecting this type of helpful suggestion from her father; she was just not used to it. “There’s no way you can receive strong grades if you can’t concentrate because of some random girl the school decided to pair you with,” he began. “I really do not understand university administration these days…,” he went on, formulating his thoughts as he spoke. “…they might as well just pull two names out of a hat and match them together. That is, if that’s not already the method they use. Really, I cannot comprehend why they don’t make the incoming class take some sort of personality survey, or something, so that perhaps roommates will, god forbid, actually have something in common with one another,” he concluded.
Not anticipating advice was one thing, but actually hearing her father truly care about something she was involved in pretty much blew her mind. She was so stunned, in fact that Vaughn noticed and whispered, “You okay?”
She nodded and smiled faintly. “Good point,” she finally said. “I’ll go see Tom when we get back,” she decided aloud. Tom Grace, a junior, was the residential resident for her floor.
“Where are you now?” Jack asked, easily picking up that she stated that they, whoever ‘they’ were, were not in her dorm. “You said ‘when we get back’,” Jack repeated. “Get back from where?”
Damn it, she thought, knowing she slipped up. Thankfully, she had above average improv skills. Seeing the digits on the car clock, she saw it was a little after two-thirty in the afternoon. “Oh, Vaughn and I just went out to lunch, and now we’re coming back,” she said, making sure she was smiling, knowing that a smile in one’s voice could be heard by others through a phone. This would help complete her act of innocence.
After a few more minutes of small talk, Vaughn was pulling into the UCLA campus and Sydney was saying goodbye to her dad. Vaughn was smirking as Sydney put her phone down. “What?” she asked.
He shook his head, “I didn’t say anything.” Still, he was smirking.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Parking in a spot close enough to her residence hall, Vaughn turned the engine off while saying, “’Cause I’ve only got eyes for you, babe.” A thousand watt grin graced his lips.
She rolled her eyes, “You think you’re funny, but you’re not,” she said before exiting the vehicle.
In order to catch up with her, Vaughn had to put a little pep in his step. “You think you’re sneaky, but you’re not,” he commented when he caught up to her. Then, he rotated his body slightly so that it was pointing towards the car so he could press the automatic lock button on the keychain remote.
Now she got what the smirk had been about. He was teasing her for her partially frank conversation with her father. “Shut up,” she laughed, pushing him a little to the side.
He gracefully teetered, but then bounced right back next to her, calling a truce by wrapping his arm around her lower back.
Sydney walked into her dorm room first, with Vaughn following close behind. Rachel was lying on her bed, watching TV. Choosing to ignore her, Sydney walked to her desk to drop off her cell phone, and then proceeded to go sit on her own bed, joining Vaughn.
“You kids had a long night… and morning, and early afternoon, now didn’t you,” Rachel remarked with a raised eyebrow.
Sydney shook her head repeatedly, finding Rachel completely unbelievable. Vaughn knew this was something she had to do on her own, so he asked her if she wanted a cup of coffee. She answered in the affirmative. “All right, I’ll be right back,” he told her as he got up and gave her lips a quick peck before he left the room.
“You know,” Rachel opened, “if that guy was my boyfriend, I don’t think I’d be back yet. And I definitely wouldn’t be going to school across the country from him,” she shared, a sly smile spread wide.
“Really,” Sydney said plainly.
“Oh my god!” Rachel exclaimed. “You guys, like, weren’t planning to have sex here right now were you?”
Sydney could not fathom how stupid this girl was. First of all, she was not a slut. Secondly, she had more courtesy – and sense – than that. “No,” she said in a bothered voice, her eyes squinted, her head shaking negatively.
“Okay,” Rachel said with a little attitude. “But, I’m telling you, if he were my boyfriend–,” she began, but Sydney cut her off.
“See, that’s the reason, and I’m just goin’ out on a limb here, why you don’t have a boyfriend, or many friends in general,” Sydney started, gaining more momentum with each word. “Actually, it’s only one of the reasons. I’d say the three a.m. aerobics workout is another contributor. And I’m sure there are plenty more, but I’ve only known you personally for a little less than twenty hours now. I’d need a little more time,” she ended.
Politeness was no longer necessary, and manners were disposed of even before that. What it came down to was this could not be the girl she would spend the year locked up with in the same, very small, room.
It just was not going to happen.
Later that day, after speaking with Tom and the housing department, and after the housing department spoke with Jack Bristow, Sydney found herself moving into a new room on a different floor of Sproul Hall. At least for the time being, she would occupy a double room by herself, and she was looking forward to every minute of it.
An innate smile tugged at Sydney’s lips as she watched Vaughn sleep beside her. “Heaven,” she whispered. She could barely hear herself, let alone be heard by anyone else. Vaughn was finally rebooting, making up for the hours he missed during the previous night and the early morning. He looked relaxed, and peaceful, and above all, happy. They were both content, though one was conscious and the other was not. Each knew, in their own mindset, that happiness was the only emotion that ever needed to be experienced in life. Once a person was happy, other circumstances no longer mattered.
And both obtained that very sentiment each and every moment that they were with the other.
A while later, Sydney observed him beginning to stir, gradually transitioning from sleep to perception. Gingerly, she planted a kiss atop his lips. Vaughn simply basked in the sensations he felt, knowing that there would never be anything better. In truth, not knowing that the kiss was coming perhaps heightened the feelings, as surprises often do.
On the drive back to Sproul Hall, Sydney’s cell phone rang. She answered without checking the caller I.D.
“Sydney,” her father’s voice greeted her in an uncommon chipper tone. “How’s college life treating you?”+
“Dad,” she sighed, with a smile on her face, making the sigh almost sound like laughter, “classes haven’t even started yet, and I’ve only been here a day, not even,” she informed. Sydney glanced over at Vaughn in the driver’s seat. He caught who she was speaking with and nodded, giving his understanding. Without a doubt, her relationship with her father was in no way one hundred percent mended or worthy of any medal, but it certainly was different now that they were both putting forth effort to repair the ruins.
“Ah, that’s just fine print, sweetheart,” he replied. “How was your first night?” he inquired, genuinely curious.
And so Sydney reached a metaphorical fork in the road. She could go one way, which meant fibbing and saying that it was fine and that the only real problem was not being able to fall asleep right away, because she wasn’t just yet used to the twin mattress. Or, she could tell most of the truth, saying that she hated her roommate because she was insane, and that she had a terrible headache all night. Naturally, she would just not add that she ended up spending the night in her boyfriend’s hotel room. Drawing a breath, she said, “Well… not as great as I’d hoped, honestly.”
Jack was more attentive to her now. “Oh?”
“I know it’s only been a day and all, but I hate my roommate,” she admitted. “I just…,” she sighed, “don’t like her, Dad. We’re complete opposites.”
Absorbing this newfound information, Jack pondered the possibilities, not necessarily needing the minute details of the dilemma to come up with a solution. He was quiet as he calculated his plan.
“Dad?” Sydney prompted, staring out the windshield at the landscape passing by. “Are you there?” She checked her cell phone LCD screen; it had four bars, which meant battery power and signal were both strong.
“I’m here… I was just thinking,” he said. “You’re going to have to inform your RA of your situation immediately, that way you may still have a chance to pick a new room,” he advised. Sydney was not expecting this type of helpful suggestion from her father; she was just not used to it. “There’s no way you can receive strong grades if you can’t concentrate because of some random girl the school decided to pair you with,” he began. “I really do not understand university administration these days…,” he went on, formulating his thoughts as he spoke. “…they might as well just pull two names out of a hat and match them together. That is, if that’s not already the method they use. Really, I cannot comprehend why they don’t make the incoming class take some sort of personality survey, or something, so that perhaps roommates will, god forbid, actually have something in common with one another,” he concluded.
Not anticipating advice was one thing, but actually hearing her father truly care about something she was involved in pretty much blew her mind. She was so stunned, in fact that Vaughn noticed and whispered, “You okay?”
She nodded and smiled faintly. “Good point,” she finally said. “I’ll go see Tom when we get back,” she decided aloud. Tom Grace, a junior, was the residential resident for her floor.
“Where are you now?” Jack asked, easily picking up that she stated that they, whoever ‘they’ were, were not in her dorm. “You said ‘when we get back’,” Jack repeated. “Get back from where?”
Damn it, she thought, knowing she slipped up. Thankfully, she had above average improv skills. Seeing the digits on the car clock, she saw it was a little after two-thirty in the afternoon. “Oh, Vaughn and I just went out to lunch, and now we’re coming back,” she said, making sure she was smiling, knowing that a smile in one’s voice could be heard by others through a phone. This would help complete her act of innocence.
After a few more minutes of small talk, Vaughn was pulling into the UCLA campus and Sydney was saying goodbye to her dad. Vaughn was smirking as Sydney put her phone down. “What?” she asked.
He shook his head, “I didn’t say anything.” Still, he was smirking.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Parking in a spot close enough to her residence hall, Vaughn turned the engine off while saying, “’Cause I’ve only got eyes for you, babe.” A thousand watt grin graced his lips.
She rolled her eyes, “You think you’re funny, but you’re not,” she said before exiting the vehicle.
In order to catch up with her, Vaughn had to put a little pep in his step. “You think you’re sneaky, but you’re not,” he commented when he caught up to her. Then, he rotated his body slightly so that it was pointing towards the car so he could press the automatic lock button on the keychain remote.
Now she got what the smirk had been about. He was teasing her for her partially frank conversation with her father. “Shut up,” she laughed, pushing him a little to the side.
He gracefully teetered, but then bounced right back next to her, calling a truce by wrapping his arm around her lower back.
Sydney walked into her dorm room first, with Vaughn following close behind. Rachel was lying on her bed, watching TV. Choosing to ignore her, Sydney walked to her desk to drop off her cell phone, and then proceeded to go sit on her own bed, joining Vaughn.
“You kids had a long night… and morning, and early afternoon, now didn’t you,” Rachel remarked with a raised eyebrow.
Sydney shook her head repeatedly, finding Rachel completely unbelievable. Vaughn knew this was something she had to do on her own, so he asked her if she wanted a cup of coffee. She answered in the affirmative. “All right, I’ll be right back,” he told her as he got up and gave her lips a quick peck before he left the room.
“You know,” Rachel opened, “if that guy was my boyfriend, I don’t think I’d be back yet. And I definitely wouldn’t be going to school across the country from him,” she shared, a sly smile spread wide.
“Really,” Sydney said plainly.
“Oh my god!” Rachel exclaimed. “You guys, like, weren’t planning to have sex here right now were you?”
Sydney could not fathom how stupid this girl was. First of all, she was not a slut. Secondly, she had more courtesy – and sense – than that. “No,” she said in a bothered voice, her eyes squinted, her head shaking negatively.
“Okay,” Rachel said with a little attitude. “But, I’m telling you, if he were my boyfriend–,” she began, but Sydney cut her off.
“See, that’s the reason, and I’m just goin’ out on a limb here, why you don’t have a boyfriend, or many friends in general,” Sydney started, gaining more momentum with each word. “Actually, it’s only one of the reasons. I’d say the three a.m. aerobics workout is another contributor. And I’m sure there are plenty more, but I’ve only known you personally for a little less than twenty hours now. I’d need a little more time,” she ended.
Politeness was no longer necessary, and manners were disposed of even before that. What it came down to was this could not be the girl she would spend the year locked up with in the same, very small, room.
It just was not going to happen.
Later that day, after speaking with Tom and the housing department, and after the housing department spoke with Jack Bristow, Sydney found herself moving into a new room on a different floor of Sproul Hall. At least for the time being, she would occupy a double room by herself, and she was looking forward to every minute of it.
