Synonym

And so hell began.

My first class was a required English lecture. Honestly, this was the class I was least looking towards too.

Walking into the lecture hall felt like walking to my death sentence. There were only about fifty kids in the class when I walked in so it wasn't a huge lecture. This was one of the only times where I wasn't attached at the hip to Finn. He was in an economics class in the next building over.

Honestly, I just wanted to stay in my 3 o'clock physics class but that wasn't looking like an option.

My eyes scanned over the room looking for a seat that wasn't in the front and wasn't in the way back. Finally, my attention settled on an empty seat in the center of the room. Having my vision locked on it, I climbed the maroon carpeted steps to the third level, where I walked down the curved isle of comfy chairs in front of one long and continuous desk. When I arrived, I wasted no time pooping down into my desk and starting my physics homework. The lecture started in ten minutes but I would use as much time as I could to cram everything in.

"Hey. I'm Owen." Someone said from beside me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I turned to my right. The guy sitting next to me had brown hair that matched his brown eyes. His high cheekbones in combination with his slim yet muscular body made him one of the guys that girls probably fawned over.

"Sylvia." I responded plainly before going back to my textbook.

"I know. I was in your last class. And I'm on your lacrosse team but you tend to not pay attention to the people around you."

He wasn't wrong. We had only been practicing for a week but it was increasingly clear that the upperclassmen hated Finn and I with equal intensity. They didn't like freshman being starters which was understandable, but they also didn't like that we got so skip an hour of practice. Which honestly, is just stick work which we do plenty of at UOT.

"Congratulations. You have eyes. Now that we have established that I don't have them, can I go back to my textbook?" I asked while turning to face him. I knew I was giving an attitude but I wasn't in the mood right now.

"Are you always this mean to your friends?" He asked with a quirked brow.

"We aren't friends."

"Right. You only need one friend and that's your boyfriend. Although he doesn't look to kind either." Owen pointed out. "Come on. You could at least give me a shot. We do share both of our Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes and a lacrosse team."

I remained silent for a moment before tearing my gaze away from my textbook again. "Fine. Tell me about yourself, Owen. Because I have nothing better to do than make small talk."

"See, sarcasm. That shows you have some form of personality." Owen winked with a slight laugh. "Anyway, I'm from Boston. I'm a sophomore. I play midfielder but I'm not a starter. That seems to be reserved for Olympians and upperclassmen."

"I guess I'm not the only one here who's a fan of sarcasm. I'm from Groton Connecticut. It's near Rhode Island." I said while leaning back in the comfy padded chair and drumming my pencil on the open textbook. "So tell me, is everyone on the Lacrosse team an asshole or just to me?"

I'd been friendly all week but all I've gotten is glares and the silent treatment. That explains my somewhat hostile attitude towards most other people on campus. All I need is Finn and Jason.

"Eh. They're lacrosse players." He had a point. Anyone who knew a lacrosse player knew what he was talking about.

"Okay, that's besides the point. I meant, are you friends with any of them?"

"Nah. I just transferred from Georgetown so I've known them as long as you." Owen said with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, you're so much help." Owen opened his mouth to respond but the professor walked in.

Great, let the torture begin.

***

"Where are you going?" Owen asked as we walked out of the lecture hall side by side. He seemed like a decent guy but we hadn't talked much more during class.

"To find Finn. You can come with me if you want." I shrugged and exited the gothic style building. Finn was in the more modern looking building on the other side of the green.

Sadly, the weather was just as muggy and gross as this morning only hotter. The sun beat down on the tan fancy bricks that laid out the walkway. It was the first day of classes and I could easily pick out all the tryhards on the grass. They were the ones already with groups of friends, wearing nice clothes and full faces of makeup. I, on the other hand, had my hair in a messy bun with a pair of Olympic lacrosse shorts and a dry fit T-shirt.

Basically, I looked like I just crawled out of bed even though it was 6:15 at night.

It was a good look, really.

I spotted Finn exiting the glass doors of the Business building with a girl a little shorter than me. Finn smiled at me when his eyes caught mine. I crossed the road with Owen at my side and met the two of them on the sidewalk outside of their building. Upon closer inspection, the girl had pin straight black hair and bright blue eyes. It was a weird combination but it worked.

"Hi! I'm Emma. You must be the Girlfriend. I've only known him for an hour and that seems to be all he talks about. Nice guy, though." The girl laughed and put her hand out for me to shake. I plastered a smile on my face and shook it. "I'm Sylvia but you must be crazy if your first impression of him is 'nice'. First time I met him, I basically told him to shove it up his ass and fuck off." I laughed back. I needed a girl friend who wasn't thousands of miles away. Hopefully this would work out. "This is Owen. He plays lacrosse with us." I said while introducing him to Finn and Emma. I sent Finn a pointed look and he rolled his eyes.

"I thought you were the observant one in this relationship. I know he's on the team, dumb ass." Finn joked with me and I hit him in the arm. "What? He's a midfielder. It's kind of hard not to know everyone."

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"Quick question, is she always an asshole? Or is it just me?" Owen asked with a twinkle in his brown eyes.

"Just you."

"Always."

Finn and I said at the same time. We both looked at each other with 'the look' before Emma laughed at us.

"Okay, I've only know you for about thirty seconds but I can already tell you guys are the cutest couple ever." She fangirled.

"Thanks." I noticed a slight drawl in her voice when she spoke fast and animatedly. Owen must have noticed it too because he asked about it.

"Hey, Emma. Where are you from?"

She turned her small head to Owen as if she was seeing him for the first time. Well, she thinks he's hot. "Alabama. I was so glad to get out of there. I've wanted to see the Northeast for the longest time."

I snorted along with Owen. "Hun, this isn't even the North east. This is like South meets North. You gotta try New England or New York." Owen replied.

Finn and I shared a glance before he spoke up. "You haven't been to the North until you've had our bagels. They are to die for." A smirk found it's way into his face as he spoke. The look in his eyes told me that he was recalling the morning we opened our acceptance letters. "You're from Boston right?" Finn asked, nodding at Owen.

"Yeah, man. How could you tell?"

"Accent." I cut in. "You have a huge Boston accent."

Owen rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Well I'm sorry I don't talk like I'm a pompous Connecticutite." He said in a pompous accent to mock Finn and I. We didn't talk like that, most people from Connecticut don't even have accents, but he was making fun of the rich bitches in New London and Fairfield County.

"Are we talking about their sixty thousand dollar plus cars again?"

My head snapped around with everyone else's to see Jason walking towards us in the sidewalk. Finn scoffed and I rolled my eyes. "You know, you seem to be the only one with that stuck in your head, Jason." Finn pointed out. When he came to a stop in our little group I started to introduce him. "Owen, Emma; this is Jason. He's coming back for his Masters while he's trapped here with us for a year."

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"Yeah. Fair warning, you might want to run away from them while you still can."

"Fuck you." I spat back and hit his arm a little harsher than need be.

"Trapped? They seem like lovely people." Emma asked.

"No, that's how they get you. When I first met them I thought they were innocent little high school children then bam! They're freaky psychopaths that can read each others minds. They're constantly making out and they both drive like it's fucking NASCAR 24/7." Jason cut in while rubbing his arm where I punched him.

"I don't drive like it's NASCAR. I am just a product of my environment. New York City, LA, and I-95." I retorted.

"Slow down, bitch. I lived in Boston for three years and I still think you drive like a psycho."

Finn snorted. "Boston Cannons," he said while laughing like it was the funniest thing ever. I couldn't help but laugh at that too. Jason glared at us. Pissing Jason off was my new favorite pastime.

"I'm from Boston too." Owen said. I didn't pay attention to the rest of their conversation because I was too busy with the time. I glanced at my phone to see that time was ticking.

"Emma you should totally text us to hang out some time. It was nice meeting you but we gotta run. Owen, Finn, and I have practice."

"Oh my god, totally. Let me put my number in your phone." I unlocked my phone and handed it to her while she plugged in her number. She seemed like a nice enough girl and it appeared that we were both desperate for a female friend. "Yeah, we have a busy schedule but we should but when we have free time the five of us could do something." Finn said, including Owen and Jason. Jason mumbled a non comical response and brushed us off because he was still talking about Owen's hometown.

"Hey buddy. Let's go. We're going to be late." I said a little louder. Owen snapped his head towards me before saying goodbye to Jason.

Finn intertwined our hands as we started walking down the sidewalk, not waiting for Owen anymore. "They seem like nice people." I said in a low voice.

Finn let out a throaty laugh. "That's kind of the point babe."

"Don't mock me." I turned my head to the right and narrowed my eyes at Finn. He laughed and kissed me before we were interrupted by Owen, who finally caught up to us.

"What was that about being late?" Owen teased while walking past us.

And for the umpteenth time today, I had to roll my eyes.