She is Not Made of Roses

eight: he's top of his biology class, and he's got an ass that won't quit

EIGHT: HE'S TOP OF HIS BIOLOGY CLASS, AND HE'S GOT AN ASS THAT WON'T QUIT

✹

“JESUS DIDN’T DIE for this,” is what Chester tells Peter one unusually warm  March morning, exactly a day after the karaoke night. He’s currently looking at Willa Mock from across the quad, hidden from the crowds of students underneath the shade of the large Oak tree, sitting on the lap of some nameless stoner – she’s a girl who’s all five feet and six inches of pure, unharnessed moxie, copper colored hair, and freckled green eyes that are currently driving Chester Cooper crazy.

Peter scoffs as his eyes glance at her from the parking lot. “I thought you were infatuated with Rosie’s sister,” he remembers.“No, I am,” he says stubbornly. “But I’m a teenage boy. Jemima is my fantasy. Willa is much more attainable.”

“Just talk to her,” is what Raj is trying to convince him, nearly ready to bang his brains out on the dashboard. If he has to hear Chester’s “ifs” and “buts” for only a few more minutes, he’ll kick him out of the moving vehicle.

“I didn’t think you’d approve,” Chester mumbles, surprised.

Raj rolls his eyes as Peter parks the car in his usual spot. He turns around from the passenger’s seat, meeting Chester’s eyes in the back of the car, “Just because I tapped that, like, eight thousand years ago, doesn’t mean I have dibs on her. She’s a person, not the last piece of chocolate in a cabinet.”

Chester looks at him in awe, astounded. “I’m telling you guys,” he gulps solemnly, “Rosie’s gotten to us all.”

“Maybe it’s for the best,” Peter says, opening his car door and getting out. He slings his backpack over his shoulder as both Raj and Chester exit the car, “I finished The Feminine Mystique.”

“And?” Raj asks as Peter locks his car, “Are you ready to join Rosie’s club?”

“I don’t know if she’d let me in after everything that’s happened between us,” Peter says with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m pretty sure she’s still mildly furious.”

“That’s something I can believe,” Chester says. “Although, after last night at karaoke, she’s bound to be indebted.”

“Maybe it’s tamed the flames of her hatred long enough for you to tap that,” Raj says suggestively. “Also, you’ll stop thinking about Ella.”

 “It wouldn’t matter if that girl from Game of Thrones showed up on Peter’s front step, offering him every pastry in the world and beyond – he’d still be thinking about Ella,” Chester says, laughing.

Peter frowns, narrowing his eyes, “Her name is Natalie Dormer, you behemoth,” he shouts, loudly enough to attract some awkward stares. Raj lets out a boom of laughter as the three are striding across the quad to get to class, catching the attention of someone in particular.

“What’s so funny, Patel?” Willa Mock asks, crawling off the lap of her greasy haired companion.

Raj looks to her, then to Chester, “Oh, nothing,” he says with a shrug. “I was just laughing at something my incredibly sexy and incredibly single friend, Chester Cooper, said.”

Willa smirks, “And what was that?” She wonders, eyes focused in on Chester’s.

“Yeah,” Raj says brightly, giving him an encouraging pat on the back. “What exactly was that?”

Chester’s lips tighten around the words that refuse to leave his mouth, looking expectantly at Raj, who says nothing. “Um…I was just saying…well, just that global warming is really ruining environment.”