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Adam found himself absolutely rapt as the four of them sat in the cafeteria together. He'd been carrying on a conversation with Amy while Stacy and Jay chatted about their respective summers.
"And so, I came up here from Florida," the pretty redhead was saying. "I never had any doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend Cannon's Worth University."
"Ahh," the blond man said, "so *that's* where you and I differ. I actually switched schools."
"Yeah?" She prettily arched one eyebrow. "Why is that?"
Adam smirked.
"Jay and I actually had to switch - we go way back and seem to always go to the same schools together. And," the blond continued with a grin, "if he wasn't so occupied right now-" Adam winked at her as they both turned to eye his best friend and the leggy blonde girl, who was by now giggling at something. "-I'm sure Jay would put in his two cents. Anyhow, the school we came from was a lot more of a 'party' type university. It was too much... Not that I don't enjoy parties, but I went to college to *learn*."
Amy smiled at him.
"Well, I've got to run," Stacy said as she suddenly stood up. "I have my Biology class in..." She glanced at the slim watch adorning her left wrist. "... five minutes!"
Jay stood up as well, grabbing his backpack.
"I'll walk you to your class," he offered. "I have Calculus in a few myself, anyway."
The tall blonde grinned at him, then the two bid farewell to Amy and Adam and left.
The redhead met the young man's eyes and blushed at his intense, scrutinizing gaze. He was so impossibly handsome, and it sent ripples up and down her spine.
"Well, I guess it's just you and me now," the tall blond young man said, an easy smile touching his lips. Damn, was she easy on his eyes. He found himself more than glad that Stacy had gotten Miss Amy Dumas as a roommate this year. He hadn't seen her in any of his classes, so this was so fortunate.
The redhead seemed to Adam to almost read his mind as she spoke next.
"Yeah... I really like Stacy, too. It's nice to have a roommate like her." Adam seemed on the verge of saying something else, but a strange, recent memory struck her. "Speaking of which..." She lowered her voice a few notches. "... Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Did you know her last roommate?" The young woman cast around her brain for a beat, the name returning to her. "Nora?"
"Oh, Nora?" Adam asked. He looked visibly uncomfortable at the mere thought of that other girl. Amy frowned as she wondered what had happened to this young woman. Stacy had grown so sad when she'd so briefly mentioned her, and now the handsome blond man sitting across from her looked so ill at ease. She was so damned curious now.
"Look, you wanna get out of here?" Adam suddenly asked, standing and pushing back his chair. He reached for his tray. "Let's go outside and we can talk."
"Okay," she replied with a short nod. She wondered what was causing Adam to feel so uncomfortable - but whatever it was, it had to be pretty serious.
They left the cafeteria a few moments later and walked out onto the campus. Amy was glad it was still warm outside, as they made their way to a nearby bench to sit.
"I don't get it," she said. "What's wrong? Every time someone's mentioned this Nora, they seem so sad or uncomfortable."
"Well... yeah," the young man said, raising a hand to rake it through his long golden hair. "You're right... But there's a good reason for that." He kept his voice at a soft, discreet tone.
"What happened?"
"She left Cannon's Worth," Adam said. "She left because she'd been raped here on campus..."
Amy's eyes widened, her jaw dropping in shock and horror.
*
Paul Levesque stared out the window in annoyance, his already harsh features growing harsher. He and Shane McMahon had just left their finance class when he'd glanced outside, just below and beyond...
... Amy Dumas was sitting on a nearby bench, talking with another guy! What was more was that he *knew* the prick - it was Adam Copeland, who just so happened to be in his economics class the previous semester. Evidently, the asshole was on the make for *his* girl, as they looked pretty damn cozy together.
"What's up, man?" Shane asked as he detected the look of utmost displeasure on Levesque's face. He followed his friend's line of vision out the window, a smirk crossing his features. "Oh, this is going to be the easiest money I ever made..."
All the comment warranted was a scowl from Paul.