You rocked my world, you know you did
And everything I'm gonna give
And there ain't nothing we could find
Someone like you to call mine

The last strain of the song faded out, and he pulled the microphone closer.  Repositioning his headphones, he pressed a button, and the ‘On Air’ sign lit up.

“Today’s hottest hits, KSRJ, 103.3.  Cosmo here.  You rock my world, Stace.”

“Aw, thanks.”

“No, I wasn’t saying you were.  I was just naming the song.”  He grinned, reaching for the mouse next to the computer and clicking it a couple of times.  “I’m trying to show you how to be a real DJ, and you forget the most important thing – always identify your songs.”  The beginning of another song started to play.

She stuck her tongue out at him.  “I’ll try to remember that.”

“Here’s one for you.  What’s this?”

“*NSYNC.  Gone.”

His grin widened.  “Yup.  Just like we are.  I’ll be back tomorrow, minus the sidekick to take you through another afternoon of songs.  I’m outta here.”  With a few quick flipping of switches, he pushed the microphone back and stood up.  Reaching for his coat that was laying on the back of his chair, he headed for the door to the studio.  She followed quickly.

The two walked down the hallway of the station, heading for the parking lot, both silent.  He unlocked the door of the car, looking over the roof at her.  She noticed this and stuck her tongue out again.

“I am a real DJ.”  She smirked as she got in the car.  Shaking his head, he got in his car, and started the engine.   

            *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

She quickly walked into the building, her anticipation growing the closer she got.  She loved unplugged nights at her college’s dance club.  She also loved the fact that she got to emcee them. 

“Stacey!  They’re here!”

She turned her head to see a girl grinning excitedly.  “I’m glad.”

“Can you introduce them to me, now?  Pretty please?”

Stacey smiled while shaking her head.  She made her way downstairs to where the nightclub was located.  “You’re sure they’re here?  Last I checked, they weren’t on the set list.”

“They’re here.  I saw them!”  The girl whipped her head to her right.  “Stop rolling your eyes Cory, Mr. I Like-a-Boyband!”

He held his hands up defensively.  “So what?  I like a boyband.  At least I admit it.  I can recognize good music.”  He smirked.  “I’m not a stalker, like some people.”

Her jaw dropped.  “I do not stalk them.”  She turned her head to face Stacey.  “Tell this idiot that I don’t stalk them.”

Stacey was hiding her mouth so the two couldn’t see her smile.  “Kristen, I can’t say that without laughing.”

“Thanks.  You’re supposed to be sticking up for me!”  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Stacey.

A girl wearing a yellow shirt walked over to Stacy and thrust a sheet of paper into her hands.  She paused long enough to say, “We start in fifteen” before continuing on. 

Stacey looked at the sheet and sure enough, the band Kristen liked was on it.  Grinning, she looked up.  Kristen saw this and hurried off.  Shaking her head, Stacey wandered over to the long row of stools lining a bar that faced a small stage.  This was where Stacey liked to sit on unplugged nights.  She could still enjoy the bands, and she was in the back of the room.  Cory followed.

“You don’t think I’m weird because I like them, do you?” he asked, sitting down next to her.  He reached for the bowl of complimentary popcorn and took a handful.

She stopped scanning the set list, and turned to look at him.  “No.  I’ve known you for how long, and I haven’t thought it was weird before.”

He smiled and took another handful of popcorn.  “Good.  I was just wondering.”  He began chewing, but then paused.  “You really don’t think it’s weird?”

“That you like them?  No.”  She started to laugh.  “That you know all of the choreography to ‘Pop’?  Yeah, that’s a little odd.”  She looked like she was going to say more when girl in the yellow shirt came back over and whispered something to Stacey.  Standing up, she made her way to the stage.

Cory went back to eating popcorn as he watched her walk away.  He sighed as Kristen slid into the seat next to him.

“Don’t look so happy to see me, Cory.”  She reached for the popcorn, ignoring his warning look.

He didn’t bother to look at her.  Instead, he focused his gaze on Stacey, who was on the stage adjusting the microphone, a smile on her face.

“What’s with the gooey eyes?”  Noticing where he was looking, she chuckled.  “Oh, I see.”

“See what?  I’m not making gooey eyes.” 

Kristen rolled her eyes.  “Sure you’re not.  Just like all of the other guys in the room giving her the same look aren’t giving her gooey eyes.”

Cory whipped his head around the room, carefully eyeing the other guys who were there.  She began to laugh when she saw him do this. 

“Wh-what are you laughing at?”

“You.”  She was going to continue when she heard the soft thump as the microphone was turned on.

“Hey everyone!  Welcome to Unplugged Night.  I’m Stacey from KCSM, 1400 AM, your campus radio station.  We have a lot of great acts tonight, so.”  She paused, shielding her eyes from the stage lights as she looked towards the warm-up area.  “If she’s ready, here’s our first act, Dana Styler.”

The audience applauded as the girl took the stage.  Stacey smiled as she walked back to her seat.  She noticed the look on Cory’s face, but shrugged it off.  Kristen had a tendency to make him annoyed sometimes.

“See, I am a real DJ.”  She smirked.

He returned the smirk.  “Sure you are, Stace.”

“So I don’t work at a Top 40 station, and we don’t have the technology you guys have, but still. . .” 

Cory laughed.  “You guys have a minidisk player, a computer using Win Amp for the downtimes when there aren’t any DJs there, and you have 3 CD decks.”

“What are you implying?”  Her eyes narrowed. 

“I think you were the one who started this.”

Her eyebrows rose in curiosity.  “Oh did I?”

“You were the one trying to compare the stations.  You guys aren’t even FCC licensed.”

She stuck her tongue out.  “I can play whatever the hell I want as long as there are no swears.  Beat that!”  It was time for her to go up and talk again, so she walked away, not noticing as Cory reached to scratch his nose with his middle finger.

Looking out at the audience, well, what she could see of them with the lights in her eyes, she felt herself growing nervous.  She came across as a confident person, but she wasn’t always feeling that way.  Especially now, with Cory watching her in the audience.  He had actually emceed things.  That was part of his job.  He had even introduced semi-big acts.  And here she was, Miss College DJ, introducing local people.  Taking a deep breath she introduced the next act.

The rest of the evening went well, with Stacey filling the time well.  Kristen had a wonderful time hanging around the band she liked, and Cory took everything in.  He and Stacey were walking back to her dorm, on the way to his car.

“You like it?”

He paused a second, pretending to look at her hair.  “It’s all right.  Not what I would have done with it.”

She playfully punched his shoulder.  “Dumbass.  The unplugged night.”

“I know.  I liked it.  It was a welcome change from hearing Creed seven times during my show.”

She laughed.  “You don’t play them seven times.”

Shrugging his shoulders, he laughed.  “It just feels like it.  It was fun, Stace.  I liked it.”

She reached for her keys in her pocket, as they were nearing her building.  “Call me tomorrow, kay?”

He nodded.  “’Night, Stace.”

As he turned to walk away, the moonlight seemed to shine just right on his messy dark hair.  For a moment, her breath caught in her throat at his sight.  She had to admit, his hair was doing the I-just-rolled-out-of-bed look today perfectly.  Plus, he knew how to dress.  He had better know, after dragging her with half the time.  But in that light, he looked almost like Josh Hartnett, which in her mind was the best that it could get.

She shook her head, clearing those thoughts.  Since when did she think Cory, one of her best friends, was hot?  She reached for the door to her dorm and walked inside.  She passed a few people she knew along the way, giving them a wave as she went by.  She stopped outside her room, hearing Kristen on the phone.

“Yeah, they were there . . . it was awesome.”

She smiled to herself before lightly tapping on the partially open door.  Not hearing any protests, she walked in.  Kristen was sitting in the small recliner, the phone to her ear.  The TV was on softly, as was Stacey’s computer.  She walked over to her computer and signed onto her e-mail account.  She read a few and replied to some, before turning around to face Kristen, who had just hung up the phone.

“Well?”

Kristen was still grinning.  “Yes?”

“You enjoyed yourself?”

She nodded.  “A lot.  You?”

Stacey shrugged.  “It was all right.”

“Why just all right?”

“I don’t know.”  She sighed.  “Kris, do you think Cory is, well, um . . .”

“Annoying as hell?” Kristen teased.  Stacey appeared taken aback by this, so Kristen continued.  “No, he’s not.  I just like to give him shit every now and then.  What are you asking?  If he’s good looking or something, ‘cause you know we’ve been over this before, haven’t we?”

Another sigh escaped from Stacey.  “I don’t know.”

“You’ve known him forever, though, right?”

“Well, sorta.  His parents and my parents were friends before we were born, so we sorta grew up together, even though we didn’t live in the same town.”

“Which would explain why I didn’t really meet him until our high school graduation?”

Stacey nodded.  “We hadn’t planned on going to school near each other, but it just happened.  But I talked about him to you before then, right?”

“Yeah.”  Kristen paused, trying to think of what to say to her friend.  “But I don’t really know what you’re asking, Stace.”

Grumbling, Stacey rested her hands on the back of the chair.  “I don’t think I do, either.”

“If you think he’s hot, I’m not going to argue.”  Kristen watched Stacey’s reaction to this with amusement.  “’Cause he is.”

“Dammit, why did you have to agree with me?” groaned Stacey.  “You’re supposed to say, ‘Ew, boys are icky.’”

Kristen laughed.  “Boys are not icky.  Not at all.”

Stacey sighed again, feeling more confused than ever.  Why couldn’t her life be simple?

A group of people walked through the store, seeming to forget that there was a mall entrance just next to the store.  However, people usually went for the nearest door when the temperatures dropped, and she knew this.

Stacey stood, her arms at her sides, leaning against the front of the counter.  It had been a pretty dead afternoon at Trenda’s, the women’s clothing store she worked at.  She was one of the youngest ones there, but the other older ladies who worked there treated her as an equal.  She thought with the holidays fast approaching that business would pick up, but it had remained steady.

Seeing a shirt that wasn’t folded properly, she hurried over to fix it.  She was done with her shift shortly, and things were supposed to look neat when the new people took over.  She decided to make her way around the store, giving it a once over.  She paused in front of a red silk three-piece dress she had been eyeing.  It was the kind she’d imagine wearing to a formal Christmas party.  But since she wasn’t invited to any of those, the thought of her owning the dress stayed in her imagination.

“Stacey Anderson, just buy it already,” a voice told her.  She turned quickly, seeing one of the assistant managers, Michelle Trout, standing there, smiling.

A blush crept across Stacey’s face.  “Where would I possibly wear this?”

Michelle laughed.  “Class.  That skirt would look great on you as you walked to class in the snow.”

“Oh yeah.  I can see it, dripping wet now.  Um, for this price, I don’t think so.”

“I suppose.  Have you even tried it on?”

Stacey shook her head.  “You think I want to torture myself more?”

“I would.”  She spotted someone walking in the door, and walked over to greet the person, leaving Stacey in the dress section, staring wistfully at the dresses.

“Can I help you?” Michelle asked.

The person’s head popped up over the racks.  “No thanks,” he replied.  Michelle blushed a little after seeing him.  He was quite good-looking.  He noticed her blush, and grinned, revealing slight dimples.  “I was looking for someone, though.”

“W-who?” Michelle stuttered.  She wasn’t that much older than Stacey, but at that moment, she felt like she was in high school again, having the most popular boy talking to her.

Stacey had recognized the voice, and turned to see Cory standing there.  He caught her eye and smiled.  Michelle followed his gaze, and her eyes widened when she saw where he was looking.

“Hey.”

“Stace, I gotta question.”  He pulled two shirts off of the rack, holding them both up in front of him.  “Which one do you like best?”

“Definitely the purple.”  She grinned as she walked over.  It had been about a week since the unplugged night.  Her thoughts were still confusing to her, but she kept herself busy so she didn’t analyze things to death.

Cory turned to face Michelle.  “What about you?”

“Um, I, ah, well . . .” her voice trailed off.

Stacey smacked his shoulder playfully.  “He’s just kidding, aren’t you Cory?”

Cory pretended to look hurt at the last statement.  Then he grinned.  Stacey tried to hide it, but she felt her face redden at the sight of his grin.

“Yeah.  I’m kidding.”  He hung the shirts back up and crossed his arms over his chest. “You almost done?”

She nodded.  “Yup.  Just finishing.”

“Cool.  Hey, I really gotta question for you, though.”  He glanced at Michelle, and catching on, she walked away.  He stepped closer to Stacey, lowering his voice.  “The station owner is having this big party for Christmas, like black tie thing, for all of the stations he owns in town.  And everyone’s supposed to go.  It’s in like a week and a half, and I sorta need a date.”

Her mind raced with the possibilities.  “Um, how formal?”

He motioned with his head to the dress section in the store.  “Probably like those for you.  Would you go with me, please?  I’d like to make a good impression on the boss, ya know?”

“I think so.”

His smile widened.  “That’s great.  ‘Cause I was just going to go rent that stupid tux we have to wear.  I can’t believe it’s gonna be that formal, but well, ya know.”

She nodded, at a loss of words.  She never ran out of things to say to him.

“So, wanna grab a bite in a few?  I’ll just head down to Knight’s, and meet you at Burger King?”

Again she nodded.  “Sure.”

He waved to her as he left, the smile still staying on his lips.  He hadn’t visited her at her work here that often, and he wasn’t used to seeing her so dressed up.  She was more of a t-shirt and jeans girl.  But he admitted to himself she didn’t look so bad there.  He shook his head, clearing his mind of these thoughts.  This was Stacey, a girl he had known since he was in diapers.

Michelle ran up behind Stacey, giggling.  “Who was that?”

“A friend of mine, Cory Olson.”

“He seemed familiar.”

Stacey looked over at the dresses.  “I want to try it on now.”

“What, the dress?”

She nodded.  “Yup.”

“Where are you gonna wear it?  And is there a reason why that guy seemed so familiar?”

“I’m going to a Christmas party.”  Stacey smiled to herself.  “Oh, and Cory’s a DJ.”

“DJ?  Really.”  Michelle and Stacey began to walk back to the counter.  “For what station?”

Stacey punched herself out on the register before answering.  “You ever listen to KSRJ?”

Michelle nodded.  “Yeah.”

“Ever listen in the afternoons?”

“Yeah, to Cosmo.”  Her eyes widened in realization.  “That was Cosmo?”

Stacey took her nametag off as she walked to the dress section again.  This time, she searched the rack for her size.  “Yup.  The one and only.”

“He’s our age?”  Michelle followed Stacey, grinning as she pulled out her sizes in the dress.  “I knew you said you knew a DJ, but I assumed for your radio station.”

Stacey turned to face her, her eyes sparkling with amusement.  “You know what happens when you assume.”

“I know, I know.  It’s just that, well. . .” her voice trailed off.

“You pictured DJs as ugly people, don’t you?  Don’t be afraid to admit it.  Usually there’s a reason why some of them are on the radio.”  She laughed.  “But he didn’t have his heart set on being a DJ.  He just lucked out when he was looking for a job in town.”  She started walking towards the dressing rooms, with Michelle still following.

“Are you, like, seeing him?”

Stacey stopped in her tracks, hearing her ask this.  “No.  We’re just friends.  I’ve known him forever.”

Michelle smiled at Stacey’s reaction.  “All right.  You go try that dress on and come and show us when you’re done.”  Stacey continued into the dressing room, and Michelle walked back to the counter. 

A few minutes passed, the store staying empty.  Amanda, another younger employee, had punched in, and she and Michelle were visiting quietly.  Over Michelle’s head, Amanda saw Stacey walk out of the dressing room, smoothing out the skirt.

“Stacey, that’s beautiful,” she breathed.  Michelle turned around to see her as well.

The skit was floor length, which was amazing considering how Stacey was on the taller side.  The jacket had three quarter length sleeves, with a little collar that stood straight up.  It covered a tank top with wider straps that acted as the top of the dress.  Both girls could see how much Stacey loved the outfit.

“You think this will work for a black tie Christmas party?”

Amanda and Michelle nodded vigorously.  Stacey beamed, and turned around to go back into room.  Not one of the girls noticed Cory standing in the doorway, looking into the store.  As quickly as he appeared, he left.

Cory walked away, again shaking his head.  He had been waiting by Burger King for Stacey, but had gotten tired of waiting.  He decided to go back to her store to see what was keeping her, but when he got to the doorway, and saw her standing there in the dress, he hadn’t known what to do.  It was almost as if he wasn’t seeing his best friend Stacey there anymore – it was like she was this hot girl Stacey, and he wasn’t quite sure if he liked that new realization.

He sat down at a table in front of Burger King, watching the people walk by.  There were always those stories about best friends falling for each other, but he never believed that would happen to him, if that was what was happening.  Maybe it was just the shock of seeing her in a dress.  Yeah, he decided that was it.

A few moments later, Stacey joined him, a dress bag in her hand, her eyes still sparkling.

“I’m hungry.  Why didn’t you order?”

He looked up at her and smiled.  “I didn’t know what you wanted.”

She laid the bag down on a chair next to where she was sitting down.  “Bull.  You know what I always get there.”

“Maybe you wanted something different.”

“What a lame excuse.”  She reached into her purse and pulled out some money.  “Here.  You know what I want.  Go get food.”

He stood up, playfully bowing.  “Yes, ma’am.” 

She stuck her tongue out at him as he walked away.  Then, she turned to look at her bag, still not believing she bought the dress.  She was people watching when he returned with two trays of food.

“Quest wants me to cover evenings for a while,” he said, sitting down.  Johnny Quest, his DJ name, was the station manager at KSRJ.  He was always referred to as Quest by the other DJs, even though they knew his real name.

“Why?”  She unwrapped her burger and took a bite.

Cory shrugged.  “I’m not sure, but it’ll be a little nicer to get homework done in the afternoon.”

“It’ll be shitty, though, ‘cause you won’t be able to go out at night.”  She took a sip of her pop.

“I know.”  He took a big bite of his double cheeseburger.  The two sat in silence for a few moments.

“You’re still coming to the hockey game with me and Kristen next Saturday?”

He nodded.  “Yup.  Quest knew about that.”

“Where the hell is Fro Boy going?” 

He laughed.  “Why can’t you call him Pete?  Everyone else does.”

She raised her eyebrows.  “Yeah, everyone else at the station does.  I’m a listener, buddy.  To me, he’ll always be Fro Boy.”

“Fine.  He has some commitments, I guess.  So that’s why I, the young guy, have to do nights.” 

“As long as you can still come to the game, I’m fine.”

He smirked.  “Always thinking about yourself, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” she replied sarcastically.  “You know me so well.  But it does suck, Cor.  I’m sorry.  You liked the afternoons.  People liked you in the afternoon.”

“I know.  I am well liked.”  He puffed out his chest proudly.

“And modest.”

“Damn straight.”  He sighed.  “Yeah, it does suck.  Seven to midnight is like the worst shift.  Shitty.”

“Definitely.  You got the shaft.”  She finished eating and stood up to throw her things away.  “When do you start?”

“Tomorrow night.  So, today was my last afternoon.”  He threw his things away and returned to the table.

Stacey was looking at the food court, all decorated for Christmas.  “I can’t believe it’s like two weeks away.  Next weekend will be super busy for me.  Finals, hockey game, and this party.”

“Why are we going to this high school hockey game anyhow?  I didn’t even go to this school.”  He put his coat on, and she stood to put hers on.

“Because you’re a nice guy, that’s why.  And because I like seeing who’s back in town from school.”  The two began to walk towards the mall doors.

“Can’t you see who’s back in town by who’s at the mall?”  He reached forward and pulled the door open for her.  She smiled at him as she walked through.

“I could, but that’s not quite as fun.  You never know who will be at this hockey game.”  She grinned devilishly.

He groaned.  “Good god, I forgot about your hockey fetish.”

“It’s not a fetish,” she replied indignantly.  “It’s just a thing I have for hockey guys.”

“Same deal.”  He grinned.

“Whatever.”  They stopped at his car.  Hers was further back in the mall employee parking lot.  “I’ll talk to you later, kay?”

He nodded.  “Try to listen tomorrow?”

She nodded.  Heaving the bag over her shoulder, she waved as she walked to her car.  She couldn’t wait to explain to Kristen why she bought such a fancy dress, or why she agreed to go to this fancy party with Cory in the first place.  Sighing, she started her drive to the dorm.

            *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *         

“You agreed to do what?” Kristen asked incredulously.

“Go to the big station party with him.  No big deal.”  Stacey shrugged it off as she continued typing a paper.

Kristen folded her arms across her chest.  “Let me see the damn dress then.” 

Stacey stopped typing long enough to point to her bottom bunk, which had the dress bag laid across it.  “Look for yourself.  I know I’ve shown it to you before at the store.”

“You didn’t.”  She stood up, peeking into the bottom of the bag.  She then let out a gasp.  “You did.”

Stacey nodded.  “Of course.”

“Does he know what it looks like?”

She forgot about working on her paper for a while, and turned to face Kristen.  “No.  I don’t think so.  Like he really cares about how I look.”

“I don’t know, Stacey,” Kristen began in a singsong voice. “The way he’s been looking at you lately.”

Stacey shook her head.  “Don’t even get started.  I don’t know what I was thinking the other night when I mentioned something about him being hot.”

“Whatever you say.”  Kristen sat back down on the chair, casually flipping through a magazine.  Stacey turned back to face her computer, trying to regain her train of thought, thankful the topic had been dropped.  However, while Kristen wasn’t bringing up the topic, it still raged in her head.

She did care what Cory thought of her in that dress.  Most girls liked to know what guys thought of how they looked.  She knew that Cory’s opinion would mean a little more, but she wasn’t quite sure how much more.  Did she want it to matter?

She let out a sigh as her fingers slowly found their places over the keys, and she began to type.  A few minutes later, she stopped to re-read what she had written, and was surprised to find that it wasn’t a paper she had written, but more of a journal entry on what was going on in her mind.  Highlighting the few paragraphs, she deleted them.  She needed to focus on her paper.  She was almost done with the semester.  She didn’t need boys invading her thoughts.

Since when did she let thoughts of Cory invade her thoughts?  There seemed to be no real reason for her sudden change of heart.  Other than the fact that this was one of the two times of the year that people seemed to pair up, there was nothing out of the ordinary that he had done to make her feel this way.  So why now?

“Good evening Midvail.  Cosmo’s in for the next few hours, and this is the start of what I hope could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  We’ve got some Creed, BSB, Lifehouse and *NSYNC coming up, but let’s start things off right with Pink, Get the Party Started, on today’s hottest hits, KSRJ.”

He leaned forward turning the microphone off, and then reached for his headphones.  He looked around the empty studio, suddenly feeling lonely.  He had worked an evening shift before, but usually another DJ had worked it with him.  Now he was all alone.  Even during the day, people working in the studio building would walk by, providing something interesting to look at.

Thinking back to the times Stacey had visited him in the studio, he had a sudden urge to call her.  But the phone lines started flashing, and he knew he had to answer them before he could call.  With a sigh, he pressed the button for line one, knowing it’d be a while.

            *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *         

In the back of the store, she listened to the radio.  The front of the store had canned music, but back there, it was whatever anyone wanted.  An hour before the store closed, they were allowed to switch over to the radio, but she wanted to hear the start of his show.

Even though she didn’t say it, she understood how disappointed he was in having to work nights.  The afternoon was a great time slot, but a lot of stations liked having the younger people at night, trying to attract the younger audience.

After she heard him start it without a hitch, she returned to the front, happily spotting a few people she knew walking through the store.  She soon forgot about him being on at nights and concentrated on selling. 

            *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *         

Cory sighed as he saw the late night DJ, Steve-O, walk into the studio.  Taking one last call, he said his on-air good byes, and stood up. 

“This isn’t going to be fun.”

“What isn’t?”  Steve-O began reading a sheet with announcements on them as he walked towards the chair behind the microphone.

“Being at night.”  Cory slipped on his coat, reaching for his keys on the counter.  “But I guess I’ll live.”

Steve-O nodded.  “Yeah, you’ll get used to it.  Say, you going to the big party coming up?”

“Yeah.”  Cory started walking towards the door.

“Gotta date?”

“Yup.”

Steve-O grinned.  “Way to work it, Cor.  Do I know her?”

“Yeah, she’s doing me a favor by coming.”

“Did you hire someone?”  Steve-O’s eyebrows wiggled mischievously. 

Cory laughed.  “Dumbass.  You know Stacey, right?”  He nodded.  “She’s coming with.”

“Nice.  She’s hot.”  The phone light lit up, and Steve-O pressed one of the buttons.  “KSRJ . . .yup. . . well, I’ll see if I can find that.  Okay, bye.”  He looked back up at Cory.  “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cory nodded as he walked out to his car.  Starting it, *NSYNC blared out of the speakers.  He sang with as he drove back to his apartment. 

Kristen, Cory, and Stacey walked into the cold hockey arena.  The smell of ice filled their noses, and Stacey grinned.  Immediately another girl their age, Taylor, greeted them, who came up to Kristen and hugged her.

“Oh my god, Kristen!” Taylor squealed happily.  “I wasn’t sure if you were coming!”

Kristen grinned.  “Of course.  I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Taylor turned to face Stacey, glancing at Cory.  “Stace!  How are you?”

Stacey stepped forward and hugged Taylor.  “Great.  God, it’s been a while since you were back in town.  How is school going?”

“Eh, it’s school.”  She laughed.  Cory cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself.

Stacey rolled her eyes.  “Cory, you remember Taylor Smith, right?  Taylor, Cory Olson.”

Cory extended his hand.  “Yes, I remember hearing about her.  Nice to meet you again.”

Taylor grinned at Stacey.  “Same here.”

“I’m gonna go wander inside for a bit.”  Cory left the three girls standing in the lobby.

“Stacey, he is hot!”

Kristen began to laugh.  “See, I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

Stacey frowned.  “Maybe I know him too well to think that.”

Taylor appeared puzzled.  “You’re not seeing him?”

She shook her head.  “Nope.  Just his friend.  I thought you met him that one time this summer.”

“Hmm.  Maybe.”

The girls talked for a bit more before Stacey decided to go in and find Cory.  Taylor and Kristen said they would join them later.  The two were best friends, but hadn’t seen each other in a while.

Stacey’s eyes scanned the ice as the varsity team circled the ice.  Memories of hockey games filled her head, with a certain player standing out in her mind.  She wondered if he’d be there.

“You gonna sit or what?” Cory’s voice rang out.  He walked down the bleachers and joined her at the glass.

She smirked.  “Eventually.”

“Even though I keep giving you crap about coming to this game, I don’t mind.  You know I like hockey.”  He looked over at her and smiled.

“I know.  It’s just a thing that people who have graduated do – come back for this game.”  She leaned nearer to him, lowering her voice.  “Besides, you can have fun checking out the high school skanks.”  Her whisper sent chills down his spine, and he felt his face warm.  He set his gaze out onto the ice, trying to ignore the thoughts in his mind. 

A few moments passed before he responded, and Stacey wondered what she did wrong.  “Some of them may be legal.”  He grinned, revealing his tiny dimples.

This time, her face flushed a little at his smile.  “Some of them may recognize you from the radio.”

“Oooh!  I could be recognized.  I could be popular.”  His grin widened, and for a moment she wished she hadn’t said that to make him grin.  But then she was happy, because she liked seeing him smile.

“I can just picture you now – Hi, I’m Cosmo from KSRJ.  Are you 18?”  She playfully jabbed him in the ribs.

“Ha ha.”  His voice was dry with sarcasm.  “You’d be, ‘Hi, do you play hockey?  Wanna play with me?”

She pretended to be mad and started to walk around the rink to the area where some former students were sitting.  He hurried to catch up.

“You can score with me anytime,” he added.  She started to climb the bleachers.  “You can be defense and I can be O-fense.” 

She sat down and looked out onto the ice.  They were sitting directly behind the player’s box.  “Asshole.”

“Bitch.”

“Pedophile.”

“Puck slut.”

She sucked in a breath and turned to face him.  He had a cocky grin on his face.  “*NSYNC-lover.”

He let out a low whistle.  “Low blow.”

She shrugged.  “You were asking for it.”  She grinned and leaned over, bumping shoulders with him.  For a moment, their eyes met, and she glanced at his lips, licking her own.  A brief image of the two kissing played through her head before she dismissed the thought.  She turned her head away quickly.

An awkward silence followed before she felt her pulse speed up.  “He’s here.”

“Who?”

“Doug Brown.”  She watched him walk up the bleachers.  His highlighted hair was spiked perfectly with gel, and he waved at a few people he recognized before looking up.  When he saw Stacey he smiled.  She leaned onto Cory’s arm and sighed.

“Stace, you realize that you’re twenty years old, right?”

“Yup.”  A dreamy smile appeared on her face.

“Who was it you were calling a pedophile earlier?”

She sat straight up, narrowing her eyes.  “He graduated last year.  He’s over eighteen.  You, on the other hand, are almost twenty-one, and were checking out high schoolers.”

“I wasn’t checking them out, if I remember correctly.  You were the one suggesting that I should.”

She was about to give a smart reply back when Doug reached her.  He smiled at her, and looked questioningly at Cory.

“Hi, Stacey.”

“H-hi, Doug.”  She was glad to have the distraction of Doug here.  She had gotten too close to doing something she would’ve regretted earlier with Cory. 

Doug sat down next to her, and a wave of his cologne filled Stacey’s nose.  “How are things?”

“Things are good.”  She felt Cory sliding slowly away from her on the other side. 

Doug’s attention turned to the ice.  “Feels weird to be back here.  So much has changed after a semester.”

She nodded.  “Try three.  But it’s good to see some of these people again.”

“Yes it is.  Are you still in town here?”  He turned to face her a bit more, and his green eyes twinkled.

She felt a blush rising to her cheeks. “Yup.  Still at UM.  But I like the program there.  You liking school?”

He shrugged.  “It’s all right.  I’m not a big fan of school, and I’m still a little undecided as to what I want to go into.”

“It’ll come eventually.  I wasn’t sure either, but then I learned about mass comm., and I was hooked.”  She had almost forgotten that Cory was there too until she heard him cough.  She ignored it though, and continued talking to Doug.

Time passed, and eventually Taylor and Kristen joined them in the bleachers as the game was about to start.  Doug saw a few other of his friends, but said he’d be back.

“Player,” Cory whispered into her ear.

“Excuse me?”  She turned to face him.

“He’s a player.”

“So?  It’s not like I expect anything.  Can’t I be excited when a cute boy talks to me?”

He wanted to say something mean back, but he couldn’t.  He didn’t want to make her angry.  He knew how much she was looking forward to seeing Doug.  “I suppose you can.”

She let out a giggle.  “I’m glad you think that.”  She was happy he didn’t push the subject.  She noticed Kristen giving her a strange look, but dismissed it.  Her friends sometimes didn’t understand the complex friendship she shared with Cory. 

“I just don’t want you to get your hopes up,” he added.

“Geez, Cor, I’m not even trying to get with him.  I have just thought he was hot ever since he was a sophomore, and I enjoy talking to him.  Remember, you said it was okay for me to get excited when I talk to a cute boy.”

He didn’t know why he suddenly felt so possessive over Stacey, but he felt he had to say these things to her.  “I know.  Just worried.”

“About what?  I talked to him for ten fucking minutes.  How is that cause to worry?”  She tried not to let her voice rise too much.

“Never mind,” Cory mumbled.  “Let’s watch the damn game.”

“Damn straight.”  The two of them focused their attention onto the ice where the team was standing, waiting for the introductions.

True to his word, Doug did come back.  Kristen and Taylor had known him in high school, too, so the four of them talked.  Cory remained silent, and although Stacey was mad at him, she was curious as to his sudden protectiveness of her.

The game seemed to pass quickly.  Stacey was having a good time visiting with people she hadn’t seen in a while.  Her former high school won, which didn’t happen very often.  As soon as it was over, the group of people moved slowly around the rink.  Once they reached the lobby, Doug said good-bye to her. 

She turned to face Taylor and Kristen.  “Wanna go to Perkin’s?”  The two agreed.  She then turned to face Cory.  “You wanna go?”

He shrugged, watching her for a reaction.  “I suppose.”

Taylor, sensing the uneasiness, decided to speak.  “Um, Kris, wanna ride with me?  We can meet them there.”  Kristen nodded, and they left.

Silently, Cory and Stacey walked to Stacey’s car.  They both got in, and Stacey waited in line to exit the parking lot.

“He had a girlfriend.”

Cory’s eyebrows rose in interest.  “Oh really?”

“So you can’t say I told you so.  He told me this earlier, when you were sulking.”

“I was not sulking.”

The car stopped at the edge of the parking lot, and Stacey turned to look at him, a grin on her face.  “You were, too.”

“Whatever.  What would I be sulking about?”

“I don’t know.  But you were.” 

He didn’t answer because he had been upset.  He wasn’t completely sure why it hurt to see her talking to another guy.  They weren’t dating, he reminded himself.  But, glancing at her longish wavy hair, noticing the way the streetlights seemed to catch the blonde highlights, he wasn’t saying he hadn’t thought about it.

Stacey had had her share of boyfriends in high school.  Not a lot, just a few.  But Cory could name them all, and explain the exact reasons they broke up.  He had heard all about these boys in e-mails.  Of course, he told her his romantic escapades as well.  It wasn’t until after they graduated and both ended up in the same town that he began to feel protective of her.  He hadn't realized how much she meant to him until the first week of class.

The two had met for lunch at a restaurant halfway between their schools.  Midvail had two colleges – UM, where Stacey attended, and MSU, where Cory went.  They decided to meet at this restaurant to catch up.  What he hadn’t realized was how much she had changed since the last time the two had talked.

They were always close friends, but college brought them closer.  It was Stacey who suggested to him to apply at KS