Cupid's Chokehold (Hollipop and Wirik)

[Hollipop]

Sydney Fields

​

"I've got a boyfriend!" Violet Hazely's voice rang through the receiver of rising junior Sydney Field's white iPhone 5S. The smart phone had been a Sorry-For-Not-Calling present from her father, and the frequency of her best friend's voice was surely going to blow the speaker before she even had it a week.


"A boyfriend?" Sydney repeated, flopping on her stomach in her dorm room and starting to flip through the new J. Crew catalog. A deep purple tank top with studded appliques caught her eye. She fished around in her purse until she found the gold star stickers she kept in there at all times. It was a little bit of a kindergarten teacher thing to do, but she liked to mark the items she wanted to order, so she wouldn't forget. Fashion was no joke to her.


"Could you stop shopping and listen to me?" Violet asked, still sounding as sweet as sugar despite the fact that she was annoyed. The fact that she knew what Sydney was doing even though she wasn't in the room was kind of scary. It just proved how well they knew each other.


"Sorry." Sydney replied, rolling her eyes and closing the catalog, leaning back on her pillows so she could give Violet her full undivided attention. "Right, boyfriend. Who is it?" she asked curiously. Perhaps it was Trent Fazer, the president of Kappa Tau, or Kevin Malone, the star quarterback? Girls like Violet and Sydney could date anybody they wanted to on campus--though, they'd only settle for the ones worth dating, of course.


"Derrick. Young." Violet answered slowly, and then sighed intently like a lovestruck school girl. Derrick Young? Who was that? Sydney racked through her brain. going through her mental list of all of the members of the sports teams and fraternities on campus. Nope, nada. Wait, a second....Derrick Young was that guy who raised his hand to answer every question in her Literature as Film seminar last semester. Violet was dating him?


"Is that a joke?" Sydney giggled, glad that her roommate, Beverly Klein, hadn't arrived on campus yet. Bev was a total dork, and hated when Sydney talked on the phone while she was--constantly--trying to do her homework. Couldn't she just go to the library or something like a normal person? "Is it, like, a charity thing or something? Is his dad one of your dad's clients?" she asked. Mr. Hazely was a successful lawyer back in Knoxville, where Violet was from.


"No!" Violet replied with an offended tone. "Listen, can you please not be so judgy? I really, really like him, and I don't want you to scare him away with your, you know, Sydney-ness." She was worried about them scaring Derrick away? He was the one with hair that looked like Duncan Hines frosting that a woman going through menopause had been shoveling down.


"Are you saying I have to, like, hang out with him?" Sydney asked, the last four words coming out as if Violet had just asked her to do a dog food facial pack with her.


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"Listen, I know he's not exactly, our scene, but he's really nice! So much better than that horrible Heath Novak," Violet said, referring to the Omega Chi social chair who had tried to slide his hand up her shirt at some party last year.


"Where did you even meet him?" Sydney changed the subject.


"Last semester I needed help pulling my bags down the dorm stairs, and he gave me a hand. I ended up giving him my number and we texted all summer! Then, last night, he asked me to be his girlfriend!" Violet replied. Really? She hadn't even been on a real life date with him, and she was already calling Duncan--er, Derrick--her boyfriend? That was so typical Violet.


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"Cute," Sydney rolled her eyes, examining her French manicure for chips. "Are you here, yet?" It was move in day, and she had arrived to Maryland from California disgustingly early. Even Rachel Lee, their strict dorm RA hadn't shown up in that faded UMD hoodie yet to greet her.


"I'm, like, 30 minutes away. This cab driver is as slow as dirt," Violet sighed into the receiver. Sydney assumed that the patrician was up, because her best friend would never criticize the person responsible for her life within hearing distance. Sydney's own cab driver drove like The Fast and the Furious. It was kind of terrifying, and made her wish that the airport was right next to UMD so she could avoid the whole taxi thing all together.


"Meet in the dining commons in an hour?" Sydney asked, feeling her stomach grumble. She needed some salad, ASAP. Without waiting for a reply, she pressed the "END" button on her cell phone and began to search for the perfect "I'm Back and Better than Ever!" outfit. After all, when you were Sydney Fields, keeping up appearances were very important.





(Tagged: @Wirik )

 

[Wirik]

Matthew Morris



"I still can't believe you were serious," Derrick Young's voice attempted to drown out the laugh of his best friend. Matthew Mark Morris sat beside him in the pickup truck he owned. At one point in time the thing could of been called red, but do to a recent series of events it had a nice even coating of mud splashed over it. Surely it was never a good idea to give a farm boy from Kentucky the wheel of his own truck on a semi cross country road trip. Derrick had found out the hard way when Matt had shown his friend just what exactly the word Muddin' meant. The man had been in for a white knuckle trip down a few back roads at well over the speed limit.


"Hey, have I ever lied to you before?" Matt asked as he finally stopped laughing and settled himself down. The look on Derrick's face had been priceless. Even now Matt could of sworn there was still traces of white in the other guys face. Admittedly Matt had lied to Derrick before. Never in any kind of mean, malicious way, but in the spirit of jokes he loved to play.


"Yes." Derrick deadpanned. "Yes you have M3." Matt knew that if they had been a real life comedy duo that Derrick would of been the straight man. Perhaps that's what made their friendship so great. He was a little peeved at his friend though, for using that awful nickname that he had coined. The man hardly ever used it, only when he was truly annoyed with Matt's antics. It's a little cruel when your parents decide they want to give you a name starting with all M's. At least there hadn't been a large amount of people in high school, and those that had gone to school with him had equally embarrassing names.


The two of them were in the process of making their way back to college. Before the summer break Derrick had agreed to fly down to Kentucky and spend a week on Matt's farm. Matt still wasn't sure how his friend had felt about the week, but it probably was something similar to how he had been when he had visited Derrick's place in Chicago. There was definitely going to be a conversation about it, Derrick loved having long in depth conversations about things. Thankfully Matt didn't mind getting all intellectual occasionally, or else he wouldn't be able to stand the more serious side of his friend.


"So you really asked her out over the phone? So lame dude." He admonished as he fiddled with the air vent on his side of the truck. It had been a bit of a shock for Matt to find out that his best friend had been texting Violet Hazely over the summer. Typically guys like them just never entered the same social circles as girls like her. Not that he had anything against the girl, and his friend genuinely seemed happy about the whole ordeal. Oh sure he had to listen to him go on and on about how they met, and all the different things they had talked about over the summer. It was enough to make a guy want to barf.


"Of course. Matt, I'm going to have to ask you not to be so crazy around her." Derrick admonished as he started to merge right on the highway. Matt was hurt! How can one man contain his creativity in front of someone just because they couldn't possibly handle it? It had been that same crazy creativity that had caused the two to become best friends freshmen year. Derrick had been way to serious, and in a way still was. But Matt had helped his soon to be best friend drop the seriousness from time to time and enjoy life a little more.


"Sure, just consider me a farm boy from ol' Kentucky. No silliness here." Matt was annoyed, and his Kentucky twang really came out in that emotional state. Not that his accent wasn't readily apparent before, it just became more pronounced when he shifted moods away from his normal carefree self. He was able to be just a farm boy from Kentucky, that's what he had been his whole life after all. Surely it wasn't to much of a stretch to ask him to put away just a little bit of his personality. "I won't make any promises though." After all it was hard to promise something when you were so unsure if you would be able to keep it. And he had an absolute hatred for people that couldn't keep their promises.


"That's all I can ask," Derrick sighed at his best friend, knowing full well that even though he would try to be on his best behavior, there was a large chance Matt would be absolutely silly when he shouldn't. The two had been on the road for most of the morning, leaving Matt's place squarely in the middle of the night. Spending close to ten hours in a cramped truck together with someone would try anyone's patience. That had been part of the reason Matt had taken the Muddin' detour not to long ago. While the two were best friends it was safe to say they probably wouldn't be seeking another long drive like this one again.


"It will be good to be free again though," Matt mused in one of his more introspective moments. Derrick didn't often ask about his friends home life, but what he had seen didn't seem that bad. Matt saw his friend casting a glance his way and threw a smile upon his face and laughed it off. "Besides I bet you can't wait to see your girlfriend!" They were perhaps thirty minutes to an hour away from campus, and then they could go their separate ways before they attempted to kill each other.

 

[Hollipop]

Sydney Fields

​

An hour later, Sydney had changed out of her travel clothes—which, to be fair, weren't totally dreadful—and into an intricately printed skirt with a black braided tank top. She wore light pink high heels on her feet, which might have seemed a tad bit inappropriate for the dining commons but she was rarely spotted without her extra three-plus inches. If somebody said she looked like a human Barbie doll, she wouldn't be offended. Didn't everybody want to look like Barbie?


While she was doing her makeup, Beverly Klein came into the room silently. She ws a girl that desperately needed a makeover, but had declined Sydney's numerous offers of introducing her into the world of MAC and Fred Fekkai. Some people couldn't appreciate that that was her way of showing kindness. Beverly didn't speak, so neither did Sydney. That was fine, because every time her she had a conversation with Bev—or tried to, anyway—she always ended up feeling stupid. Not that she'd admit that to anybody, though.


As Sydney was packing up her purse, her phone chimed with a text message. It was Violet, of course, telling her that she was in the dining commons. She began to drop her phone into her purse when it chimed again. Violet, oh-so-casually informing her that Derrick Young would be joining them. “Really?' she muttered out loud, triggering a glare from Beverly. Violet couldn't even wait to see the dork until after her? This was why boyfriends were lame. They made you neglect everything.


Sydney, of course, had been in relationships before. In fact, back in high school, she had dated Jackson O'Connor for two and a half years, which was an eternity in teenager time. They had broken up after graduation, since she was going to UMD, while Jackson was heading up to UCLA. It was an amicable break-up, but Sydney had regrets about devoting so much of her high school time to a boy. She had missed out on partying and flirting for movie nights and cuddling on Jackson's sofa. Sydney swore to herself from then on that she'd never let a guy take over her life.


She kept that promise to herself for the past two years, and for some reason her “no relationships, no problem” attitude gave her allure. Guys sometimes mistook her proudly-single status as an indication that she just wanted a hook-up buddy, but Sydney was sure to set them straight. It was funny, because everybody at UMD thought she slept around a lot more than she actually did. It was weird, because they saw how picky she was about her shoes, and they only went on her feet.


Her phone chimed yet again, Violet asking where she was. “Oh, now she wants to talk,” Sydney smirked, ignoring yet another Beverly-glare. Without a word to her roommate, she grabbed her purse and began across campus to the dining commons. As she walked, eyes glued to her, as if she was a bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day. That's right, tell your friends...she thought to herself, slightly annoying but wearing her trademark smile that she had spent years perfecting. It was a good thing to know how to do, that was nobody would ever know you were anything but happy.


“Watch it!” she exclaimed as the doors to the dining commons burst open and her shirt was nearly dodged by a physics major wielding a plate of nachos. The sophomore muttered an apology, but Sydney ignored it, making her way into the large room. So much for making an entrance. A table of athletes stopped mid conversation and a few of them burst into hungry grins.


“Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?” the ringleader, Leo Morris, flashed her a cheesy smile. Ugh. He was so...typical.


“Wish I could say the same for you,” Sydney replied, breezing past the group of basics, who were now muttering a collective “Ooooh” to their recently burned friend. Jocks were the worst. It didn't matter how hot you were if you had the IQ of a grape that had been left out in the sun all day. Looks were important, but so was the ability to have a conversation with a guy without his eyes falling to your chest at the end of every sentence.


She grabbed a tray from the bar line and began to fill up a plate with salad. Romaine lettuce, a couple of cherry tomatoes, and some low-fat Caesar dressing. She wanted more than anything to add some shredded Parmesan cheese and some garlic croutons, but she felt herself gaining fifty pounds just looking at them. She grabbed a bottle of strawberry-kiwi flavored water, a fork and a couple of napkins before paying the cashier and scanning the room for her best friend, who she knew, loved, and was slightly annoyed at.


Sydney spotted Violet at a booth on the left side of the room, thankfully void of Derrick and his poorly-fit jeans. “Get stood up? He didn't call?” she said as a form of greeting, instantly feeling bad afterward. She didn't mean to be rude to Violet. In fact, over the past two years, her best friend had been the only person she could actually find tolerable. It was probably because she listened to every word Sydney said.


“He's almost here!” Violet replied in a determined tone. Sydney could tell that she was nervous as she slid in the booth across from her. Well, she would be too if all she had done was text a guy all summer and suddenly proclaim him her boyfriend. What if he wasn't as cute as Violet remembered? He was Derrick Young, after all.


“Don't you worry, I'll behave,” Sydney huffed, hoping to ease some of Violet's concern. The girl was a hopeless romantic, and the idea of having to pick up the pieces after it didn't work out wasn't really something Sydney was interested in doing. She didn't have the daily calorie count for an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food—though that did sound amazing, compared to the lackluster salad she was noshing on at that moment.


“Thank you,” Violet burst into a grin so wide, Sydney thought her face would crack. She was an easy-to-please individual. If being nice to her loser boyfriend kept her on her best friend's pedestal, she would figure out a way to do it. “So, tell everything about your summer! I want all of the details!” From there, Sydney launched into all of the exciting stories she had that she wasn't able to convey over the phone. After all, when you were her, there was never really a dull moment.

 

[Wirik]

Matthew Morris



Hardly five minutes had passed since they had last spoken before Derrick took a turn and stopped at the nearest gas station. Matt was sure that there had been plenty of gas in the truck from the last stop they had made, not even two hours ago. He leaned over and gazed at the fuel gauge, sure enough it was comfortably around half a tank. "Why'd we stop?" He questioned his friend.


"I need you to drive." Oh so that was what it was. It was Matt's truck after all, so he obliged his friends request and took back over the driver seat. As soon as Derrick was sitting in the passenger seat he pulled out his phone and immediately started texting.


"Could you really not wait until we go there to talk to her?" Matt asked, assuming Romeo over there had started to text Violet again. Geeze for a man who had volunteered to help out around the farm he sure hadn't done a whole lot of work. Matt would be grateful when his friend could actually start talking to the girl that had consumed his summer, then maybe he could actually get an extended conversation going without Derrick whipping out his phone.


"No I couldn't." Derrick's response was short and to the point. Evidence to support the fact that he really didn't want to talk about the subject any longer. Matt just shrugged and glanced in the rear-view mirror before pulling out of the gas station and continuing their journey back to campus. All in all it took a little over forty minutes to make it back to campus. Matt was maneuvering his truck toward Derrick's dorm room, so that they could start to unload his stuff from the truck. "Were going to eat," Derrick declared before the truck had even been turned off.


"What do you mean we are going to eat?" Matt questioned as he glanced at the back of his truck. They still had a large amount of stuff to unload, and here his friend was thinking about eating. Hadn't they had a bite to eat not but a few hours ago? His plans of getting everything unloaded before it got to dark were quickly disappearing. Unloading a truck and carrying heavy things up stairs in the dark was definitely not on Matt's to do list for the day.


"Violet is waiting for us in the Dining Commons. But first I need a shower." Before Matt could react Derrick was out of the truck and rummaging under the tarp that had been stretched over the bed of the pickup truck. His hand withdrew a small bag, probably something he had prepared ahead of time. With his possession in tow, Derrick disappeared into the Dorm. The tone of his voice had indicated the matter was not up for discussion, and if Matt wanted help unloading his truck later he better comply. He sullenly got out of his truck and locked it. Not far away was a spot that he loved to frequent.


Matt laid in the grass, his baseball cap lowered over his eyes. He wore a plaid shirt and blue jeans. The jeans bore the stains of a man who worked on a farm. Greens and browns attempted to fight the faded blue and mostly won. His shirt was unfortunately splattered with mud. A consequence of going Muddin' with the window down. Boots were his go to footwear, comfortable, and great for when you found yourself trekking cross country. Upon his cap were the letters UK. They proudly announced that even though he didn't go there he at least still loved Kentucky Basketball. Sometimes he would switch out his cap for a red one with a cardinal on it, just for the fun of it. Heck he would even trot out his tee-shirts that proclaimed the back to back championships the bluegrass state had not to long ago won. It was fun to remind his fellow classmates just how great Kentucky basketball was.


He liked to just lay there in grass and listen to people as they walked by. It was crazy what people said about you when they thought you couldn't hear. Hurtful comments got thrown his way with almost a frightening frequency. Comments ranging from his clothes, to his truck, heck people even went as far as to comment on the fact that he was laying in the grass, seemingly asleep. Matt never understood why people stooped so low as to say such things about a person. The comments themselves didn't hurt him, he had thick skin after all. There was just a curiosity about it, why did people say such things? Perhaps is attempt to learn the answer was why he found himself in the same spot day after day. Or maybe he was trying to see if anyone would ever compliment him as he laid there.


"Are you really going to wear that?" Matt peaked out from under his cap at Derrick. Derrick had changed in the five minutes or so that he had left to take a shower. Gone were the travel clothes, and in their place was a new pair of clothes almost indistinguishable from the last. The man did not have a large variety when it came to his clothes.


"Of course I am, I'm not trying to impress her after all." Matt hopped up from the grass, not really caring what the grass might of done to his shirt or pants. "I'll have you no I have no plans to eat or enjoy this meal at all." He deadpanned as he followed his friend toward the inevitable waste of time that would be dinner. Once they arrived at their destination it took Derrick only a few moments to spot Violet and wave toward her.


"There she is." He whispered to Matt. Matt could only roll his eyes at how nervous his usually confident friend had become. "If your not grabbing any food go ahead and head over there, I'll be there in a second." With that Derrick was gone again, making a bee line toward the nearest source of food. Matt would be forced to fend for himself and dive head first into the shark tank.


Slowly he made his way over toward the table. Surely if there ever was a time he wanted to run away, now was one of them. The thought of being forced to socialize with a girl he didn't know was not an appealing prospect after all. With the added ultimatum of not being able to be himself, Matt knew he was in for a dreadful hour or so. When he got there he noticed that someone else was sharing the booth with Violet. Some girl he was pretty sure he didn't know, but yet there she was anyway. Matt didn't really care, if one girl was bad then two would be just as bad. Silently he plopped down next to the girl he didn't know, not even bothering to ask if he could sit there. After only a few moments Derrick showed up and immediately started a conversation up with Violet. Great this was going to be one long day.

 

[Hollipop]

Sydney Fields

​

"So where is Loverboy?" Sydney tapped the toe of her pink heel impatiently against the linoleum floor of the dining commons impatiently. It's not like she was in any rush to be graced by the presence of Derrick Young, but it was kind of rude to show up late to meet your girlfriend, especially if said girlfriend was Violet Hazely. Sydney picked at her salad slowly. As hungry as she was, she didn't want to eat the whole thing, that way she had something to look at while she was avoiding eye contact with Derrick.


"He's coming, Syd, gosh," Violet snapped, something she never did. Sydney let it go, seeing that her friend was on edge, and went back to telling her the--slightly exaggerated--tale of riding on the back of Henry Cavill's vespa. It was true, as long as you swapped Superman for a local named Carlo. Sure, he was hot, and practically worshiped Sydney all summer, but name-dropping was key when it came to storytelling. She wasn't lying, she was embellishing. There was no harm in that, was there?


"...and then, as we were sitting by the Trevi on the last night, Henry pulled out this beautiful jade necklace and--excuse me?" Sydney stopped short when some guy in mud-stained pants just liberally slid into the booth and planted his disgusting boots within inches of her heels. "Are you lost, or something?" she asked. Unless Derrick Young grew six inches and went blonde and redneck, this was definitely not Violet's new honey. Farmboy didn't budge though, or even show any kind of reaction. "Um, excuse me, are you deaf?"


Violet gave her one of those "be nice" kicks under the table, to which Sydney mouthed "what the f*ck?". Soon enough, Derrick Young emerged with a tray of food, and Violet burst into a grin so large, you'd think that Derrick was Brad Pitt and he had just told her that he was taking her on a free trip to Disney World. "Babe, this is Sydney," Violet tried to stir up some kind of conversation. Syd resisted the urge to scoff. Everybody knew who she was. Like she needed an introduction.


"Hi," Sydney said, with a slight disinterested wave, before doing back to her salad and trying not to puke at the sight of the unidentified green stain on Farmboy's flannel shirt. That was one was to lose your appetite, anyway.


"Um, Syd, this is Derrick?" Violet tried again, with a hint of desperation in her voice, "You guys had a class together last year, right?" Sydney shrugged. It wasn't like she was being rude, she just wasn't talking. "Oh, and this is Derrick's best friend, Matt," she added, referring to Farmboy, who apparently had a name. God, Violet was trying so hard, and for what? A tense conversation between two complete opposite social groups. Sydney cast a wistful look over to the pervy jock table, which suddenly looked a hell of a lot more appealing. However, she knew that if she left Violet she'd never hear the end of it. The girl really didn't ask for much.


"Nice to meet you all. So is this an AA meeting or what?" Sydney finally said, cracking a slight joke to see if anybody had a sense of humor. Violet, who normally would have burst into a fit of giggles at the question, remained silent. It's starting...Sydney thought to herself. Vi was definitely en route to that whole changing-for-a-man thing, starting with the loss of personality. Next thing she knew, her best friend would be swapping Betsey Johnson for Banana Republic.


(I'm sorry it's short!)

 

[Wirik]

How could he not have seen this coming? Almost immediately upon sitting down he was barraged with hostility. Granted it didn't come from the source of his problems, but rather her unknown friend. He could almost feel the venom dripping in her voice, which caused him to let a little laugh out. Quickly he clapped a hand upon his mouth, hoping he had not just made a fool of himself. Well heck, he really didn't care what this girl thought of him. Besides anything she could possibly fathom as an insult would ultimately just be a few words.


After introductions went out, Matt decided to actually check out this mystery fried. His initial first impression seemed to be almost spot on. It was almost a surprise that he actually recognized the girl. Who didn't know Sydney Fields? Of course he took no stock in the rumors that floated around about the girl. Matt just wasn't the kind of guy to listen to anything a person said about another. Now if Sydney herself were to admit to the rumors then maybe there would be some stock to those words. But he doubted the girl was about to gush about her personal life to a man she just met. Pity, the juicy details like that would of made the day a bit more bearable.


Matt decided to just keep to himself, otherwise he might start acting out. He didn't need to be the center of attention, but staying quiet and not goofing off was rather hard. It didn't help that Sydney decided that she wanted to crack a joke to lighten the mood. He tried to get Derrick's attention, unfortunately his friend seemed to be almost entirely lost to Violet. In fact Matt was almost entirely sure that Sydney's attempt at a joke had fallen on deaf ears except for his own. The girl seemed to have a quick wit, perhaps actually hiding something interesting under her seemingly princess like exterior.


"Oh, are you saying your an alcoholic then?" He spoke up for the first time. If Derrick wasn't paying attention then why did he have to worry about being silly. Unfortunately since he had been trying to behave there was no really good quip ready to be thrown towards this girl. But if she was going to play ball he might as well ante up. He took his hat off and sat it in front of him, turning it around on the table a few times. This is when he expected Derrick to butt in, but his friend didn't seem to see. With a rather big smile on his face, Matt scooped the cap up off the table and started to twirl it around on his finger. With a wink toward Sydney he sent the cap flying up in the air, where it promptly landed upon his head.


"I'm not an alcoholic sorry, so no this isn't an AA meeting." He laughed a little, not even worrying to hide it this time. This unfortunately drew the ire of Derrick. Angry daggers seemed to be hiding in his friends eyes. Matt just shrugged and placed his hands upon the table in a symbol of surrender. At the moment he really didn't care, if his friend was going to pretty much turn his attention away then he would goof off. Honestly he really didn't even care what Sydney might think about his little act out. Her opinion was her own, and valuable in its own right. But like most people, he felt she was more concerned in the negative of people rather then the positive.


Matt decided to go for the hat trick again. He returned it to the table and turned it around a few times, just to make sure that Derrick was still not paying attention. Once again he was easily able to flip the hat upon his finger and spin it around. Unfortunately when he flipped it into the air he had made a slight error in judgement. Instead of flying toward his head where it would of landed safely, the hat flew off in Sydney's direction. He flinched and closed his eye, not wanting to see what would happen next. While his eyes were closed he started to go over the likely scenario. No doubt Derrick would not be very happy about this, nor did he imagine either of the girls would be amused with his little mistake. Well this was just a fantastic way to start the year.