We can burn brighter than the sun.....

[Dani]

Brandie dashed up the stairs in the direction of Nick's dorm. It was 5pm and her brain was on serious overload. She loved studying marine biology and still was happy that she had picked it as her major, but she hadn't anticipated just how grueling it would be. Her mind needed an escape. She needed to relax and have fun. She wanted to go to the beach just for the sake of going to the beach. She wanted to just dive into the ocean without feeling the need to analyze the water. She just wanted a few simple uncomplicated hours in her life, which is exactly why she had gone back to her dorm immediately after class and changed out of her boring lab clothes and into her pale blue bikini and jean cutoffs. She smiled when she finally arrived at the dorm. I swear he never locks this door, she thought to herself as she let herself in. If there was anyone that could snap her out of this, it was her twin brother.

[Alisha]

Cadavers. He hadn’t been sure what to expect when he entered the lab that day, but the moment he had, all expectations flew right out the window. They had just begun working with real, human cadavers in his anatomy class. He cut open a human being, played with their insides, and didn't pass out. He still couldn't quite figure out how he felt about this, but there was one thing he was sure about. The smell. The smell was god awful. It was hard to describe, but slowly rotting flesh drowned in formaldehyde wasn't a pleasant scent. As if spending three hours in the lab with the dead bodies and slowly rotting flesh wasn't bad enough, the smell stuck. His clothes and skin absorbed the foul concoction and released it with the slightest movement and every breath he took.

Ryan was so sick of this smell by the time he got back to the dorm room he shared with Nick Howard, he didn’t even bother to stop by his bedroom to pick up a change of clothes before he made a beeline for the bathroom and the glorious invention they called a shower. Ryan had his shirt ripped off before he had even crossed the threshold, dumping his backpack and books on the floor just inside the doorway to be retrieved later. He didn’t think he had ever been so thankful for hot water and soap when he stepped under the steady stream of water. I am never working in a morgue… He thought to himself with a shake of his head. Fifteen minutes later, Ryan stepped out of the shower, grimacing at the pile of discarded clothing that had found its’ home on the bathroom floor. After wrapping a towel around his waist, and using another to dry his face and collect the water from his dampened hair, he exited the bathroom, and headed for his room.

[Dani]

Brandie walked through the doorway, nearly tripping over a backpack as she came in. Oh that brother of mine, she thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. Nick wasn't a total slob, but he wasn't exactly the neatest person in the world either. She was always picking up after him when they were growing up and now wasn't any different. She bent down, scooped the backpack and a nearby shirt, and opened the door to Nick's room. There were also a ton of books scattered across the floor, but she had decided to walk around them and pick them up later. Her hands were already full enough.

"Geez, can you watch where put your stuff?" she asked, holding up the shirt and backpack. "I nearly broke my...." She immediately stopped and dropped her mouth when she caught a glimpse of a guy standing in the room with a towel. Oh shit, this isn't Nick's room, is it?! "Ummmm I'm sorry," she said, her face turning red as she took two steps back toward the door. "I-I...." Completely taken aback, she let the backpack slide from her slippery fingertips, causing it to make a huge thud noise when it landed on the floor.

[Alisha]

Ryan froze when his door opened, his eyes immediately focusing on the doorway, he figured it was his roommate. A curious smile crossed his face when he noticed it was a girl standing there, mouth gaped and flushed cheeks. This was no roommate of his. This was a girl glad in only a bikini top and a pair of jean shorts. She must have been a friend of Nick’s, because he didn’t think he had ever seen before. Even if he had, it wasn’t long enough to explain her barging into his room unannounced. “Can I help you?” He asked, his eyes dancing with amusement. His hand held the towel around his waist, while the other was used to push the damp strands of hair out of his eyes. Ryan chuckled at her flustered expression, but cringed when his backpack landed on the floor with a loud thud. “Ahhh.” He said, “Careful. That’s got a very expensive laptop in it.”

[Dani]

Brandie's face got even redder. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She quickly picked up the backpack and placed it gently on the bed. She immediately began babbling in an attempt to explain her random presence in his room. "I hadn't been here before and Nick has always been telling me to come over, but I never really had a free moment to do so. I had one today, so I came by and I saw all this stuff all over the floor and I assumed that it was Nick's because he's usually pretty messy like most guys are and I just picked it up and went in what I thought was his room, which it clearly isn't and.....oh my god...." She took a few more steps back, trying to stop herself from staring at him. Holy crap, he must work out a lot.....

She had really done it now. She had committed two crimes in a few seconds. Breaking and entering was bad enough, but property damage was really pushing it. "And if I ruined your laptop, I'll pay for it. I don't have a job or anything right now, but I can find a way to pay for it. I can panhandle....or something, I don't know." Her main fear right now was that he would take it out on Nick. He had spoken so highly of his roommate and it seemed like they were really getting along. The last thing she wanted to do was mess that up. "Oh yeah, I'm Brandie," she added. "Nick's sister. Nick's twin sister. Nick's nosy twin sister who is going to go back to her dorm and mind her own business."

[Alisha]

Ryan watched her nervously babble, his smile growing even wider as the words continues to flow out of her with no end seemingly in sight. It was entertaining, seeing how flustered she was becoming. While Ryan knew he should just put her out of her misery, he also wanted to enjoy it for a few more moments. He remained silent throughout her blabber, a laugh escaping him when she had finally stopped talking. He walked closer to her and held out his hand, “Nice to finally meet you, Brandie. I’m Ryan, the roommate. Obviously.” He said, a smirk forming on his lips. Ryan guessed he should let her off the hook, as fun as seeing her blushing and embarrassed was, he wasn’t a monster. It wasn’t every day that he got pretty half naked girls in his room without any effort on his part, not that he was going to try anything. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure the laptop is fine, and I guess I should thank you for cleaning up after me. You don’t have to leave, either. ”

[Dani]

Brandie breathed a huge sigh of relief as she shook his hand. Crisis averted..... "Oh hi, Ryan," she said, her nerves becoming less frazzled. "Nick's mentioned you a few times before. It's nice to meet you. And yeah, I have seven brothers, so I'm kind of used to cleaning up after guys." She was also used to seeing guys walk around shirtless and or in towels, but the sight of Ryan was too much for her. He looked like he had stepped right out of a soap commercial. "That's okay, though. I should probably go. Is Nick going to be around anytime soon?"

[Alisha]

Ryan smiled. “I have two sisters, so I’m used to being picked up after.” He joked, winking at the girl. “No, really. Usually I’m not very messy, but I just spent the better part of today in the lab with dead bodies, so the whole way back here all I could think about was a shower.” He scrunched up his nose and shook his head. “Sorry, that’s probably not the best visual.” He shrugged when she asked her question, turning to walk towards his closet. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure he went to Katie’s. You look like you’re heading to the beach. Any chance you’d like some company? I could use a break from the text books.” It was a walk in closet, so he didn’t have to worry about her seeing anything when he dropped the towel that had been around his waist. He leaned out the doorway to get her answer, an easy smile resting on his face.

[Dani]

"That's okay. I have five sisters and we girls can be pretty messy sometimes," Brandie said, smiling back at him. "There are so many people in the house that it's hard to tell who's worse when it comes to cleaning." Because she had basically been molded into a housewife by the time she was fifteen, she wasn't that bad in the cleaning department, but there were times when she just threw her stuff on the floor and kicked back. With her current schoolwork load, those times were becoming more frequent. "Dead bodies?" she asked, making a face. "Like CSI type of stuff?" She thought back to what Nick had told her about Ryan, trying to remember what he was majoring in. She wasn't a super squeamish person, but the idea of having to spend a day with dead bodies was very unsettling to her. "Yeah, I'm going to the beach. I just spent the day in a lab coat looking under a microscope. Not as creepy as dead bodies, but I just need a break. And sure, you can tag along if you want." He was right. She could use the company. Outside of Nick and the people currently living in her house, she'd had little social interaction with people recently. This would be a big step towards changing that.

[Alisha]

Ryan smiled and nodded when she agreed to let him tag along. He hadn’t really planned on doing anything that evening , aside from going to the gym. Besides, he went to the gym every day and a trip to the beach could easily replace his workout, if he played it right. Ryan needed some social interaction anyway. He popped back into the closet, finding his board shorts quickly hanging on one of the hangers. “No, I’m premed.” Ryan answered, sliding the shorts on effortlessly. “The cadavers were for medical education. Human Anatomy to be more specific. I doubt you’ve ever held a human heart in your hands, but the feeling is indescribable, I’ll tell you that.” He scrunched up his nose as he thought about the smell again, shaking his head in distaste. He grabbed two t-shirts and brought them out of the closet, holding them up for her to see. “Great. I’ve been spending too much time in here lately. I swear, the only times I leave are for class or to go to the gym. Blue or white?” Ryan asked.

[Dani]

"Oh you're going to be a doctor? That's wonderful. We could certainly use more of those in the world." Brandie had spent tons of time in the hospital growing up. Nick was extremely accident prone and was always getting injured playing sports. Kaden had also put himself in danger numerous times and scared the hell out of her. Because of her frequent visits to the hospital, she was on a first name basis with all of the nurses. "Nope I've never held a human heart in my hand," she said, pushing the brief thought of Kaden aside. "I'm in marine biology. I did hold a fish heart in my hands once, but I'm sure it wasn't as amazing." She laughed as he held up the shirts. "Blue goes with your eyes," she found herself saying.

[Alisha]

“Yeah, I’m going to try. It’s a lot of work. But both of my parents are doctors. My dad is a neurosurgeon and my mom was in cardiothoracics. In other words, a heart surgeon. Big shoes to fill. My younger sister is in nursing school right now.” Ryan often spoke highly about his parents, and wanted nothing more than to live up to their legacy. All he ever wanted was to make them proud, and if he could do so and save lives at the same time? Then that was great. Their family was full of doctors, aside from his older sister. She was squeamish around blood. Jenna could handle screaming fans and press conferences, but she did not like the idea of having someone else’s life literally in her hands. Ryan smiled with her answer and tossed the other shirt on his bed, pulling the blue one over his head. “Marine biology? That’s cool. You must have a large interest in the ocean.” He scanned his room in search of his flip flops, because who wore shoes to be beach? He found them peeking out from until his bed and slipped them on. “Are you driving or am I?”

[Dani]

Brandie's eyes widened at the mention of his family full of doctors. It was very impressive. She certainly couldn't say the same about her family. Her father was somewhat of a con artist and her stepmother basically sat at home all day with her kids, grandkids, and even great-grandkids. They had frowned upon her becoming a marine biologist and said that it was a waste of time. Her family here in Riverside had fared much better. Her mother, or at least the woman that she considered her mother, was doing a great job down at the newspaper office and her siblings were all in school and doing well for the most part. Still, she couldn't imagine having a family full of PhD's. "Very big shoes to fill indeed. I'm sure they're very proud of you and your sister." Too bad my father isn't proud of me.... "Yeah, I love the ocean," she said, her eyes lighting up as she talked about it. "I was actually born in here California. We moved back east when I was little, but we lived near the water most of my life. A lot of my siblings are the same way too. Three of my brothers are surfing fanatics. I was also on the swim team at school for a little while." She nodded at his question about driving to the beach. "You can drive if you want. I don't mind."