Chapter 22

As the policemen finished reading Barclay his rights, they each grabbed an arm and led him out of the room as a stunned audience looked on. When they passed Allison's table, Barclay's eyes met hers. Without saying a single word, he managed to convey a hurt so profoundly deep it bordered on betrayal. But oddly enough, there wasn't an ounce of anger to be seen. In that moment, Ally knew that what Barclay felt for her before the big confrontation was indeed genuine, and the hurt she saw in his eyes was more from her alliance with Ben than it was from being arrested in front of his peers.

How could she ever face him again? He was trying to protect her for crying out loud! And what did he get? A totally humiliating public arrest! But even so, Ally knew he was far from perfect himself. In fact she wasn't completely sure she could ever get past the way he used Kaija with little emotional investment whatsoever.

But first things first; she needed to talk to Ben to find out what made him press charges. He hadn't even mentioned it on the drive back to campus. Ally wondered what-or who-changed his mind as she gathered her dishes and trash and put it all neatly on the tray.

As she walked back to her room, Ally replayed the arrest over and over in her mind. Barclay's sedate reaction was so unexpected. She half expected him to throw his hands up and in an over exaggerated drunken slur plead, "Ossifer, ossifer, I ain't done nothin'!" Ally grinned at the image.

When had things gotten so serious? She longed for the more playful days, even if it did mean she'd get embarrassed once in awhile. She wanted to be hanging out in her room laughing with Kaija; she wanted to be drafting Professor Salinger's next book with him; she wanted to be eating dinner with Kaija and Barc where she and Barc would torture Kaija with all their psychobabble from class; she wanted to be getting to know Ben better over pizza and a movie. But none of that was happening. Not even close. Instead, her life--and the lives of those around her--seemed to be careening out of control. Ally desperately tried to figure out how everything started to unravel as she unlocked the door to her room.

Kaija sat quietly on her perch, listening to some new age tunes and painting her toenails a gaudy bright red. "Hi, roomie," she smiled at Allison.

"Hey," Ally returned, giving a half-hearted wave. She walked over to the table between their beds and grabbed the student directory. Flipping through its pages, she plopped down on her bed.

"Who ya lookin' for?" Kaija asked conversationally.

The guy who's responsible for putting your boyfriend--who really isn't your boyfriend in his eyes--behind bars. Ally swallowed hard and tried to be nonchalant. "Oh, I met this cute guy in class the other day, that's all."

Kaija jumped off her loft and ran to Ally's bed, throwing herself down beside her. "Why Allison Delaney..." she said with a sly smile. "... you ARE alive!"

Kaija's smile and enthusiasm were contagious. Ally found herself laughing and momentarily forgetting all her worries. It felt so nice for a change... "You're an absolute riot, Kai!"

"You seem pretty determined to find him," Kaija said as she watched Ally rifle through the pages of the directory. "Can I help?"

Ally wasn't sure how to answer that one. In the end, she just decided to throw caution to the wind and try to track him down in person. Odds were he was hanging out in his room after being on the receiving end of Barclay's nose job. She changed clothes and fussed with her hair a bit so Kaija wouldn't suspect anything was up besides what Ally had told her.

And just when Ally thought she was going to get away without a glitch, Kaija asked, "Hey, Ally, have you seen Barc around?" Ally froze in front of her mirror. "I caught up with him at lunch, but haven't seen him since. That's a little unusual."

Oh crap. Now what? Ally hoped the subject would drop when she didn't respond right away, but no such luck.

"You had dinner at the dinning commons tonight, right?" Kaija persisted.

Ally was cornered. Life couldn't get any better! She had to come up with something, and fast, especially since Barclay had seen her at the DC as he was getting hauled away. Ally shrugged. "I saw him pass by, but I didn't really get a chance to talk to him." Not a lie, she comforted herself.

"I tried calling him, even on his cell, but nothing. It's like he vanished or something."

A vision of Barc's cell phone ringing in a baggy that held his personal effects at the police station flashed through Ally's mind. "Don't worry; I'm sure he'll show up sooner or later. He's probably out messing around with the guys or something."

Kaija thought about it for a moment and then smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right. Have fun tonight," she grinned. "I wanna hear all about it when you get home!"

Ally rolled her eyes as she walked to the door. This is one encounter with a guy you're not going to like hearing about, she sighed. "I shouldn't be too late," she added aloud. "Catch ya later!"

Walking into Ben's dorm was an absolute trip. It was an all guy building, so the atmosphere was loud and festive. And of course her presence was immediately noticed as she made her way down the hallway. Guys gawked, leered, pawed, and whistled at her as she worked her way toward Ben's room. She had to admit it was satisfying in a twisted sort of way. She had never gotten that much attention from guys in her entire life, so on some level it was a tiny bit enjoyable not to mention good for her self esteem.

Countless heads poked out of doorways and watched as she approached Ben's room. One guy clutching a beer bottle leaned out and asked her for a date on the spot. Ally would have been flattered if his beer breath hadn't nearly knocked her out! Room 142 couldn't come soon enough...

She knocked on the door tentatively, only to find herself jumping back two feet when the door opened. Ally looked up into the eyes of some towering, beefy, burly guy dressed in a grungy t-shirt and jeans worn out at the knees. His forearms were covered with tattoos.

"Uh, sorry to have bothered you," she stammered. "I must have the wrong room."

"Maybe not," tattoo man said, shifting his weight. "Who ya lookin' for, gorgeous?"

"You probably don't know him," she said, starting to turn away from the doorway. "Thanks anyway," she called over her shoulder.

"Is that you, Ally?" a voice from within the room called out. She stopped immediately; it was Ben.

Ally giggled as tattoo man turned around and said, "Yo, dude, how'd a dickhead like you get hooked up with a babe like her?" He faced Ally again and stuck out his hand. "I'm Lou, dickhead's-I mean Ben's-roommate." His meaty palm crushed her delicate hand as he pumped it enthusiastically. "Come on in." He stepped aside and motioned her in.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Ben's side of the room was spotless, but Lou had erected a variety of walls and room dividers with dozens if not hundreds of beer cans. "Are you sure you're roommates?" she grinned. Why Ben and Tattoo Lou had about as much in common as, well, she and Kaija!

"Hey, be nice to the ol' boy," Lou warned protectively. "He's had a pretty shitty day." Ally nodded knowingly as she glanced over at Ben. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Lou said, heading toward his desk. But instead of gathering books, he bent over to open the little fridge stuck underneath. With a belch, he snagged a can of beer and slammed the fridge shut. He held the can up in a mock toast to Ben. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, dude," he winked devilishly, and then left the room.

Silence filled the room as Ally stared down at her feet nervously.

"Can I get you anything?" Ben offered.

"No thanks," she returned uneasily. "I won't keep you long."

"Have a seat," he said, pulling out his desk chair for her and returning to his spot on the bed. "What brings you clear over to this end of campus?"

Ally knew she needed to handle the situation carefully. As much as she wanted to come right out and ask him why he filed charges against Barclay, she knew she needed to sneak up on the subject.

"I mostly just came to see how you were doing." Perhaps it was a bit of an exaggeration, but it wasn't a lie.

He cocked his head and smiled, clearly touched by the gesture. "You could have just called me on the phone," Ben said. "You didn't have to walk all the way over here." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "It was sweet of you though."