Meeting Brian

Alice finds Brian sitting on a wooden bench, by the stream that flows through the park, wearing his Letterman jacket and his least worn out jeans.

“Hey Brian,” Alice greets him as she walks up from behind, admiring his broad shoulders and muscled neck.

He stands up and turns around, "Alice! Thanks for sending me the picture, I wouldn't have recognized you without it. Is it okay if I ask…”

“Why the change?” Alice frowns, “Important that you should know: The medical exams they're doing for the art students are a trap… the note the ‘doctor’ asked me to give the nurse said ‘Minor Origin, collect for study’ or thereabouts in Latin.”

“Which you know, because half of the biochemistry stuff is named in Latin,” Brian nods, and takes a slow breath, “so… NOT just to spice things up, then.”

“Oh, spicing things up like that sounds fun,” the woman licks her lips, “but no, that wasn't why. But I don't want to think about that too much right now,” Alice puts her hand on Brian's shoulder, “I want to think about the strong, handsome man in front of me who's always been supportive.”

Brian steps up beside Alice and slips his arm around her waist, his hand resting lightly on her outer hip, “I'm down with that. Shall we?”

Alice slips her hand down and around Brian's waist, smiling, “We shall.”

The two walk around the park, basically joined at the hip, enjoying the well-maintained campus gardens (courtesy of students in the landscaping department…) just enjoying each other's company.

Alice's stomach growls, so Brian speaks up, “Ah, the Alpha Sigma Sigma fraternity is throwing a party, they'll have plenty of snacks if you're hungry, and will not say no if we show up, because you're going to increase the awesome factor by an order of magnitude just by being there.”

“I may need to tone this body down…” the woman sighs, “...after I'm sure I'm safe enough. For now… yes, food, please.”

As they walk that way, Brian asks about it, “what do you mean tone the body down?”

“Oh, well, I increased my mitochondria count for more energy, increased the density of actin and myosin in my muscles, enhanced my capillary flow, increased my red blood cell count…”

“Umm…” the jock interrupts, “huh?”

“Heh. I love you for your heart, not your brains…” Alice shakes her head, “I made my muscles way stronger, made my skin tougher, and gave myself more energy… maybe an automotive metaphor? I switched the engine out from an economy i4 to a racing V12.”

“Oh, so you need to fill the tank up a lot more often, got it,” the meathead smiles, “let's go get you all taken care of, then….”

The two walk hip to hip over to the Alpha Sigma Sigma fraternity, where the party is already in progress: They can hear the music thumping from outside as they walk through the parking lot (previously a yard, before the frat bought the building a few decades ago and paved it), up six feet of concrete steps ten feet wide with wrought iron railings on either side, to the dark green painted three story house. It's a big and blocky thing, with double doors.

A slightly scrawny blonde man in a high school Letterman jacket ‘guards’ the door, playing on his phone. He looks up as the two approach, and goes a little slack jawed at the babe approaching, “Well hello ma'am,” he doesn't even seem to see Brian, “go right on in… let me get you a…”

Brian coughs.

The guard looks over at the guy with a hundred pounds of muscle on him, and pauses, “Ah. Go on in,” and gets back to his phone.

“Just remember, the ‘non alcoholic’ punch…” Brian begins as the two walk into the party.

“...is powdered drink mix, sugar, and Vodka… if they don't have anything worse,” Alice rolls her eyes, “I'm aware. Also, do NOT leave a drink unwatched. If it's out of my sight for even a second, assume there's something new and unpleasant in it.”

“Great,” Brian nods, “you know the rules. Come on…”

Inside, the hungry woman's eyes go straight to a table: It has a meat and cheese platter, a vegetable platter, two punch bowls (one of which is labeled “no ****”), a bunch of cups, and a keg of beer. The room itself is two stories tall, with twin curved staircases going to a balcony area on the second floor. There's a few dozen men in various stages of drunkenness, and about half that in women. A few old couches are pressed up against the walls, and doors are all over the place.

Alice licks her lips and makes a bee-line for the table….