Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 18:56:05 -0500
From: Michael Philips <michaelphilips78@hotmail.com>
Subject: Popular - Chapter Two

The following is a complete work of fiction.
Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is
completely coincidental.  Please do not copy or distribute the story without
the author's permission.

Disclaimer:
The following story may contain erotic situations between consenting adults.
If it is illegal for you to read this please leave now.
If you enjoy this story please check out my other stories, City Of Dreams
and Center Stage can be found in the Adult Friends section on Nifty, The
Fifth Power can be found in the SciFi/Fantasy section or all my stories can
be found at my Yahoo! Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MichaelPhilips or
you can send me an email at MichaelPhilips78@hotmail.com Please remember to
include something about the story in the subject line.

Popular
By: Michael Philips

Chapter Two

Hayden stretched his body as his alarm clock rang out incessantly.  He had
placed it on his computer desk, and that meant if he wanted to turn it off
then he'd have to get out of bed and walk over to it.  One last groan
slipped from Hayden's lips as he slid out of bed and over to the alarm.  The
room was filled with a comforting silence the moment his finger flicked the
off button on the clock.

Hayden walked over to his closet and opened the door.  He stood for a few
moments and stared at his body in the full-length mirror that hung on the
back of the door.  Hayden critically inspected every inch of his body, which
was fairly easy to do since he slept in his underwear.  After a few minutes
he began to stretch in preparation for his morning workout.

His morning ritual began during his first year of high school.  Hayden
hadn't been very overweight when he was younger, but he had certainly been
inactive.  After a few months worth of teasing from fellow students in
school Hayden had begun working out every morning.  At first the workouts
were an effort to get his schoolmates off of his back, but after a few
months his self-confidence had begun to grow.  Hayden had continued working
out after that for his own pleasure and stopped worrying about what people
thought.  It was just a few years later that the harsh reality of the
importance of what other people thought crashed back into his life.

After twenty minutes a light sheen of sweat covered his body, and Hayden
pushed back some locks of hair that had stuck to his forehead.  He pulled
his robe out of the closet and grabbed his toiletries kit off of his desk.
Hayden made sure to grab his room key and put it in the robe's pocket.  He
certainly didn't want to get locked out of his dorm room.  Hayden quietly
entered the dorm's hallway and moved towards the communal bathroom.

A sigh of relief passed through him as he saw that the bathroom was empty.
One of his biggest fears of dorm life was having to share the bathroom
facilities with a whole floor of guys.  The fear was intense enough to make
him clutch the oversized robe tightly around his body.  Hayden forced
himself to relax and started to get ready for his first real day of college.
  The only thing on his schedule for the day was freshman orientation.  The
college started their freshman classes a week later than everyone else to
allow the new students an opportunity to settle in to their new lives.

The hot shower helped to ease some of Hayden's tight muscles and nervous
mind.  He quickly dried off and pulled his robe back on.  Hayden didn't
bother doing anything with his hair except for running a brush through it
when he was back in his room.  He just wasn't concerned about how he looked,
and was comfortable for once, inside in his own skin.  Hayden pulled on a
pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt.  His clothes limply hung off of his tall
frame, but Hayden wasn't concerned about it.  He was comfortable, and that
was all that mattered to him.  Hayden checked the time as he put his watch
on.  He decided to skip breakfast to make sure he got to orientation on
time.  With his wallet and dorm key safely in his pocket Hayden headed out
to start his college life.

A few hours later Hayden's stomach was groaning loudly in protest.  He
hadn't realized that orientation would end up taking so long, and he
regretted the fact that he skipped breakfast.  Hayden had memorized the
layout of the school during orientation and was heading towards the
cafeteria as fast as possible.  The ten-minute walk seemed to take much
longer than usual to his undernourished stomach. Hayden had to show his
newly acquired student I.D. card as he entered the cafeteria and was finally
able to get his much needed lunch.

Hayden carried his tray, with his burger and fries on it, into the large
seating area in the cafeteria.  His eyes scanned the tables quickly before
he moved towards the back to an empty table.  Hayden didn't mind eating
alone; in fact he wasn't concerned about making new friends.  He planned on
enjoying his newfound independence.  Hayden had just taken a bite out of his
burger when someone stepped up to the table.

"Do you mind if we join you?"

Hayden nearly choked on his burger as his glanced up into a pair of
beautiful dark green eyes, Leo's eyes.  Hayden wondered for a moment why he
remembered Leo's name, but quickly pushed the thought from his mind.  He
told himself that it was just his nearly photographic memory kicking in, and
the fact the guy ran him down yesterday.  Hayden quickly swallowed the food
that was in his mouth so he could answer.

"Sure.  If you really want to join me."  Hayden quietly replied.

The grin that appeared on Leo's face was dazzling, if anything.  Hayden
recognized the other two people sitting down at the table as Leo's friends
from yesterday.  He was very curious as to why these three people chose to
sit down at his table, especially when there were plenty of empty tables to
choose from.

"In case you don't remember, I'm Leo Warner, the klutz that knocked you down
yesterday."  Leo said as he sat down.

"I'm sure he remembers, Leo.  How many times does the world's largest pig
run you down like a Mac truck?"  The girl that sat down flashed Hayden a
gorgeous smile.  "I'm Alexis Covington by the way.  I figured since Mr.
Warner here forgot his manners I would just introduce myself, but you can
call me Lexie."

"Thanks, Lexie."  Hayden offered her a shy smile. "I'm..."

"Hayden Taylor, we know.  Leo filled us in on that yesterday."  Hayden's
attention was pulled towards the last person at their table.  He seemed a
bit cocky, and his interruption of Hayden confirmed that.  "I'm Noah
Radcliff.  If you wanted to seek any damages against Warner I could
recommend a few good attorneys to you."

"Nah.  I don't see any point in that.  It was my own fault anyways."
Hayden's deep baritone voice was soft, and it flowed over his fellow lunch
mates.  "I tend to zone out sometimes, ya know?"

"Seems like you found your match, Leo."  Lexie's laughter was very
infectious, even though Hayden wasn't sure what she was referring to.  Her
words implied one thing, but as Hayden looked into her eyes, well, that was
a different story.  "He has the attention span of a gnat, Hayden.  IF he
ever listened to me, and would pay attention more like I tell him all the
time, then he wouldn't have knocked you flat on your back yesterday."

"If I listened to you all the time, twin, I wouldn't even be here."  Leo
stuck his tongue out at her.  He turned back to Hayden and grinned.  "She
tried to tell me back in kindergarten that a bottle of glue was vanilla
pudding.  Thankfully the teacher overheard her."

"You really shouldn't blame me for you being gullible."  Lexie's mouth
turned down into a cute pout.

"She does have a point."  Hayden replied with a small smile.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?"  Leo playfully glared at him.

"The side that won't be knocking me down any time soon."  Hayden glared back
at Leo.

Lexie was surprised when Leo had suggested sitting at Hayden's table this
morning.  Leo was an amazing friend, and was practically her brother, but he
wasn't one to go out of his way to make new friends.  Though that really
isn't as bad as it may sound.  Leo had that type of personality that people
were just drawn to him.  She had never seen him go out of his way to make
friends with someone before.

Throughout lunch Lexie watched the play in conversation between Hayden and
Leo.  Leo's magic was definitely working on Hayden.  She could see him
slowly coming out of his shell as Leo talked to him.  Her best friend's
charm and charisma never ceased to amaze her.  She glanced over at her
boyfriend and saw him watching Hayden.  It was almost like Noah was
cataloging him or something.  She let all of this sink into her mind for
later.  Lexie would definitely be talking to Leo and Noah that night.
Something was going on, she could practically feel it.

"We were planning on hanging out tonight.  Did you want to join us, Hayden?"
  Leo asked with another dazzling grin.

Hayden was surprised at the invitation to say the least.  He had thought
they were just sharing a meal, and he hadn't thought it would go beyond
that.  What was more surprising to him though, was that he was actually
considering it. Wasn't he just enjoying the thought of being on his own?

Suddenly that line of thinking seemed a bit lonely.  For some strange reason
he couldn't help being drawn to these three people.  For the first time, in
a very long time, someone seemed interested in just being his friend.  A
friendship that wasn't based on his appearance or other complicated things
in his life.

"That sounds like fun."  Hayden finally replied with a smile.

Leo had been worried for a minute when Hayden didn't immediately respond.
He had the feeling that Hayden was carrying around a lot of sadness, and for
a moment he forgot about the bet.  He was determined to make Hayden smile,
really smile that night, if it was the last thing he ever did.  Leo couldn't
help but smile at Hayden when he agreed to go out.

"It will be lots of fun.  I can guarantee that!"  Leo replied with a laugh.
"What dorm are you in?"

"I'm over in Wilsher Hall."  Hayden replied.

"Noah and I are right next door to you in Campfield Hall."  Leo said with
another grin.  "Lexie is across the Court in Jackson Hall."

"Why don't we all meet up at the fountain at eight?"  Lexie asked.  "We can
decide from there what our plans for the evening are.  Though I don't know
about the rest of you, but I feel like shaking my ass tonight."  Leo opened
his mouth to say something, but Lexie was too quick for him.  Her hand shot
out and covered his mouth before he could say anything.  "You just keep your
comments to yourself for once, mister."

Hayden smiled at the antics of his new friends, well if he could call them
that at this point.  Leo's penetrating green eyes locked with Hayden's
again, and there was so much mischief in them Hayden couldn't stop the
chuckle that escaped from his mouth.  Almost immediately Lexie made an odd
noise and yanked her hand way from Leo like it was on fire.

"I can not even believe that you just licked my hand."  Lexie slowly pressed
her wet palm against Leo's cheek and wiped it off.  "Someone really needs to
housebreak you."

The four of them headed out of the cafeteria after they finished their
lunches and hung around the Court for an hour or two.  They shared different
stories and jokes with each other, but Leo and Lexie quickly realized that
Hayden didn't offer up much information about himself at all.  Whenever they
tried to ask him anything he casually deflected their questions and started
off on a new topic.  The two of them shared a glance with each other and
knew that Hayden's past couldn't have been a good one.

"It was great hanging out with everyone today."  Hayden said with a yawn.
"I'm still getting used to East Coast time.  I think I'll grab a nap before
we go out tonight."

"That sounds like a great plan actually."  Lexie replied.  "I think I'll do
that myself.  Classes were a total bitch today."

Hayden smiled at the three of them and headed back towards his dorm.  He was
definitely surprised at the turn of events that happened today, but if he
admitted it to himself he was happy about it.  Leo and Lexie seemed like
really great people, and Noah wasn't too bad.  He was just a bit too snobby
for Hayden's taste.  He had almost reached Wilsher Hall when he heard
someone call out his name.

"I'm glad I was able to catch up with you."  Noah said slightly out of
breath from his run.  "I wanted to talk to you real quick."

"Sure.  What's up?"  Hayden curiously asked.

"I don't want this to come out the wrong way..."  Noah paused and smiled at
Hayden.  "It's just that...well...our group comes from a pretty fortunate
background.  I just wanted to let you know that you're hanging out with what
could be considered a pretty popular group of people.  I thought you might
want to...dress up a bit for tonight."

Hayden glanced down at what he was wearing and didn't really see anything
wrong with it.  It wasn't until he really looked at what Noah was wearing
before reality set in on him.  Noah had on a brand name polo-style top and a
pair of expensive jean shorts.  As Hayden glanced down and saw the three
hundred dollar pair of sneakers Noah was wearing he realized how out of
place he must have looked with the three of them today.

"Please don't take what I'm saying the wrong way.  Leo, Lexie, and I could
really care less."  Noah placed his hand on Hayden's shoulder.  "Not
everyone on this campus can be nice, and I just didn't want anything to be
said to you tonight to ruin your fun.  A lot of people are jealous of us,
and I wouldn't want you to be put into a position that would make you
uncomfortable."

Hayden's first instinct was that Noah was just being a snob, but after
hearing his explanation Hayden realized that Noah was right.  God, he felt
so stupid.  He couldn't believe that he actually thought for even a second
that Noah was putting him down.  Hayden felt lucky that one of his new
friends were that concerned about him.

"Thanks, Noah.  I really appreciate it."  Hayden's smile was a genuine one.
"I would have been uncomfortable, and I wouldn't want to embarrass any of
you.  I'll make sure that I'm dressed to impress tonight."

"I'm so glad that you understand, buddy."  Noah patted him on the back.
"Make sure you get some good rest because we are going to party hard
tonight."

Hayden smiled as he watched Noah head over to his own dorm.  He was relieved
that Noah took the chance to catch him and talk to him.  He didn't want to
embarrass his new friends in any way.  Hayden headed into his dorm and
quickly went to his room.  He pulled out the suitcases from under his bed
and opened them up.

"Looks like it was a good thing that this shit got sent."  Hayden said out
loud as he looked down at the suitcases.

Hayden went over to his closet and pulled everything out and placed it on
the bed.  Everything that was in the suitcases quickly took up the entire
closet space.  He put the now discarded clothing into the suitcases and slid
them back under the bed.  As Hayden was closing the closet door he caught a
glimpse of himself in the mirror.  After a few moments Hayden decided that a
nap was definitely out of the question.


*


The sun was just beginning to set as Lexie made her way onto the Court and
started towards the fountain.  She was definitely going to talk the guys
into going dancing that night.  Lexie had put on a deep red mid-drift top
that tied around her neck and with her tight low-rise jeans it showed off
her taut, toned stomach.  Her stylish, but comfortable, boots made a light
clicking sound that echoed in the silence as she walked along the pathway.

Lexie had called Leo earlier that evening and tried to find out what his
sudden fascination in Hayden was.  He had seamlessly played it off as a
guilty conscience  for plowing Hayden into the ground, but she knew her best
friend better than she knew herself.  Lexie had her suspicions about the
situation, but she decided to just let Leo off the hook, at least for the
moment.  She had left her room about five minutes before eight knowing that
gave her plenty of time to make the short walk.  It would figure she would
be the first one there.

Lexie sat on the benches and relaxed for a moment and enjoyed watching the
sunset.  That wasn't the only scenery she was enjoying looking at though.  A
guy she had never seen before was casually leaning up against the wall
around the fountain, which was turned off this late in the evening.  His
very light brown hair was cut so short it almost spiked off of his head.  In
the fading light she could see blonde highlights running through the stud's
hair.

To a casual observer they would think the blonde in his hair was natural,
but Lexie had been in enough professional beauty saloons to know that the
guy had an expert highlighting going on.  He had on a deep blue shirt that
was left unbuttoned, and it exposed a form fitting white tank top
underneath.  The tank top was tight enough that it exposed every ridge and
valley on the guy's muscular, defined chest.

Her eyes wandered lower to the faded, and well filled out, pair of blue
jeans the guy had on.  The black shoes on his feet were casual, but could
easily pass for a dress shoe.  Lexie glanced back up at the guy's face, but
he wasn't paying any attention to her.  Her eye candy was wearing a pair of
sunglasses, which would look ridiculous this late in the evening, but it was
a look this guy carried off with ease.

"Do you like what you see there, twin?"

Leo's voice made Lexie want to jump out of her skin.  She glared up at him
and didn't bother responding.  Lexie casually glanced back at the guy by the
fountain, but he was still looking away from her.

"He must be another freshman."  Leo said as he sat down next to her.  He was
wearing a pair of black jeans.  Leo had a white dress shirt, with the
sleeves rolled up, on over a black tank top.  It was a classic Leo look.
"I've never seen him on campus before.  You thinking about finally dumping
Noah?"

"You can keep dreaming, Warner."  Noah's voice cut through the air as he
walked up to the bench.

"Don't worry, Noah.  I will."  Leo grinned at his friend.  He wasn't
surprised to see Noah decked out like a model from some expensive catalog.
His jeans and polo shirt looked brand new, and Leo would have been surprised
if they weren't.  "Looks like the gangs all here.  Now we just have to wait
on Hayden."

"He's probably trying to tie a garbage bag around himself or something."
Noah mumbled so only Lexie and Leo could hear.  "Even that would be a major
improvement."  Noah's eyes caught sight of the guy by the fountain finally.
"If he could look even a quarter like that guy, we should be thankful."

Leo and Lexie just ignored Noah, which was normally what happened, and began
chatting about classes and their schedules.  Noah paced restlessly in front
of the pair with the patience of an anxious cat.

"Where the hell is Hayden?  He's almost ten minutes late."  Noah demanded
after looking at his watch for the thousandth time.

"I could say the same about both of you."  Lexie grinned at them.  "I was
the only one that was here on time."

"Now that isn't exactly true, Lexie."

At the sound of the new voice the trio looked up to find the guy from the
fountain standing in front of them.  Leo and Lexie eyed the newcomer
curiously, and Noah fixed the guy with a scathing look.

"Excuse me?"  Lexie asked.  The mystery man finally removed his sunglasses
and Lexie gasped.  Once the glasses were gone she totally recognized his
face, and if he had only been standing closer she would have realized it
sooner.  "Hayden."

Hayden grinned down at the shocked look on all of their faces.  He had been
really uneasy when he saw what the stylist in town had done to his hair, but
he figured he would just go with it.  Hayden tried to pick out something to
wear that would impress his new friends, but as they sat there not saying
anything he began to worry.

"Can someone please say something?"  Hayden's voice came out a bit more
pleading than he wanted, but he couldn't help it.  A few minutes had passed
and the three of them still sat there gawking at him.  "I think I may have
made a big mistake."

Hayden turned and started to walk away from them.  He had to stop himself
from breaking into a dead run for his dorm.  He had only taken a few steps
before a strong hand on his shoulder stopped him and turned him around.
Hayden came face to face with Leo.

"Don't go."  This time it was Leo's voice that sounded pleading.  "Look, I'm
really sorry about our reaction, but...God damn, Hayden.  I had no idea that
all of this was hiding under those clothes and that hair."  Leo's gaze swept
over Hayden from head to toe.  "Buddy, you are..."

"Gorgeous!"  Lexie's voice broke in.  She stepped up next to Leo and gave
Hayden a bright reassuring, smile.  "Somebody better get me an egg.  I'll
bet anyone a hundred bucks I could fry it on his stomach.  Talk about hot!"

Hayden felt his body flush so intensely he knew he had to be as red as
Lexie's shirt.  His nerves were finally calming down when he realized that
maybe he hadn't made a mistake after all.  As Noah stepped up to them, and
Hayden saw the huge grin on his face, he knew he hadn't made a mistake in
any way.

"I'm totally impressed, Hayden.  Totally amazing."  Noah's smile grew even
wider.

"Thanks.  I just wanted to make a good impression when I was out with you
guys tonight..."  Hayden yelped as he felt his shirt move and a hand palm his
ass.  His head swerved to see Lexie standing next to him.  Man could she
move quietly!

"Fuck the egg!  Noah give me a quarter.  I bet I could bounce that sucker at
least fifteen feet off of this ass..."  It was Lexie's turn to yelp as Leo
grabbed her arm and pulled her back next to him.

"I'm sorry, Hayden, but you're going to have to excuse her." Leo glared at
his twin.  "She was raised by wolves for a few years."

"Let's get over to the club."  Noah took Lexie's arm and started to guide
her off across the court.

"She's really something, isn't she?" Hayden asked Leo as they fell into step
next to each other.

"That's a nice way of putting it, man."  Leo glanced over at Hayden and
studied him for a second as they walked.  "You didn't have to, ya know."

"I didn't have to what?"  Hayden was just a bit confused.

"You said you had to make a good impression."  Leo smiled at him as he threw
an arm over Hayden's shoulders.  "You already did that yesterday."

Hayden felt his body flush again as he felt Leo's hand squeeze his shoulder.
  He appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn't comfortable with the close
contact.  Hayden smiled at Leo and gave him a gentle shove.

"Yeah, whatever."  Hayden forced his smile a bit bigger than he felt at the
moment.  For a second time that night Leo's hand on his arm stopped him.

"I'm serious, Hayden." Leo's gaze intensely burned into his.  "I certainly
admit that you definitely have the stud factor going on, but I want you to
know that I stopped at your table in the cafeteria this morning because of
the guy I bumped into yesterday.  I'm not one to judge someone on how they
look.  I leave that up to Noah."

"Ok."  Hayden replied and gave Leo a dazzling, genuine smile.  At that
moment Hayden definitely realized that he was extremely grateful for his new
friends.  "But could you define your definition of bumping for me?  Because
I've got a pretty big bruise that would imply it was a bit more than a
bump."

Leo's breath had caught for a second when Hayden had smiled.  His mission
for the night had been to make the guy smile, but he hadn't expected results
so quickly or a result so amazing.  Hayden was an attractive guy to begin
with, even if he was hiding behind his clothes and his hair, but when the
guy smiled he was definitely in a class that was all his own.  Leo would
have loved to hook his new friend up with Lexie in a heartbeat, but there
was only one problem.  One major, huge, pain in the ass problem.  Noah.

"Where would this supposed bruise be?  I don't want to give out information
without some type of concrete proof."  Leo joked.

"In a place I don't plan on showing you."  Hayden's grin lit up his face
once again.  "Why do you think I yelped when Lexie grabbed my ass?"

"If he's talking about his ass you better hold that conversation until
later!"  Lexie's voice called back to them.

Hayden and Leo looked at each other and began to laugh.  Another blush crept
up over Hayden's neck and face, and Leo noticed it immediately.

"We're gonna have to work on you blushing that easily.  If Lexie notices it,
then it will turn into a sport for her."  Leo winked at him.

"I'm just not used to hearing compliments.  I'll adjust.  I hope."  Hayden
laughed, but it sounded nervous even to him.

Leo let his friend's comment slide for the time being, but it was easily
filed away in his memory.  He was going to have a talk with Lexie as soon as
possible and try to figure out a way to get Hayden to open up to them.  Leo
couldn't explain it, but he felt really drawn to Hayden, and it wasn't
something that usually happened to him.  He could tell that Lexie felt the
same thing because she was never that playful with new people.  It seemed
that they might have stumbled across something pretty special in Hayden
Taylor.

"So where are we headed tonight?"  Hayden asked in hopes to change the
conversation.

"We're going to Downbeat, it's a club that's on the edge of campus."  Leo
answered.  "Are you able to shake that bruised up ass?"

"Am I going to have any choice in the matter?"  Hayden asked.

"If Lexie has anything to say about it, then probably not."  Leo laughed in
reply.  "If you really don't want to, Hayden, you don't have to.  Noah and I
normally just hang out at a table and watch Lexie show off.  She loves to
dance, and the girl can move.  I haven't seen a guy yet that's been able to
keep up with her."

Leo and Hayden continued to chat with each other as they followed Lexie and
Noah across the campus.  Hayden felt himself relaxing and he was really
starting to enjoy his new friend's company.  That night was going to be a
very interesting night, to say the least.