a thousand miles away [open]

[SOPHIA ELISE COOPER]

Puts on her best smile

But underneath she's a broken girl

Sophia Cooper was hard at work as usual. The blonde never gave herself a moment to rest. Between classes, cheerleading and keeping Zeta on top Sophia had cemented herself as a workaholic. To be entirely honest she didn't mind. It kept her mind off her own problems and it was very imprtant to her that she succeed at everything she did. Unlike alot of the other students, Soph's family weren't rolling in money. Her parents aswell as herself had worked very hard so she'd get a good education. So far she seemed to be doing great. Classes in the morning, cheering in the afternoon and Zeta priorities all the time. Soph had worked hard to keep the sisters in her house happy, it was one of her biggest achievements.

Finising off the last sentence for her journalism assessment, Soph hit the print button on her laptop and sighed a sigh of relief as she heard the twelve or so pages printing on the desk next to her. One thing done. As she waited she looked around her room. One of the perks of being a sorority president was that you were entitled to the largest and best room in the house. Sophia had no complaints on that one. She loved her room. It was spacious, neat and covered in a collection of Zeta paraphenalia, pom poms and a wall full of photos of the people she loved. She really would miss it here when she graduated.

Strecthing her arms above her head, Sophia tilted her neck from side to side. Her eyes darted to the file of pink papers on the side of her desk. Another thing to do. Picking up the papers she hopped away from her desk and threw her petite body onto the large pink bed in the centre of her room. One of Sopia's favourite things about being president was rushing and pledges. It was nice to know that girls were desperate to join the sorority she ran. Each and every year they'd get more and more girls wanting to become a Zeta sister and it never got old. Sophia loved meeting all the new girls and helping them fit in. Not to mention attenting and rating the charity fundraisers they held in an attempt to be accepted.

Picking up the television remote next to her, Soph flicked the T.V on and hit play on the DVD player. The theme music to Sex And The City sprang into action and Soph was finally ready to distract herself once more. She knew how horribly girly it was to watch shows like that but she couldn't help it. They were all so glamorous and helped you escape reality wonderfully. Besides, she just wanted the background noise while she went over her pledges ideas and gave them feedback. Okay, so she'd probably give them more than just feedback. Soph's mother was an event planner so she knew the key details when trying to organise these things. Yes, the pledges were meant to do it all on their own but why waste her expertise? Plus, she had this horrible habit of not being able to say no.

Shifting her body so she was laying on her stomach, Soph kickd her legs up into the air, perfect and comfy. Papers infront of her, Soph examined the first one. The girl had tried, or atleast she'd picked a charity, but she really hadn't provided any ideas and Soph had the feeling that her fundraiser would be a disaster. She knew she shouldn't help and that it wasn't her responsibility but at the same time she didn't want her sorority to look stupid because of a crappy pledge fundraiser. So, she picked up her pen and started jotting ideas and notes all over the page. With about twelve more girls to go and absolutely nothing else to do, Sophia would probably end up doing everyones. A terrible habit but one she just couldn't break.

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[CARTER KENNEDY ST. CLAIR]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I DON'T DO SADNESS, NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT The Words: 719 The Notes CUTENESS <3 Carter’s morning had been pretty busy. He was in one of his better moods upon waking up, and had decided to go for a run. Looking out his window, there was a light frost on the grass, so he’d dressed in a pair of black spandex running tights, a black and red pair of running shorts, and a red long sleeve Under Armor top. He’d laced up his running shoes and headed out into the briskly cool weather to embark on one of his usual runs. Carter adored running and being outside. The running was one of the few athletic activities he still participated in regularly after quitting the gymnastics team years ago. He often missed gymnastics, but there were too many memories there to really get back in the gym on a regular basis. Granted, Carter was sure it would come back relatively easy to him. He’d always been a fast learner, and the muscle memory would likely still be there, especially since he’d worked hard to stay in shape. Carter’s mind tended to wander when he went on runs, especially the familiar routes he’d been running since his freshman year. He let his feet lead him. His thoughts focused on figuring out what to write for his thesis were fresh in his mind. Trey had been on him for awhile to figure it out. There was the obvious choice…a tribute to Chapin and her life, a collection of poetry, but those emotions were still quite raw, and Carter wasn’t sure he would be ready and able to effectively deal with them to write something that would be the defining assignment of his collegiate career. Still, it was really the only idea he was passionate about that he had come up with. He tried to figure out some other options on his run, but he’d kept coming back to that one, which kept bringing him back to thoughts of his sister, which was normally enough to bring him down for the entire day, though he knew she wouldn’t want him to feel that way or remember her that way. The end of his route wound past Greek row, and as Carter passed by the Zeta house, a smile crossed his face. Sophia always knew how to cheer him up, even if he didn’t tell her what was bothering him. He didn’t like to bother other people with his problems, but she was one of his oldest friends and could always sense when something wasn’t right with him. He increased his pace and sprinted home to his apartment. He showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and his favorite hoodie before starting the trek back to the Zeta house. No matter how many times he stopped by, Carter couldn’t help but feel like an intruder into a much more pink, much girlier world. He knocked and greeted the sister who let him in by name, as well as the several other sisters he encountered on his way up to Sophia’s room, where he was told he would find her. All of the Zetas had come to know him well over the years, especially since he and Sophia had dated for awhile, though most of the people who remembered that had likely graduated by now. Carter had to admit though, he’d never fully let go of his feelings for Sophia. He just hadn’t been ready to be in a relationship at the time, and they’d remained close friends. Still, those feelings were still there. Part of Carter had hoped they would fade to just a strong friendship with time, but his face still lit up every time he saw her. He knocked on the frame of Sophia’s open door before entering her room, even though she repeatedly told him that he didn’t have to knock if the door was open. He slipped his shoes off inside her door and flopped down on the bed next to her, ”Hey Sophia,” he said and glanced at the television, ”Sex and the City again?” He chuckled softly and shook his head. Far from being his favorite show, he would never demand that she change it. If she wanted to watch it, he would tolerate it. He was already starting to feel better, just the few short moments he’d been in her presence. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[SOPHIA ELISE COOPER]

Once Sophia started something it was very hard to break her attention. She was a very focused and determined young lady and this year she had to make sure her pledge fundraisers were amazing. As her pen scrawled neat cursive across the page, adding in venue and charity suggestions, Soph completely tuned out. This year was more important than ever now that she'd been faced with direct competition from the Alpha's President Cecelia and tension was beginning to rise between the two sororities. Just thinking about the other girl made Sophia push down even harder on the page. By nature the girl wasn't very competetive but it'd be over her dead body that Cecelia took something else from her.

Suddenly a knock on her door frame interrupted the sound of furocious scribbling and Sophia's pretty blonde head shot straight up. It took alot to distract her but right before her was one of the only people that could. Her furrowed brow instantly turned into a thousand watt smile as she saw Carter St.Clair. The sound of her loud sisters suddenly became more relevant and she realised she'd been totally lost in her own little world.Carter was more than comfortable in the Theta house though so she wasn't worried. His face wasn't an unusual one to see but it was certainly a pleasant surprise. She wasn't sure what it was but something about Carter made her feel so comfortable and at ease. He was one of her oldest friends here and the two had been through plenty together. Soph had been there for some pretty tough times with him, even dating him at one point. Another ex boyfriend running around campus. Atleast her and Carter were still close friends.

"It's a sorority house! What do you expect?" she laughed, picking up her pillow and playfully hitting him with it before throwing it back on her bed. "Hey you, by the way" she remebered to greet him, snuggling into his side for a moment to hug him hello. Soph was glad she lived on Greek Row. Having grown up in a house with brothers it was nice to be in a girly environment but mainly all the people she loved were a short walk away. Carter most definitely included. "You smell good" she complimented softly. Nothing smelled better than a nice, clean guy.

"Put something else on. I won't make you suffer" she gave in with a laugh and threwthe remote in his direction. No male in the world should have to sit through episodes of Sex And The City and she wasn't really watching anyway. "You came at the perfect time to distract me from pledge stuff" she told him, poking the papers infront of her and pouting her glossed lips at them. "Seriously if I have to read a plan for one more bikini carwash I'm going to throw myself down the stairs" the blonde exagerrated with a roll of her hazel eyes. "How are you anyways handsome?" she asked suddenly, feeling horribly rude for droning on and not asking sooner.

[CARTER KENNEDY ST. CLAIR]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I DON'T DO SADNESS, NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT The Words: 826 The Notes CUTENESS <3 Carter shrugged when Sophia asked him what he expected of the sorority house. ”My brothers would say naked pillow fights,” he smirked, clearly joking though. The Zetas were a classy bunch of girls, and he sincerely doubted that anything like that went on in the Zeta house. But then again, he would never really know, would he? Still, Carter didn’t really look at girls the same way a lot of his brothers did. Sure, they were all “jocks” in that they played sports, or used to. But while his brothers had grown up fending off girls with sticks…or more likely just enjoying the attention, he’d had to fight long and hard to convince most girls he wasn’t completely gay. In fact, for most of his gymnastics career he hadn’t even identified as bisexual. Still, none the less, most girls just assumed he was gay as soon as they found out he was a gymnast, even the girls he worked out with at the gym all the time. He hadn’t even experimented with other guys until after Chapin’s accident, and that had mostly been because being around girls had been incredibly difficult for him. Granted, those days were mostly behind him now. He didn’t view sorority girls as conquests to be won, but unique individuals to be treated with respect. That didn’t mean he didn’t flirt, but he certainly didn’t treat women as merely objects. More often than not, he’d single a girl out at a party and spend the night talking to her in a corner or on a sofa upstairs, pondering some of the greater, more serious things in life. He leaned into Sophia as she snuggled against him in greeting. He felt a small wave of comfort wash over him as she did. Sometimes the best antidote to a busy mind was a close friend’s embrace. He looked down at the bed and smiled as she told him he smelled good. He knew he shouldn’t think anything of it, that she didn’t mean anything by it. Still, even such a small compliment like that could drive him totally wild. That was just how it was with Sophia. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and she totally had no idea. Completely oblivious to the effect she had on him. Most guys would have found that frustrating, but Carter found it rather endearing. He nuzzled into her shoulder, smelling her hair, ”You always smell nice. Like flowers. Flowers and sunshine.” ”I just got back from a run,” Carter said. ”Well, I went home to shower before coming over, of course. Otherwise I guarantee I wouldn’t smell like anything close to nice.” Remote in hand, Carter flipped through a few channels. ESPN, too manly. CSI, too emotional. HBO, too raunchy. He finally settled on a movie that appeared to be some form of hybrid action/romance film. It had the right balance of masculine and feminine. Carter doubted they’d pay much attention to it anyway, and he clicked the volume down a few notches as the noise from the explosion going on in the movie was a bit intense to have a conversation over. ”Always happy to be a wanted distraction. At your service,” Carter said and bowed his head slightly. He raised his eyebrows at the mention of the bikini car wash and shook his head slowly. He was all for helping charity, but he didn’t think that women needed to objectify themselves in order to support it. ”Keep me updated when your pledges have their fundraisers. You know I’ll be sure to make an appearance. Anything to support my favorite sorority on campus. If any of them could use a hand with the heavy lifting set-up type stuff, feel free to call me.” Carter had made quite a few friends in Zeta, through Sophia of course. They were all nice girls, and he was glad to help that out when he could, even if it just meant buying something at a bake sale, or coercing his brothers to get a team together for a volleyball tournament or talent show. Carter shrugged when Sophia asked how he was. He wasn’t huge on sharing the details of his life, since he really didn’t mind them all that interesting. Still, he was more open with Sophia than he was with most others. He couldn’t help but smile though, the way she’d called him handsome. It was the littlest things about her that made him like her so much. How she could always put a smile on his face, no matter what sort of mood he was in. ”Things have been pretty good. Reading a lot of e.e. cummings poetry and trying not to think about my impending thesis that I don’t really have any good ideas for.” Carter knew he was going to write something…poetry, fiction. The subject still eluded him though, beyond the obvious one that came with emotional baggage he didn’t feel like dealing with. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[SOPHIA ELISE COOPER]

Puts on her best smile

But underneath she's a broken girl

Sophia couldn't help but roll her eyes at the mention of a naked pillow fight. Frat boys had a habit of letting their imaginations run wild and as used to it as Soph was she still couldn't believe they hadn't grown out of it. They weren't all like that however, Carter was proof of that. Everyone had stereotypes regarding frat guys and sorority sisters. The girls were all overly bubbly or bitchy and the guys were all horny party boys. Carter didn't fit the could at all and it was quite refreshing. Soph had to admitt that he did look the part but Carter had a brain in that head of his. He'd suffered more than most guys his age and the fact he'd still carried on showed great strength. It was nice to have someone around who wasn't just trying to get in her pants, someone she could just hang out with and have the simpliest of deepest conversations with. Carter was certainly special and she was glad that they'd remained friends over the years.

She smiled back at him as he accepted her embrace. It was impossible not to smile if he smiled and not to take comfort being close to him. Sophia had always been an affectionate girl. She grew up in a very close household and the habit had made it's way into her typical behaviour. Nothing was better than a cuddle and Carter was always willing to provide. A small giggle escaped her lips as she reached for a lock of her own long, blonde hair and pulled it around beneath her nose to smell it. The smell of her shampoo was a familiar one to her but she'd never have compared it to sunshine. "Flowers and sunshine? Fabulous description Mr. English Major" she teased with a laugh, shaking her head and continuing to giggle. Ofcourse she was joking. Carter was easily the smartest perons she'd met in college.

The blonde listened to him intently, ignoring the flickering channels in the background. "Well thankyou for showing on my account" Sophia laughed again and reached up to ruffle his hair with her hand. "And thankyou in advance because I assure you my pledges will need as much help as possible" she gushed at his offer to help out. Running constant fundraisers and social events was more work than could have been imagined. There was always something to go wrong and never ending planning. A helping hand could mean the world of help to someone like Soph. Carter was always the first person she could rely on. It was nice that the houses worked together, especially with the viscious rivallry going on between the Zeta's and Alpha's. Despite all of the anomosity there was still a sense of community between Sophia and the other houses. "Do I look like I need help with heavy lifting?" Soph exclaimed, pretdning to be shocked as she lfited up her own arm and flexed her muscles. Okay, so she wasn't exactly muscley just toned from cheerleading and probably one of the most useless people to call on when heavy lifting was involved. Thankfully there was a college full of guys always eager to help.

Carter could be like a closed book at times but Soph was used to it. She'd always been raised to express your feelings buts as she grew up, Soph began to understand why people closed themselves off. She certainly wasn't innocent either but Carter really could be difficult to figure out. She managed to read him fairly well though. Maybe because of the time they'd spent together? Soph could pick up when something was bothering him but she'd never force it out of him. If Carter wanted to talk to her she was always there but she'd never press the issue or make him do something he didn't want to. Her lips curved into a tiny smile once more as his voice continued. What guy got enjoyment out of reading E. E Cummings? Only Cater and Soph loved that he could get enjoyment out of the simpliest of things. "Surely you have some ideas?" Sophia propped herself up on her elbows and looked over at him, "You're the brightest person I know and if you're struggling, we're all doomed". Soph had a feeling his sister would have been the muse he kept falling back to and could understand why he didn't want to eplore the option. At the same time she knew that if he used Chapin he could come up with something amazing. "You can bounce ideas off me if you like? I probably won't be much help but I could amaze you" she offered giving him a light nudge.

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[CARTER KENNEDY ST. CLAIR]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I DON'T DO SADNESS, NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT The Words: 641 The Notes CUTENESS <3 Carter looked down at his hands on the bed as Sophia jokes about his analogy making skills. Sure, telling her that her hair smelled like flowers and sunshine wasn’t the most creative description, but he knew she was only kidding with him. ”Well, my dear, I would have quoted Shakespeare to you, but almost all of his poetry can be summed by the following: you’re young and beautiful now, but you better make some babies soon, because then you’re going to wither away into ugliness and die,” Carter explained with a straight face. ”Personally, I’d stick with the flowers and sunshine,” he said. Carter mimed bowing from his position on the bed by gesturing in an outward circular motion with his hands. ”Of course. I wouldn’t come over and” he paused and started to roll around on Sophia’s bed, purposely nudging into her a bit, ”roll around in your bed if I was all sweaty, and smelly, and gross…” he laughed. He wouldn’t even roll around in his own bed in such a state. Carter prided himself of being clean, which is why he hadn’t even been able to set foot in the Kappa house his freshman year. He pretended to pout as Sophia ruffled his hair, ”Aw, now I spent a good fifteen minutes artfully disheveling that…” he joked as he smoothed his hair back into place before pouncing on Soph and rustling the hair on the back of her head. ”Payback,” he said simply. He nodded as she mentioned that the girls would be needing as much help as they could get. He nodded his head in the direction of the stack of papers, ”That bad, huh?” he said, noticing all of the notes Sophia had made in the margins. While some sororities might have let the pledges make their own mistakes and then berated them for them after the fact, the Zetas always did everything they could to help out, especially Sophia. It was one, of the many, things Carter loved about her. He tried to look serious as she asked him if she looked like she needed help with lifting heavy things, ”Oh no, of course not. What was I thinking?” While Soph’s arms were toned, likely from all the cheer leading practice she put in, they definitely weren’t bulky and he was still sure he had a good seventy pounds on her. Sophia generally put Carter in one of his sillier moods. There were very few people who had that effect on him. He’d always thought that Soph had brought out the best in him though, no matter how bad he was feeling. Still, he didn’t want to bring the mood down by talking too much about his thesis. While he was sure she would be a great sounding board for ideas, that was what Trey Bishop, his thesis advisor was for. Trey knew his work, would come at it with a critical eye, but at the same time didn’t know Carter well enough to know what certain references in his work mirrored in his own life. Sophia, having known him and been so close to him, she would see right through him and though she would never pressure him into dealing with issues he wasn’t ready to deal with, Carter couldn’t lie to her about his feelings the way he could lie to Trey. ”I guess we’re all doomed,” Carter said, flexing his shoulders inward, one of the more physical signs that manifested when he was closing himself off. ”I’m supposed to meet with Trey soon to go over some ideas, but I’m totally blanking. But enough about that, something will come to me…or Trey will prod me into something…something…” he paused, ”Anyway, are you planning on coming to the Zeta-Lambda mixer this weekend? I wasn’t sure if you had a cheerleading thing or something?” created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[SOPHIA ELISE COOPER]

Puts on her best smile

But underneath she's a broken girl

"Stick to the flowers and sunshine, it's less depressing" Sophia agreed with him. Leave it to Carter to make a point perfectly, "Old and ugly might be a blow to my self-esteem" she laughed. Sophia was well aware that she was neither but name a girl that didn't worry at times. She never had to be self conscious when she was around Carter though. Regardless of if they were dating or just friends, Sophia always felt good about herself. She didn't need makeup or cute outfits or turn on the charm all the time. It was nice to just relax and act like an idiot if she wanted. When you were surrounded by image obsessed college students all the time you treasured the people you could be yourself with.

Sophia couldn't contain her laughter as it filled the air and her body slightly shifted with Carter's nudge. "I'm sorry" she squealed like a little girl, nudging him back in retaliation even though it was her that started this. "You're hair still looks beautiful" she gushed dramatically, reaching up to fix a bit he'd missed. Smoothing it down she tried to stop laughing but it was almost pointless, "There. Perfect" she grinned cheesily up at him. "Don't be mean" she whined through more giggles, totally aware that she sounded like an idiotic school girl. It felt nice to laugh though. No price could be put on genuine laughter. Her hand travelled up to the blonde mess at the back of her head and attemped to pat it back down. Her lips formed into a pout, "You're lucky I love you. We Zeta's take our hair very seriously" she tried her hardest to sound serious. It was practically impossible though. No matter how hard she tried Sophia could not act and she definitely could not lie.

"They're not bad, they're just not perfect. Yet." Sophia sighed. Her pledges were doing a great job for the most part. All she usually cared about was effort and initiative. Sophia liked things to be perfect however. Whenever the Zeta's held events she'd make sure every tiny thing was perfect. The colour of the napkins, music, guest lists. She had an eye for detail when it came to every aspect of her life. It was probably just because she always needed to feel busy and useful but she reasoned it to a keen eye for detail. She owed it to her sisters to make sure they all did their best. It was flattering that Freshman wanted to pledge Zeta and the least she could do was help them out right? It was her name on the line but she also wanted their transition into college to go as smoothly as possible. "It's okay though, I'd feel useless if I didn't have something to do" she shrugged.

Sophia knew Carter very well. When you spent so much time with someone you became aware of their behaviour and she could instantly tell that she'd struck a nerve. It was never Sophia's intention to upset Carter, it never was, she just wanted to help him out. She bit down on her lip ever so slightly instantly feeling a pang of guilt. She wished she'd never pressed him. "You'll come up with something. Trey will set you straight" she reassured him knowing that no matter what Carter did it would put the rest of the class to shame. Sophia had absolute faith in Carter though she was a little worried that his thesis may cause him some serious distress. The subject was quickly shanged to a lighter one by Carter and Soph knew it was best to drop the thesis topic. "Ofcourse I'll be there" Soph replied. She never missed mixers or any event really. Regardless of the circumstances or event, Sophia made a point to make an appearance. Before anything else, she was a Zeta. "You better be there. Keep me away from all of the drunk Lambda guys." she winked. Actually she was quite looking forward to it. After all of her hard work a few drinks with friends was just what she needed.

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