A Passed-Out Beauty

The small city of Madison was your typical college town where everything inside the city limits seemed to revolve around the school. The stores, the apartments, the malls that had sprung up...they were all a direct result of the city's growing population of young people. Each fall, thousands of young adults flooded the city, and made it come alive until they left again in May.

It wasn't long ago, actually, that a very special young woman came to Madison in hopes of earning a degree. Kelsie was the all-American girl with hair like sunlight and eyes the color of a summer sky. She was a beautiful young woman, without a doubt, and made more beautiful by the goodness she had inside her. Kelsie had never met a stranger, and she had never passed a person in need without stopping to help. She smiled constantly, brightening passerby's days without realizing it, all with the power of a simple, friendly smile and a soft greeting. She volunteered at the local children's orphanage, collected food and jackets during the winter to pass out to the needy, and tutored her classmates at the campus student center. Yes, Kelsie was a rare person of beauty that went deeper than her pretty skin.

As it is with all beautiful people, there are others who aspire to see them fall, who hope to make others view them as ugly. And as impossible as it might seem, Kelsie made her enemy on her very first day of school. In all fairness, it wasn't her fault. She had no way of knowing that the young man she asked for directions from was none other than Colt Bradford, star of the school's football team and BMOC. She had no way of knowing that the smile he was giving her was more personal, more real than the smiles he passed out to others. She had no way of knowing that Paige Hunter was watching the talking and the smiles with narrowed eyes, or that Paige had called dibs on Colt as if he were the last piece of cake at a party. And she definitely didn't know that Paige was as ugly inside as she was beautiful outside.

They bumped along well for the first couple of months, these three college students. Paige made it a priority to learn Colt's schedule so that she could approach him at every opportunity. Colt was friendly with her, but he never seeked her out as he did Kelsie. With Kelsie, he would meet her after classes to walk her to the next one, offer to buy her lunch, and give her rides when her sad excuse of a car refused to work for her. They became friends, Kelsie and Colt did, and though she wasn't aware of his growing attachment to her, everyone else saw it clearly, including Paige.

It all came to a head on Halloween, as Kelsie made her way back to her apartment after taking a group of children from the orphanage out for trick-or-treating. This is where Paige saw her, and approached her in the darkness. "Kelsie," she called, jogging up to her. "Hey, wait up!"

"Hi, Paige," Kelsie smiled at her, coming to a stop.

"You're not going home are you?" Paige asked, her biggest smile plastered across her face. "It's not even nine yet!"

"I was going to finish up a paper that's due Monday," Kelsie nodded, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I hate putting things off until the last minute."

"But it's only Friday!" Paige exclaimed. "And it's Halloween, Kelsie! You still have all weekend to do schoolwork. Why don't you come with me tonight? There are a lot of great parties going on, and it would do you good to go out and have some fun."

"I have fun," Kelsie shrugged.

"With what? All I ever see you do is schoolwork and volunteer work," Paige protested. "When was the last time you went to a party, Kelsie? When you went and had fun just for yourself?"

Kelsie grinned, a little ruefully. "It has been a while," she said thoughtfully. "High school, actually, when I went to Prom."

"That was months ago!" Paige said with a laugh, bumping her with her hand in a show of camaraderie. "What do you say? Just one night, huh?"

"Well," Kelsie pondered. "I don't know, Paige."

"Colt's going to be there," Paige forced a grin, watching as Kelsie's eyes brightened. "Wouldn't you like to spend Halloween with him? I know he'd love to see you."

"Okay," Kelsie said finally. "I'll go with you."

Paige's grin put the Halloween masks to shame. "Excellent."


The party Paige led her to was being held in a house just off campus, and could be heard a block away. People were everywhere...spread throughout the yard, on the porches, sitting on cars, and all through the house. Kelsie was taken aback by the noise, by the frenetic movement, but she smiled anyway as they made their way into the house.

"Let me take your jacket," Paige offered. "I'll put them up out of the way. Why don't you go wait over there, and I'll snag us a couple drinks on the way back."

"Oh, I'm not a big drinker," Kelsie said as she slipped her coat off and handed it to Paige.

"No problem," Paige grinned. "I'm sure they have other things around too, for the mixers and such. I'll find you something."

"Thanks," Kelsie smiled. "I appreciate it."

"Oh, it's no problem," Paige laughed. "Be right back."

Paige moved quickly, pausing only to toss the jackets in a small room off the hallway before heading to the kitchen. "Hey everybody," she said as she entered the crowded room.

"Paige!" her friend Ashley cried, throwing her arms around her in a drunken hug. "What took you so long?"

"I ran into Kelsie," Paige explained, grabbing a Dixie cup from the counter. "I talked her into coming with me."

"But you hate Kelsie," Ashley said, puzzled. "And Colt will be here any minute! Why would you want her to tag along?"

"Because I am sick and tired of hearing about how good of a person she is," Paige snapped. "That's all Colt can talk about...how she's different from the other girls, how she's more mature than us. It's like the little bitch has a halo attached to her head, and I'm about to knock it right off of her."

"By bringing her to a party?" Ashley slurred. "I'm not following you, girl."

"Oh, I didn't just bring her to the party," Paige laughed, turning her back on everyone as she filled Kelsie's cup with soda, and pulled a small packet out of her pocket. "I'm going to make sure she has the best time of her life."


When Colt walked into the house, the first people he saw were Kelsie and Paige. He couldn't stop the smile that spread over his face. Paige had told him she would try and get Kelsie to come to the party, and she had definitely kept her word. He was crazy about Kelsie, entranced by her gentleness and kind heart. She was so different from every other girl here at school, who were focused on finding a guy to latch onto, or just having a good time. Kelsie had a good heart, and he had fallen for her the first day when she had asked him for directions to the biology building.

He made his way over to the girls, talking to people as he went, accepting the slaps on the back with a good-natured smile. He was used to being talked to, to being popular, but knew that it was all about football. If he lost the ability to throw the ball tomorrow, ninety percent of his “friends” would vanish. Not Kelsie, though, he thought with a smile. Kelsie liked him for more than just football. “Hey Paige, Kelsie,” he said when he drew up next to them, smiling widely. “How’s it going?”

“Colt!” Kelsie exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and causing him to take a step back in surprise. “I’m so glad you’re finally here!”

Colt supported her with one arm, drawing back to study her with a frown. Her pretty face was flushed, her hair askew, and her eyes were bright and glassy. “Been drinking a little, Kels?” he asked, smiling a little. In a way, it was nice to see her unwind and relax a bit.

“Oh no,” she said slowly, laughing at the idea. “I don’t drink, Colt! Paige got me a Coke, and it must have gone right to my head.” She popped her forehead as she spoke.

“I don’t think so,” he said, shooting Paige a curious look. “You must have grabbed someone else’s glass or something. Here, why don’t you sit down, and I’ll go and get you a glass of water, and a nice, cold rag?” Ignoring Paige, he took Kelsie’s hand, and led her over to the couch. “I’ll be right back, okay? You wait here.” Smiling at her one last time, he turned to go to the kitchen.

Paige followed him down the hall, sticking close to his back. “She’s such a liar,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know why she cares if you know that she’s been drinking. I mean, you’re not her dad or her boyfriend even. She’s been tossing them back since she got here, really. She must have done at least seven shots, and she’s had a couple of beers too.”

Colt shot her an unbelieving look as he found a glass and began filling it with ice. “Kelsie’s not much for lying,” he said quietly.

“Well, either she’s lying or I’m lying,” Paige pouted. “Are you calling me a liar, Colt?”

He glanced back at her, covering the ice with water and grabbing a dish rag to dampen it. “No,” he offered diplomatically. “But I can’t imagine Kelsie lying about this, either.”

They left the kitchen the same way they had came, with Paige following close behind, and Colt trying to plow through the people who wanted to stop and talk to him. They finally made it back to the living room and on the couch was Kelsie, sprawled on her back with her head flopped back. This would have been sadly amusing if it wasn’t for the guy leaning over her, laughing with his buddies as he nuzzled her face with his.

Colt flew at him, his eyes swamped with rage. “Get off of her!” he yelled, grabbing him by the shirt collar and sending him flying. “Kelsie?” he squatted beside her, tapping her face with his hand. “Kelsie…sweetheart, wake up.” When there was no movement from her, Colt took the rag and patted her face with it, hoping it would alert her. “Kelsie? C’mon, Kelsie…this is no place to sleep it off.”

“How much did you give her?” he heard whispered behind him, and his head swiveled to see some girl talking to Paige, her eyes on Kelsie in concern. “God, you don’t think you killed her or anything, do you?”

“What did you do?” Colt roared at Paige, jumping up to grab her arm before she could disappear. “You tell me right now what you did to her, or I’m calling the cops.”

“It’s nothing,” Paige whined, trying in vain to shake her arm free. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Then tell me what it was! What did you give her?”

“Just a couple of downers, God,” she pouted. “She’s not so perfect, Colt…she drank it right down, and now look at her. She’s making a fool of herself, and everyone is here to see it.”

“You stupid, jealous bitch,” he spat. “What in the hell is wrong with you, huh? Why would you do that to anyone?” He let her go, shoving her away from him. “You make me sick, Paige.” Without another word, he whirled away from her, headed back to Kelsie. “Kelsie…baby, please wake up. Please.” Raking a hand through his hair, he bowed his head over her, trying to think of what to do. “Ok, we’re going to the hospital.” He slid his arms underneath her prone body, lifting her off the couch with ease. “Move,” he shouted at the people, who hurriedly parted to give him room. Colt squeezed through the crowd, pressing his mouth to her forehead. “It’s gonna be okay,” he whispered as he stalked towards the door.

“Colt?” Kelsie’s voice was weak and hoarse. “I don’t feel so good.”

“I know, baby, I know,” he said, nodding at someone to get the door. “But I’m here, Kelsie. And I promise I’ll always take care of you.” With a smile for her, he was out the door.

It didn’t take long for the hospital to pump her stomach, getting rid of the pills Paige had slipped her, or to refill her with fluids. And it didn’t take the cops long to understand what happened and get on the road to go find Paige. But it did take Colt a very, very long time to live up to his promise to always be there, though he figured a lifetime ought to do it. So in their way, no matter how unusually it might have started, Colt and Kelsie got the happy ending they deserved, and there was peace throughout Madison again.