Lydia swept her gaze over the party with a critical eye as they walked in. She wasn't usually this skeptical when it came to parties, but this one had to be perfect. It was their first night out with Allison, and it was a start to their university lives. Which she would have much more faith in the whole endeavor if this were Jackson's party.
At Allison's line of questioning, Lydia looked back over to her and, without truly meaning to, found herself smiling. "My whole life, basically," she said. "Jackson and I met in elementary school, and I knew he was the love of my life that very day. He... fits me, you know? You don't find that a lot. You don't definitely don't find it as easily as I did with him. Especially with men, you know? Ugh." She shook her head with disgust. "But Jackson... he does that for me. He fits me. He makes me happy. He makes me feel safe. Not just because I've known him forever, but because he tries. Every day, he tries to make me feel confident and happy and safe—with him, with this town, with myself. He makes sure that I never doubt any of it. How many people can honestly say that about their partner?
"We met Danny a little later—he came when we were in middle school. But it feels like he's been here for our entire lives, too. He completes us, weirdly. Me and Jackson are—" She waved a hand, gesturing vaguely. It probably wasn't obvious to everyone, but Allison had spent nearly twelve hours with Lydia by now. Surely, she'd gotten a feel for who Lydia was. Of course she would date someone who felt the same. "D's more down to earth. Or, he pretends that he is. Don't let him trick you, he judges so much, and he has more fun with our shenanigans than he thinks. And if he didn't have us, he'd keep dating lame men. Ugh, A, you should've met his last boyfriend—literal definition of a total fucking loser!"
With a huff, Lydia tugged on Allison's arm, leading her towards the drinks, where Jackson and Danny were mixing new ones, despite Danny's earlier insistence that they would be doing no such thing. Lydia couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. Another person might feel bad for talking so much, but Lydia couldn't. There was nothing she loved more than talking about Jackson and Danny, and it was all information that Allison would need, anyway. She was their fourth puzzle piece; Lydia knew that in her bones.
"Not Jackson's party, unfortunately," she sighed. "Trust me, we'd have much better drinks if it was. This is Brian's party. Brian is... you'll see him eventually. Loud, criminally handsome, not a brain cell in sight. Be nice to him, though," Lydia advised. "He's a sweetheart. What he lacks in intelligence—and God knows he lacks—he makes up for in pure kindness and loyalty. Boys!" Lydia called as they approached the table. "We're here! You can ooh and ahh now," she announced, breaking away from Allison to twirl and show them her dress, posing and smiling winningly in anticipation of their obligatory fawning.
"See? I told you I'm an awesome bartender," Jackson said as he looked over at Danny, holding up a recently finished old fashioned and winking. Of course, Danny was well aware of Danny's bartending skills, which was why Jackson was laughing as he spoke; he and Danny had been making drinks together and with Lydia for years now.
Looking up as Lydia called out, Jackson set his recently completed cocktail down and rounded the table, holding out a hand to Lydia so he could help her spin and take in the full effect of her outfit.
"Babe, you look gorgeous. Stunning. Is this the new dress you just got?" He asked, taking in the style, cut, and material. He always tried to keep an eye out for what Lydia liked, so he could remember and get her things she would enjoy just as much as presents. "You're the most beautiful girl in the whole world, have I told you that recently?" He asked, leaning in to give her a kiss.
Wrapping an arm around Lydia and giving her another kiss, Jackson smiled at the girl she was standing with. She was tall, with dark, curly hair and a bright smile; he could easily see why Lydia was so instantly taken with her.
"You must be Allison," He said, holding a hand out to shake. "We've heard a lot about you; Lydia can't stop talking about her awesome new roommate. It's nice to meet you. I'm Jackson, and this is my best friend, Danny."
"Ooh," Danny said obediently. "Ahh." When Lydia shot a thankful wink at him, he grinned in return. For all that the two of them bickered, he really did find her to be stunning and brilliant. She never failed to impress, regardless of where she went or what she did. Not even their playful bantering dynamic would stop him from throwing flowers at her feet when he needed to.
While she and Jackson murmured sweet nothings to each other, Danny looked at Allison. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting of Lydia's supposed Hot Roommate; Lydia hadn't given them much to go on. But the thing was that Lydia had always had a type.
Despite how much she and Jackson boasted and flaunted themselves as the superior beings, they gravitated towards people who tended to keep their feet on the ground. Danny didn't have the same vanity that they did—though he had his rare moments, as a result of years in their presence—and he fit with them because of it. Ivy had always been closer to Brian than to them, but for a very long time, she'd been Lydia's only girl friend, and she was much the same: level-headed, gentle, wise, and sweet. Jackson and Lydia had never much liked the people who approached them with the personalities that they thought the couple would like. At best, they were poor attempts at pandering for popularity; at worst, they were offensive attempts at mimicking what they thought Jackson and Lydia themselves were like and what they stood for. Those people were always disingenuous and horrible to be around, and Jackson and Lydia never gave them the time of day.
Danny couldn't tell what Allison was like, just by looking at her. But her presence itself was comforting; her smile was kind and the way she carried herself didn't speak towards false confidence or crippling shyness.
She just seemed sweet. Not at all like the kind of girl who wanted to use Lydia for her popularity or money or, most frustratingly, to get closer to Jackson. While Danny trusted Lydia's judgement on who she brought into her life, it wouldn't be the first time someone had fooled her just to hurt her in the end. Danny would be damned if anyone else did it.
Softening his smile, Danny waved at Allison. "It's really nice to meet you. I've never heard Lydia speak so fondly about someone she just met. Thank you for taking care of her—as much as any person takes care of their roommate, you know."
"Hi," Allison smiled at Jackson, taking the hand he outstretched to shake, then waving back at Danny before holding her hand out to him to shake, too. "It's so nice to meet you both. I've heard a lot about you, too; Lydia has nothing but amazing things to say about you both," She said, smiling as she looked back and forth between them. She couldn't help but smile at the adorable interaction between Jackson and Lydia; she could see how someone else might see it as over the top, but coming from Jackson, it seemed absolutely sincere. It was easy to see her absolutely adored Lydia; he looked at her like she had hung all of the stars in the sky that night, and kept looking at her like she was an angel walking among them even when she looked away. Allison wasn't sure she'd ever seen two people seem so in love before.
"Lydia's the one who has been taking care of me," She laughed, taking a step closer to Danny to speak to him over the noise of the party. "She's been so incredibly nice to me. I'm so lucky she's my roommate," She smiled over at Lydia again.
She felt incredibly lucky. Lydia was so sweet, and Jackson and Danny seemed like the nicest guys. Allison felt a wave of gratitude wash over her; she couldn't believe she was really here; she couldn't believe how lucky she was.