Hello my lovelies! Welcome to my new story. I hope you love it as much as I do. Kisses! ~HA

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot of this story.

Chapter 1

Anastasia's POV

"Ana, have you seen my keys? Dammit! I can't find them anywhere!" Sighs my roommate, Kate, from the living space of our apartment. I grin exasperatedly and stride into the kitchen and pluck the jingling loop of keys from the fruit bowl. I wiggle them in front of her and a face-splitting grin pierces her features.

Kate is gorgeous. With her long strawberry-blonde hair, green eyes, and curvaceous body, she is sure to stun anyone with half a mind. She squeals as she hugs me in delight and rushes around, grabbing her notepad, recorder, and assorted things, stuffing them into her Michael Kors purse. She looks especially dashing today in a navy blue pressed suit with her hair cascading down her back and daring blue heels. She stops bustling and turns to look at me.

"Well? How do I look?" She questions me.

"Great." I respond, grinning at her from the kitchen counter.

"I know. I was just asking to be polite." She winks at me and I roll my eyes, chuckling.

"Hurry up, you're going to be late!" I prompt her.

Katherine Kavanagh has been my friend for four years and she claims that today is the most important day of her life. We're both studying at WSU and we're going to graduate this year, me, with a major in English Lit, and her, with one in Journalism. Today, she is interviewing the infamous Christian Grey, who will be attending our graduation ceremony since he's a major benefactor to our university. Kate is determined to interview him for the graduation issue of our newspaper and intent on uncovering details of his personal life. I, personally, couldn't care less about him. I just want to be done with college and pursue my dream job at SIP.

"Okay." She lets out a huge breath and calms herself, giving me a final glance.

"You've got this, Kavanagh." I beam at her. She beams back and nods, giving me a quick hug before heading out the door. Seattle's a long drive from Portland, so she's gotta get going. "Good luck!" I call and she yells her thanks before she's gone.

I grin at the door and head to the bathroom, ready to take a shower and start studying for finals. You better ace this test, Steele. My subconscious snaps at me, glaring behind her glasses. Yeah, yeah, I can do this. One steamy shower later, I glance at myself in the mirror.

A pale figure stares back, her scrawny figure emphasized by a baggy t-shirt and shorts. Blue eyes search the mirror for anything attractive. Bland brown hair hangs from her scalp to her shoulders, curling at the edges. I bite my lip and shake my head. Snap out of it, Steele.

Within the hour, I'm eating cornflakes and rattling out an essay for my English Lit class. Finals have got me wound tighter than a coil in a sofa. Stretching, I check the time. Holy shit, 20 minutes before work? How did that happen?

I snap to it and slip into jeans. Sliding on my converse, I leave the apartment, bounding down the stairs with a smile towards Wanda, my car. Gliding in, I turn on the engine and it rattles to life. Thank god. Backing out of the parking lot, I drive to Clayton's, the hardware store that I've worked at for four years. Humming a tune as I park and exit Wanda, I stride in and grab my nametag and head behind the counter, surprising Mrs. Clayton.

"Ana! I wasn't expecting to see you today, dear."

"Oh, right, the interview! Um, Kate recovered from the flu just in time for it, Mrs. Clayton. Anything I can do to help?"

"Sure, dear. Paul's out back, so do you mind helping him with stocking the shelves? We got our new shipments today."

Inwardly, I groan. Paul is Mrs. Clayton's brother-in-law, or Mr. Clayton's brother. He's been hitting on me since the dawn of time. I reject him every time, but he doesn't quit. What does he see in me, anyway? Biting my lip, I reply reluctantly. "Sure, Mrs. Clayton." My subconscious gives me a look of disapproval. Ignoring her, I walk to the back and get busy. Paul's not out here, so I guess he's taking a break or he's snuck off.

Work is tedious and boring today, but I'm still busy restocking and re-shelving. I'm on my last leg of work when my phone buzzes. I take the call without bothering to see who it is.

"Hello? Ana? How are you darling?" A warm tone drifts through the phone and my heart immediately thaws.

"Hey mom. I'm great, and you?" I reply, girlishly excited. I miss her so much.

"Doing excellent over here, hon."

We speak briefly about her latest venture into the candle-making business, Georgia, and husband number four (Bob).

"Honey, listen, can we talk?" My mother's voice gets quiet and I know something's not right. I shift uncomfortably, pausing with a package of nails in my hand.

"Mom, we are talking." I giggle nervously into the phone. I can practically hear her sad smile.

"Hon, Bob went golfing yesterday and he broke his foot."

"Oh my gosh, is he alright?" I reply, appalled.

"Ugh, who knows with him? The guy was up and energetic this morning and all he wants to do now is complain about his aching back." She chuckles. I smile. "But Ana, this means that we won't be able to fly out for graduation."

Dead silence.

I don't say anything.

"Ana, darling? Are you there?" Her worried voice drifts into my ear and I wince.

"Yeah… still here."

"Honey, I can't just leave him here to fend for himself! The man can barely heat up some food without burning the house down. I hope you understand." She says, her tone rushed, as if pleading with me.

Uh, yes you can leave him there, or bring him in a wheelchair. You just don't want to! Snaps my subconscious irritably. I brush her off with a sigh and regret pools in my stomach.

"Yes, mom. I understand. I've gotta go, I'm at work." I end the conversation, tears brimming at the corners of my eyes. Dammit, no! Not here, not now!

"Alright, sweetie. I love you." My mom says, her voice full of regret and compassion.

"Bye." I hang up and hold my head in my hands. Dammit, Steele! Get a grip. Besides, Ray will still be there. I cheer up immediately and sniffle. Yes, Ray will be there. Ray is husband number two, and my father. My real father died before I was born, but Ray was always there for me when my mother wasn't. He'll be at graduation, at least.

I hang up the last package of nails and head to the counter to clock out.

"Bye Mrs. Clayton." I call as I head out. I hear her muffled response before I exit the store, climb into Wanda, and drive back home. Kate should be back by now, and I could use some good news about the interview.

Smiling, I enter the apartment, expecting a gushing Kate. What I find is the complete opposite.

"Kate! What happened?" I ask, dropping down beside her. She is straight up bawling, crumpled tissues thrown far and wide across our rug. Kate never cries, so the situation must be really bad.

"Ana, y-y-you weren't supposed to-to be home f-for an hour!" She exclaims, hiccupping and bawling again.

"Yeah, well, I am home. Stop crying, Kate! What happened?" I coo, holding her. She sobs into my shirt and my heart melts for my best friend. She's done so much for me and I can only return the favor by being there for her now. "Kate? Wanna talk about it?" I ask her, gently rubbing circles on her back.

She slowly withdraws and sits cross-legged on the ground, facing me. Her green eyes are puffy and her cheeks are splotchy, yet she still looks amazing. "Oh Ana, I blew it! I completely blew the interview!" She wails, covering her face with her hands. Gently, I coax her to explain.

"W-well, we were doing pretty well. He was answering all my questions, but kind of curtly. Anyways, long story short, I asked him if he was gay."

I gasp. "What? Kate, why would you do that?" I exclaim. I know the Katherine Kavanagh Inquisition can get nosy, but I did not expect that.

She holds up her manicured hand. "Let me explain. Every time he's in the society pages, he's alone, no women around him. And naturally, I believed that he was gay. So I asked."

"Oh, Kate." I groan and slap my forehead, my eyes momentarily closing. When I open them, she is quietly sniffling again and her voice shakes when she talks.

"But that's not the worst part." She whispers. Oh god. Kate, what happened? I look at her, biting my lip, waiting for her to elaborate. "He kicked me out and then… and then he told me he won't be attending graduation! In fact, he said the only reason he's going to contribute to the university anymore is because of Environmental Sciences department!" She wails. She's full out sobbing again and she continues. "Ana, I blew it! I totally blew it! Now the special graduation issue of the student newspaper is going to suck and everyone is going to be so mad at me!"

"Hush. Hey, it'll be alright." I soothe her, hugging her again. I'm so angry. Not at Kate, but at Grey. He can go to hell for all I care. "Hey, it's okay Kate. All you did was ask a question, and if he's so offended by an interview, then he's a pompous puffball, and WSU is better off without him. Don't you worry, Kate. Come on, let's get some pizza and watch a movie, how does that sound?"

She sniffles. "Can we get chicken wings? And watch Bridesmaids?"

I laugh. "Sounds good to me."

She smiles in response and bounds up. "I'm going to wash my face."

"Sure." I smile at her childish enthusiasm and pick up the tissues. Walking into the kitchen, I dispose of them and wash up, tying my hair back. I grab the phone and order an extra large pizza with everything on it (except for anchovies) and chicken wings. Then, I get out a tub of ice cream. Lord knows we both need some comfort tonight.

Kate returns in her pajamas and takes a seat on the sofa after popping in Bridesmaids. The pizza arrives shortly and I pay the delivery guy and seat myself. Before we begin eating, I describe my graduation dilemma to her and we both have another sob fest. This time, I'm the one crying.

We find ourselves eating messily with our hands, no plates or napkins and enjoying each other's company. Setting down my pizza in the box, I take a sip of water and glance at Kate.

"What?" She huffs between mouthfuls.

"Does anyone else know about the situation?" I murmur.

She carefully chews and swallows. "Yes. I already told the staff, and they've informed the dean. I guess everyone knows now." She sighs. I pick up my piece and clear my throat.

"I propose a toast." I remark, trying to lighten the mood. It works. Kate rolls her eyes, but lifts her slice in reply and grins. "To a wonderful Grey-less graduation and a future in Seattle!" I yell.

Kate squeals. "Cheers to that!" We both nibble at our slices and laugh, resuming our Bridesmaids binge.

Little did I know how much Grey was actually in my future.

Updates coming very soon, promise! Please review, share, and all the other fantastic things you do. ~ HA