"CSI:NY - The College Years..."

Chapter 1: First Impressions

Description: An AU fic that shows our favourite characters beginning their freshman year of college. How will they all meet, and what events will ensue? Mostly SMacked, with F/A, D/L, and Adam/Kendall.

A/N: Okay, here goes chapter one, hopefully I didn't 'steal' any ideas from any other stories, but I've only been on this site for a couple months and as of yet haven't seen any like this, so forgive me if you feel otherwise... And just so you know, although we meet everyone at a much younger age, this still takes place in modern time, so we begin in the fall of 2009. Now go ahead and enjoy ...

Also, I don't own any of the characters, as much as I might like to ;)

It was 6a.m. when Mac Taylors alarm clock started buzzing loudly by his bedside. He let a small groan before swinging his arm over and landing his palm on the 'off' switch. He lingered in the warm bed for a few moments while trying to adjust his eyes to the bright sun that was beginning to peer in through his blinds; causing him to let out another groan as he finally pushed the blanket off his body and sat up onto the edge of the bed.

He rubbed his tired eyes as he pushed himself off the bed and onto his feet, trying to walk through the small and crowded bedroom without tripping over any boxes he had yet to unpack.

Crouching down to a large suitcase that lay on the bedroom floor, he unzipped it and dug through it until he found the items he was looking for. He heads into the bathroom where he splashes some cold water onto his face, then runs his wet hands through his short brown hair, giving it a slightly dishevelled, but otherwise cutely-boyish look. After changing from his pyjama pants into the black running shorts, he makes his way out of the bathroom and back into the living room as he pulls a white sleeveless undershirt over his head and it clings to his toned chest and abdomen.

Stopping at the front door, he effortlessly slips his feet into his well broken in running shoes then grabs for the grey pullover hoodie with the proud logo "N.Y.U." embedded in the cotton fabric.

He quietly closes his door behind him, trying not to wake anyone else on the floor as he walks down the quiet hallway of the dorm.

Once stepping outside into the cool and crisp September air, the bright sun once again pierces his dark blue eyes and he squints as he pulls his legs; one, and then the other; up from behind him to give them a good stretch. After a few minutes, before leaving the front steps of the building he pulls his iPod from the front pouch of the hoodie and slides the earbuds into his ears before wheeling his thumb through the playlists; a smile instantly forming on his lips as he finds an ideal song.

A quick moment later he's well on his way with his morning run, the familiar epic music from a 'Rocky' montage pounding in his eardrums, keeping his adrenaline alive as sweat begins to saturate his skin.

He makes his way through the grounds of the nearly deserted campus; passing very few people; most of which have succumb to the "walk of shame", the inevitably awkward walk back to one's own dorm room after spending the night elsewhere and wearing the now rumpled clothing from the previous evening. He can't help but smirk every time he passes one. This was, after all, what much of college was supposed to be about. Sure you don't read about it in the brochures, but college is a place for experiences, good or bad. Mac however wasn't looking for such an experience; at least not yet. As he continued his run his mind wandered back to a mere few weeks ago and as much as he tried to force his brain to only listen to the music in his ears, instead all he could hear was the conversation he had that fateful night...

"Mac, come on. You know this is hard for me too, but we have to be realistic about this. In a week I'll be gone away to California and you'll be in New York"

"What if I'm not ready to let you go Claire?"

"2,778"

"What?"

"2,778. That's how many miles will separate us Mac. It's not like you can just jump in your truck and come see me for the weekend. The weekend would be over before you even made it there"

"But Claire..."

"No Mac. I'm sorry, but it would be unfair for me to expect anything from you, and unfair for you to expect anything from me in return. I love you, and you'll always have a place in my heart, but you can't honestly tell me you think this can work out?"

"Well we'll still come home for Christmas and in the summer..."

"And what happens in between then Mac? I don't want to hold you back from anything anymore than you want to hold me back. I've just had the courtesy of having a lot more time to think about this; and once you do, you'll know in your heart that I'm right"

"Yeah, I really wish you would have told me sooner"

"Well I wanted to make the most of the little time we had left, and I don't regret it for a second. Do you?"

"I guess not..."

With his mind still enveloped in the conversation going through his mind, he rounded a corner towards the back end of the football field when SMACK! A head-on collision caused him to stumble backwards and fall on to his backside.

"OWWWW! Why don't you watch where you going?" an unfamiliar voice barked at him and he pulled himself up slightly, resting on his elbows as he tried to catch his breath and allow his vision to return to normal, rather than the hazy blur it first offered.

"I'm sorry" He mumbled as he pushed himself up from the grass and dusted himself off. "Please, let me help you up" he offered as he held one hand out to the woman at his feet, and the other still rubbing his eyes.

"Thanks, but you've done enough" she huffed as she pushed herself up.

Her response, not being what he'd expected; as much as he had deserved it; left Mac perplexed and he finally removed his hand from his eyes and allowed them to see the victim of his clumsiness.

"Oh, I'm.... I'm really sorry" he lightly stammered as his gaze fell upon the beautiful girl before him. She was also in her obvious running clothes, a long sleeve tee and shorts that stopped mid-thigh, revealing toned yet slender legs that seemed to go on forever. Her skin was slightly tan in colour, and she had curly brown locks that were tied back in a ponytail, a few unruly strands still hanging at the sides of her face.

"Yeah, you mentioned that already" she threw back at him as she rubbed her forehead that was now throbbing with pain. Eventually she dropped her hand from her head and her fiery green eyes finally locked with the dark and intense blue ones belonging to the handsome young stranger.

"I'm Mac... Uh, Mac Taylor..." he offered his hand to her but gained nothing in return.

"Well Mac Taylor, try and watch where you're going; for both our sakes, okay?" she quickly snapped, then pushed past him, continuing on her run.

Mac gave his head a shake as he watched her disappear from his view; then slipped the earbuds back in and continued on his path once again. The whole way back his mind refused to occupy him with any thoughts other than that of the stranger he had just encountered. Who was she, and why couldn't he get her out of his thoughts?

...

Finally reaching the end of his round trip, Mac re-entered the dorm building but stopped and silenced his iPod as he reached the staircase. He watched for a moment the young man in front of him who was struggling to lug his belongings up the narrow stairwell.

"Can I give you a hand?" Mac asked as he approached him; he was slightly shorter than Mac with shaggy light brown hair and very unintimidating boyish looks.

"Thanks, I'm okay" he insisted as he continued to struggle his way up the stairs with two large duffel bags slung over his left shoulder and a laptop bag in his right hand.

"Clearly" Mac scoffed before grabbing for one of the duffel bags. "ugph!" Mac groaned as he took one of the bags. "What've you got in here? A dead body?"

"No" he chuckled. "Just my whole life packed into two bags. Kind of sad when you think about it"

"Well that's why we all came here right? To begin our lives" Mac stated as they continued up the staircase. "So where's your room?"

"Um... 3A?" Adam mentioned, almost uncertain as his eyes shifted to the ceiling in an effort to remember.

"Hmmmm" is all Mac responded with, a curious smirk growing on his lips.

They finally reached the front door and Adam slumped the bags down onto the floor before fishing the key out of the pocket of his jeans.

"Can't wait to meet my roommate..." Adam huffed as he turned the key. "Probably some pretentious air-headed football jock; ready to make my next 4 years a living hell" he ended abruptly with a heavy sigh as he finally pushed the door open. "Hey, thanks for all your help. I'm Adam by the way, Adam Ross. And you are?"

"I'm the pretentious air-head" Mac quickly countered, extending his hand to a now dumb-founded, mouth-agape Adam. "But feel free to just call me Mac, it's a little shorter"

"Oh... crap" Adam grumbled as he warily accepted Mac's handshake. "I uh... sorry about that. I didn't mean... I mean, I'm sure you..." Adams voice trailed off as did his eye contact with Mac as his eyes now darted nervously around the hallway.

"Hey, don't sweat it" Mac smirked as he reached his arm over to pat Adam on the back; however Adam was quick to cower and cover his head with his arms.

"Whoa, relax; I wasn't going to hit you" Mac assured the frightened young man.

"Sorry" Adam replied as he quickly straightened up. "Old habits die hard I guess" he mumbled as he picked up his bags and they made their way inside.

"Wow, home sweet home, huh?" Adam chuckled nervously as he entered the living room and once again dropped his bags to the floor.

"Yeah, doesn't exactly leave much to be desired huh?" Mac replied with a heavy sigh as they both gazed around the small confines of what would have to be considered 'home' for the next few years.

"So, where you from?" Adam asked as he slumped down onto the small sofa.

"Chicago and you?"

"Nebraska" Adam huffed with a roll of his eyes. "I tell ya, I was glad to kiss that place goodbye"

"Why's that?" Mac chuckled at Adam's response.

"Let's just say there isn't anyone I'm going to miss from that place"

"Well, how about your family, no?" Mac inquired but Adam quickly shook his head.

"Like I said, no one I'm going to miss"

They both sat in complete silence for the next few minutes, Mac now feeling slightly guilty for pushing a clearly sore subject.

"So, what are you taking?" Mac finally asked, trying to steer the conversation into a new direction.

"Computer programming, big surprise, I know, a geek taking computer programming. What about you, what are you here for?"

"You mean besides to play football with my airhead friends?" Mac asked with a chuckle.

"Look, I'm really..." Adam tried to complete his pleading apology but Mac quickly interrupted.

"I'm just kidding, relax. I'll be majoring in forensic sciences. Don't tell anybody, but on the inside, I'm a geek too" Mac replied with a wink, finally causing Adam to somewhat loosen up and offer a quick smile.

"So, do you know anybody here yet?" Adam inquired.

"Nope, 'fraid not. Although I think I already made an enemy this morning" he chuckled. "Long story" he confirmed as he noted the confused expression on Adam's face. "No, I was supposed to go to the football camp back in August, but the day before camp started my father became ill, and... well, I couldn't make it to camp"

"Oh Mac, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright" Mac quickly shrugged it off before allowing himself to feel vulnerable. He preferred the numbness he had become accustomed to, since losing both his father and his girlfriend practically at the same time, instead. "I'm lucky they still let me into the program, the scout that came to my high school games vouched for me." He finished with a sigh.

"Oh... cool..." is all Adam managed to respond with, unaware of what else he could possibly say. Sympathizing for one's father was not something Adam had the fortune of being able to relate with; his own father being an abusive alcoholic; thus the appeal of an out of state school.

"Well Adam, I'm off to shower then I've gotta head over to meet with the head coach, so I'll see ya around" Mac quickly stood up from his chair and headed to the bathroom, leaving Adam to unpack his things.

...

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Coach Hammerback" Mac began as he approached an older gentleman standing in the hallway outside the coach's office.

"Ah, and you must be McKenna Taylor" the older man responded as he pushed his glasses onto his nose.

"Yes sir. Mac actually..." he corrected him before extending his hand and offering a firm shake.

"Strong grip. Let's hope it's just as strong with a pigskin in it"

"Yes sir" Mac quickly replied, causing the man to nod in approval.

"Very well. I'm coach Hammerback, it's a pleasure to meet you son. Come on in" he gestured for Mac to follow him into the small office and Mac quickly complied.

"Now normally attending camp is mandatory for all of my players..." the coach began as he sunk into his chair across from Mac. "But you came highly recommended"

"Thank you sir" Mac replied with a firm nod.

"And I was sorry to hear about your father"

"Thank you sir" Mac replied again, this time in a softer tone.

"You're father was a military man?" the coach offered more as a question than a statement.

"Yes sir. How did you..." Mac began with an arched brow before being cut off.

"Well, I've never been called 'sir' more times in my life than in the last 2 minutes with you son"

"Sorry sir. Err... Coach"

"Quite alright son. Now let's find you a uniform so you can get out there with the others"

They headed out from the office and down the hallway to the large locker room, decorated in the traditional school colours of violet and white. The coach directed Mac to a locker with the name "Taylor" scribbled on a piece of tape stuck on the top of the locker.

"This one'll be yours" the coach smiled as they reached the locker. "I'll see you out on the field in 10"

Coach Hammerback quickly turned on his heel and whistled happily to himself as he made his way out of the locker room and back towards the hallway. Mac quickly changed into his uniform, anxious to finally return his personal sanctuary, the field. It's where he felt the most confident and never had to second guess his actions.

The moment his cleats made contact with the soft grass he let out a sigh of relief. Finally he could feel completely uninhibited and more than ready and willing to take on whatever challenges would dare to face him.

Football had become an outlet for him at a very young age. An outlet to release his energy, and also one of the few ways he could still connect with his father. Being an established military man, Mac's father was not around for much of his upbringing. However he would be sure to make it home from his tour of duty nearly every Thanksgiving and Christmas, where they would both hover in front of the television set to watch the day's big game. Even as a young child, watching his father get so excited over every play Mac knew that this was something he wanted to do. He knew it would make his father proud, and to him, nothing else mattered. Much to his father's delight he began playing 'pee-wee' football at the age of 8 and continued to progress throughout the levels and eventually became a star player at his high-school in Chicago, where he got the attention of the undeniably beautiful head cheerleader Claire Conrad. The two were inseparable over the remaining years of their high school careers, only recently deciding to sadly part ways as their futures lead them in opposite directions.

...

Time seemed to fly by quicker than usual during the adrenaline demanding practice. Mac however had hardly felt the fatigue that had clearly succumbed some of the other players who were keeled over benches, and guzzling back jugs of water, instead he powered through, much like he always did when he stepped onto the field. After two hours of running drills and play patterns the loud whistle around the coach's neck finally blew for a final time, much to the relief of the players.

"Alright boys, take a knee!" Coach Hammerback yelled into the field. Mac quickly dashed across the field with the others and knelt down at the end of the first row of players.

"Okay, lookin' good out there boys" the coach began sincerely, occasionally stopping to blow bubbles with his gum. "Now, Saturday we play Cornell" he began again, this time in a lively tone that seemed to light a fire under the moments-ago energy ridden crowd.

"Yeah!" they grunted simultaneously, loud enough to cause the ground to slightly rumble beneath them.

"Alright, starters for Saturday..." the coach began again as he brought his glasses up and flipped through the pages on his clipboard. "Starting quarterback goes to... Taylor. Wide receivers, let's see... Messer and... Flack..." Mac's ears failed to hear much more from the coach's speech once he heard his own name called and his attention drifted off. He tilted his head up towards the sky, silently thanking his father for all those Sunday afternoons in front of the television set, and for always pushing him to be the best he could be.

After a few minutes the team returned to the locker room and Mac approached his locker and began removing his equipment.

"Hell yeah, starting wide outs! Woo!" he heard a loud voice approach behind him and he turned to see the two young men celebrating by clashing their helmets together. They each took their place at their lockers which happened to be on either side of Mac's locker. The spiky blond haired and very enthusiastic one to the right of him, and the tall, lean, and at least somewhat reserved in comparison, to the left of him.

"Taylor right?" the blonde one with the unmistakeable thick Brooklyn accent asked as he tossed his helmet onto the top shelf of the locker.

"Yeah, Mac." Mac replied with a firm nod.

"Well I'm Danny, and this LOSER is my buddy Don" he continued with a sarcastic smirk.

"Hey, watch it Messer" Don quickly interrupted with a grin.

"Yeah, or what?"

"Or I'm gonna have to stop datin' your mom, then things are gonna get awkward between us" Don quickly countered with a smirk.

"Oh, think you're funny huh?" Danny replied hastily as he pushed past Mac and playfully lunged toward Don.

Laughter quickly filled the air as the 'locker room antics' began. Boys will be always be boys; and Mac joined in the laughter as well as he watched Don counter Danny's attack with a quick head lock and began tousling his hair.

"Who's the tough guy now Danny boy?" Don teased as Danny struggled to free himself.

"Alright, alright, give!" Danny finally caved and Don laughed as he let go of his grasp.

"See, what'd I tell ya? Loser right?" Danny smirked as he walked past Mac and back to his own locker.

"So Mac, I didn't see you at camp" Don began. "You gonna be ready for Saturday?"

"I'm always ready" Mac stated with impressive confidence.

"Alright, good to hear. I wanna crush these guys. My sister unfortunately dated the quarterback there. Frankie something or other... Real jerk-off this guy... What she saw in him in the first place is beyond me" Flack huffs before slamming his locker shut and heading toward the showers. Flack of course not bothering to elaborate on the sordid details of his family. His sister was in fact his half-sister which he had only met a few years ago. They shared the same father, yet neither of them had ever known the man as he was notorious for walking out on any and all responsibilities that came his way.

"Don's a cool guy..." Danny begins once he's certain Don is out of ear shot. "Just don't mess with sister!" he continues with a chuckle. "She's a real ball buster. Beautiful but deadly"

"Thanks for the warning but I think I'll be fine" Mac replies in haste as he too closes up his locker and heads toward the showers, not knowing of course that he's already fallen victim to Don's sister and her, so far, lack of charm.

**Okay, so what do you think so far? This was just a brief intro to the guys, and we will meet the girls in the next chapter. That is if you want this to continue... Please review and let me know your thoughts :)**