Mom hesitated in the doorframe. “Are…is there anything else you need baby? Some cash, some…”

“Mom.” I cut her off, trying to avoid a further five minutes of conversation. Her eyes tightened and, in some part of my heart, it hurt to know how much this was affecting her but, God, enough is enough. Two hours enough.

“Really, I’m fine.” When she didn’t waver I sighed, scratching at my nape. “If you know…you want to call or something you know my number. Actually I'll just give you a call tonight ok?” Her eyes lightened up simultaneously with my cumulating guilt stash. I was able to fully smile as she hugged me and then turned her back on my new apartment. On me.

Freedom is something like love, it’s viral and impossible to explain, but in that moment I was on cloud nine. A whole future of partying and studying and heartache and camaraderie flashed before my eyes as I watched her retreating figure and it was something like an epiphany.

This was college, and I was here, and that’s all that mattered…

And then I met my roommate and it all went to hell in a hand basket.

“So, I like the lights out by nine because sleep is essential for your soul’s restfulness and I find that a well rested person is generally a happier person. And, um, I don’t tolerate alcohol in the apartment or drunk people in general. Those are the essentials but I’m sure I can think of something else later on.”

I blinked. It’s a funny feeling when you’re watching all of your freedom and happiness go down the crapper. I blinked again.

“Ok.”

“Are we good?” Melanie was a smart looking girl. She dressed conservatively but expensively. I’m pretty sure one of her shoes cost about as much as my tuition. She had cropped blonde hair that fell to her ears and a church girl’s smile. I couldn’t help noticing the small cross hanging around her neck. Even that had to cost more than my car; minimum.

“Uh, yeah…I guess. What bed did you want again? Top or bottom?”

She gave me a confused look. “Oh, I thought I already explained this but it’s okay. I actually already have a bed but it’s in the process of shipping. I’m guessing it’ll be here on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.” Wasn’t anything about this girl dollar menu?

“Ok. So the bunk’s mine?”

“The bunk’s yours.”

“Sweet deal.” Her lips pursed into a thin-lipped smile, accented all the more by the pink shit around her mouth. The next few moments found us standing awkwardly with nothing really to say. It was one of those situations that most people go out of their way to avoid. Thankfully her cell phone ended the silence and, for the first time in over ten minutes, I was able to take a real breath of fresh air.

“Hey,” Melanie tapped my shoulder. “I forgot one of my suitcases in my Mom’s car apparently, so I’m just going to be gone for a quickie alright? Can you um, watch my stuff?” I felt myself pull a face but agreed and settled down to…watch her stuff as she hurried out.

…It was a lot of stuff.

And I had thought four suitcases was pushing the envelope, but college was all about opening your eyes to the world, as I was coming to find, and apparently in the real world four suitcases were not enough for one person.

By the time she returned I had counted and sorted three different I-pod cozies, two lap top chargers, three lap tops, and more pillows than one person had a right to have.

“Thank God Mom realized it was still in there before she got home. That would have been a nightmare. This one has all my stuff in it.” Then what the hell do the other six have?

Melanie shut the door, a pink roller safely in tow. I nodded.

“Stuff’s safe. No tragedies or anything.” She eyed me tentatively before stepping forward to envelope me in a hug. I blanched.

“Wha-”

“Thanks a lot for watching it. I would have died if something had been stolen.” She smiled and then bounced off as if it was completely normal to hug total strangers. When I realized there were no Bible versus branded into my skin I decided it was just one of those shrug it off matters. So I did that and then realized I was thirsty.

“Hey, I’m going down to the cafe. Want anything?”

I was already half-way out the door when she said, “I don’t drink caffeine. But thanks anyways.”

Figures.

That was fine by me because I hadn’t really been looking forward to paying for two cups.

The cafe was even less impressive than the catalogue had advertised but that was completely okay with me because it was my café. A place for me to hang out when I was having thoughts about dropping out of school. Somewhere to cry the morning after making one of the biggest mistakes of my life because I was drunk. Somewhere to simply study.

It even almost justified the terrible coffee. I took a sip and pulled a face at my reflection in the glass. It must have been around dinner time back at home. I checked the clock and sighed; 6:30. Mom would have made meatloaf because it was a Thursday and it would have been dry but I would have eaten it anyways because I loved mom’s dry meatloaf.

I took another whopping gulp to drown my premature sorrows. It was too early to be missing family. If I was having problems now than what business did I have being away from home?

“Hey, is this seat taken?” I nearly spit my coffee all over myself and nodded, suffering a violent coughing fit. A tall boy with unruly black hair and olive skin sat down across from me. I couldn’t even appreciate his attractiveness because my eyes were watering so hard.

“Are you alright?” He asked after a moment. I shook my head, sucked in a particularly snotty breath, and then cleared my throat.

“Oh, um, yeah…I’m fine.” I wheezed, wiping at my eyes. Traces from earlier’s mascara came away on my finger and I tried to inconspicuously see what I looked like in the glass window behind his head. He gave me a weird look and turned around.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“Oh, no!” My eyes widened in horror. Shit, he was going to leave. “No, no, no…I just thought…thought I saw someone I knew, that’s all.”

“Oh, okay.” He smiled, looking relieved, and I was able to finally see how attractive he was. Really attractive actually. He had that I-haven’t-showered-or-shaved-in-five-days-but-it-doesn’t-matter-because-I-still-look-hotter-than-you-look going on. I could appreciate that.

“I’m Mattie by the way.” He took a sip of his coffee and licked his lips. I caught myself staring and forced out a response before he thought I was mental.

“Oh, yeah. I’m Andy. I’m new here.”

“Yeah? Transfer student?”

My cheeks heated. “Um, freshmen actually.” His eyebrows rose and I wasn’t sure if that was good or not. What did Maxim say about that again?

Something…

“That’s cool. Do you like your roommate?” I snapped my gaze to his once more, remembering who I was talking to. He had asked a question right? Questions needed answers…

“She’s…” I waved my hand, trying to find the right word. “She’s something else.” Mattie chuckled, placating my nerves. Normal people laughed everyday. He was just a normal college guy who just so happened to be very attractive.

“You don’t like her?”

“No, it’s just…yeah, not really.”

“You should come hang out, get away from the unpacking and all that shit. Not to mention your roommate.” Was he asking me out? Did that mean he found me attractive? I couldn’t help but feel flattered. This was what college was all about; meeting people. He counted as people I decided.

“Yeah, that would be cool.” He smiled to match mine, unaware that inside I was acting completely uncool and totally creepy. Fortunately I kept my composure on the outside and maybe even managed to pull off one of those sexy tongue-behind-the-teeth smiles at the same time.

“Cool. My apartment’s number 302, complex C.” I nodded, trying to commit it to memory. Asking him to write it down was not going to happen.

He got up, looking one last time over at me, before leaving. I watched his nicely shaped butt all the way until it disappeared from view and then gave into my mental fan-girling.

“Fuck. Yes!”

--

It wasn’t until halfway back to my apartment did I realize that I lived in complex C.

I stopped walking. “Oh my God.” This changed everything. Not only was he a midnight snack, he was also accessible. On the other side of the spectrum, however, this also meant that the possibility of him seeing my morning look was very probable. Close proximity could either be a curse or a blessing or maybe both, but it definitely changed things.

Regardless, first thing was first; freshening up.

Melanie was clicking away on one of her lap tops when I returned to our apartment. Everything on my side of the room looked relatively the same, a large insult to her tidy half. I nodded silently to myself in acceptance before heading directly for my suitcase without saying hi first.

“Was the café nice?” She asked without looking up.

“Nope.” Was a halter dress appropriate? I held up the silver number; no, no it wasn’t. I tossed it in lieu of a fairly new skirt and chiffon top. With a belt it would look mar-vi-lous.

“What are you doing? You’re making a mess.” Sor-ry. I shrugged, shuffling around for some shoes.

“I’ve got a date—hey, which of these look better.” I showed her my three shoe choices.

“Already? And the boots.” I quickly threw the other two pairs back into the case and hurried off to get ready. In the middle of pulling the top over my head someone knocked on the closet door.

“Andy? Who’s your date?”

“This guy I met at the café.” I shelled the skirt on, looking for a belt and making a mental promise to fix my hair at first chance. Red, black, yellow?

“You’re not going to tell me his name?” Yellow. I quickly fastened it around the skirt like a pro and then set on the impossible task of taming the rat nest.

“His name’s Mattie.”

“Sounds cute.”

I opened the door, stumbling out short of breath and frenzied as if I’d just run a marathon instead of getting ready in record time. “How do I look?”

Melanie made a grimace and I frowned. “That bad?”

“No…it’s just…here, come here.” I hesitantly let her fix me up. She put a dab of some minty shit on my lips—maybe the stuff she’d been wearing earlier—and then told me to look. I took her hand mirror and admired myself.

“This will work.” I looked hot.

“Good.” She smiled, closing her compact mirror. “Go dazzle him, but not too much.” Dazzle him?

I laughed in spite of myself and told her not to wait up for me. If this was going to go as I expected, then she’d have been waiting for a long time. “Alright, bye!”

With each step I took the growing knot of unease continued to grow until I came to face door 302, complex C, ready to vomit my guts out.

“Oh God.” I murmured, running a shaky hand through my soft hair. Now or never…I knocked. Just when I was positive my stomach was going to drop out my butt in anticipation the door opened. I smiled by default, about to say something stupid, before I realized that it wasn’t Mattie at the door.

“Um, hi is Mattie here?”

“No.” They said flatly in the same moment that Mattie’s handsome face appeared in the door frame.

“Shut up man.” He laughed, pushing the other guy out of the way. I felt relieved.

“God, I really thought I had gotten the wrong room for a minute.” He ushered me inside, and I guess I hadn’t been the only one preparing because I highly doubted that their apartment always looked so impeccably clean. He looked really good too. It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one getting made up.

He poured me a glass of beer. “You look nice.”

“Oh, thanks. You look good too.” I sipped at the drink incessantly, feeling awkward and heated at the same time. He cleared his throat.

“I was thinking we could watch a movie. Elijah’s got a huge library in his iTunes that he’s been pirating for the past four to five years. There’s got to be something good on there.”

“Who?”

“Oh, my roommate. The dick that opened the door. Speaking of which…he’s right here.” Elijah appeared from some crevice then, shirtless with a scowl on his face. Had he been shirtless when he opened the door? I’m pretty sure I would have noticed that.

Actually, I’m pretty sure I would have noticed him period. At well over six feet, decked in wiry muscles he was pretty noticeable. Mattie caught me staring and was quick to usher the conversation onwards. “Hey man, what’s your iTunes password again?”

Elijah gave him an unimpressed expression. “Why?”

“Because…we were going to watch a movie or something.”

“So, watch a movie then.” Mattie gave a frustrated sigh.

“Seriously, stop being a dick and just give me the damn password.” He shrugged, pausing the argument by ducking into the fridge. Elijah returned with a juice carton. He pointed to it.

“This orange juice?”

“Yeah. The password?”

“Jesus Christ, it’s my birthday Mattie. Only a shit like you would forget that.” Had it not been for his joking smile, I was pretty positive Mattie would have decked him out. Instead he only sighed, as if in reluctant acceptance, and told him to ‘get the hell out of his sight’ with a brotherly smile. Elijah disappeared again, leaving us back to square one.

A beat and then another beat passed and I was no closer to finishing my drink than I had been when I’d first gotten it. “Wanna watch the movie now?” I asked hesitantly. He barked out a laugh, shooting me a genuine, eye-crinkling smile. Christ he was so attractive.

“Shit, yeah. Let’s do that.”

Half way through Donnie Darkohe paused the movie to take a call. I heard the sound of their bathroom door shutting and then muffled murmurs. Must be pretty important. What if he was a drug dealer? Or worse, a drug addict.

I smiled secretively to myself, amused, and then set about the task of entertaining myself. Ultimately, I decided that a new drink was in order. It was probably rude to just take a beer out of someone’s fridge when you barely knew them, but he had told me I was welcome to anything. Plus, in the long run, I figured it would benefit the both of us.

I had the top cracked, rim to my lips, when I paused. What was that?

Ignoring the sounds of creaking kitchen appliances and settling pipes, the apartment was generally quiet sans the quiet clips of Mattie’s conversation now and again, which made the sudden music—that’s what it was—all the more noticeable. I gave it a minute before following the sound.

It lead me straight across the living room on a wild journey until I found myself in front of the only other door besides the closet. There was a light on. Two bedrooms seemed lofty for an on campus apartment, so I wondered if one of them had connections.

On a whim, I knocked. The music stopped immediately followed by a dull thud.

“What is it?” Elijah asked, irritated.

I bristled. “It’s Andy.”

“Oh, well why didn’t you just say so. That changes everything!” I opened the door fully then, glaring, but it was lost on him. He didn’t even turn around, and for some reason, I took it personally. Was he born under a fucking pile of leaves? Who acts this way besides my two-year old nephew?

My eyes trailed down to the cello rested at his foot. “I didn’t know you played the cello.” He scoffed balefully.

“That’s not a surprise considering you don’t know me.” I winced. Ouch much?

“Jesus Christ what’s your problem?” He looked up then but it was a hazy look, not quite meeting my eye. Was he high? “Are you stoned?” I demanded, feeling an insatiable need to kick him for something. His stare flattened.

“No, I’m blind.” Elijah turned around on my startled gasp, picking up his cello, and started to play again as if I didn’t exist at all. Sorry didn’t quite feel like the most appropriate thing to say so I did the only thing that made the most sense; I left, beer and movie forgotten.

What a night.

AN: I am so excited about this. Really. It's been in my head for the past few months, and now it's here and it's all very exciting. Ok. That's it for now, so everyone should review! :D