5.
Monday morning, she woke up around 6 and started getting herself ready for the first day of university. She read through the prospectus and knew which office to go to if she needed something or had a question regarding her modules.
Her parents called her last night and wished her well for her first day. Her brother sent her a picture earlier that morning in his senior student representative uniform with the caption being a poop face; that was his love language.
"Morning, Denver," she said when she opened the bathroom and found him standing against the wall with a towel around his waist, waiting for his turn.
"You look good," he winked as he closed the door behind him. She just ignored him and locked her bedroom, setting her clothes on the bed. She already picked her outfit mentally while she was in the shower so she hoped it'd come together nicely. She wore a black crop top with a black high waist jean short paired with black faux suede block heel ankle boots.
She skipped on makeup and tied the first half of her hair into a bun, letting the other wet half rest on her shoulders. She then grabbed her bag and walked out, locking her room behind her and headed to the kitchen for a granola bar or two. She set them on the counter and just as she went for a water bottle, she heard a voice behind her.
"Aww, thank you." She span around, slightly frightened because she thought she'd have a few minutes to herself while he was in the shower. He was out so quickly and was currently eating her bar.
"You are such a swine," she groaned, annoyed, and grabbed it out of his hand. His eyes widened as he watched her shove the half-eaten bar into her mouth. He scoffed, smirking.
"I see you like to shove things in your mouth," he teased. Her face instantly turned pink. "You're actually very cute," he chuckled as he packed some snacks into his bag. He glanced in her direction and saw that her ears and neck were red. He didn't think much of it.
She shook her head, almost like coming back to earth. She glared at him. "You're not ruining my day. Not today," she said, smiling sarcastically as she walked passed him.
"Hey, wait up," he called, rushing to his room to get something. She watched him disappear into his bedroom. When she was sure he was gone, she let out a heavy shaky breath. Her hands were shaking and she had to go sit on the couch.
"It's all in the past. You're fine. You're safe. You're a good person," she whispered to herself until the shaking stopped. After breathing a couple more times, she looked towards Denver's room and gasped when she saw him standing behind the couch. She wondered how long he was there for.
For the first since he met her, he saw fear and vulnerability in her ears. But it was gone as soon as she blinked. "Shall we?"
She let him walk in front of her. That also gave her time she see what he was wearing. He wore a tight-fitted white shirt with black jeans and black vans.
His hair was combed backwards, some dry stands already standing upright. She had to admit he did look good from the back.
"Stop checking me out," he teased.
"Shut up," she said, biting a smile. He didn't know that she actually was checking him out. He just wanted to tease her. But her response made him grin.
***
As the weeks went by they fell into a good routine. No one was in the other's way and they didn't get on each other's nerves. On weekdays they were mostly locked up in their rooms, getting school work done and on Saturdays, he'd usually go out and she'd have the place all to herself. She would usually watch Netflix with a glass of wine and order in some burgers and fries.
That evening as he was preparing to meet up with some friends he saw her struggling to get t he cork out of the bottle. He halted, watching her. He knew she never spoke much, only when it was totally necessary, but today she was even more quiet. She had a faraway look on her face. He recognized the look from the other day.
He had a feeling something was bothering her but he didn't know how to get her to talk about it. Last thing he needed was her throwing pots and pans at his head for asking if she's on her periods or homesick.
However, he had a feeling she was in need of a friend to talk to. Plus, the few times they did talk, she was a good person to have a light conversation with.
The most recent conversation they've had was when he'd knock on her door the day before to ask for a pencil as an excuse to check up on her because she locked herself in her room all day that day.
"Hey, you staying in tonight?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up at him, almost surprised that he was still there. He reached for the wine and removed the cork with ease. Something was definitely up with her.
"I don't know why you ask when you already know the answer, Denver," she said, opening a packet of gummy bears and dumping everything into a bowl.
She started to separate them by color, giving him the dark colored ones. One thing he liked about their co-living was that she was always trying to share her snacks with him, even when he insisted he had his own.
"I was hoping the last seven days changed your mind," he said as he sat on the counter and helped her sort them out. He knew she did that when her mind was occupied. Which was every Saturday evening.
"I'm good. Plus, you have enough fun for us both so I'm not missing out on anything anyway," she said, smiling suggestively.
"Oh, so you got jokes, huh?" he chuckled. He decided to go for it. "Would you like some company tonight?"
She creased her eyebrows and shook her head. He thought about it for a second, but knew she wasn't one to easily change her mind. "Alright, Stamford. Don't have too much fun without me," he said as he got his jacket and keys.
She bit her lip, calling out after him. He turned, half expecting her to finally agree to accompany him to a chill with some of his friends. "Actually, I would really appreciate some company tonight," she spoke, her voice shaky.
He was hesitant at first. He didn't really want to fall over his feet by accepting her request because the reason he always went out was to give her the space to herself for a few hours. But he also wanted to keep her company and hear what has been on her mind lately. And with that came the risk of them becoming close. Would that lead to unrequited expectations? Him staying would mean they have to talk and bond. He questioned if he was even up for what that would lead to.
Against better judgement, he replied, "Pour me a glass."
***
"How old are you?" he asked as they watched a film.
She briefly glanced at him and thought it was an odd question but answered it nonetheless. "I'm nineteen."
"Me too," he gleamed, happy to finally find something they had in common. "Who would've thunk it?"
She scoffed, glancing at him before paying attention to the screen. They were watching Miss Bala. After a couple of minutes of trying to ignore his burning gaze she sighed and paused the film. "What is it?"
"Nothing," he smirked, turning his attention back to the television.
"Oh c'mon, you're dying to speak. What is it?" she asked, turning on the couch to face him. He did the same.
"Is this your first time being away from home?" he asked, taking a sip of wine.
"No, I've been away from home a lot of times. Like summer camps and internship programs and all that."
"Yeah, but other than now, have you lived away from home before?"
"No, I haven't, why?"
"It was kind of obvious," he chuckled. "You've been feeling homesick, haven't you?"
"Why would you say that?" she asked as she sat her glass down and focused on him.
"Well, apart from the fact that you've watched this film everyday since Monday?" he asked, soft yet clear that he was serious.
"And you wonder why we've never had a conversation before," she rolled her eyes and gulped the last of her drink.
"Oh, please. You have been to have me for a night," he grinned, nudging her shoulder softly and heard her chuckle.
She thought about that for a moment. "It was nice when we kept out of each other's way."
"Yet you invited me to spend the night."
"Well if you put it that way," she drawled out exaggeratedly. "You're actually a nice person."
"Actually?" he pretended to be offended.
"You said I'm 'actually' cute," she shot back.
"Touché," he nodded, sitting up straight. "You know what? From now on I'll start spending my Saturdays with you."
She was taken back by what he said. "Why? What about your friends?"
"They never said I'm actually nice. Plus, a great person once said I'm not missing out anything anyway."
She just hummed, leaning her head on his shoulder as she pressed 'play'. He internally cheered as he realized this was the start of a great friendship.