08: College...
Jared stepped off the bus, a heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder and his backpack weighing him down.
The towering buildings of the college campus loomed ahead, and students buzzed around, pulling suitcases and carting boxes to their dorms.
It still felt surreal—he was about to move into his dorm room. It was his first time living away from home.
In his past life, he had dropped out before he ever experienced dorm life.
Jared adjusted the bag on his shoulder and made his way toward the dorm building. As he walked, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a text from Connor.
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[LINE: Connor Harper.]
Connor: Yo, you at the dorms yet?
Jared: Yeah, just got here.
Connor: Dude, I can't believe you're moving out. Who's gonna let me borrow their stuff now?
Jared: You mean steal my stuff.
Connor: Whatever. Who's your roommate? Think they'll recognize you from TikTok?
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Jared chuckled at that last text. 'Connor's probably right,' he thought. After his TikTok had blown up, it was becoming harder to keep a low profile.
As he made his way up to his room, he found himself both nervous and curious about meeting his roommate. He wasn't sure what to expect.
Room 302. Jared took a deep breath and opened the door.
Inside was a guy roughly his age, sitting on the bed opposite the door, scrolling through his phone. The guy looked up as Jared walked in and immediately grinned.
"Dude!" the guy said, hopping up from his bed. "Wait… are you, Eclipse? The Editor guy?"
Jared froze for a second, then laughed awkwardly. "Uh, yeah. That's me."
"No way!" the guy said, walking over with an extended hand. "I've seen your edits, man. They're fire. I'm Ryan."
Jared shook his hand, feeling a wave of relief. "Thanks, dude. Nice to meet you."
Ryan grinned, stepping back and leaning against his desk. "I swear, I was just watching your One Piece edit yesterday. That thing blew up!"
Jared chuckled. "Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I wasn't expecting it to take off like that."
Ryan shrugged. "Dude, it's well-deserved. I've been making some AMVs myself, but nothing like what you're doing. You've got serious skills."
Jared's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, you edit too?"
Ryan nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, man! I'm into all that anime, editing stuff too. Mostly for fun, though. Nothing on your level."
Jared felt a huge sense of relief wash over him. 'Finally, someone I can vibe with.' He set his bags down on his bed, realizing this whole dorm thing might be easier than he thought.
"So, what else are you into?" Jared asked, genuinely curious.
"Anime, gaming, movies," Ryan said, ticking off interests on his fingers. "Same stuff as most people around here, I guess. But I spend way too much time editing and gaming."
Jared grinned. "Yeah, that sounds like me."
As the afternoon wore on, Jared and Ryan unpacked their stuff, trading stories about their favorite anime and games.
It turned out they had a lot in common. They even shared a love for horror gaming, something Jared hadn't expected. By the time their room was set up, Jared felt like he'd known Ryan for years.
"Man, I thought moving into a dorm was gonna be awkward," Jared said, setting up his laptop on the desk. "But this isn't bad."
Ryan laughed. "Yeah, same here. Most people are kinda weird the first time they meet their roommates. But you're really chill."
"Thanks," Jared replied. "I'm just trying to survive."
Ryan glanced at Jared's setup. "So… you working on another edit? I don't want to cramp your style if you're gonna be creating masterpieces over there."
Jared chuckled. "Actually, the system told me not to edit today. I guess it's keeping track of trends and stuff. Feels weird not editing when I've got all this momentum."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "System?"
Jared his heart dropped, and he quickly realized he couldn't just blurt out everything about his secret system. "Oh, you know… like keeping track of TikTok trends. Sometimes it's better to wait before posting again." He replied awkwardly.
Ryan nodded, understanding. "Makes sense. You're like… strategizing. Smart."
Jared felt a slight wave of relief wash over him.
'Crisis averted.'
That evening, Jared checked his phone as he lay on his bed. His One-Piece edit had climbed even higher since the morning.
Jared blinked at the numbers, amazed at how fast everything was growing. He felt a mix of excitement and disbelief, wondering how long he could keep this up.
Just then, his phone buzzed with another text from Connor.
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[LINE: Connor Harper.]
Connor: Dude, I just saw your edit hit almost 300K views!
Jared: Yeah, it's crazy. I didn't expect that.
Connor: You're gonna be the most popular kid at school at this rate.
Jared: I hope not. I'm just trying to get through peacefully.
Connor: Lol. Good luck with that.
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Jared laughed to himself as he set his phone down. He liked that even despite everything changing around him, Connor could still bring him back down to earth with his sarcastic texts.
Ryan glanced over from his side of the room. "What's so funny?"
"Just my brother being a pain," Jared replied, shaking his head.
Ryan chuckled. "Siblings, man. What can you do?"
Jared nodded in agreement. "Yeah. At least they keep you grounded."
Ryan leaned back in his chair. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow? Survive classes or sneak in some gaming?"
Jared grinned. "A little of both, if I'm lucky."
That night, as Jared lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, he couldn't help but feel a sense of optimism.
College was going to be different this time around.
He had a friend, his TikTok was growing, and the system...
'I've got this,' he thought to himself, finally feeling at ease.
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A/N: Before saying anything, I'd like to apologize for delaying this chapter for 11 days.
I don't like making excuses, but this is entirely school's fault! This chapter is more focused about transitioning to college, so I hope you liked it.
Also, I want to mention this again: I don't know how school works.
Next chapter comes out: I don't even know :P