Jake woke up, a strange sense of loss setting him on edge. 

He was alone. In Damien’s bed. 

He wasn’t usually the clingy type, so that seemed like an embarrassing overreaction. 

“Morning, sleepy head. I thought you might sleep all day, too,” Damien greeted from across the small apartment. 

Ridiculously stiff and sore from full body bruises and too much sleep, Jake winced as he sat up. “Sorry. I’ll get out of your hair now. I didn’t actually mean to fall asleep.” 

Damien crossed the room quickly, pressing a cup of coffee into his hand. “You have my explicit permission to be in my hair any time you wish,” he stated, eyes soft. 

His cheeks heated up, unprepared for that level of intensity before caffeine. “Thank you,” Jake mumbled into his coffee. “I haven’t slept that long in... ages.”

“Oh?” Damien raised an eyebrow, perched on the back of the rickety couch with his own mug.

“I have all morning classes, remember? But I’m an idiot that procrastinates on homework, so I end up staying up way too late to get it finished.” 

“You’re not an idiot,” Damien said, shaking his head. “I should have made sure all my classes were at similar times.”

“Yeah. It makes life easier. Why are you even in our Lit class? Didn’t you say you’re a BioChem major?” Jake asked, something he’d been wondering for the last several days.

“Not saying I mind the class”—Damien smirked—“but it’s a make-up English class for one that didn’t transfer.”

“That’s dumb. You shouldn’t get penalized for transferring.” 

Damien shrugged. “Shouldn’t you be done with your English classes, too?” 

“Umm, yes and no. I’m an English minor—” Jake took a sip of coffee to hide his hesitation. “I’m also a semester behind.” He really didn’t want to sit on this topic, so Jake moved on before Damien could comment. “Why did you transfer?”

“Well, I wasn’t really happy with the BioChem program.” Damien ran his fingers through his hair. “And I sort of got into a disagreement with the head of department...” He heaved a sigh. “And then I got offered a full ride scholarship here.” 

Jake choked on his coffee. Setting his mug down, he coughed for a minute, eyes watering. “You— You got a full ride. Scholarship. Here. But you’re— Hah. Wow.” 

“I’m trying really hard not to be offended right now,” Damien said, head tilted to the side. 

“Take it as a compliment,” Jake replied. “I did not see that coming,” he mumbled under his breath. 

“Why were you so... surprised?” 

Blinking away his shock, Jake finally focused on Damien again. “Are you familiar with the scholarship setup here?” he asked, dancing around the question.

“Not really,” Damien admitted with a small frown.

“Yeah. So, they give out six scholarships per school year. Just six. And only two are full ride scholarships. The next two are half and the last two are quarter. So, as I said, take it as a compliment,” Jake summarized. 

Damien was gaping at him.

“You’re gonna catch a fly,” Jake said dryly. He carefully got to his feet while Damien was distracted, wincing at the aches that seemed permanent these days. 

“Need an ice pack?” Damien offered, seeming to snap out of his daze a bit.

“I have something in my room. Thanks, though. I should get back soon so I can finish up all my homework.” 

He found his hoodie draped over the arm of the couch and slipped it on, not even bothering with the zipper. Jake stepped in front of Damien – who still looked dumbfounded – reaching over to squeeze his hand. 

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow. Thanks, again, for everything.” Jake hesitated in the doorway. “Oh, and maybe don’t mention the scholarship thing to anyone else, ‘kay?”