A few hours later, Sasha had put the two loads of laundry Cooper had brought with him through the washer and dryer and Cooper was still asleep. Sasha was mostly fine with that, but he was starting to worry that Cooper might sleep through something else he was supposed to be doing.
It was fine at first because Sasha had known that if Cooper hadn’t been here, asleep in Sasha’s bed while Sasha did his laundry, he would have been at the laundromat. Now, though, they’d passed the point where he probably would have been done, so they were entering into uncertain territory.
But did Sasha really want to wake him? He looked so peaceful, and if he hadn’t stirred this whole time even as Sasha dealt with the laundry, he must have been really tired.
Sasha heard next door’s door open and shut and then voices from inside. Ellie and Abra. Their door opened again, and a few seconds later there was a knock on Sasha’s door.
Sasha froze, his breathing constricting. It didn’t make sense to feel this much fear. They were Cooper’s friends, his roommates. They were probably just wondering where he was. Those were the rational thoughts Sasha tried to fill his head with, but it didn’t stop him feeling like he was about to get yelled at.
He had no choice but to wake Cooper now. He gently shook his shoulder. “Cooper.”
“Mm?” Cooper said as he slowly came awake. He rubbed at his eyes as he blinked them against the afternoon light.
“I think your roommates are here looking for you,” Sasha told him. “Someone just knocked on the door.”
“Oh,” Cooper said as he sat up. He yawned, stretched his arms out, and climbed off the bed. “Sorry for falling asleep. I didn’t mean to. Was I asleep long? I feel like I might have been…”
Sasha shrugged, because how long was long, but also because four hours definitely was a long time and he didn’t want to make Cooper feel bad.
As Cooper went to answer the door, Sasha positioned himself sort of behind him. Not quite close enough to be answering the door with him but not quite far enough away to be completely uninvolved. Both options had felt awkward, so instead he’d chosen a weird mid-point that only served to achieve maximum awkwardness.
There were two people at the door, and Sasha could only assume they were Abra and Ellie. Abra had long, dark brown hair tied back neatly in a ponytail and big, dark eyes. He gave the impression of someone who had never in their life experienced social anxiety, which Sasha found instinctively intimidating.
Ellie stood next to him, one arm resting on his shoulder.. Her hair was shaved short on the sides and left long on top — a mohawk — and was such a dark brown it was almost black, except for the tips of the mohawk which had been dyed a subtle orange that blended into her natural hair colour. Her dark brown, almond shaped eyes were surrounded by heavy eyeliner.
“Ah, you are here,” Abra said. Sasha was sure it was Abra now because he recognised his voice. “We tried calling you, but your phone didn’t ring.”
Cooper pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed a button on the side, but the screen stayed black. “Ah. It died.”
“Well, no problem,” Abra said. “Did you get the laundry done?”
“See, about that. I was going to go to the laundromat, but then I ran into Sasha and he said I could use his washer and dryer which was very nice of him, so I put the first load on and we were laying on his bed talking and then I fucking fell asleep, so…”
Sasha twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt. “Um, I finished doing it. It’s all done.”
The look Cooper gave him held such disproportionate gratitude that Sasha had to look away. “You’re so… good. Oh, um! Sasha, these are my roommates, Abra and Ellie. Abra, Ellie, this is Sasha. As you can see, he’s a living boy.”
“Um. Yep. I am,” Sasha said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sasha,” Abra said. “Cooper’s told us a lot about you.”
“We had a running joke that you were a ghost because Cooper was the only one who had ever seen you,” Ellie explained.
“Oh,” Sasha said.
“Would you like to come over for dinner, Sasha?” Abra asked. “It’s perfectly fine if that’s a bit much for you, but we have fish and chips and we have way more than we can eat, so if you’d like to join us you’re very welcome.”
“Oh, um…” Sasha hesitated. “Okay.”
Sasha wasn’t sure he wanted to go in the sense that he expected to enjoy himself, but accepting the invitation and getting to know Cooper’s roommates a little felt important. He was pretty sure that was how other people felt about things like graduation ceremonies and formal dinners. Nobody actually enjoyed them, surely, but they held value in other ways.
Or maybe not. Maybe some things just became the done thing because it was considered rude to admit you didn’t want to do them and everyone assumed everyone else wanted to be there. Or, stranger still, perhaps other people really did enjoy that sort of thing.
Anyway, Sasha was such an awkward human being that he was already next door and sitting down on the edge of the bed Cooper had directed him to when he realised he hadn’t actually expressed gratitude for the invitation in any way.
“Oh, um, thank you,” Sasha said, but it was far too late and Abra just looked confused. “For, um, food. For inviting me. For, um— to eat— yeah.”
Sasha had expected everyone to laugh at him, but nobody did. Cooper, who was sitting next to him, leant over so that his shoulder pressed against Sasha’s.
“Oh! You’re welcome,” Abra said as he bent to get some plates from the cabinet. “Sorry if it’s a bit crowded in here. We’re used to it so we don’t mind, but it’s not for everybody.”
Cooper sat fully upright again, back in his own personal space. Sasha had never considered himself a very touchy person, but he’d liked having him there.
Sasha shrugged in response to Abra. “Sometimes things are good for sometimes.”
“True,” Abra said as though what Sasha had just said had been remotely coherent.
Sasha was glad the food he was being given was chips. He was an incredibly fussy eater, but chips had never let him down. Sometimes they were thicker or thinner, crispier or softer, but he’d never had a chip he didn’t like.
Abra handed out the plates of food and then sat down at the head of the bed next to Ellie.
“How are you liking living here so far, Sasha?” Ellie asked.
Sasha pretended the chip in his mouth needed to be chewed very thoroughly, because he really didn’t know how to answer that. The truth was that he was not fond of it, and if he said anything else he was sure it would be an obvious lie.
On the other hand, if he said anything negative there would probably be follow up questions and perhaps even sympathy. He appreciated sympathy, sort of, but he didn’t enjoy it. He never knew how to respond to it. Sympathy was like a sort of emotional gift, only there was generally no point at which you could simply express gratitude and cleanly move on. You’d thank them for their kindness and then they’d continue being kind and then what did you do? Just keep thanking them? It was complicated.
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