“Oh, I forgot to mention,” Bill said, once he pulled into the parking lot of of his condo. “I have a roommate.”

Maddy scrambled out of the window and took in the outside of the building. It was painted baby blue with slate gray shutters that matched the roof. It looked narrow, but what it lacked in width it made up in height. It was two stories high with a small balcony on the second floor.

“He can be a little moody, but he’s mostly harmless.” Bill continued to explain as he shut off the car and stepped out.

He nodded and let Bill lead him to the front door. So despite, talking about his family so often, he didn't live with them.

“Taiyo! I’m home!” Bill shouted once he entered the condo, but there was no response. Bill turned to Maddy with a lopsided grin, “See, he doesn’t even acknowledge my existence. You'll be fine staying here until you sort another place to live.”

“Maybe he’s not home?” He suggested, looking past Bill. The entrance of the condo stood between the kitchen and the living room.

In the kitchen was a simple wooden table with four chairs. The back wall was lined with cabinets, a stainless steel fridge, a microwave and a dishwasher. A white counter wrapped along the wall and only split to make room for the stove and sink.

He said while reaching for the handle, “Nah, he’s here. He’s probably just painting in his room, or something.”

Bill pulled out bread, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise from the fridge. Maddy’s nose twitched when he next took out sliced turkey meat.

“So I have a couple of classes later and then training with my dad, but feel free to hang out here until I come back. You hungry?” Bill asked, making a mess of the ingredients.

“I could eat,” He shrugged, watching Bill intently as he placed the meat in his sandwich.

Bill smushed his sandwich together and walked around the counter to face Maddy.

“Here, have a bite,” Bill shoved his sandwich in his face.

“No, no, I’m fine,” He said, shaking his head and taking a step back.

“It’s okay, really. I insist.” Bill smiled brightly.

Maddy found all his defenses dropping. He looked down at the sandwich and then back at Bill, who nudged it eagerly in his face.

He took a bite and smiled.

“I may not be Gordon Ramsey, but I know how to make a damn good sandwich.” Bill took back his sandwich and took a bite out of it.

“I think I may just be a biased critic. The only homemade food I ever get is from Dee or Doug. And I think Dee is secretly trying to poison me while, Doug tends to over cook and salt most of his meals." He said after swallowing.

“Who’s Doug?” Bill quirked his head.

“He’s the owner of the restaurant I work at.” He explained.

“Oh! Do you mean Douggie’s down on Third Street?” Bill's eyes widened with recognition of the name.

“That’d be the one. You know I should probably call him. I have a shift tonight and I don’t know if I can make it." He reached into his pocket to get his phone.

“I could give you a lift, if you need one.” Bill offered.

“Really? Are you sure? You’ve already done so much for me.” He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the sandwich in Bill’s hands.

“Honestly, it’s no trouble. Besides, you’ve had a rough day. Are you even sure you want to go?”

“Yeah, it’d be a good distraction.” He nodded.

His attention quickly shifted to the staircase by the sound of heavy footsteps coming down from the second floor.

Maddy’s eyes locked with light blue hues and his chest immediately constricted. He could hear blood pumping in his ears as his palms quickly grew sweaty. He let out a slow shaky breath. Whoever this stranger was, it made him want to flip every table and punch every wall in the house.

The Stranger on the staircase narrowed his gaze. His once sleepy posture stiffened as the tension slowly rose between them. His eyes began to glow. Bright and intense.

He blinked and broke eye contact first. When he looked back, the Stranger’s eyes were a normal shade of blue. The storm inside Maddy dissipated just as quickly as it had arrived. It left him confused and uncertain he felt anything at all.

“You didn’t tell me we were having guests,” The Stranger said, his voice was deep and raspy from sleep.

Bill, seemingly unaware of the tension that unfolded, looked up. His face broke into a bright big smile. “Ah, you looks like you were napping. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

The Stranger shrugged and his body seemed to have relaxed when he looked over at Bill.

“Taiyo, this is Maddy,” Bill continued, before taking a rather large bite out of his sandwich. Three more bites and it would be gone. He added with a mouthful of bread, “He’s going through a bit of a rough time, so I offered him to stay here. If that’s alright with you, of course.”

Taiyo turned his attention back onto Maddy. He reached the bottom step and scrunched up his nose, as if he was smelling week old dirty laundry.

The hair on his neck stood up. What was this guy’s deal?

Maddy noticed that Taiyo’s muscles weren’t gaudy, but they were definitely prominent, even under his baggy clothes. He wore an old T-shirt and gym shorts, both covered in more paint than fabric. His hair was jet black and his large blue eyes were as light and vast as the sky and definitely glowing again.

How was he doing that? Was it a trick of the light? Was it magic?

After a long pause, Bill quietly said, “Please.”

Taiyo’s entire body relaxed. Without breaking eye contact, he said, “You can sleep on the couch. It doesn’t unfold into a bed.”

Maddy’s head quirked. He opened his mouth ready to protest, but Bill spoke up first.

“Ah really?!” Bill’s lips broke into a boyish grin. “Tha-“

Bill’s phone went off, turning his bright features into a scowl.

“Shit- class. I forgot.” Bill's expression shifted and his movements became frantic as double checked the time on his phone.

Bill took another bite of his sandwich and handed the rest to Maddy. He winked and said, “See, nothing to worry about.” He turned to Taiyo just before walking out the door, “You’re the best! Pizza’s on me tonight!” He gestured at Maddy. “If you want a ride to the restaurant, you'll have to leave now.”

Bill left the house before he could reply.

“Thanks,” He said awkwardly to Taiyo before turning to leave.

Taiyo closed the gap between them as he walked toward the door. His hand stretched out and for a brief moment and he thought he was going to get punched. He squeezed his eyes shut. The sandwich he was holding left his grip and opened his eyes to see Taiyo finish the last of it.

“Shower when you get back. You stink.” He said stretching his muscles and shaking off sleep. His posture and cold persona seemed to disappear and Maddy wondered if he had imagined the whole thing.

He blinked, confusion crossing his face. No, this guy was trying to size him up earlier. He was certain of it the noose around his heart did, too.

Bill honked the car horn from outside.

“You better hurry, he doesn’t like to wait,” Taiyo said hopping onto the couch in the living room and turning on the TV.

“Right,” Maddy said slowly walking toward the door once more, “Thanks again.”

Taiyo gestured a goodbye with his hand.

Maddy furrowed his brows as shimmied back into Bill’s car.

Taiyo was definintely Strange…