Rowan had barely gotten used to the team. After years of being on his own, suddenly surrounded by students and crowds of people, he was not in his natural environment. It was hardly surprising that he was still trying to find his footing with his roommate, even though he had been living with Zach for almost two months. Most of the time, Rowan spent alone or with Logan, while he only saw Zach in the room, and even then, mostly just in the evenings and mornings.

A week before the semester started, this was understandable. Rowan attended all the mandatory lectures on academic rules, campus tours, and meetings with advisors, but decided to skip all the socialization events. Instead, he convinced Matteo to let him spend that time with him at the apartment in Goldby City.

Then the semester began, along with the first lectures and seminars. The first days were stressful for most people, the villain included, as it was necessary to set up a schedule he could manage. In his case, however, it was not about the difficulty of the classes, but about trying to arrange his subjects in a way that would give him more free time so he could head home whenever he wanted.

He and Zach did not share many classes apart from the general ones, and in those they did share, they sat next to each other, but Rowan never knew how to strike up a conversation, so he simply didn't. The brown-haired man was much younger than him, which was to be expected, and since Rowan’s priority at the moment was wedding planning, he didn't think they had much in common.

Logan was, understandably, in a higher year, so they did not share any classes. Moreover, while the villain wanted to focus on Computer Engineering, Logan was in his final year of a bachelor’s degree in Web Design & Development. However, he had already completed some of the same subjects that awaited Rowan—like English, the freshman seminar, and general education courses, though math at a lower level—so he was ready to advise him if he ever needed help with anything.

After two months, the villain had learned the names of some of his classmates, mostly those who spoke up the most during lectures, and apart from them, he only knew Zach, Logan, and Logan’s roommate, Tim. That was the extent of his social life during the seven weeks he had been at the school.

He thought Zach was fine with that and was also keeping his distance once he realized that Rowan wasn't exactly social, but he quickly found out he was wrong.

“Are you two together?” he surprised him with the question one afternoon, when Rowan decided to use his free time to clean, even though he did not have enough things to actually make the room messy.

“What?” He turned to his roommate in confusion.

“You and Logan,” Zach specified. “Are you together?”

Rowan looked confused before answering, “I’m married.” 

This caused Zach’s expression to shift quickly into confusion as well.

“Seriously?”

The villain nodded and lifted his hand, showing him the wedding band on his finger. “Since last month,” he admitted honestly.

It was not surprising that Zach did not know about his wedding. Since the beginning of the semester, Rowan and he had exchanged only a handful of words, most of which were related to school. The only things the villain knew about his roommate were that he came from Vindtorp, a small town that could not even be compared to Krasport. He also knew that he had two siblings, since he talked to them on the phone, and that, unlike Rowan, he was the right age to start university, even though he had taken a gap year.

“I still haven’t even managed to figure out where the right classroom for Biology is, and you got married?” The brown-haired man seemed completely baffled.

The villain shrugged. “I didn’t want to postpone the wedding because of school, so we moved it up,” he explained truthfully.

Zach still looked like he needed a moment to process all the information he had just received. Surprisingly, Rowan found himself being the one to keep the conversation going so it wouldn't stall. “Why did you ask? Do you have a crush on Logan or something?”

“No,” Zach answered with a tone that was a bit too sharp before he realized it. “Not that I have anything against him or gay people, but I’m straight. I only asked because you two spend so much time together.”

“We know each other from Goldby City,” the villain revealed. “He’s the only person I know here from back home.”

“Makes sense.” The brown-haired man nodded. Despite getting the information he wanted and much more, he still looked like he wasn't entirely satisfied.

Rowan wondered if he should speak up again and ask, but before he could even think of a question, Zach continued and shocked him once more. “I kind of thought he was your boyfriend and that he was jealous, so you weren't talking to anyone else because of him.”

“I’m not very social,” the villain replied, once again choosing the truth. “I don’t really know what to talk about with people, to be honest.”

“So I don’t have to worry that you hate me?” His roommate now looked amused.

“No.” Perhaps he should have felt bad because of the question, but instead, Rowan matched his amusement and let out a short laugh.

“Good.” Zach was still smiling, and this officially became the longest conversation they had ever had. “That would have been a pretty awkward semester otherwise.”

“More awkward than the fact that you still haven't found the right Biology classroom?” Rowan remembered his previous words and used them against him before he could even realize he had done it. It was natural for him in conversations with his friends, so he didn't think twice before doing it now too.

“Oh my God.” The brown-haired man burst out laughing and threw himself back onto his bed, his back hitting the soft mattress. Right after that, however, he propped himself up on his elbows. “Not all of us have the advantage of older friends.”