Mira really shouldn’t be having coffee at three in the afternoon, but Deimos wouldn’t tell her that. She looked like shit, but then again one look in the mirror and Deimos knew he looked like shit too. He spent the whole night taking care of Mira’s drunk ass so of course he looks like he hasn’t showered and slept in decades. She’s a fucking riot from the vomiting in his car to the singing when she should have been giving directions to the stripping of her clothes to mop up vomit to the cute bra she was wearing when she was shirtless in her truck to the sudden crying session at a red light.

What did Deimos get himself into? Last night felt like a fever dream bordering nightmare. Mira was a walking nightmare. She knew too much about him and she was so hard to handle drunk. If she ever had another drunken episode, it’s one hundred percent likely for her to just spew out a fun fact about Deimos’ favourite hobby. She told him stuff at that red light he didn’t want to know about like how for the longest time she had a crush on her roommate (who he met at five in the morning carrying a vomit-covered Mira) and still hasn’t completely recovered from it or how one time in high school she accidentally peed on the washroom floor. All the preconceived notions Deimos had of her went out the door after handling her for the night. Mira was the worst.

“Coffee and food is on me,” she said as they arrived to a cute indie café. Deimos squinted at her, following this little brat inside this dim and rustic shop that played music from records. The barista knew her immediately, a pale-skinned dude with a lip piercing and guessed her drink without any of her help. She laughed and nodded, poking at Deimos to order as well. He grumbled out a black coffee and a wrap. Afterwards, they sat in one of these little cubicles where students could camp out in and study at with soft seating and easy-on-the-eyes lighting. From how the barista served them their drinks and chatted happily with Mira, it was obvious that this was her workstation.

“What the hell are you looking at?” Deimos hissed while he sipped at his steaming drink. Mira had this stupid smug smirk on her face.

“I’m so sorry,” she laughed and paused, trying to compose herself. “Sorry, that doesn’t seem genuine. I’m actually, like, really sorry for last night.”

“You should be,” he muttered.

“How did my roommates let you stay over?” She asked as she nibbled on her oatmeal cookie.

“It was five in the morning and they were tired out of their minds,” he responded. Raven, her oldest friend from elementary and the one Mira had a crush on for the longest time, was waiting at the door for them and didn’t help at all. From the messy hair and half-lidded eyes, she had just woken up to show Deimos where the medicine, washroom and washing machine was before falling asleep again. Her other two roommates were dead asleep while Mira was a sack of potatoes and made Deimos throw her onto the bed and take off her skinny jeans for her.

He blushed a little. Mira was wearing cute underwear.

Scrubbing away that thought by literally scrubbing his face, he gulped down his drink and ate his wrap in seconds. Mira took her time, looking out the window absent-mindedly at the snow blanketing the buildings and sidewalks. Her cheeks were still red from the cold. Maybe if she was this quiet and mysterious all the time, Deimos might have fallen in love with her.

He might have.

“Do you work or have anything to do today?” Mira asked suddenly.

Deimos shook his head.

“Ok, that’s at least one thing I don’t have to feel guilty about,” she laughed.

“A million to go,” he shot back sarcastically. Mira frowned and sipped her drink glaring at him. He smirked, hiding his smile with his drink.

To be completely honest, Deimos had no idea what Mira could do for him. Honestly, he wasn’t too angry at her since she already made a deal about thoroughly cleaning his car on the walk here, but still insisted to repay him. Free coffee and breakfast would be nice for a bit, but it felt like he was just using her for free food (even though the offer seems super appealing). She can’t drive for shit, but could pay for gas if he drives her to school.

“What classes to you have next term?” Deimos asked calmly. He knew Mira was a Visual Arts student, he was just a plain old Arts student, and it was a slim chance they had classes together because of how specific Mira’s course was and how broad his was, but it was still something to think about how she could help him study and vice versa.

Mira perked up and pulled out her phone. “I probably have a schedule in my photos- ah, found it. Here.”

“You have a six course schedule next term?”

“Yeah, and I’m going to die.”

“Rest in pieces. I’ve got four.”

“Yeah, fuck you too,” Mira grumbled. Her pouting was cute.

“Oh shit.” Deimos’ eyebrows raised up in surprise. “We’ve got two classes together. Studies in Modern Film and Medieval English Literature.”

Mira mimicked his surprised expression. “I never thought of you as such a nerd.”

Deimos frowned even though he was pretty happy to know Mira wasn’t going to fade away yet. Not like he cared about her in the first place; she was an interesting character and it’s too much of a hassle to go find her around campus if their schedules don’t match up.

Glancing over at the little demon on the other side of the table, Deimos studied Mira’s lips as she bit into her little snacks and sipped at her drink that never seemed to end.

“So, what movies do you like?” He asked suddenly. They had a class in modern film so obviously she liked film. From her character (before the party), Deimos assumed she liked Oscar-nominated historical films or indie films with beautiful cinematography. In class, she’s always chatting and dissecting art pieces thoroughly, finding every minuscule meaning behind it. She’s probably enthralled by indie arthouse films.

Mira hummed and shrugged. “Action movies, sci-fi? Blockbuster summer ‘bro’ movies,” she said bluntly. Deimos paused.

Once again she pulls the rug underneath him.

“What kind of action movies?” Deimos was so shocked, he laughed.

“Spy thrillers? Superheroes, apocalypse, revenge stories,” she listed off. “My favourites are Pacific Rim, Kingsmen, Kill Bill, Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars, etc.”

She’s perfect.

Deimos blinked and cleared his throat. “And science fiction?”

“Oh!” Her eyes sparkled. “I love space movies! I loved Interstellar, The Martian, Sunshine, Arrival and you get the point. I haven’t gotten around to watching 2001: A Space Odyssey yet though.”

“You’re missing out.” He smirked and leaned against the table.

“What movies do you like?” Mira laughed.

“Most of the same things you like,” he chuckled. He was actually genuinely surprised how similar they were. “Whiplash and Nightcrawler are good as well.”

Enthralled, Mira reached out for his hand and tapped it excitedly. He’s seen her do this stupid cute quirk of hers before with her friends when she gets excited about a certain topic. “I loved Whiplash!”

Somehow for at least a solid hour Deimos ended up chatting about movies with Mira. She was passionate and articulate with the movies she liked, pouring out his heart to him about the hidden meanings and how beautiful certain scores were. She went into how cinematography, colour and composition influences greatly with a scene and its tone, and how beautiful and fluid animation can be with certain studios. She was animated when she talked, more expressive than he’s ever seen her, with her eyes sparkling like stars and lips pulled into a huge grin. She rubbed off onto him and he found himself smiling whenever she went off these random but extremely passionate tangents that ranged from the underlying meaning of human’s existence to how adorable an actor was in portraying a scene. Whenever Deimos gave input about a movie, she made him feel so warm and…heard, with her eyes staring straight at him and nodding vigorously to his opinion. He felt…valuable to her.

After the conversation bled into different topics, Mira still had that loving, caring and poignant focus. When Deimos complained about living home alone, Mira nodded slowly and offered her help in anything if he was ever feeling down (which was a lot). But, she also had a way of not belittling him and trying to be a mother-like figure. She understood his troubles and told him that she’d be there for him without seeming like a dick about it. Deimos didn’t know how she did it. It was a combination of her joking and sarcastic attitude, but also caring and loving words. It made Deimos dizzy. It’s been a while since he’s chatted so long with another individual.

Mira talked about her troubles as well with Deimos without dumping her feelings and making him feel like shit afterwards. Her father wasn’t the greatest figure and didn’t support her coming to the university. Her friends she’s known for almost a decade all go to the college in town and not the university on the outskirts. She’s tired and time seems to be going way too fast.

Mira bit into her wrap, which she ordered recently because they’ve been here for more than two hours, and sighed. “Becoming an adult is weird. I don’t want to grow up.”

Deimos chuckled and shrugged. He sipped at his cold iced tea, because once again they’ve been here for more than two hours and got hungry again. “But, hey, you’re away from your parents. You can do whatever you want.”

Mira smiled at him. “To think I’d get positive advice from Deimos.”

“Yeah, screw you too.” He crinkled his nose at her and smiled back. It was dark already with the heaters blasting high and the café warm and cozy. It was close to closing hours already with only another couple and a student in the dark and golden place left.

“What about you? Miss your parents?” Mira asked.

Deimos paused and chose his words carefully. He didn’t feel like telling her everything yet. They’ve known each other for about five hours (which excluded the ten hours Mira slept). “They’re divorced. Father’s been a dick and mom’s been a saint.” He smirked. “Same boat as you. Older sister’s a pain in the ass.”

Mira gave him a cat-like smile. “We kids with daddy issues have to stick together.”

He rolled his eyes and slumped into his seat. “What the hell is wrong with you,” he laughed.

She shrugged back. “You’re pretty cool,” she murmured, leaning against the table, closer to his face. Since she took a shower, she smelled like vanilla and cookies and her hair was magnificently puffy. “I like you.”

Deimos’s stomach flipped.

“Hey, since we both really like movies, you wanna have little movie dates?” She asked happily. “I know a new Marvel movie is coming out soon and none of my friends have time to watch it. My mom was my original movie buddy, but you can work as well.”

Deimos knew Mira was spouting innocent, fluffy shit. But it made every inch of his skin burn with her short little confession.

“Sure, but you’re paying.”

“Mira! Your stupidly hot university friend is here!”

Instantly, Mira jolted out of her nap and sat up quickly, which resulted in her spectacularly smashing her head on the bottom of her desk. The noise of a thousand books, pens and pencils jumping from her head’s impact was enough to completely wake her, as well as the throbbing pain on the back of her skull.

“Did you die!?” Raven, her oldest friend and roommate, hollered.

Mira whined out and slumped back onto the floor, rubbing her head painfully. She heard the door shut and the murmur of a conversation before two sets of feet approached her room/studio.

“Holy shit, her place is a mess.”

“The moment winter break started she’s been holed up in this room doing whatever like some stupid monk.”

“Why the fuck is she under her desk?”

“Dunno.”

Mira rolled over and glared at the two individuals at her door. Raven was in the usual grey sweats and messy ponytail while Deimos was bundled up in three layers of jackets, a scarf and fuzzy blue socks. “Don’t talk about me when I’m right here.”

“Why are you under your desk,” Deimos asked again.

“I was experimenting with glowing paints and this is the darkest spot in the room,” she replied bluntly.

“You fell asleep,” Raven pointed out. The blankets and pillows sprinkled around her desk were solid evidence.

“The heater is under here as well,” she admitted.

Deimos let out a bark of a laugh. Raven rolled her eyes and glanced at Mira with a smile. Mira could already predict the jokes and snide remarks she was going to get after he leaves. Slowly like a newborn calf, she wiggled out of her little fort and heaved herself up. Yawning loudly, she nonchalantly walked over to Deimos and slumped against him. He tensed up as she nuzzled her face into his chest, which was ice cold leather, and wrapped her arms around him.

“Amazing what one night barfing in a stranger’s truck can do,” Raven commented as Deimos proceeded to bicker and pester Mira off. Mira clung on like a leech, snickering at Deimos’ shy but angry reactions.

“I hate everything about her,” he hissed back at her.

“Happy New Year’s.” Mira smiled brightly at him.

“Don’t worry, she’s clingy with everyone,” Raven stated.

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Hey, at least she cares.” Raven shrugged and sighed. “I’ll leave you two brats to it, I’m tired. Don’t be too loud, Dani and the others are still sleeping.”

“What the hell is wrong with your place, it’s four in the afternoon,” he hissed.

“We’re all insomniacs,” Mira chuckled, finally unlatching herself to him and promptly flopping onto her bed. Deimos followed, stripping his jacket and lying flat on the mattress beside her.

“Your house is a frat house,” he commented, staring up at her ceiling covered with stars and hanging planets.

“We’re classy fratboys,” she snickered.

Deimos rolled his eyes and glanced at her questioning. “Anyway, why’d you want me over?”

Mira flopped beside him and rolled onto her side, smiling brightly at him. “Just wanted to hang out with you.”

“You’ve got four roommates, you don’t need me.”

“Half of them are with their partners all the time and the other half are holed up in their rooms like me,” she muttered sourly. “Also, we’ve got a lot of leftovers from four other moms from Christmas and New Year’s dinner so we’re trying to get rid of some stuff before it gets rotten.”

“What about just freezing the rest?”

“We don’t have enough space in the freezer.”

Deimos rolled his eyes. “We’re watching Django Unchained then.”