By the time Alec had made it to his dorm, he already had four missed calls from his mother. With a sigh, he swiped the notification away, mentally noting to call her back as soon as he finished unpacking. He supposed he could understand her worry, he had decided to transfer to an out of state college for his second year.

Though he was miles from home, he had to admit, freedom felt great.

314…

He stopped at the door marking his dorm. He slid his phone into his pocket and tightened the grip on his pull along suitcase. He had been informed over an email that he would have a roommate. The thought of sharing his living spaces with a stranger did cause a well of anxiety to bubble in his chest, and for a minute, he felt like he was falling.

Get it together Alec, I’m sure you’ll be fine.

He took a few deep breaths and gripped the knob tightly with his sweaty hand. He hesitated, then opened the door to the room.

“Oh, you must be the roomie,” a voice greeted him.

Alec’s eyes met the roommate in question, who was perched upon one of the beds.

He sported light blond hair, which was short and slightly slicked back. His eyes appeared to be some sort of brownish green, and light freckles dotted his face, made much more apparent by how pale he was. There was something about his eyes that made Alec hesitant to pull away. He raised a hand to wave, which Alec slowly returned, the gesture breaking him away from his entrancement. The boy wore a tight white tank top which proudly displayed his muscles. Alec’s heart drummed in his chest and he felt heat creep into his cheeks.

“Hey, my eyes are up here,” the boy spoke, his sudden loudness startling Alec. There was something odd about his voice though; a strange accent that Alec couldn’t put a place to.

Alec’s eyes dropped to the football in Jaime’s hand, dread filling his stomach.

“I’m Jaime Page,” he continued proudly.

“Alec Kyler,” Alec mumbled.

Jaime grinned widely. “Nice to meet cha.”

“Thanks…”

Alec’s social anxiety clicked in as he began to unpack his belongings on his side of the room. He kept sneaking glances at Jaime from the corner of his eye, watching the boy toss his football up and catch it. At first, no conversation was forced, which Alec greatly appreciated, but it was too good to last.

“So, where are you from?” Jaime prompted.

“Uh, Oregon…” Alec mumbled.

“Huh, cool. What made you choose SSU?”

Alec sighed. “Well, it was far enough away to get some space, but close enough that my mom wouldn’t be breathing down my neck.”

“A momma’s boy, huh?” Jaime smirked.

Alec’s face grew red. “A bit… but I was tired of the pressure.”

“Pressure?” Jaime raised an eyebrow. Alec shook his head.

“It’s nothing…” He tried to end the conversation and started sorting his clothes in his drawer.

“C’mon,” Jaime pushed. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

I just met him and I’m already spilling my guts. What the Hell, Alec?

Alec always did have a bad habit of opening up way too quickly, which was usually followed by an uneasy separation and the death of a relationship before it even started.

“My folks wanted me to take over the family business… and I’m not for that,” Alec sighed softly. Images of his parents’ disappointed faces danced through his head.

I never wanted to let down… I just couldn’t…

“What’s the family bid-ness?”

“We’re exterminators.” Alec lied smoothly.

“That’s… pleasant…” Jaime tried to hide his disgust, but failed, as most people do.

Most people hate the idea of dead rats and roaches anyway…

“So Hot Topic, are all your clothes as black as your nail polish?” Jaime broke the silence with a smirk on his face. Alec froze.

“I just… like black,” he grumbled his excuse.

“Listen man, just some honest advice, you can’t go through life dressed for a funeral.”

Alec rolled his eyes and shut his drawer. Jaime was quiet for a moment and settled for watching Alec as he continued to unpack; moving on to arrange his desk. Under Jaime’s gaze, Alec felt himself fumbling with even the smallest things.

He gives off the same vibes as everyone I hated in high school.

“So, what do you do for fun, Dracula?” Jaime broke the silence again.

“I read.”

“Nerd,” Jaime teased.

Alec fidgeted. “I also play video games,” Alec added too defensively.

“I guess that’s a thing normal people do.” It almost seemed like Jaime was forcing a compliment.

“Okay, fine, what do you do?” Alec shot back.

“For starters, I’m on the football team, so I spend a lot of time practicing, working out, and just hanging with my team,” he explained happily.

Oh God…

“I go to practically every party on campus, it’s pretty lit.”

“That sounds… exhausting…” Alec commented.

“Only if you’re a loser.”

“Or an introvert…” Alec said, but his roommate seemed to ignore his comment.

“My Frat throws the best parties, or at least we did before it got suspended.”

“Your Frat got suspended?” Alec questioned, not completely shocked.

“Hazing.” Jaime said, shrugging it off.

I don’t want to know…

The rest of his unpacking was performed in peace, accompanied by the sound of Jaime tossing around a football. As time crawled on, Alec felt himself growing more and more paranoid by the second, wondering how he was going to be able to live with someone who just seemed so… different from him.

He already seems like a total dick… I could always request a transfer… but…

His thoughts fueled by anxiety churned in his head, making him feel almost sick to his stomach.

This semester is going to suck…