Move-In Night

Theodore~

I should've fucking said no.

That was the first thought that hit me when I saw the moving truck pull up but the second thought was far worse.

Why is he actually here?

I stood by the window of my dorm, arms crossed, watching like it was some kind of bad joke the universe was trying to sell me. Boxes. Bags. A hockey duffel that looked way too familiar and then him.

Noah.

Of course he wasn’t struggling. Of course he wasn’t confused and to make it worse, he looked like he belonged there.

He was talking to one of the housing staff, nodding like this was all normal. Like we weren’t about to share a room. Like we didn’t—

I stopped that thought immediately.

No.

We were not doing that.

A knock hit my door but I already knew who it was before I opened it. Joe leaned in the doorway like he owned the place, hands in his hoodie pocket and his grin too wide for someone who just walked across campus.

“You look like you’re about to commit a crime,” he said.

“I’m thinking about it,” I replied flatly. His eyes flicked past me and toward the window where he saw my obvious problem.

“Oh,” he said slowly. “He’s here.”

I didn’t answer. Joe stepped inside without asking, like always, and dropped onto my bed like it was his.

“That’s him?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s your new roommate?”

“Yes.”

“That’s your—”

“Joe.”

He held up his hands. “Alright, alright. I’m just saying… you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I let out a short laugh but I really was far from being amused.

“I’d prefer a ghost,” I muttered. “Ghosts don’t move into your room.”

Joe snorted. “Fair.”

Then he leaned forward a little, voice dropping. “You good?”

I should’ve said yes but I didn’t.

“I don’t know yet.”

That earned me a look and Joe didn’t miss things. That was the problem but before he could push further, another knock came on the door. My stomach tightened instantly because I already knew who was behind it but I had already sealed my fate so I got up and opened it.

Noah stood there with a box balanced in one hand and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and there was sweat dripping from his collarbone. His hair was slightly messy from lifting and he had a calm expression like he wasn’t about to ruin my entire semester.

His eyes met mine and that recognition was written all over his face. You know, the one neither of us were acknowledging out loud.

“Hey, Cap,” he said and I hated how he made it sound.

“Don’t call me that in here,” I replied.

His mouth twitched slightly. “Relax. I’m moving in. Thought I’d be polite.”

“Be less polite,” I said and Joe cleared his throat behind me.

Oh right. He was still here. Noah’s gaze shifted past me, landing on Joe.

“Roommate?” he asked.

“Friend,” Joe answered before I could.

Noah nodded once. “Cool.” Then he stepped inside like he owned the fucking place and the room felt smaller with him in it.

He set his box down near the spare bed—my spare bed and started unpacking like this was routine. Joe was watching him now and the tension in the room was getting worse. Someone had to say something.

“So,” Joe said, breaking the silence. “You play winger.”

Noah didn’t look up. “Yeah.”

“And you transferred mid-season.”

“Yeah.”

Joe leaned back on his elbows. “Must’ve been a hell of a reason.”

Finally, Noah looked at him and I saw something on his face that wanted to tell Joe to fuck off but it quickly disappeared as he said, “Something like that,” he said.

I almost laughed but Joe had always been like that, pushing until something gave, reading people like they were problems he could solve. But Noah didn’t react the way most people did and that should’ve been enough to make Joe ease off.

Instead, it only made him smile a little like he liked the challenge.

I, for one, didn’t.

“Coach says you’re good,” Joe continued, leaning back slightly as if settling in for entertainment.

“I am,” Noah answered without hesitation.

Joe let out a quiet laugh under his breath. “How confident of you.”

Noah finally looked up then, just briefly, like he was acknowledging the comment.

“I am because I don't play like shit. Satisfied?" he said.

Did he need to be such an ass hole? My jaw ticked and Joe's eyes flicked to me for a fraction of a second, reading it immediately, then back to Noah as if storing away whatever sarcastic comment he had.

“You’re gonna fit right in,” Joe said, though the way he said it didn’t feel like a compliment. It sounded more like a warning disguised as one.

Noah didn’t react to that either. He just nodded once and went back to unpacking like the conversation had already ended in his head.

***

By night time, half his things were already arranged and he had already settled in which was making me so uncomfortable. It was like I didn't own my space anymore.

Every time I moved, I was aware of him. Even when I tried to focus on something else, it wasn't working. At some point, Joe left, and I didn’t even notice till he texted me saying, “I'm home”

Noah sat on his bed scrolling through his phone like nothing about the situation required attention. I stood near my desk, pretending to be occupied with something I wasn’t actually seeing, aware of the way the quiet stretched between us without breaking.

I hated it.

“You always this tense?” he asked eventually, not looking up.

I didn’t turn toward him. “You always this annoying?”

A low laugh came from his side of the room, not offended in the slightest, like he actually enjoyed it.

“Fair,” he said. Then he said, “You’re not gonna pretend forever.”

That finally got my attention.

“Pretend what?” I asked.

He looked up then, properly this time, and there was that same look again, like he was expecting me to fall apart.

“That nothing happened,” he said simply.

My stomach tightened but I said absolutely nothing. It would only seem to amuse him.

“You’re confused,” I said.

“No,” he replied without hesitation. “I’m not.”

“Then forget it,” I said.

Noah tilted his head slightly, as if studying the ease with which I said it.

“You keep saying that,” he murmured. “Like it’s that easy.”

“It is,” I answered immediately. He got down from his bed and stopped a few steps away from me, close enough that I could feel the tension between us without anything actually touching.

Close enough that I became aware of things I shouldn’t have been thinking about.

“You’re lying,” he said quietly.

My jaw tightened again, sharper this time.

“I don’t lie,” I said.

That made something flicker across his expression—something close to amusement.

“Sure,” he said as he leaned in even closer and I hated that I didn't even move away.

Then he walked past me. He moved away and I exhaled slowly as I rolled over, forcing my eyes shut even though I already knew it wouldn’t make a difference.

It didn’t because the last thing my mind held onto before sleep finally dragged me under was his voice from earlier.

“You’re not gonna pretend forever.”