HATE HIM, TILL I NEED HIM

Aiden’s POV. I never liked quiet rooms. They always made me feel like something bad had happened.That afternoon, when I came back from the school meeting, the room was too quiet. Usually, Peter would be there with his headphones on, singing terribly while typing something on his laptop. But this time, I only heard the sound of tape being ripped off a box.I stopped at the door, confused.“Peter?”He turned around quickly. He looked guilty — the kind of guilty that made my stomach twist. “Oh—hey, Aiden. You’re back early.”There were boxes all over the room. His side of the room was almost empty.“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to laugh. “You… moving out or something?”He smiled nervously. “Yeah, actually… I am.”I froze. For a moment, I thought he was joking. Peter and I had been roommates for almost three years. We did everything together — shared meals, late-night movies, exam stress. He was the one person I felt close to here.“Wait, what do you mean you’re moving out?” I aske

Ryder’s POV.The night was almost perfect — the low music, the soft light spilling off the chandeliers, the way laughter hummed through the air like smoke.I was leaning on the bar, drink in hand, talking with a couple of the guys from the firm. It had been months since I’d seen them, and honestly, it felt good just to unwind.“Man, look at you,” Jason said, slapping my shoulder. “You disappear for two years and show up like you own the place.”I laughed. “Business keeps me busy, you know that. Meetings, deals — same old story.”“Business brought you to the city this time, huh?” Marcus asked, raising a brow. “Or someone?”I grinned into my glass. “Definitely business.”They groaned in mock disappointment. “You’ve gotten boring, Ry.”“Yeah, well,” I said, glancing around the room, “I’ll take boring over broke.”We laughed, and for a moment, everything felt easy. Just guys catching up, teasing each other, letting the night stretch. But then Jason leaned in and nodded toward the bar. “He

Aiden’s POV.It didn’t even take five minutes before the room exploded into chaos.My father’s voice was the first to rise. “He’s not staying here,” he said, pointing toward the woman like she carried a disease. “Find another place for your son.”Her face twisted in disbelief. “Excuse me? We already paid for this room. I have the receipt. My son has every right to stay here.”“You’ll get a refund,” my father barked. “But he’s not sharing a room with my son. Over my dead body.”“Your problem isn’t my concern,” she snapped back. “This dorm was assigned through the school. You can’t just change it because of your ridiculous pride.”“Ridiculous?” My father laughed bitterly. “You think I’ll allow my son to live under the same roof as your child? Never.”My mother tugged at his sleeve. “Please, calm down—”He shook her off. “No. I won’t calm down. Not when it’s her.”The woman folded her arms. “You’ve been the same arrogant man since the first day we met. Nothing’s changed. Still acting lik

Aiden’s POVThe next morning, I woke up with a headache and a tight feeling in my chest.I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds, hoping everything from last night was just a bad dream. It wasn’t. I could hear his soft mumbles as he slept. I sat up slowly and avoided looking at his side of the room. I grabbed my towel and clothes and went straight into the bathroom. I locked the door behind me like I was scared he might follow me in just by accident.The water was cold at first, then warm. I let it run over my head, hoping it would wash away the thoughts, the memories, the fear. It didn’t. His face kept flashing in my head. His voice. And that stupid calm smile made my blood boil. When I came out, I looked around to make sure he was still sleeping and thankfully he was. I rushed to my dresser and got ready to leave the room. The weekends are usually a day Peter and I had time to talk about our problems and sometimes he throws a little gossip into it. I never really had a comment o

RYDER’S POV. I knew something was wrong the moment Aiden stopped breathing.Not literally—but close. He stood there, stiff as a board, fingers twitching like his body wanted to run and punch something at the same time.I rolled off the couch and followed his line of sight.Yeah.Two naked idiots on his bed. I felt embarrassed immediately. “What the hell?” I snapped.They froze like kids caught stealing.I stepped fully into the room, anger rising fast. I didn’t care how much I hated Aiden on most days—this wasn’t okay. I won't take it lightly if someone invaded my space like this. “Get off the bed,” I said sharply. “Now.”One of them laughed nervously. “Chill, man—”“Out,” I cut in. “This isn’t cool. At all.”They sighed and got up from the bed. They were my friends from the club and I invited them over because I was getting bored. We started talking but half way through, I got bored and left the room. I had almost forgotten of their existence. I turned to Aiden. He looked like