Room settings

In the school hallway, the teacher is calling out the names of the assigned roommates for this semester.

Teacher: "Alex Greywood and Leo Ravenwood."

Alex and Leo look at each other with shock and disbelief. They both know about the other (from either infamy or flirtation) and neither are happy about sharing a room with the other.

Max and Leo grudgingly walk into their assigned dorm room. It's a modest space with twin beds, desks, and a shared closet.

Max throws his backpack on his bed and looks over at Leo.

Alex: "This is just great. Sharing a room with the biggest jerk in the school."

Leo, already unpacking his belongings, smirks.

Leo: "Oh come on, it could be worse. At least you get to be roomies with the hottest guy in the school."

Alex rolls his eyes and flops onto his bed.

Alex: "Yeah, I'm sure my life is just complete now that I get to sleep a few feet away from you."

Leo grins and sits on his own bed, looking at Max thoughtfully.

Leo: "You know, we could actually get along if you weren't so uptight."

Alex rolls over onto his side, facing away from Leo.

Alex: "I don't need any lessons from you, thanks."

There is a moment of tense silence, before Leo speaks up again.

Leo: "You know, I have to admit, you're not half bad looking yourself when you're not scowling at me."

This catches Alex off-guard, and he turns to look at Leo with a mix of surprise and annoyance.

Alex: "What's that supposed to mean?"

Leo shrugs, a smirk on his face.

Leo: "Just saying, I can see why girls are into you. You're kinda cute, in a brooding, angry puppy kind of way."

Alex's cheeks redden slightly at the backhanded compliment.

Alex: "Don't call me cute. And I'm not a puppy."

Leo chuckles.

Leo: "See? There's that scowl I was talking about. You need to lighten up, pup."

The silence stretches on for a few moments more before Leo breaks it with a sly smile.

Leo: "Hey, you know what they say about sharing a room together for so long?"

Alex glances over at Leo, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

Alex: "What do they say?"

Leo leans forward, resting his chin on his hand.

Leo: "Well, they say that you either end up best friends or bitter enemies."

Alex rolls his eyes, but there's a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Alex: "And what are we going to be, then? Best friends?"

Leo chuckles, a glimmer of genuine amusement in his eyes.

Leo grins, clearly amused by the banter.

Leo: "Oh, don't act like you wouldn't love to have me as your best mate. We'd have all kinds of shenanigans together."

Alex shakes his head, a smirk on his face.

Alex: "Yeah, and you'd probably drive me crazy in the process."

With that, they both return to their own thoughts, the silence between them now holding a hint of something different - an unspoken agreement that this shared room may not be as bad as they initially thought.

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