Roommate 606

I used to think sharing a room with your crush was some kind of fantasy.

Spoiler alert: IT'S NOT!!

Especially not when said crush has the sleep habits of a wild bear and the emotional intelligence of a spoon.

Jian was already up when I cracked one eye open the next morning. He looked annoyingly awake, like one of those morning people who probably journal and drink lemon water and have their lives together.

"Morning," he said, tossing a towel over his shoulder. His hair was damp, and his hoodie was only halfway zipped. It was, quite frankly, an attack on my willpower.

"Morning," I grunted. Or at least I think I did. It came out more like a dying animal noise.

He laughed. "You're still not a morning person, huh?"

I sat up, dramatically tragic. "I died once. Give me a break."

He blinked. "What?"

"Nothing," I said. "Dark humor. It's my love language."

He rolled his eyes. "Your love language is avoidance."

I choked on my own spit.

He was joking. Right? Please let him be joking.

Jian threw me a clean towel. "Hurry up or we'll miss breakfast. And if you make me late, I'm blaming you in my autobiography."

"Dramatic extroverts should come with warning labels," I muttered loud enough for him to hear. and shuffled toward the bathroom like a cryptid.

The dorm room itself was exactly how I remembered: two beds, two desks, one shared wardrobe, and a terrifying poster of a 90s boy band that came with the room. The wallpaper was peeling in one corner. Our window faced the school courtyard where all the couples hung out during lunch breaks. Excellent!

I brushed my teeth slowly, staring at myself in the mirror.

"You are calm," I whispered. "You are emotionally uninvested. You are a potato."

They say Morning Affirmations work like magic so I made a mental note to do it every morning - because I desperately needed magic to work for me!

We walked to class together because apparently fate hates me and Jian is clingy in the mornings. I kept a two-foot distance, just enough to seem antisocial but not enough to be rude. He didn’t notice.

Or maybe he did, and just thought I was constipated.

_________________________________________________

Homeroom was a blur. I sat by the window, because of course I did. Brooding main characters always do.

Jian sat beside me.

Because of course he did.

The teacher introduced him again even though half the class already knew him. Jian smiled that charming smile that made girls blush and boys flinch and me… want to jump out the window.

He whispered to me mid-roll call, "This year's gonna be fun, huh?"

I stared at my desk. I wanted to say, No. I already know how it ends.

But instead, I nodded.

And just like that, I was seventeen again.

With a second chance I didn’t ask for.

And a roommate who might just break me all over again.

...****************...

The day dragged on. Classes were a mess of familiar boredom and unfamiliar memories. It felt like watching re-runs of a show you once loved, only now you knew how all the characters turned out and it was just… sad and tragic, even.

At lunch, Jian dragged me to our usual spot by the vending machines.

"Did you always look this tired?" he asked, biting into an apple.

"Yes," I replied. "It’s part of my charm."

"And the sarcasm?"

"Also charming. Very marketable."

He snorted. "Well, at least you're still weird."

I was weird. I also time-traveled, broke my heart, and went halfway to almost a full blown mental breakdown.

But yes, Jian. Let’s call it weird.

...****************...

Back in the dorm, I unpacked slowly. I already knew where everything went. My side of the room was always organized chaos. Jian's side? Neat. Clean. Like he lived in a furniture catalogue.

He was lying on his bed reading a manga upside down.

"You read that backwards," I said.

He looked up. "Still makes more sense than our chemistry homework."

I almost smiled.

It was easy to forget, sometimes, how simple things used to be with him.

When I wasn’t drowning in feelings or dying under truck wheels.

When we were just two dumb boys living in a dumb room, eating cup noodles and complaining about algebra.

"Do you ever feel like you’ve been here before?" I asked suddenly, something I didn't mean to. "Why do my mouth runs without consulting my brain?" I mentally scoffed.

Plan was to keep conversation at minimum. But now, I just initiated a Philosophical, existential talk, without even intending to.

He tilted his head. "Like déjà vu?"

"Yeah. Like everything’s already happened."

"Sometimes," he said. "Why?"

Let's end it! Nice and Slow!!

I shrugged. "No reason. Just a weird dream I had."

Great!!

He looked at me for a second too long.

Huh?!!

Then went back to his manga.

Ehhh??!!

...****************...