Collision // Larry Stylinson - itjustkindahappened

chapter 2

For the first time since he arrived, Louis feels a little insecure and, frankly, a little bit scared. He takes his time walking up the stairs, even though he knows he'd be up in no time if he just used his wings. He needs the time to collect himself, to prepare. His pointy ears are on guard and his petite hands are rubbing together as he goes through a hundred different scenarios that might meet him behind the door he's approaching steadily.

When he reaches room number 204, he takes a deep breath. He fumbles with the key a little, fishing it out of the pocket of his rolled up, worn out pants and presses it into the keyhole.

There's a light clicking sound as he turns the key. When he swings the door open he at first doesn't see anyone and he thinks maybe he's the first one to arrive—but then a shadow appears from the bed in the left corner, and Louis' supposed roommate slowly approaches him.

It's a short little creature, with small and slightly asymmetric horns grown out of his head, and when Louis looks further down, he discovers the legs are covered in dark, tousled hair, and they end in hooves rather than feet.

Louis' roommate is a faun. Louis is almost blacking out with relief.

"Hi," he offers as he steps into the room, curiously looking around and getting accustomed to his home for the coming time—two beds, two desks, two bureaus for clothes, a window with a view of the school grounds, light blue walls, creaky wooden floors. Simple. Nice enough. He then fully turns to the faun, shooting him a bright smile. "I'm Louis."

"Stan," the faun introduces himself, answering Louis' beam with a slight upturn of the corners of his mouth. "You're a... Fairy? Right?"

Louis nods. "I am. Congrats on getting it right, the lady in the reception called me an elf, which, I don't know if I should be offended or flattered. If you work at a place like this you'd think you'd know the difference, but then again have you seen an elf? They're so tall and graceful. If I'm going to get mistaken for anything, that might as well be it." He stops himself, realizing his speaking picked up pace probably a little too obnoxiously, and his cheeks turn a bashful pink. "Sorry. I ramble when I'm excited. You're a faun." It's not a question. "And may I just say I'm so happy to have a friend my height in this place. I have yet to find someone who's not like seven feet or incredibly intimidating."

This earns a little laugh to tumble from Stan's mouth.

"God, I know, right? I was so scared you'd be a vampire or something. We got to stick together, us little folks."

Louis decides he likes him. Which is good, because liking your roommate is probably a huge advantage when attending university, he likes to think. He's at least got one friend in this place.

Louis learns that Stan is from the Romans, and his job is to lead lost humans back on the right path. At first Louis thinks it's a metaphor for something deep, but he then learns that Stan's job is quite literally leading humans gone lost in the woods back out. Which is also nice, very pure in a way, if a little anticlimactic. Stan is nice enough, though, alike Louis in many ways except maybe a little bit more cautious and quieter about things. But hey, Louis can work with that.

Everything does, over all, look like it's going to turn out just fine, and Louis can feel the collected nervosity previously tightening in his ribcage loosen up into a content ascension. He survived his new roommate. Check.

~

The first day of college, Louis is up before dawn, sitting on the window sill and watching the sky turn from the color of overripe blueberries to the color of freshly picked apricots as the rim of the sun grows more glowingly apparent in the horizon by the minute. It's a habit of his, rising with the sun. It makes him feel like he's a part of something big, something better and significant. He likes to sit in a treetop or on the rocks by the river and wonder if the sun is rising at this minute somewhere else, too. If someone is sitting in another world right at this moment, unknowingly watching it with him. If someone is currently helping the sun rise and shine, if that is someone's job.