we were staying in paris

5//the relation

I texted back a reply.

It's a long story.

Basically, northeastern's dorm shortages extended out here

so the only thing left to do was try and put guys and girls together 

I'll tell you more when we get there 

Honestly, I was happy to have Gabriel as my roommate. He was annoying in a good way. And it was like having a brother here with me. That was exactly why I almost threw up at Colette's next messages.

cool cool

my roommates gonna b here too so u can meet her

her names francesca

also, don't sleep w ur roommate, it'll make things hella awk

I brought a hand to my forehead when I read the last line.

Colette he's like my brother at this pt 😭

Her response was unwavering.

Girly, ur my child! 

gotta say what I need to say and keep u outta trouble;)

anyways, see u at mine!

That was Colette for you. She was, out of pocket to say the least. But funny. It was nice having a friend in Paris. 

"Gabriel! How long does it take you to get ready?" I yelled at his door.

If I was going to live with him, might as well learn about his habits.

"Two hours!" He screamed back.

This man barely had a shirt on half the time. How long could it take him to get ready? 

It was a good thing we had two hours. 

***

"Come on Gabriel!" I grumbled, trying to drag him away from going to the Parc de Princes.

"Lina when are we ever going to be so close to the Parc de Princes? Never!" Gabriel contested. 

"We live in Paris you dummy. There will be more opportunities!" I responded to him, pulling him harder towards an apartment building.

"Whatever." He mumbled.

I stopped abruptly in front of a brown building, causing Gabriel to bump into me. I looked back down at the address Colette had sent me.

"This is it right?" I gestured to Gabriel to confirm what I had guessed.

He took a look at my phone and back up at the building, nodding in agreement. I shrugged my shoulders and we both walked into the building. Upon entrance I realised this was nothing like my apartment. The lobby was grand, with about 3 to 4 different staff at the desks. They were all dressed impeccably in formal attire and everyone who was leaving or entering was dressed head to toe in designer.

I looked at my outfit and cringed in the contrast to the others. I swore a long black winter coat and white hat. Underneath the coat was an oversized, open flannel with a white tank underneath and tight black leggings. The leggings were most definitely not the move. Nor were the high heeled boots but I figured, if I was going to live in Paris, might as well get out of fashion comfort zone. Just slightly.

I turned to see Gabriel who had already made his way up to one of the lobby receptionists. The receptionist smiled at us and mumbled something in French. To which Gabriel replied with more French and the name Colette Allard. Some more words were exchanged and Gabriel said his own name, while gesturing to me. I looked at him in confusion.