Goddess of Room 124

Chapter 1

Years had passed, pieces were returned, and he had learned to make eye contact and smile, a couple steps up to those pedestals. He gained confidence growing up as well. From being a quite small boy, he hit his growth spurt late, but finally stood at 5'9". He grew into his large nose and stuck out ears, so he was finally able to trim back his dark hair so he didn't have to hide his entire face anymore. The awkward kid that still didn't have the heart and willpower to speak to a girl had evolved into a handsome, young man.

When he entered his apartment, he noticed his roommate, Liam, was already home, sleeping on the couch and snoring softly. Shutting the door behind him, he surveyed the familiar abode. To the left from where he stood, he could see dishes and food on the counter in the kitchen. To the right, he could see inside his roommate's room and the heap of clothing and other commodities upon his bed.

No wonder you're on the couch, he thought and chuckled softly.

He pulled off his jacket and hung it and his keys on the wall. The jingle of the metal aroused the slumbering man. Liam sat up and looked over at the culprit of the disturbance, knowing that noise of keys almost too well.

"Ah, shit," the man mumbled thickly, rubbing his eye, "I overslept again, huh?" Liam blinked his eyes to recover from his nap, or possibly, the only sleep he'll get that night. Seconds later, he made eye contact with the other man and grinned. "I don't need that crappy job anyway. Plenty of places will hire me. Ain't that right, Noah?" Noah crossed over to the couch, pushed Liam's legs on to the floor, and sat down. Completely ignoring Liam's question, he looked around a moment, then sighed and reached in between the couch cushions for the remote, pulling out an empty soda can with it.

"You really need to clean this place," he muttered. A large, manly hand pushed his shoulder and the impact drove his arm into the rest of his body.

"Shut the hell up, Noah," and that fiasco ended quickly.

Noah had learned that keeping the arguments to a minimum would save him from a trip to the emergency room with a broken nose and busted lip. William Barrett was not an individual to be messed with. At 6'3" and 210lbs, Liam promised himself years ago that he would not end up like the millions drowning under fat and skin. He took satisfaction in his vanity and if it wasn't clothes that were buried in his room, it was various dumbbells, muscle building protein, and shake-weights. Noah was sure that when he first met Liam his first year of college, his head had the same diameter as Liam's left arm. Now, two years later, the arms had grown and so had Noah's fear for the well-built man. Every once and a while though, words would slip out that were much too harsh for the sensitive man, and Noah would receive a "well deserved" punch to his arm or stomach.

Noah didn't think Liam was a bad individual though, because if he did, he wouldn't consider moving in with him his second year of college. Liam proved to be a nice asset whenever Noah needed someone to talk to. Despite Liam's large bulk and short fuse, he was studying to be a counselor and knew a thing or two about talking to every kind of personality. Liam was also a funny and smart guy, and on a good day, he could take a joke and laugh about it. Noah didn't want to take a chance, because even while the man could be in a good mood, anything could set him off. It was getting better, though, but it would still take years to work on.

"Sorry, man," he muttered, pretending that it didn't hurt despite knowing it would bruise. He quickly changed the subject back to work. "I wish you came in today. There were boxes I'm sure you would have loved to lift over your head." He didn't want to see if this pressed another one of Liam's buttons, so he stayed focused on the remote's buttons. He flipped to the news, unable to find anything to watch. Liam, to his surprise, chuckled and sat up.

"Were they too heavy for your puny arms?" Liam punched his arm again, gently this time. Noah winced and rubbed the tender spot.

"Yeah, I guess so."