"I just don't understand why they're all shitty? Like the audacity to make us both pay seven hundred dollars a month for four walls that are decrepit and our involuntary pets are mice!" I exasperated and my girlfriend watched me pace around her room.
"Well we have two more to go to this week so it's okay, we'll be fine." She tried to calm me down and I myself sat down in her computer chair.
"May I?" I questioned as I touched her laptop and she nodded with a small giggle.
"Go ahead." She didn't mind at all and I pushed open the laptop.
"If you want I can call one of them back to see if I can schedule it for today?" She questioned and I looked up nearby apartments or condos.
"Sure." I mumbled and she sighed to herself just to get up and kiss the top of my head.
"Don't stress over this okay? We'll find a place when it's right." She kissed my cheek before she reached my lips and hummed, "I love you."
"I love you too." I kissed her back and she leaned up just to pull her phone out of her pocket.
"I'll be right back." She then slipped out of her room and I continued on my own search of apartments.
Going to all kinds of different websites and makeshift sites, just anything that was legit. I did not wanna be around my own dorm since what happened and I didn't wanna hear him out right now. Maybe it wasn't meant to sound that way but he sucks with words and I was so tired of his mistakes and him acting like he's innocent. I was also so tired of hearing constant noise and interruptions from her roommates when we're trying to sleep or doing literally anything. I'd never say anything about her best friends to her but it was incredibly annoying whenever I'd try to go down on her and she's needed by one of the girls. Let alone being in the middle of the peak of my climax and someone needing something right away. Not fun.
I leaned back after immediately losing motivation of seeing the prices of just down the street of our own dorm. It was fucking so ridiculously high for no reason, I hated this. I hated feeling stressed over trying to live comfortably and having to spend money and worry about what might be next. I hated the worry of my own reputation because Shawn liked to live out of his brain and his imagination. I just wanted to be happy with Y/NN. I wanted everything to hurry up and make this stress worth it. I looked at the time and realized I had class in about thirty minutes which meant I was very behind on that as well.
"Fuck." I groaned and got up to slip my shoes on and one of my girlfriends jackets over my shoulders.
I heard the door open again and she came in with a smile causing me to pout while she took a stride towards me and encaptured me in a tight hug. She quickly pecked up my face and grabbed my face to kiss me deeply.
"He agreed to meet us in three hours, so please, please, don't worry about anything. Go to class and when you get out I'll be waiting out back for you." She calmed me down and I nodded as I grabbed my backpack.
"How about... I drive you, get some food for us, and I'll pick you up and then we can do something around the apartment until the time comes up?" She questioned and that made me feel a lot more at ease causing me to breathe out in relief.
"Alright that's my girl." She kissed my lips and smacked my behind as she leaned back.
"Let me go start the truck and I'll see you down there." She kissed me again and quickly left causing me to look up at the ceiling.
"A perfect, perfect woman." I sighed in heaven and took my time putting my hair up.
-
Time went by again and I was dropped off by my very loving girlfriend while I was stuck learning about certain affects that music might have over different phases of our emotional regions. I knew I probably needed to finally put all of my notes all in a file on my laptop because the notebook I had was running out of paper. It just seemed a lot easier to understand if I wrote it down instead of typing it out. Which was also getting a bit stressful because now I was getting a lot more homework and assignments from all of my classes than normal.
It was becoming too much already and school had just started back up again from winter break. I also had a two part group assignment from one of my music classes where I needed to basically create a song with a so called "crew". So, I needed someone who wanted to eventually be a producer, an engineer, a mixer, an instrument tech, and a couple other people to clean up and edit the sounds and music in general. I was the songwriter and most of the time with these assignments had a potential singer to be assigned anyway... yet this one wanted it to be anyone in the group that would make an ideal song. Which everyone usually makes me the person to step up now since Austin had put my song on the campus radio.
I couldn't count the amount of songs that I've recorded for these assignments or to be told they were for assignments for all I know they could be making bank off my own voice. Maybe Y/NN was right, I could definitely go somewhere with performing and entertainment instead of just producing and songwriting. Luckily with these projects I had about six to eight weeks to prepare and work on it with my crew. It's apparently supposed to help you open up and get you to be more comfortable with working with others on something creative. We're all here to accomplish something with music and if we all have a chance to make something and become something from within ourselves it's all for the better in that way.
I closed my eyes for another infamous second and felt my heart bursting from the recent memories of my girlfriend. She was so caring and the way she made me feel was like the second her name ran across my thoughts flowers started to grow throughout my body. Springing to life as I had more than one set of lungs, so much oxygen as I breathed in yet not enough at the same time. When I realized that she felt the exact same way it made them sprout and keep growing until I felt like a damn botanical garden.
Finishing up my notes and whatever I had to copy while very much still stressing in the back of my mind. I just needed to categorize my stress and get through it one by one or by killing multiple birds with one stone. It was like a wall, but on that wall was my main priorities like, grades, bills, and health. Then behind that wall was nothing but a jumbled mess of every other stressor I had. It was like cleaning your room but stuffing everything under your bed or into your closet... it was only gonna last so long until you had to clean that as well.
As I started to feel an intense pressure around my head I let my head down to try and ease the pain. I had to learn what my budget was and I had to really set up my schedules to set an actual routine. Especially if this apartment we were gonna look at was going to exceed our budget a bit. I couldn't even focus properly on the task in front of me which resulted in me just texting Ally if she could email me her notes. There was a quiz due by midnight and I knew I was just making excuses to leave at this point.
The headache I had was definitely not gonna die down any time soon and I nervously gnawed at my bottom lip. I then took my focus away from halfway listening to our professor just to look down at my phone. I swiped up to unlock the phone and immediately went to google and started to practically window shop. We couldn't necessarily take anything from our pre-furnished dorms and we both knew that. For some unknown timing reason we wanted to just get the apartment and figure everything else out. It was only going to get harder to get an apartment as the season started to change- it'd be damn near impossible to get one towards the end of spring.
Organizing basic necessities in my notes app with links along with wants and more so luxurious items we were probably going to need right below it. I knew I was probably going to regret this decision by slacking off just a bit but I needed to calm my brain down for just a moment. The feeling of dread I was somewhat experiencing was still definitely there yet looking at potential apartments items were calming in itself. It was a big step for my own life and I loved the idea of being with Y/N and sharing my life with her but it was also a big adult step. I was actually an adult. There was so much to look forward to in this life and it could take me literally anywhere. I just wanted to be okay and content with where I'm at and where I'd be going. As long as Y/NN was there.
As soon as I started to hear people pack up their belongings I shot my head up, my body still in the middle of the sea of young adults. The second I registered that I had the opportunity to leave I shot up out of my seat. My hands frantically shoving my belongings into my bag and I hastily stepped down the steps to get to my girlfriend who was hopefully outside waiting. Maneuvering my way through my classmates and reaching the old wooden doors where a girl held the door open for me with a kind smile. I thanked her with a simple tight lipped smile and turned my head to the side to glance over where the parking was.
Smiling to myself when I saw a glimpse of my pretty girlfriend looking down at her phone and I immediately made my way to her vehicle. I could see she was bundled up in a nice little flannel jacket that fit her nicely and the second she felt a presence she looked up. Our eyes locked and not even a second after her eyes brightened up while her smile radiated through the safety of her truck. She unlocked the door and I quickly scrambled in not liking how cold it was outside and immediately leaned in to give her a kiss. She happily reciprocated as I felt my own cold skin press against her nicely warmed body.
"You ready?" She asked against my lips before giggling softly.
"Yes... and yes." I answered in between kisses then pulling away while she cocked her head as she overlooked me.
"You okay? What'd you do today?" She asked me and I honestly didn't remember since I was extremely distracted.
"Uh... I'll reread Ally's notes as soon as we know about the apartment." I answered truthfully and Y/NN gave me a displeased look before shaking her head with a small smile.
"You should take your studies seriously too, Bello." She mumbled and I grabbed her hand to give her knuckles kisses.
"I am, I just couldn't think so much today. It's stressful." I let her know hoping she'd understand and she let out a breath while she nodded.
"I know, babe." She interlocked our fingers sweetly as her eyes stayed on the road in front of us.
This was one of the reasons why I loved her so much, she was so patient and understanding with me.
"Maybe we could ask Don if he could kinda help us out? Like with some furniture or something." She suggested and I really didn't like that idea so much.
Yes, the man had money from having two careers at the same time but he was very busy all the time. He also rightfully worked extremely hard for his money and to think he struggles sometimes when the shop gets dead made me feel more on the negative side. I bit my lip as she then looked my way and I shrugged,
"I- uh I don't know, let's just see where this goes first." I settled on my choice of words and she nonchalantly nodded not thinking too much about it either.
After some ways down and away from the downtown Portland we were once in we pulled into a parking spot on the side of the road. I looked over at her not knowing where to go just yet and she looked down at her watch before sighing. She looked at my nervous state and giggled softly before reaching out to grab my hand. She kissed the back of it just to guide me down the street. We made small conversation about what were to happen if we got a place today and how would we get anything ready fast enough. On a whim we went into a small side shop where I could smell coffee and baked goods wafting out from the back of the store. The cute trinket store filled with books, used and new, along with some vintage clothes and vinyls.
Almost immediately I fell in love with it and how warm the atmosphere made me feel. Y/N happily looked around- delighted that we decided to stop in to keep us busy until our time came. The shop was fairly large yet so crammed at the same time and before I could even adjust to the new setting Y/N stopped us right at a little rack of mugs and dishware. It ranged from resells of Anthropologie and Pottery Barn to nineties vintage duck or bear themed dinner sets. She picked up an old nineties Kellogg's cereal bowl with Tony the Tiger at the bottom and gasped.
"I had one of these when I was a kid." She then gasped again and picked up another one where it had the three boys from Rice Krispie, "This one too!"
I watched her eyes light up once more as she was brought back to the past and picked yet another bowl but I was Scooby-Doo with pretty colors around the rim. She looked at the bottom of the bowls just to find out they were only two dollars each.
"Fuck you this is a steal." She scoffed to herself and kept them safely to her chest while she ultimately let my hand go.
She then looked my way and her facial expression went from happy to elated and I giggled when she leaned down to kiss my lips. I turned my head back to browse with her and suddenly I too got a wave of nostalgia. I gaped and picked up a certain glass cup that was engraved to perfection with Disney's logo. Mickey Mouse right on the glass and despite being scratched a bit I felt that calm sense deep back into my body. As if I was a kid again begging my mom for chocolate milk in one of these and I cleared my throat as I too kept this one piece of my memory dear to my chest.
I was praying it meant something and soon enough we both were walking around the store and picking up more items. The items had no value, quite literally when it only costed up to twenty dollars for almost thirteen items- yet the sentimental value overclouded both of our judgment. We didn't get to exactly look down each row of trinkets and random stuff due to time but I was absolutely obsessed with this place and the people inside of it.
We walked back to her truck with bags full of paper wrapped dishes and carefully set them in the middle before she guided me to the building that we were parked in front of. I anxiously looked around to see if there was a person that looked professional enough to sell us an apartment. I wanted to get this over with and look around to see if it was worth whatever price it was going to be. Yet so far the building was decent and the surrounding area outside seemed pretty relaxed and nice. I had hopes... but I was pretty used to being disappointed in the end.
Suddenly when we entered the building I saw a man in a slim plaid shirt tucked nicely underneath his navy blue slim slacks and bright brown belt. His smile was gentle and his hand was firm yet cold the second he gave us both a handshake. My heart was racing from all of the nerves and I hadn't realized he was speaking straight to Y/N. Out of nervous habit I discreetly hung onto the end of Y/N's shirt for comfort and he happily grabbed some keys from his back pocket. I didn't think Y/N noticed how nervous I was and followed right behind him when he started to head down the corridor. She pulled my hand off of her shirt just to safely grip it with hers.
"Alright, give me one second." He pushed some papers underneath his arm and leaned in a way to get the door open.
After trying a few keys he finally got the right one and pushed the door open and to my surprise... it was actually pretty spacious from the first view. I walked ahead of him and Y/N while I started looking around to see if I could find any flaws. Almost immediately I started to envision myself with Y/N in different scenarios around the apartment. With each step I took I felt as if my heart was growing attached and it was a simple few walls but my imagination was running rampant.
A/N: they might look the same but I had a vision in my head and these were the ones that came very close to it so don't judge x
"So, it's a one bedroom like you said you were looking for and everything is electric." He slid his clipboard onto the kitchen counter as he watched us press against windows to see if they rattled at all.
I was very pleasantly surprised that there was no flaws so far and Y/N turned to look over her shoulder, "What about utilities? Water? Trash?" She questioned and he shook his head as he leaned back comfortably.
"Since you two are full-time proven students of one of the nearby campuses all utilities are included into the rent." He gave us a smile and I wish I hadn't zoned out so much in the beginning because I wish I had learned his name.
"How much was the rent?" I spoke up and he looked up as if he were thinking.
"Uhhh it's twelve fifty a month." He grinned and I turned back to the door where there was a small balcony.
It was a little over what I was expecting but it wasn't outrageous I just knew it'd only be difficult if we needed to buy groceries the same week rent was due. I hummed and Y/N looked down at me expecting me to say something.
"Is there any spaces for parking or is it just on-street?" I asked and Y/N perked up at that.
"We do have parking spaces for this building but it is another fifty dollars added to the rent." He calmly spoke as he looked down at the papers in his hand.
"But you're only five minutes away from downtown and there's a heap of public transportation around. You're also looking at about ten or so more minutes away from the woods. Very popular area for hiking and venturing out if you two are into that." He tried selling us the idea of this apartment and I was already sold on it.
Y/N ended up walking into the bedroom where it could've easily fit two king sized beds in and still have some room for a dresser. I saw Y/N start to smile to herself before chuckling to herself which caused me to quirk up an eyebrow.
"What you thinking?" I asked softly while the man stood by the kitchen.
"We're really gonna need to get this place filled up because the echoing is gonna get us in trouble." She snickered childishly and before I could register what she meant she started to clap her hands slowly.
"Oh god- stop it, he's right outside." I quickly slapped her arm while she continued to snicker.
I did wonder if she thought about sex as much as I did and as someone who was so private like she was she did make immature jokes time to time. She pulled me into her side by my neck and her lips pressed against my head as she laughed with me.
"So? How do you guys like it?" He asked us and Y/N looked down at me with expected eyes.
"Oh uh it's nice." I anxiously spoke up not liking the fact I was the first to answer and my eyes locked on hers not knowing how much she liked it.
"How does this process move forward after we leave?" Y/N then asked him and I was dying to know his name so I didn't have to feel too bad about not learning it.
"Well do you two actually like this place?" He then questioned back with a sort of calmness to him and we both nodded in sync.
"Yes." We simultaneously agreed that this was our best shot at an apartment that was still somewhat in our budget.
"Could you guys pass a background check?"
"Yes, definitely."
"Credit check?"
"No worries about that."
Y/N knew she had excellent credit and I was just somewhat starting out with my own credit card.
"I will need your guys' last paystub as well just to get everything ready." He then slid the pack of papers onto the kitchen counter.
"What are the chances we get the place? Especially since it's our first official apartment and not some dorm." I asked the agent and he breathed in as he separated two different forms.
"To be honest there's not that many candidates that applied that fit what we want in a tenant so I don't think there'll be an issue with you guys getting it. As long as you guys have a history of keeping up with payments you guys are in the clear."
"How long would we have to wait until we find out more about this?" Y/N asked as he licked the tip of his fingers and flicked through the papers he had.
"This process takes up to a week or so to go through- but first you two have to fill out the application and it should really pick up from there." He then passed us two pieces of paper and two separate pens.
I looked down and it was a copy of the lease contract and an application for the apartment itself. I watched Y/N carefully and signed what she signed on my own piece of paper and listed my information as she did as well. The minute she finished I was also finishing up the last bit of it and suddenly felt a wave of accomplishment. We passed the papers to the man and he let us keep the copy of the lease for keepsake.
"I have a really good feeling about this girls." He smiled and reached his hand out for us to shake, "I'll keep in contact for sure."
"It was very nice meeting you, Adam." Y/N smiled charmingly and shook his hand very firmly while I smiled back finally at ease.
"Yes, it was a pleasure, Adam." I laughed nervously and he chuckled as he looked over the apartment once more.
A week tops. That's all we needed which only meant we needed to figure out what we needed for the apartment. I looked up at Y/N as her eyes sparkled underneath the kitchen light. She looked excited and that was all I needed to feel more at ease by taking this step. This huge step in my life would always be nerve racking but the second I realized I had my person to be there every moment of the way it was worth it. There was still a lot we had to come up with and fill our potential apartment with. Luckily we had four bowls and four glass cups in the car waiting to be used.
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I should do some more visuals for different apartment styles once this picks up a bit butttt again thank you to the person for the payment you have my soul I promise ❤️
I hope y'all enjoyed and if you didn't I just know for a fact you're balding and you're insecure
Have a great day or night beautifuls x
- Maddie
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