"How about we take it in turns," he suggests as he scribbled down the third rule. His handwriting was pretty much illegible but I'm sure I could remember them all anyway. He was sat on the edge of his bed while I sat underneath my sheets. "You take down the washing one week and I can the next?"
"Whatever," I say through a yawn and he wrote down the washing schedule. There was a washroom on the bottom floor where you could wash clothes since we didn't have one in our dorms.
"What about food?"
"I love it. Personally I'm not a fan of fish."
"No, I mean, what are we doing for food," he clarified with an eye roll. I had made the last hour difficult for him, so it doesn't surprise me he was starting to get annoyed.
"I'll grab food when I'm out, or we can order takeout I guess," I shrug and he nods, writing that down too. "Neither of us can bring back people to have sex with, either. This is. . . This dorm is like the temple where we get peace."
"It's difficult to get peace when you open your mouth," he mutters under his breath and I shoot him a pathetic glare. I was too tired for this and another yawn escapes my mouth. He drops his pen on his paper. "We'll finish this in the morning. You should probably sleep."
"Are you fucking kidding me? You've made me stay up for another hour and now you're telling me when I can go to sleep," I scoff. "Finish the damn rules before I shove that pen down your ear."
He picks his pen up again with a sigh, "I was just trying to be nice. I don't know if you've ever heard of that word. . . nice."
"I might not be a fucking dictionary but I think I know basic vocabulary like nice."
Ten minutes later, we've written down six rules for the dorm and he pins it up on the pin board, along with our class timetables. He smiles in satisfaction before ripping out another page in his notebook, scribbling something down before putting it on the nightstand that separates our beds.
"That's my number, too."
"Is this your way of hitting on me? Because I'm not interested, your personality is almost as ugly as your face."
"You're impossible," he sighs dramatically with an annoyed eye roll as he sits on his bed. "I gave you my number incase you need to text me. To ask what I want for dinner or whatever."
"With that attitude, you're getting fuck all for dinner," I raise my eyebrows and bite back a triumphant smirk at his annoyed expression.
"Whatever. Goodnight, Mango."
"Call me Mango again and I'll throw you out of the window."
♡
The next day, I meet Britt in the morning and we eat out in a café around the corner from uni. Brad had early classes so had already left by the time I woke up, which I wasn't mad about at all.
"So how come you didn't reply to my text last night?" She asks with a raised eyebrow and I frown. I didn't even notice she had replied. I was either too busy swooning over Thomas or too tired when I got back to my dorm to notice she had messaged me.
"I was out last night," I smile at her proudly. I knew she was going to freak when she found out who I was with.
She takes a double take and then raises her eyebrows in surprise, "you went out last night? With someone other than me?"
I nod.
"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" She laughs and a small smile cracks on to my face. "Was it your roommate? I didn't think you liked him at all."
"Trust me, I don't," I affirm. "But it wasn't my roommate. Actually, it was Thomas."
"Bibbity bobbity back the fuck up," her eyes widen in surprise. "You're telling me you spoke more than five words to Thomas Finch."
"I went out with him till curfew, too."
"University really does change people, huh?"
We end up conversing for longer before Britt has to go to her first class of the day. While I took fashion designing as a course, she took medicine. She wanted to be a medicine engineer when she was older, which sort of ran in her family. Her dad was a surgeon and her mum was a paediatric nurse.
My classes didn't start until after lunch and I didn't know if Brad was in our dorm but I risked going up to study for a bit anyway.
When I finally reach my dorm, I swing open the door to see the room is empty. Brad had obviously been back while I was out since the room was even messier than before I left. I kick his clothes over next to the basket of dirty washing and fix his drawers so all the clothes fit and the drawers are closed.
After I've cleaned, I find myself typing a message out to Thomas to see if he can meet up for a while. I know he suggested bringing a friend each last night but I didn't mind spending some time alone with him, either.
I hit the send button and start looking over some textbooks that one of my teachers told me to look over. There wasn't much to take in since a lot of the stuff was just more complicated stuff I already knew about.
My phone buzzes from my side and I pick it up with a giddy feeling inside, seeing that it's from Thomas. My eyes scan over the message over an over again.
Sure. Hang out in half an hour?
I hold back a squeal and type back a simple sure as well as a smiley face before grinning to myself.
"What's got you all happy?" A voice chuckles and I already know it's Brad before I turn around. My smile is quickly wiped off my face as I turn around to see him looking down at me with a confused expression.
"I basically just got asked on a date," I say as I place my phone down next to me. His eyebrows raise in surprise as he shuts the door and sling off his shoes. I'm tempted to roll my eyes at the fact he's been her for less than a minute and was already messing up the place. He jumps onto his bed and instantaneously pulls out his phone.
I started delving through my belongings, trying to find something to wear. I settle on some light blue mom jeans and a loose black shirt that I tucked in carelessly and change in the bathroom. I look at my outfit in the body length mirror in the main dorm and smile in satisfaction as I put on some black heeled boots too.
"You're wearing that to a date?" Brad comments from beside me and I look at him through a mirror with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, and what about it?"
"Well, if you're going on a date, you wanna impress the guy," Brad shrugs, sitting up. "For example, those jeans swamp your ass—not that you have one anyway."
I roll my eyes, "if all you're going to do is insult my outfit choice, I'm going to leave."
"What I'm trying to say is that you wanna show off whatever curves you actually have," he hums as he stands up and walks over to my drawer full of clothes. He pulls out multiple pairs of mom jeans and slings them on to the before finding my black, tight leather skirt and throwing it on to my bed. I forgot I even packed that. "Try this on."
I nod slowly and pick the skirt up from my bed before disappearing back into the bathroom. I pull off my jeans and stretch up the skirt, it fitting perfectly. It started high waist and ended mid thigh. I open the door to show Brad and he throws a cropped white shirt at me which I thankfully catch.
"Black on black is a no-go," he states. It was strange to see him being helpful. "Try that on. Your goal for tonight is to impress the guy you're going on a date with, and get laid."
I roll my eyes and go back to the bathroom and put on the crop top. I didn't feel entirely comfortable but I knew I looked good in the eyes of society, something I didn't do often.
When I walk into the room, he's sat on his bed again texting frantically on his phone. He looks up and grins.
"Are you sure I look good? This doesn't really show what I look like," I say anxiously.
"Yeah! You look fine," he rolls his eyes and I pick up my phone to see Thomas has text me. "Uh, message me when you're on your way back?"
I squint my eyes suspiciously at him, "how come you helped me anyway? You don't like me."
"Rule two," he says. "We can only bring someone back to the dorm if one of us are out. If you get laid tonight then you'll stay at your man's place. Then I can bring back a girl."
I roll my eyes. Of course there were ulterior motives behind him getting me ready for tonight. I sigh and text Thomas, telling him I'll meet him downstairs before grabbing the piece of paper from my bedside table that Brad had scribbled his name on the other night before leaving.
As I shut the door to go meet Thomas, I hear Brad yelling after me.
"Don't forget to have safe sex!"
unedited.