After reading the same page of my Clinical Microbiology textbook about twenty times, I closed the book with a frustrated huff.
The sound of gunfire and muffled yelling was still audible even with the closed door but it wasn't the noise that distracted me. After all, having a roommate like Maddox I'd gotten used to studying in worse conditions.
Ever since this morning and finding out that Maddox was clearly smarter than I gave him credit for I've been frustrated.
I'd always assumed that I was the one with the brains and he was the one with the sexual drive of a rabbit. He'd proved me definitively wrong on that.
He was a sex rabbit with a brain.
Clearly some people had it all. Good looks, good grades, good life.
And then there was me. An awkward turtle with the current energy level of a sloth, and yet I'd always had a competitive edge. That's why it was driving me mad that someone like Maddox Carter had self-taught himself fluent Mandarin when I was still struggling with my Spanish.
I shuddered when I remembered his remark as I was retreating back into my room.
"By the way, that was Mandarin." I could hear by his voice that he was baiting me but even so I turned around.
"What?" I frowned, glaring at him as he chuckled.
"The language. It was Mandarin, not 'Chinese'." He winked at me victoriously before turning back to his game.
I blushed in embarrassment and walked back to my room in a total daze.
A daze I was still in a few hours later. One filled with frustration, shame, and rage.
Maddox was pissing me the fuck off.
Every time I remembered his little self-satisfied smirk I wanted to murder him. With my knowledge of anatomy I was pretty sure it wouldn't be such a difficult task.
My phone pinged with a new message and I was instantly grateful for the distraction — regardless of who it was.
Checking the screen showed an unknown number and I frowned, pulling up the message. My frown quickly turned into a smile when I read it.
Luna
Hey, girl, hey! How are you surviving quarantine?
Luna
It's Luna btw, omg, can't believe I forgot to say that.
Aimee
Hiiii! Haha, I probably would have guessed it was you.
Aimee
It's been a challenge, haha. Thanks again for the toilet paper!
Aimee
My roommate almost went on a hunger strike without it.
Luna
LOL, he sounds like fun!
Aimee
He's not, unless you think beer, games, and sex are fun.
Luna
...aren't those kind of the widely accepted fun thing?
Aimee
Yeah, that didn't sound the way I wanted it to...
Aimee
I just meant that he's a typical fuck boi.
Luna
well, I have seen him around with a variety of girls...
Luna
nothing wrong with having some fun though!
Luna
live while we're young!
Luna
TBH, I was a real wild child before I met Alex.
Aimee
Is that your boyfriend? The guy you live with?
Luna
Yeah
Luna
I mean, he's my ex boyfriend now actually.
Aimee
Oh, I'm sorry...
Luna
Don't be. Things happen for a reason ig.
Aimee
Yeah...
Aimee
Wait, and you're still living together?
Aimee
Like right now?
Once I'd sent the texts I realized that I was threading dangerously close into personal territory with someone I had just recently met. Cursing my innate curiously I quickly typed another message.
Aimee
Sorry, that's personal... You don't have to answer that.
Luna
It's fine!
Luna
yeah, we broke up the night before this happened so...
Aimee
Shit...
Luna
yeeeeah, haha.
Luna
it's fine, just 17 more days!
I changed the topic after that and we texted for a while longer about casual things. We ranted about our sisters, that seemed to be similar in age, and discussed the latest movies we watched. The conversation was so normal, a refreshing change to the typical day-to-day of a post-pandemic world.
After we'd said goodbye, however, I couldn't help but think back on our earlier conversation.
She was living with her ex-boyfriend during a quarantine.
And I thought I'd had it rough with Maddox but that was nothing compared to Luna's situation. It was hard to imagine such a bubbly, positive girl would be weighed down by such heartache. For some reason I really wished I could help her in some way, difficult as that would be during a lockdown.
I was deep in thought when a smoky scent reached me. It took another few seconds for me to realize that it wasn't a smoky scent, it was genuine smoke.
In a panic I tried to get off the bed, getting my leg stuck in the blanket and falling face-first on the floor in the process. Muttering curse words, I picked myself up and rushed out of the room.
Maddox was sitting on the couch, intently focused on playing his game.
Meanwhile, there was a gust of smoke coming out of the oven.
"Maddox, what the hell?!" I screamed before taking quick steps to the kitchen, trying to wave away some of the smoke with my hands.
As if he had been in a trance up until that point, his body twitched when he turned to face the kitchen and he let out an audible gasp.
"Oh my God, SHIT!" He stood up abruptly, the controller falling to the ground with a thud, and took a few quick steps to the kitchen.
I was getting the oven mitt out of a drawer so I hadn't actually seen what he was doing.... Until I saw more smoke fill the air and heard a few more curse words along with the clattering of the pan against the oven grate.
When I turned around I saw the redness on Maddox's fingerprints and could only assume what had happened.
"Jesus, Maddox, put that under cold water, now!" He obliged without saying a word, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Letting out a sigh, I put on the mitts and quickly took what I assumed was once a frozen pizza out of the oven. Once that crisis was averted I turned my attention back to Maddox. His finger was still under running cold water and he was biting down on his lower lip.
I clicked my tongue before grabbing some salt, and standing next to him. "Let me see."
Dutifully, he held out his finger in silence. I could definitely get used to this obedient version of him.
The burn looked minor so I let out a huff of air before pouring some salt over his burned fingers. He looked at me in confusion.
"What's with the seasoning? Are you planning on eating those?" His voice is low but with his usual dose of amusement still more than evident.
"Idiot, it's so you don't get burn blisters." I rolled my eyes and sent him a sidelong glare. It was an old life hack my Grandmother had taught me as a child -- not very medical of me, but for a mild burn like what he had, it wouldn't be a problem. "What were you even thinking? You can't just touch hot stuff with bare hands. Especially when there's smoke."
"I know, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking..." He muttered, looking anywhere but at me.
"Yeah, what's new..." I couldn't help the snide remark but in a way he kind of deserved it, having almost burnt down the apartment.
I guess he isn't good at everything after all.
A small smile pulled up the corners of my lips. A smile that didn't go unnoticed.
"Are you enjoying this?" He let out an outraged gasp, covering his mouth with the hand that wasn't hurt.
"Maybe," I admitted, without even trying to hide my smirk and he chuckled in response.
"Can I have my hand back now?" He asked, wiggling the fingers on the hand I was still holding in a firm grasp. As if I was the one that had just gotten burnt, I instantly let go of his palm and took a step back.
In return, Maddox smirked and took a step forward until his body was almost pressed against mine.
"Thanks, I owe you." Oh, I knew that tone of voice. I'd heard him use it with the many girls that had passed the threshold to our apartment. I shuddered, gently pushing him away.
"Please, don't owe me anything." The only thing that could come out of him owing me stuff was trouble.
He wiggled his eyebrows before turning to the fridge and I let out a deep breath I'd been unconsciously holding. His hand had been unexpectedly soft and I'd never actually noticed how long his fingers were. Mine seemed so small when I was holding his...
"Want one?" His voice shook me from my thoughts and I looked at him in confusion before noticing the beer bottle he was holding.
"You're drinking? Now?" Why was I even surprised?
"I'd argue that now is the perfect time to drink, considering," he stated, wiggling the fingers on his hurt hand before he added, "Besides, it's good prep for game night!"
I looked up at him then, my eyes wide. "You-You still wanna do that?"
For some reason I'd thought that almost starting a fire and almost having his fingerprints charred off, would have put a damper on his desire for fun. Clearly, I was wrong.
"More than ever," he said and smirked, pushing the bottle toward me.
Cursing under my breath, I grabbed the bottle and took a bubbly sip.
This guy. This guy would be the death of me.
I couldn't wait for this long day to just end already.
Hi lovelies!
I hope you enjoyed the new chapter with a tiny bit of a backstory on Luna.
The next chapter might be a bit longer than usually because it will be eventful. If it's too long, I'll split it into two.
PS. Did you guys know you can avoid burn blisters by putting salt on the burn? (It has to be wet before, though!) I always thought that was such a useful life hack.
I hope you have a lovely week, and stay safe! <3