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Jamie rubbed his eye and ran it down his face, shuffling his feet through the halls towards the elevator. It was too early, or too late—either way he was exhausted. Time was irrelevant at this point. It was midterms, becoming winter, and he felt weighed down by the unresolved issue of his roommate. Connor.
They were always on his last nerve.
And always on his mind.
They could feel the bags under their eyes, even without looking in a mirror. They haphazardly tossed their keys, phone and wallet into their sweats and tossed on a hoodie over their bare chest, having been too lazy to grab a shirt from the dresser. He hasn’t done laundry anyway, so there wasn’t anything clean left. The elevator dinged as they reached the main floor, door opening to the corridor.
They forced themselves along, socks shuffling across the carpet without a second thought until he reached the doorknob, a static shock zapping his fingers.
“Fuck,” he exhaled sharply, waving his hand a few times before opening the door to the outside. The humidity clung to their body and the waft of heat in the night air almost made him lose his breath. Just make it across campus, pick up some coffee(they ran out) and food(out of that too), then back to studying.
They reached the campus Starbucks and reached for the door, crashing completely into the person walking out.
“Fuck, dude, watch where the hell you’re—“
Jamie scowled slightly, ready to straight berate the person cursing at them, but was surprised(not quite thrilled) to see Zipper walking out, half closed pink jacket with just as poorly buttoned Hawaiian shirt underneath. They had tan shorts and big red sneakers, without socks. Clearly they didn’t look so enthused to him, holding a coffee beside their hand in hopes of not spilling the caffeine. There was a pause, Jamie letting out a frustrated huff and looking at Zipper, who only gave them a blank stare back.
“Oh.”
Zipper didn’t even sound surprised, and Jamie was unnerved by the fact he did enough of the same things to be predictable. Jamie’s brows creased down slightly, and he drove his hands out of his pockets.
“Are you gonna move or…” he drawled out, irritation in their voice as Zipper seemed to process what had happened at the last minute. They gave Jamie a grin and leaned on the door to the inside, and it angered Jamie that he could feel the cool air conditioning breeze past him.
“Not gonna lie I feel kinda comfortable here.”
“I swear to God, Zipper, tonight is NOT the night for this,” Jamie exhaled with an angry, tired growl, putting a hand on Zipper's jacket arm and pulling it off the door. Zipper leaned up from the door and their grin seemed to slide.
“Alright, fine, I’ll give you some slack,” Zip exhaled, moving off the side for Jamie to brush past them. They muttered a low sarcastic comment to themself, holding the door open for a couple more seconds.
Jamie rummaged around his pocket for his wallet, trying to make sure that he brought it, and to their relief they had. They were too tired to have walked back to get it.
“Hey, Jamie, wait,” Zipper called behind them, appearing in Jamie’s peripheral as they dug around for a 20. Jamie let out one grunt of a response, prompting them to continue.
“Seriously,” At this, Jamie glared up at Zipper to find their expression was softer, less harassing. Jamie was quiet, but didn’t let go of their passive glare. “Do you wanna talk?”
Boy, did he really want to.
“No. I just want coffee and food.”
“If I pay for it will you?”
“You’re not paying for shit, Zips.”
“Fine, fine. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Jamie let his glare soften, their shoulders hiking up to put their wallet back in their sweats. Zipper waited patiently, their expression serious but understanding. Jamie let out an exhausted sigh.
“Fine, whatever. Just let me order first.”
Zipper put their hands up in defense and stepped out his way. “You got it. I’ll get a table.”
==
Jamie sat down with their coffee and a sandwich, having taken whatever they had left this late at night. Keys clattered against the wood of the table and his phone made a hard thunk as well. Zipper sat across from them, and a teasing smile ghosted their expression.
“So… fan of Dream?” They asked, pointing a finger at Jamie’s chest. Jamie frowned and pulled at the hoodie front, now sinking in what he grabbed. The bright green hoodie with two dots and a smile stared back at him. He groaned uncomfortably at the idea and plunged his face into his hands with his elbows on the table.
“For fucks… no, this is my roommates,” he exhaled, dragging his hands down his face as Zipper let out a couple laughs.
“Ah, I see~,” they said, raising a brow while drinking some of their coffee.
Jamie felt heat across their cheeks and they kicked Zippers shin under the table. “Ow, fuck—I’m kidding!”
“It’s not like that. I didn’t know I grabbed it,” he muttered back harshly, rolling up the sleeves and grabbing their coffee. A small silence fell over the two as they calmed down and Jamie ate.
Zipper tapped the side of their coffee a couple times with their thumb, resting their elbows on the edge of the table. Jamie ignored them, the sandwich gone almost the moment he sat down, the hunger catch up to him after 24 hours. The coffee burned their throat on the way down, and they squinted their eyes tight and finally put it down.
“So how’s it been going? Like,” Zipper started, flippantly gesturing to Jamie’s hoodie, or rather Connor’s hoodie, with their hand. “With the roomie?”
Jamie frowned, lacing his fingers around his coffee cup and faintly hearing the music play in the shop. It was too quiet to identify. They let out a heavy exhale and shifted in the seat.
“I dunno. They’re frustrating and loud and annoying.” They paused and Zipper waited for a beat.
“I feel a ‘but’ coming.”
“But—“ Jamie emphasized, giving Zipper a second glare. “—They’re nice to me even when I haven’t been. They get all red at everything I do and—“ Jamie cut themself off, bouncing a leg before briefly glancing around the shop. “—and I don’t know why. They freak me out,” he muttered, lifting his coffee to his lips. Zipper's expressions dropped and one brow rose at him.
“Dude, they just sound like they’re crushing on you like a little freshman straight out of middle school.”
Jamie almost choked, fumbling to put his coffee down and coughing. “What?”
“So this is how it feels to be the smartest.”
“No, Zipper, what? Why, even?” He exhaled, almost offended.
Zipper shrugged. “To the outside eye you look pretty badass. But we know better,” he joked, grinning at Jamie’s frustrated, but flattered, blush.
“You’re wrong. Seriously. Why? I didn’t do anything remarkable towards them—fuck, really all I’ve done is be mean to them.”
“Some people are into that.”
“Zipper—“
“What it’s true—“
“That’s not what I mean, I…” Jamie trailed, tapping a finger on his cup before looking from Zipper to the dark window. “I’m nothing remarkable. I’m not.. worth being liked.”
The table went somber and quiet. Jamie bounced a leg and took a slower sip of his coffee.
“Jamie, think about it like this,” Zipper started, reaching a hand in their vision to make him look up. “If I didn’t like you, why do you think I’d go out of my way to talk to you? You don’t have to be remarkable to be liked,” Zipper mentioned casually, a genuine tone in their voice. “You just have to be you.”
Jamie was silent, pressing a hand into his sleeve to hide the subtle shaking. He let out a breathy laugh, short and light. “Didn’t realize you were so soft Zips.”
“Hey, this is a one time deal, dreamie. I’ll go back to being your annoying thorn in your side if you prefer that.”
“Oh, lovely. And don’t call me Dreamie, dumbass.”
“Too late, it’s kinda stuck.”
“I hate you so much.”
“I know, Dreamie.”