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Kate found the apartment at a great price, and after some very effective intimidation techniques, she got to take it at a truly fantastic price. However, despite its not-so-great reputation, studying at Shadyside’s college wasn’t cheap, and she immediately decided she could use a couple of roommates.
When Simon walked into Kate’s apartment for the first time, she had been ready to turn him away. But there was just something about the way he draped himself over the single couch on the small living room as if he’d been living there his entire life that made Kate feel this was right . She enjoyed saying that taking him as roommate had been the worst decision of her entire life, but she couldn’t deny he quickly became her best friend.
Then there were a few other people that passed by. There was a certain Peter that she turned right away with a warning that she’d call the police if he ever showed up there again. Then Alice lived with them for a few weeks, but then she moved in with her girlfriend to a different apartment. They tried to take in a couple, Heather and Ryan, but after a run-in with their extremely unpleasant landlord, Nick Goode, the couple left them.
Finally, there was Deena. She showed up with her best attempt at a polite smile, but she could hardly disguise her frown. She seemed to be the entire opposite of Simon, so Kate wasn’t sure why she instantly liked the other girl so much. She refused to believe in fate, but she believed that this unnecessarily grumpy stranger was decent enough and able to pay her part of the rent, so…
Two months later, the three of them were the closest friends each of them had at the moment. They had movie nights, made good and bad meals and got groceries together, annoyed and loved each other a lot. But, they were still getting to know each other. With Deena in particular, this wasn’t easy. The brunette was fun, kinder than she liked to admit, protective, and a great friend. But she was also a fiercely private person with a somewhat infamous temper. Kate and Simon were learning all the rules. Nobody should invade Deena’s personal space without a clear invitation. Nobody should try to wake Deena up early. Nobody should ask too many questions about Deena’s family. Nobody should mess her with things, her clothes, her drums, her favorite food, or insult her music taste. Lastly, but most importantly, absolutely nobody was allowed to even breathe near Deena’s record collection. Not if they wanted to live another day.
So, early morning, when Kate and Simon walked into their shared apartment with arms full of grocery bags, and they found a stranger inside the apartment, they couldn’t help but let all their bags drop down to the floor creating a huge mess. The reason behind this reaction was very reasonable. The girl inside the apartment didn’t look like a common burglar. She looked far from dangerous. In fact, Kate was more than certain she could take her down if necessary. But it wouldn’t be necessary, she thought, because Deena was going to kill this girl, bring her back to life, and then kill her again, once or twice. The blonde was standing on the corner of the living room browsing through Deena’s beloved records, wearing Deena’s favorite flannel, balancing a handful of the records while holding on to one of Deena’s favorite desserts. All things that nobody was allowed to touch, under any circumstance.
“Oh hi!” the girl exclaimed when she heard the commotion by the door. “I’m Sam.” She grinned, and made a move to step toward them to maybe shake their hands, hug them, or rob them, who knew. But the movement made her lose her balance, and she nearly dropped the jello and the records. Kate and Simon gasped, but Sam managed to hold everything up before tragedy. “Oh that was close,” she laughed wholeheartedly, as if her life wasn’t in terrible danger.
Then, as if summoned by her prized possessions calling for help, Deena came in from the hallway, but in a way that Kate and Simon had never seen her before. She came in laughing, giggling to herself. They weren’t even sure they’d ever seen her awake so early.
“Sam?” Deena called.
“Hey! I got them,” Sam replied, holding up the records in her arms proudly. Then she skipped toward Deena, placed a kiss on her cheek, and entered the brunette’s bedroom as casually as if it were her own.
Deena finally noticed Kate and Simon still standing by the door, shell shocked, lips parted in surprise and eyes wide. “Hey,” she nodded at them, choosing to ignore the mess of groceries lying on the floor. Then Deena returned to her bedroom and to the adorable and fearless girlfriend that she apparently had forgotten to mention.