Chapter Text
The sun beat down on the pavement as the blond walked along, hand tight around the strap of his bag. He’d been here before, on occasion: seeing his older brothers, being dragged along to his brother’s results day and the many many open days the university had. He’d never wanted to come to this university, but it was a family tradition so here Luke was- studying psychology when really all he wanted to do was play music.
9061. That was the room he was in, he had a roommate but that didn’t bother Luke- he was used to not having his own space especially with two older brothers; but someone his age would be refreshing- give the boy some sense of normality whilst he struggled through his course.
The blond glanced at the open door, an awkward chuckle leaving his mouth as he heard cursing coming from inside.
“E-Excuse me? Are you… Michael?” Luke asked wearily, squinting at the paper he’d balled up in his hand to ensure that he’d said the right name. The two had spoken briefly, during new student orientation- merely a smile, introduction before Michael was walking the other way with a dark haired male.
“Fuck... shit, what? Oh, yeah that’s me,” came the reply, before out bounded a male, a few inches shorter than Luke. A sheepish smile tugged up on the corners of his lips as his eyes flickered over Luke, “sorry, swearing is probably my worst habit. You must be Luke yeah? I took the bed by the window, I hope you don’t mind. It’s just if I don’t sleep near the window with the sun rising, I’d probably never get out of bed,” the boy rambled.
But Luke wasn’t listening.
He was too busy watching the boy, eyes slowly trailing across Michael’s face taking in every feature that he could: the way his eyebrows seemed to rise and fall as he spoke, the way his lips quirked up in the corner when he said certain words, the way his nose scrunched when he was telling him about not being able to wake up without sunlight. Luke was enraptured, he probably shouldn’t be staring when he’d just met the boy but he couldn’t help it.
“Luke? Are you okay?” Michael asked, stepping over to carefully lay his hand on Luke’s arm- eyebrows furrowed in concern despite the fact he’d known the blond for less than five minutes.
“W-What? Oh yeah, sorry. I just got a little caught up in my own head, sorry,” he spoke gently, a small blush creeping up his cheeks as he slowly dragged his bag inside and plopped himself down on the unmade bed. Cerulean hues scanned the band posters already pinned up beside Michael’s bed, a wide smile tugging up on the corners of his lips.
“It’s good to know my roommate wont disapprove of my CD’s,” Luke smiled, blue eyes twinkling as he watched the other boy moving around the room.
“Why? Do you like these bands too?”
“Are you kidding me? All Time Low are only my favourite band of all time, although my brother met Alex and that pissed me off because he never told me,” Luke chuckled, getting off the bed to gather the rest of his things from outside the room. Somehow, Luke figured that university would be a little more bearable as long as he could become good friends with Michael.
Luke lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the steady breathing of his roommate; it was comforting to know that there was someone else there with him- someone who was also as new to this as him and somehow that made this whole experience a little less daunting.
“Luke? Are you still awake?” Michael whispered, rolling onto his side and squinting into the darkness to try and make his eyes focus on the other boy. Michael couldn’t ignore the fact that he was attractive, with his blond hair and sea blue eyes- however they held a kind of innocence that appealed to Michael. That made the other by want to get to know him.
The blond slowly rolled himself over, a wide smile pulling on his lips as he was met with a sleepy looking Michael.
“Yeah, is something wrong?” Luke asked quietly, shuffling in the bed a little to get more comfortable. There were some minor setbacks when you had a single bed and you’re a six foot four male, you have to lie diagonally to fit into the bed.
Michael’s heart pounded in his chest as he watched Luke shuffling around, he was taken aback by how concerned the male seemed to be given that they’d only met that day.
“If you’re going to room with me, there’s something you should know- I’m only telling you this soon because well… there should still be time to swap roommates if you feel like you need to,” Michael rambled, fingers tugging on a piece of cotton from the frayed blanket he’d brought from home. A piece of comfort when he needed it.
Luke’s eyebrows furrowed together as he listened to Michael speaking, what could Michael tell him that would make him want to switch rooms? Especially when it seemed like they were getting off to such a great start.
“I’m gay Luke, and I get if it makes you uncomfortable or something…” Michael’s voice trailed off when he saw the expression on Luke’s face.
“W-What? No no! It doesn’t bother me at all, why would it make me uncomfortable? You’re who you are and I’d be a terrible person if I judged you on something like that. So what if you like guys,” Luke spoke, shrugging as he adjusted himself in bed. What Luke wanted to say was so am I, but after the uproar that followed him at home; he’d rather no one know. Even if Michael did just come out to him.
Luke yawned gently, rubbing at his eyes as he curled into his blanket- eyes staying fixed on Michael as he got comfortable in his bed.
“You know, you seem like you’re going to be pretty cool Luke,” the older boy spoke gently, before he curled into his own blanket and let himself fall asleep; leaving Luke alone with his thoughts for the night.