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Dominique had laid down some time ago; though it was hard to tell exactly how much time had passed since then. He couldn’t seem to sleep–not that he was surprised about the fact. They didn’t exactly expect their first night in the dorm to be a restful one. They were laying still, aside from lightly tapping their finger against their chest, as they looked up at the ceiling. His mind ran rampant with doubt and fear, with nothing breaking his train of thought for what felt like hours.
What if I made the wrong choice? What if everything falls apart? Oh god, everything’s gonna fall apart–
Suddenly, something halted his thoughts: a noise from the other side of the room. It took him less than a minute to realize his roommate was crying. For a while he felt frozen in place as he debated whether he should try and do anything or just let them be.
Would it be weird if I said something?? We just met–I can’t even remember his name–but I don’t want him dealing with his struggles alone if I can do something to help…
Their panic about the situation only rose as they continued trying to figure out what to do, their roommate’s quiet crying and sniffling seeming more and more apparent the longer it took.
Eventually, after making a decision, they spoke up. “Hey…you okay?” He spoke softly, trying his best not to startle them too much. His stomach sank as soon as a single word came out of his mouth. They prayed to whatever deities may or may not exist that they hadn’t made the wrong decision. That he hadn’t fucked up his chances of them being his friend. They tried their best to ignore it, with not much success.
They heard him mutter, “Shit.” and it took a few moments for a direct reply, “Y-yeah…sorry if I woke you up.”
“Nah, you’re fine. I haven’t slept a wink to be honest…can’t seem to get my brain to shut up.” They thought sharing their own struggle would make him feel less alone–if he was feeling alone that is. But the moment it came out of his mouth, his anxiety skyrocketed. Fuck. They’re gonna think I’m some self-absorbed prick. Fuck!
They heard him huff, and he hoped it was in some sort of amusement–or anything other than annoyance, “Yeah…me too.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“No, it’s…stupid. Thanks though.” They sniffled softly.
“I’m sure it’s not stupid, but it’s cool if you don’t wanna talk about it. You want help distracting yourself instead maybe?” He quickly added, “Or I can just leave you be if you’d prefer.”
“What kinda distraction?” They began to sit up, and Dominique did as well.
“I dunno exactly. I can pull out my laptop and we can watch a movie? Or I’m sure there’s something else we can do if you don’t wanna do that.”
“Honestly, a movie sounds great.”
“Sweet!” A huge smile appeared on their face as they got out of bed to get their laptop out of their bag. “You want the lights on or off? Cause I don’t care either way.”
“Keeping them off is easier.” They still sniffled a little and wiped their eyes, but they had a smile on their face now.
Dominique brought their laptop over to his bed, opening it as they searched for something to watch, “Any kinda movie you’d prefer?”
“Anything that won’t make me cry more.” He laughed softly, leaning a little over his, hopefully, new friend’s shoulder to look at the screen.
“You wanna have a good laugh instead?”
“Sounds good to me.”
Dominique giggled to himself as he pulled something up on YouTube, “How ‘bout this hilariously awful disaster of a movie?” on the screen was Furby Island, “It made me absolutely lose my shit laughing from how bad it was last time I watched it.”
“This looks so stupid. I’m a hundred percent down.”
Goofy grins now stretched across both of their faces as they laid back and started watching. The rest of the night was filled with laughter and dumb jokes as they both felt stress free for as long as they focused on the movie.
They may not have slept much, but that was okay. It was okay.