Chapter Text
‘College will be fun’ they said. ‘You’ll learn valuable skills’ they said.
Hollow had been hopeful, really. They just…hadn’t wanted to leave home. After their father left…and their older sibling… They just didn’t think out of state would be the best choice for them.
But here they were, going up a rickety elevator in an unknown land.
They checked their room number again. They were told they’d have a roommate, which made the experience worse. They hadn’t lived with someone else in years, not counting their barely-lucid mother.
The elevator stopped with a shudder and a ding. Hollow walked off, and scanned the doors for their room.
When they entered it, they saw that their roommate was already inside, their bags on their recently made bed while they sat at their desk.
Hollow almost sighed with relief. Their roommate looked clean and neat, and relatively normal. They had headphones on, and were scrolling through their phone.
Hollow stood silently for a moment, before walking further into the room to start unpacking. After a couple moments the other person looked up, seemingly having noticed them.
They took off their headphones, giving Hollow some sort of look. “So you’re my roommate.”
“Y-yes,” Their voice was hoarse. They weren’t at all used to talking to people. “My name’s Hollow. They/Them pronouns please.”
“Pebbles, He/Him.”
“Um, w-what classes are you-“
“I don’t have any classes with you.”
Hollow blinked. “Alright.” They looked down, and continued to unpack. They didn’t have a lot; They brought only the necessities.
Their father had taught them that extra possessions were unnecessary.
Every so often Hollow would try to get a better look at Pebbles. He seemed…rude, but first impressions weren’t everything. He wore an orange hoodie and jeans, and a beanie with two yellow pins. He slipped his headphones back on, a look of boredom on his face.
…Alright then.
…
By the end of the day, Hollow was exhausted. Figuring out the campus wasn’t too bad- They had always been good with maps -but its size didn’t make things easier.
Hollow leaned against the hallway wall, staring at their phone. Their half-sister was calling them.
They sighed, readying themself for a headache before answering.
“Hey Hornet-“
“Hollow! Why didn’t you tell me you were going off to college?!”
“I did.”
“Well, you should have told me louder! Now I’m gonna have to work the store all by myself.”
“No, you won’t. There are other employees.”
“But they don’t work hard enough… Anyway, how’s college life?”
“…Stressful.”
“How’s your roomie?”
“Um. Alright, I guess. Not horrible.”
“So he’s evil, but you’ll just deal with it?”
“I never said-“
“Hollow. Listen to me. This is your one chance to make a name for yourself, in a place where no one knew our father.”
“I know. …I gotta go. Remember to stay inside as much as possible, and wear your mask-“
“Quarantine’s nothing new, Hollow. But yeah, I will.”
They hung up, then sighed.
They didn’t want to make a name for themself. They just wanted to…
…
Well, they didn’t know exactly what they wanted, but that didn’t matter-
“Hey, um, are you Pebbles’ roommate?”
Hollow looked up. A stranger was talking to them. “Y-yes?”
“Yikes. Be careful, man. I heard he murdered his sister last year.”
HE DID WHAT-
Hollow was too frozen in shock to even come up with a plea for context before the stranger walked on down the hallway.
…
Well then. College just got more than stressful.
-…-
Pebbles was having a bad day, in a series of bad months, in what was turning out to be a bad year.
Of course people had already heard about Moon. Of course he couldn’t just broaden his education without being called a murderer. He got enough of that from calls from Hara.
When he finally reached the elevator to his dorm floor, he was met with an even worse surprise.
Pebbles’ eyes met Suns’, and both of them shared a small look of horror.
“Hey, um, How are you?” Of course Suns would try to start a conversation.
The elevator doors closed. It was too late to run.
“Fine.” Pebble answered shortly. “And you?”
“Good.”
…
“Look, Suns-“
“I’m sorry for almost double suiciding with you.”
Pebbles frowned. “It was my idea.” And besides, he didn’t deserve apologies after how badly he messed up-
The elevator door opened.
“Can we talk again? Some other time??”
“Maybe…” He mumbled, already trying to get to their room as fast as possible before they started feeling bad.
Pebbles left, going straight to his dorm. Finally, he could avoid people.
He sighed, then turned to see Hollow sitting on their bed, looking like they’d just seen a murderer.
Mm. Right.
“Seems like you had a nice first day.”
“Um, did you- I mean, if you-“
“I’m not a murderer.” Pebbles practically growled the words. “Despite what most people here might say.”
“…Context?”
He hesitated. This wasn’t something he just told people, usually. But he wasn’t usually known as a murderer. “…My sister’s in a coma. There was an accident, and she’s been like that for months now.”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
Hollow looked down awkwardly, then stood, running their hand through their long, oddly pale hair. “I don’t know how anyone could just assume their way to murder . But…I know what it’s like to not be trusted because of misunderstandings. So…can we be friends now?”
Pebbles rolled his eyes. “You don’t become my friend just from ‘relating to my struggles’-“ They faltered, blinking. “Dang, how tall are you?”
“I don’t know, tall?”
Great. Now, next to his roommate, he’d look suspicious and short.
“That’s it, friendship’s canceled. We’re officially acquaintances.”
“What? But we’ll live together??”
-…-
Hollow couldn’t sleep.
They didn’t sleep a lot in the first place. They hated being unconscious, after…after they first got sick. But tonight the insomnia had worsened with anxiety.
They found themselves staring at Pebbles’ side of the room.
It was easy to get distracted, staring at the posters and figurines of things they knew nothing about. Like peering into someone else’s world.
…
They wondered what Ghost would think of him.
They didn’t remember them enough to know.