Chapter Text
Charles woke up to the unfittingly joyful tune of his alarm. He groaned as he came to his senses after what he could consider to be one of the best sleeps of his entire college career. It was Monday, September 23rd - the first day of classes of his second year of university. He was studying neuroscience, which ironically was a massive headache. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, though, as Charles was a self proclaimed nerd.
After he groggily stumbled out of bed, he went to the small kitchen to make himself a nice cup of tea and mentally prepare himself for the day - and year - ahead. The early sun sifted through the window onto the small kitchen island and Charles felt strangely motivated and at peace. Maybe it was the fact that he finished his first year top of his class, or maybe it was the fact that this year he moved out of the dorm he shared with his best mate, Hank, and into a studio flat close to campus. Gone were the days of constant shouting and banging on the walls in the middle of the night, having to share bathroom facilities with 19 other students, and having to eat microwave dinners every night. Poor Hank stayed behind in the dorms, having said that he didn't mind it and it wasn't that much of a hassle. That was until he met his new roommate, Alex, who was the literal definition of a party animal and would soon prove to be a great pain in the ass during midterms.
Sucks to be him, Charles thought. Independence felt great!
After managing to choke down some cereal without heaving, as Charles was never able to seem to tolerate breakfast, he realised he had some time to kill and decided to go over some key points before his first lecture. He did want to make a good impression after all.
He opened his notes on his iPad and began to read.
“The cranial nerves and their functions:
Olfactory
Optic
Oculomotor
Trochlear
Trigeminal… .”
Charles groaned and decided to move on to something a bit simpler. Monday mornings were not for trying to remember the cranial nerves.
“Bones of the skull”
There. That’s something he could manage.
After skimming through his notes and falsely reassuring himself he remembered everything after summer break, he packed his backpack and left his flat to meet Hank on the way to class.
As soon as he opened the door to his flat and stepped out into the hallway, the door of the flat across his opened and a tall, lean, blond young man stepped out. As Charles laid eyes on him, he took in his calm, composed manner, and the dashing black turtleneck he had on. Charles caught himself looking for too long, and he had a feeling in his stomach he couldn't quite put his finger on. “ Probably ate too much breakfast.”, he thought.
As he tried to rush down the stairs unnoticed and embarrassed, his next door neighbour stopped him with a friendly “Hallo”.
Charles stopped abruptly “ And he’s German?” , he thought, suddenly feeling even more embarrassed than before, if that was even humanly possible.
“Uh, um, good um hello.” Charles stuttered.
“GOOD UM HELLO? ARE YOU SERIOUS WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” He silently berated himself.
The other man chuckled, “I’m Erik. Erik Lehnsherr. Pleased to meet you.” He said in an oddly formal tone and a slight German accent.
“Hey uh i’m Charles Xavier, glad to meet you too, my friend.”
After which Charles was quick to say “I'm terribly sorry for cutting our conversation short but I've got exactly 5 minutes to cross campus and get to my lecture.”
To which the other man replied with a grin “No worries, I wouldn't want you to be late on your first day.”
Charles dashed down this stairs, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“What on earth was that charles? ‘My friend’, really? You’ve only just met the man and you’ve already made a complete idiot of yourself. Good job.”
Thankfully, Hank was waiting down the pavement so Charles didn’t have to be left with his racing thoughts for much longer.
“Morning Hank.” Charles called out with a wave. Hank looked up from his daily morning sudoku puzzle to greet Charles back, and soon they were making their way to class.
“So how’s living alone going?” Hank inquired.
Charles smiled and replied “Great! It’s the best decision I've ever made. It’s always quiet, no distractions, and I can finally eat real food. It's honestly so freeing! What about you? How’s dorm life treating you?”
“Wow, that’s great Charles. I’m glad to hear that.” Hank said, trying to force a smile. “Dorm life’s, ehh , alright I guess. I don’t really mind the usual issues but my new roommate is getting on my nerves. He’s just so loud and messy. He comes in late from parties and leaves messes all over the room that he doesn’t even bother clearing up. It’s ridiculous! I feel like I'm living with a 13-year-old teenager.” At this point Hank was red in the face and his knuckles turned white from clenching his phone.
Charles’ face fell at the news, and felt a bit awkward for saying he was having the time of his life while his friend was struggling. “Oh, very sorry to hear that. That’s terrible. I can’t believe you have to put up with that. Can’t you report your roommate to someone? Anyways, tell you what, you can come study and relax at mine if you’d like. My door’s always open.”
Hank’s look softened at his friend’s reply. “Woah, thanks a lot for the offer Charles! I really appreciate it”.
“No problem.”, Charles replied with a smile.
For the rest of their walk they spoke about all the different modules they were taking this semester, and how they were already dreading what was to come in neuroanatomy 2, after the horrors they endured the previous year in neuroanatomy 1. As they reached the lecture hall door, Charles took a deep breath, looked at Hank, nodded, and entered - ready to kick off the year.