Chapter Text
"As I am sure you are very much aware, this does put you in a very compromising position."
Your name is Aaron, and you are, as you are very much aware, in a very compromising position.
You stand upright and turn to face your soon to be roommate, Rose Lalonde.
"Yes, I am 'very much aware'," You respond, mimicking her tone. "Perhaps if your boxes were not so full of wizard porn I would actually be able to lift them."
"You would also be in a better position if you lifted from your knees. It would help you not to present your rear into the air."
"You know, I don't need to move your boxes. I could just get in the van and you could move them yourself, and you wouldn't be left in a good place..." You bend down anyway, and pick a slightly lighter box to start moving; Rose grabs the smallest one and walks with you.
"You don't need to, correct, but nor did I ask. You came over and demanded to assist me. Perhaps it is this 'knight in shining armour' mechanic reflective of the fact that you need a date." It was true, you had been on your own for a while now. Instead of considering how badly that would turn out, you play it off with a joke.
"Asking me, are we? Oh no! What would Kanaya think? Not so gay after all?" You gasp in mock disbelief. Rose just looks at you, calculating her next response.
While most found her psychoanalysis of everything rather frustrating, you found it endearing, and a times, quite funny. More than that, she was easy to talk to. She didn't judge, and she didn't sugar coat. She always told you what she thought was best, and you appreciate that. Rose was always your best friend, and this is likely why you were glad to be going to college together, and even more so to be being roommates. College seemed to loom over you and you were glad that you would have at least one friend.
Or perhaps, glad to have only one.
"I'm sure she would appreciate my experimentation. In fact, perhaps she would even join me. Interested?" You make gagging sounds.
"I don't even want to know what goes on between you two, let alone be a part of it. Thanks, but no thanks." Silence passes for a moment before you burst out laughing. Rose even chuckles a little. "Rose Lalonde? Laughing? How very out of character!"
Before she has a chance to respond, her mother walks out the front door of the Lalonde residence.
"Awh, my Rose is all grown up. You take care of her Aaron. Make sure she stays safe and goes to her classes."
"I will, Miss Lalonde, although it will mostly be Rose keeping me in line!"
Rose mutters something along the lines of "It's true."
"How many times, call me Roxy!"
"Thank you, Roxy!"
"I'll call you when we get there. Is that alright, mother?" Roxy comes over and pulls the younger Lalonde into a warm hug. You feel a pang of jealousy.
"I love you, Rose."
"I love you too, mother."
It's only a little while until all of Rose's things are packed next to yours in your van. You'd been saving up for it for years and your family pitched in for half.
"Anything to get me out the house," you mutter under your breath.
"They love you, Aaron. They just show it differently." Her purple eyes in the passenger seat are caring and kind. No agenda. You shrug and you both buckle in.
"Have fun you two! And stay safe!" Roxy calls after you. You shout goodbyes back and pull on to the drive.
You have a long journey ahead of you.
A few hours on the road with little traffic and a now sleeping Rose have left you lost in thought. At the minute, you are just trying to remember everything she told you about her group of friends all joining up this year as well. There was her cousin who was majoring in music tech and minoring in photography, but alongside him were also another pair of cousins, John and Jade, that apparently they both have known for a long time. She also seemed to know a few trolls in their first year through Kanaya, though Kanaya seems to tolerate them more than enjoy their company.
Rose sure did know a lot of people. Hopefully she won't try to introduce them to you all at once. But she will introduce them all, as Rose tends to do, so you can only hope you don't get smothered.
You turn to the passenger seat and find that she's awake again, looking out at the trees. "Lunch?" Your stomach growls, apparently to emphasise your question.
"Lunch." She nods slightly in agreement. You get off at the next service spot and pick up a drive through, ordering and paying while Rose checks her phone, before stopping in the car park to eat. For the umpteenth time, you thank whatever higher power there is, that she understands and doesn't press the 'always drive through' situation.
"I think it's only a couple of hours now," You bite into your burger. No response. You wave your hand in front of her face. "Hello? Earth to Rose?" She bats you away with nonchalance and continues to stare at no one or nothing in particular. You try and line your head up with hers to see her line of sight: nothing of note. It's a minute or so before she finally speaks.
"I received some news."
You wait a couple seconds. "Care to elaborate on that?"
She breaks into a smile. "My cousin has just admitted to me, finally, that he does in fact have a crush on one of our childhood friends, John."
For a minute, you forget everything and pretend to yourself that you could get involved. "Oh my gosh," you stretch out the last sound and your eyes light up. "Would this be the same John who's crushing on your cousin?"
"The very same. And naturally they've been totally obvious to everyone except each other."
"Oh this just gets better and better. So neither of them know about the other?"
"Not a clue."
"So they both want to..."
"Yes."
"And neither of them..."
"No."
"So you're going to..."
"I'll try." Naturally, Rose knows the end of all of your sentences. You still don't understand how she does it.
"I ship it so hard!"
"You haven't even met either of them."
"Don't care. Shippin' it. What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic."
"Running away whenever anyone talks to you is not typically the sign of a hopeless romantic."
You quickly change the topic.
"Looking forward to your classes?"
"Yes and no. Yes, I'm looking forward to studying psychology. But no, because I will outclass my lecturer for at least the first year." You roll your eyes. Major in psychology and minor in sociology surprised no one, and nor did her constant air of superiority, well earned or not. "What did you finally settle on in the end?"
"Programming. Minor in chemistry."
"Oh really? John also will be minoring in chemistry, though majoring in biology." That could be interesting. Or a complete disaster. You haven't decided yet.
You continue to make small talk and swap information about the college. As well as accommodating both trolls and humans, it seems to be both lecture based and class based, unlike most other colleges taking one of the other, which seems like a good idea. After all, both methods have their merits, so why not both? "Classes do seem quite small as well, which will be good for you," Rose mentioned, and you mask your elation.
"Yeah, that sounds nice." You both finished a while ago, so you stash the rubbish in the door pockets and take off again. Together you sit quietly, listening to the music. It's a few minutes before you speak up again. "Wouldn't you rather be sharing a room with, you know, anyone else?"
"Like whom?"
"John? Jade? Your cousin? Kanaya?"
"John and my cousin were always going to be roommates -" You grin at the idea. "- Jade lives close enough that she doesn't have a room, and Kanaya is sharing with a blind girl called Terezi. Besides, if I didn't, then you would be alone."
Suddenly you feel guilty - Rose would probably rather be with her real friends rather than you. "Sorry." Rose lets out a big sigh.
"Aaron. Eventually you are going to learn that you do not need to apologise for existing. Anyway, I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want it, would I?" You nod reluctantly.
You let it drop.
For now.