Chapter Text
The beginning of the school year blossomed like it did any other year—too early in mid-August when the sun beat down like a magnifying glass and the wind rippled with uncertainty and opportunity. The atmosphere surrounding the freshman dorms was electric, full of giddy first-years looking like they were headed off to summer camp with their teary-eyed parents following close behind.
There was a euphoric, almost overwhelming energy to it—something that could never quite be replicated.
She stood a bit further from all the excitement, color-coded clipboard in hand, checking off names and passing out keys she already knew most of them would lose. She was the perfect image of an RA: meticulous and methodical.
He most definitely was not.
In the midst of the chaos stood a lanky brown-haired boy who, if you didn’t see his RA badge, looked like he belonged to the incoming freshman class. He had long abandoned his post and was bouncing from student to student, confidently giving directions that were almost certainly incorrect.
At one point, he kindly offered to help carry a student’s mini fridge up to the top floor, which he promptly dropped down an entire flight of stairs with a deafening crash that echoed through the entire building.
“It’s fine!” he called through a suppressed laugh, already running down to try again.
His pure idiocy elicited a dramatic eye roll from her. She didn't even need to turn around to see who she would be working with for an entire year.
Albert Aretz was infamous around campus, because if “personality hire” existed in college, he was the blueprint.
As parents turned to look upon the chaos unfolding, she did everything in her power to direct the students to the adjacent stairwell and away from whatever Albert was doing to the mini fridge. She instructed a fellow RA to take over her post, then swiftly ran over to Albert.
“Are you serious right now?” she snapped, “These people are already anxious about sending their kids away and you’re not helping in the slightest!”
“What are you talking about? What do you think I’m doing with this fridge, I’m helping!” he smirked, clearly amused with how flustered she was. “You need to calm down or something, I promise I have this under control. Mostly”
“Ugh! You’re impossible”, she exclaimed, stomping away to help a forlorn looking teenage girl.
He watched as she stormed away, laughing to himself before calling over Kaden, a fellow RA and close friend of his.
“Who is that girl?” Albert laughed as he hoisted the bottom of the fridge and waited for Kaden to maneuver the top up the stairs.
“She’s the head RA this year, so it looks like she’s our boss”
“She looks young for a senior”, Albert panted under the weight—Kaden wasn’t helping a whole lot other than steering.
“She’s not a senior, she’s our age”, Kaden replied, smiling as he saw how red his friend’s face was turning. “Got a crush on her already?”
“No, it’s just a little difficult to carry this sixty-five pound object all by myself!”
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
After a long, exhausting afternoon of hauling boxes, calming parents, and redirecting lost freshmen, the RAs gathered in the first floor common room for their first official meeting of the year.
The energy was a stark contrast from the morning. Excitement and anticipation melted into a lull of lethargy and weariness.
She stood at the front of the room, clipboard still in hand, posture just as composed as it had been that morning. If she was as tired as the rest of them, she didn’t show it.
“Alright”, she began, her voice cutting through the low chatter, “I know that this morning was a lot, so I'll get this done as quickly as I can”
Some people nodded, the majority yawned or very poorly concealed their boredom.
“Shocking, she can be merciful”, Albert muttered to Kaden, leaning back precariously in his chair.
Her eyes flickered up from her paper for just a moment, just long enough to register him.
“Move in was relatively smooth, so I’d like to begin by thanking everyone for their efforts. That being said, moving forward I expect everyone to remain in their assigned roles unless otherwise directed”, she looked up to glare at the messy haired boy who was now blatantly ignoring her words, opting to converse with Kaden instead.
A few RAs snickered at the memory of the fridge crashing down the stairs, however she remained completely unfazed.
She continued moving through the meeting, outlining responsibilities, on-call duty rotations, and expectations with sharp, commanding authority.
Albert was surprised when he found himself actually listening to the girl.
“And finally, we are responsible for creating a safe, supportive environment for our residents. This is a commitment I expect all of you to uphold, and that includes being present, reliable, and..”, she pointedly met Albert’s eyes, “being someone the residents can trust”
For a moment, the entire room was silent.
Until a voice cut through the tension a little too loud, “This could’ve been an email”.
A few people snorted. Someone coughed as a weak attempt to cover a laugh.
She didn’t need to look up to know who had made the snide remark.
“Meeting adjourned”, she announced, glancing angrily in his direction.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
After answering a few lingering questions from antsy first-years anticipating the first day of orientation the next morning, she was finally able to retreat into her new room.
The silence and relief was immediate and almost deafening after hours of forced cheerfulness, chaos, and narrowly avoided disaster.
She exhaled, closing the wooden door frame behind her with a soft click before leaning back against it, eyes fluttering shut for just a moment.
Alone in her room, she was able to finally take in the comforting environment she had meticulously crafted just the way she liked it—movie posters taped on the wall, quietly illuminated by the warm-glowing lamps and string lights.
She placed her favorite album upon her vintage record player and allowed herself a moment of peace before meeting her floor partner—the person she would be working with for the entirety of the year.
However, the momentary peace was shattered with an almost imperceptible shuffle near her feet and the feeling of fur pressed against her leg.
“Oh Ollie”, she murmured, picking up the furry black cat that immediately licked her fingers. She kissed the top of his head and stroked his fur, “Today was such a mess, but I still need to do one last thing before bed. You better stay here like a good boy”
She plopped the cat on her bed and started for the door, music still faintly streaming from the vinyl.
“I mean it, stay here and be good”
She gave the cat one last stern look before shutting the door.
The hallway was much quieter now; the once excited chatter had now faded into distant echoes and muffled voices.
It can’t be that bad, she thought. At least they’ll be competent.
Then she froze in her path and everything she was foolishly believing a second ago came crashing down.
Directly across the hallway, leaning casually against the doorframe was Albert Aretz. Her floor partner.
Of course.
For a moment, neither of them dared to utter a word.
Albert straightened his back slightly, clearly taken aback at the sight of her, but in an instant his expression shifted into something dangerously close to amused.
“No way, you’re my partner?” he said, a slight grin breaking across his face.
“You’ve got to be kidding me”, she sighed, expression unchanged.
He laughed like this was the best possible outcome.
“This is incredible”
“No, this is unfortunate”, she corrected flatly.
He pushed off the doorframe, stepping a little closer. “Wow. And I was thinking today couldn’t get any better”
She stared at him blankly, utterly unamused.
Then, the tension was interrupted by a small thump against her door.
“Oliver, stay in the room”
Before he could process the noise, she turned around, pried her door open just enough to repeat, “Stay in the room baby, I’ll be back in a second”, then promptly shut it again with a firm click.
Silence settled between them once again.
“Oliver..?” he repeated under his breath.
He glanced at her door again.
She has a boyfriend?
The thought sat strangely in his head.
He frowned. Why did he care if she had a boyfriend? They hardly knew each other, she was just his boss. His slightly terrifying, control-freak boss who now happened to be his floor partner.
And yet—
He looked back at her door, something unsettling lingering behind his usual easy-going expression.
Huh.
“Well, I’ll talk with you tomorrow while the students are at orientation. Good night”, she said curtly before slipping back into her room.
Then, shaking his head like he was trying to physically expel his prior thoughts, he pushed himself off the wall and headed back into his room.
“Not my problem”, he murmured.
But still, the sour taste the thought left in his mouth lingered.