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Nobody liked school dorms.
The rooms were too small, the walls were too thin, and half the furniture looked older than the school itself. The beds were especially awful. Every student knew it, the school knew it, heck even the dorm supervisor knew it. Yet somehow they were still expected to trust hundreds of teenagers every year with furniture that looked like it might collapse if someone moved at least an inch.
That never stopped Spoke though, he was the embodiment of chaos. Skipping around the hallways, always rocking his chair in class, talking louder than what should've been humanly possible—well, that was just Spoke being Spoke. His energy never seemed to run out, no matter how exhausting the day had been. Somehow, he always had something to say, somewhere to be, or some kind of trouble to get himself into.
His roommate, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
Planet was.. interesting, as Spoke would like to put it. He was considerably quieter, not because he disliked people. He simply never seemed to feel the need to talk unless he actually had something worth saying. He wasn't shy at all, he was willing to make friends with anyone. Well, maybe saying Planet was the opposite of Spoke was an exaggeration. Sure, one of them could sit comfortably in silence for hours while the other seemed physically incapable of it, but they shared more similarities than most people realized.
Well, that wasn't important right now. The furniture overall was shit, but if Spoke was being honest the beds were by far the worst part in dorm life. He couldn't shift in his sleep without the frame creaking in protest. Every toss, turn, or slight movement was accompanied by a loud noise.
Planet complained about it constantly. According to him, getting a full night's sleep was impossible when Spoke spent half the night rolling around and making the bed squeak like it was seconds away from collapsing.
What Spoke found even more impressive, however, was Planet's ability to sleep. Not that he paid attention to Planet sleeping, thats creepy to say without context. He just simply caught on to it after being in the same dorm as Planet for a while. His complete lack of movement while doing so. It genuinely didn't make sense. Every night, Planet would climb into bed, pull the blanket over himself, and fall asleep. That part was normal. What wasn't normal was the fact that he'd wake up in the exact same position the next morning. The exact same position, not slightly shifted, not rolled over.
It was like someone had taken a picture of him before he went to sleep and used it as a reference photo the next morning. Spoke had tested this theory before, several times even. Every time he woke up during the night, he'd glance over at Planet's bed, just for nothing. The guy hadn't moved an inch. Meanwhile, Spoke himself slept like he was being attacked. Blankets tangled around his legs, pillow on the floor, somehow facing the opposite direction from where he'd started.
There had been multiple occasions where Spoke woke up in the middle of the night, saw Planet lying completely motionless, and had to spend a few seconds making sure he was still breathing. Planet got mad at him for making noises once again because of that.
How someone could stay that still for six to eight consecutive hours? Seems fake, he's convinced Planet is not from this planet, pun intended!
Though, even if the bed frame screeched in his ears every time he moved, the mattress made up for it. It was soft! Suspiciously soft, actually. Spoke had no idea where the school had managed to find mattresses this comfortable, especially considering the rest of the dorm seemed to have been furnished from a junkyard.
It was also very bouncy, like the type of mattress you would dream to have as a kid, and Spoke was one of those kids! If Planet were here, he'd probably already be telling him to stop bouncing on it. Not that Spoke listened to that particular rule very often.
Planet was gone to get some groceries for the time being, he really had to restock on some essentials, or whatever that meant. Fortunately for Spoke, he can continue bouncing on the bed for as long as he wants! No PlanetLord, no lectures, no random rambling in his ear about how hes gonna break the furniture! This was a massive win for Spoke.
The mattress dipped beneath his feet as he climbed onto it. The bed frame let out a loud screech. Spoke paused. "Hey now, im not that much of a fucking fatass!" He bounced again. Once, twice, maybe even three times. The frame answered with another creek. "See? It's fine!" Probably a turtle would've already got the hint by now, but unfortunately, Spoke was involved. He jumped again, this time a little higher.
The mattress launched him back upward with surprising force. He laughed, immediately doing it again. The frame creaked. The mattress bounced. Spoke was still giggling too himself. He started bouncing again, then again.
Crack!
The kind that instantly made every muscle in his body lock up. Spoke froze mid-bounce, he felt himself turning white like those characters he would see on cartoons.. if you get that! The room fell silent. Slowly, very slowly, he looked down. The bed looked normal. Maybe he imagined it! Definitely. He tried relaxing.
Then one of the legs snapped. The entire bed collapsed with a loud crash. Spoke disappeared into the wreckage. For several seconds, there was nothing but silence. Then— "...ow."
Spoke tried to push himself upright, trying to use the bed at support to get up, Spoiler alert! That absolutely did not work. Spoke fell right back to the ground with a loud groan, he forced himself up to his feet so he can inspect the wreckage.
He stared directly at the bed, he swore he could feel the bed staring right back at him. Spoke sighed, if he still lived with his father he would've probably just rang him up and he it would be fixed within minutes, but no. He lived with Planet, the person who legit scolded him about this.
The same Planet who was out buying groceries for the both of them.
The same Planet who was definitely going to come home and the first thing he witnesses is the absolute disaster that had happened when he was gone.
To sum it up, Spoke was cooked.
He stared at the broken bed for another few seconds before clapping his hands together. "Right. Fixing time!" The bed remained broken. Spoke crouched beside it. One of the legs had snapped clean off. A metal support bar was bent at an angle that definitely wasn't intentional, and half the frame looked like it had given up on life entirely.
"Yeah.. Actually! I'm not dealing with this bullshit." He snatches his phone on the bed side table, quickly unlocking it before scrolling through his contact list. He tried calling, the phone ringing right before it stops on the third ring.
The other end of the line was silent, not before Spoke cleared up his throat a few times, he finally spoke up. "..hey dad."
"Hi, Spoke." Minute responded immediately. Neither of them said anything. A few seconds passed. Then another few seconds. Eventually, Minute sighed. "What happened? " Spoke frowned. "What makes you think something happened?"
"You called me." Spoke was in disbelief. "Okay?" Spoke talked back. "You never call me." That was a lie! Spoke called him all the time. Granted, most of those calls lasted less than five minutes. Still! "Then im gonna ask again, what happened?" Spoke glanced toward the bed. One of the broken legs was currently lying several feet away from where it was supposed to be. "...something happened."
Spoke heard Minute sigh from the other end of the call. "..figured." Spoke scratched the back of his neck. "The bed broke." There was a brief pause. "Okay." Spoke blinked. "Okay..? That's it..?" Minute hummed thoughtfully. "What else you want me to say? You're grown up Spoke."
Spoke scoffed. "I dont know, maybe react..? I'm also not that unc!" Minute paused. "Well, damn." Spoke pointed at the phone despite Minute being completely incapable of seeing him. "THANK YOU." Both of them didn't speak for a while.
"..can you help me?" Spoke crossed his fingers, repeatedly whispering 'Please say yes' to himself. "Yeah. Probably not." Spoke deflated immediately. "What that mean...?"
Minute sounded completely unbothered. "Aren't you living with that guy?" Spoke glared at the phone in his hand. "it's Planet." Spoke snapped, Minute raised his eyebrows. "..sure"
"You don't even know his name." Minute ignored him. "How broken is it?" Spoke looked over at the wreckage. The bed looked like it had survived some sort of natural disaster. "How would you define broken actually?" Minute immediately sighed. "That bad?" Spoke was panicking internally, honestly Minute wasn't really helping.
"Wouldn't be calling you if it wasn't." Spoke muttered under his breath. "Hey, no talking back at this moment now. Want me to help you or not?" Spoke looked down at the snapped leg. Right before he could respond to his dad he head the faintest sound of something.
It was the front door opening. Spoke froze, Planet wasn't supposed to be home yet? Or maybe perhaps he had just been standing there like an idiot for a long time and hadn't realized yet. He snapped back to reality, he heard Minute still talking at the other end. Maybe, he was just imagining the sounds again!
He heard grocery bags rustling through the other room. His stomach dropped. Planet was definitely home. And judging by the sound of it, he was already putting things away. Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Slow, steady, getting closer. Spoke stared at the bedroom door. The broken bed continued being broken, of course!
Spoke's eyes widened. "Dad, I gotta go." He instantly reached for his phone and started spamming the end call button. "What—" No explanations at all, he's sure Minute will forgive him anyway. Spoke slowly looked toward the broken bed. The broken bed, unfortunately, was still broken. A beat passed. "Listen," Spoke whispered. The door began to open. "If we survive this, I'm never jumping on you again."
Spoke didn’t move. He stood there like if he stayed perfectly still enough, the situation might fix itself. The door opened, Planet stepped inside. He paused immediately.
Planet’s eyes flicked over the room once—broken frame, mattress half-slid off the base, snapped leg still lying like evidence on the floor. Then back to Spoke. He was not talking, he just stood there and stared blankly at Spoke. His throat tightened. "I— Sorry.." His voice cracked immediately, He tried clearing his throat.
He couldn’t look at him. He kept staring at the broken bed instead, like it could anchor him. “I didn’t mean to break it, fuck.” he said quickly. “I was just— I thought it would be fine and then it wasn’t and I tried to fix it but it just got worse and I—” He stopped. His breath hitched slightly at the end of the sentence, he truly sounded stupid. To be honest the last sentence was a lie, he didn't try fixing it at all.
Planet didn’t interrupt. Didn’t correct him, didn’t sigh, he just listened. Spoke swallowed hard. “…sorry.” It came out quieter than he intended. Silence filled the air. That was when Planet finally moved. Not toward the bed. Toward him. “Hey.” Planet said, gently. Spoke froze again, but this time for a different reason.
Planet's tone was gentle. "You're fine." Spoke slightly shook his head right away. "No— I broke it." Planet tilted his head slightly, like he was studying his face. “…did you hurt yourself?” Spoke shook his head straight away, he felt like he was gonna get a headache from it. "No." He answered, his voice weak.
Silence settled again, but it wasn’t heavy anymore. Just quiet, Planet glanced at the bed once more, then back at Spoke. "We’ll fix it," he said simply. Then, after a second— "…you don’t have to look like you’re in trouble, you're not anyway."
Spoke blinked. He didn't speak, instead he just nodded.
Eventually, the frame was deemed "okay enough." according to Planet—which Spoke took to mean "do not jump on it ever again." Spoke decided to test it anyway, It still creaked the same as last time, not like the usual he would always hear. Spoke slowly stepped off. "Dude.. Definitely not. it was obvious the frame was still unstable. After what just happened, he couldn't trust himself to sleep in this ever again.
Planet exhaled through his nose, rubbing the back of his neck. "Shit.. You’re sleeping on mine." Spoke blinked. "…what?" He tilted his head slightly. "My bed?" Planet repeated, like it was obvious. “Yours is basically unusable dude!"
"Right.. " Spoke looked at Planet with a smug look. "You know.." Planet looked right back at Spoke. "My dear Planet, you could've told me you just wanted to sleep with me—"
Silence hit them once again, but it was not the same as earlier. Planet looked at him for half a second.
"Nevermind. Sleep on the floor for all i care" Planet instantly turned away, already walking right to his bed, which doesn't help the fact that their beds are in the same room. Spoke would probably just bother him for a while until he lets him on his bed.
Spoke does just that, he giggles. "I'm joking man!" He followed behind his, and without warning, he flopped himself on Planet's bed, occupying the space before Planet could even sit.
"...you genuinely suck dude." Planet laughs, there was no real bite at it.
Spoke rolled over dramatically, claiming the whole bed. It still creaked like the usual. "I think you secretly love my company!" Planet shook his head, he smiled slightly. "Whatever you want dude, move over!" He gently pushed Spoke of the bed. "If my bed breaks too, im blaming you. I take good care of my bed—" Spoke tackles him into the bed before he can finish his sentence. "Blah blah blah dude, whatever you say unc."
"We're months apart—" Spoke shushes him.
After a few hours, they finally got ready to go to bed, Planet's bed for his case! Spoke isn't really sure how they are gonna share a bed honestly, the beds in the dormitories are unfairly small. Also it was because, like as he mentioned earlier him and Planet are opposites when it comes to sleep! Planet barely moved in his sleep. Spoke… did everything except stay still. That was a problem for later. Or now. Probably both..
Planet had already settled into the sheets earlier than Spoke expected. Spoke hovered near the edge of the bed for a second. "…you sure this is fine?" he asked quietly. Planet didn’t even open his eyes. "Just get in." Spoke hesitated. Then slowly climbed in beside him.
Slowly, very carefully, like the bed might explode again if he moved wrong. To his surprise, it didn't! Mission accomplished.
Silence settled again. The kind that always felt louder at night. Spoke wasn’t really the type to sleep early. He usually stayed up longer, did random things, talked, moved around. But today felt different, his energy was just… gone. Which was weird! He didn’t usually get tired like this so easily.
He didn’t usually get tired like this so easily. He shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable. The bed creaked. Planet immediately spoke without opening his eyes. “If you fall off the bed, I’m not catching you." Spoke rolled his eyes, knowing damn well Planet can't see shit.
The room now finally went silent, Spoke wasn't shifting like as often. Planet finally started to drift to sleep.
Spoke shifted again. Immediately, the mattress creaked softly under him, and Planet exhaled through his nose. "You’re doing it again," he muttered. "I’m trying to sleep.." Spoke defended weakly. "Try to sleep silently." Spoked huffed. "...I can't really help it."
A pause. Then Planet rolled slightly onto his back, one arm resting over his eyes. "Come here then." he said, like it was a casual thing to say, maybe it was. Spoke blinked. "…huh?" Planet cracked open one of his eyes, waiting for Spoke. Spoke slowly approached Planet, shifting through the bedsheets. Stopping before they were close enough.
Before Spoke could react, Planet reached over and grabbed his wrist, not tightly. Then, without another word, pulled him close. Close enough that their shoulders bumped. The bed was already too small. There wasn't much room left between them afterward. Spoke froze. Planet closed his eyes. "Now stop moving."
"Are you seriously cuddling me." Planet didn't respond. Spoke shifted one last time, turning toward him instead of away. His forehead bumped lightly against Planet's shoulder.
It still took some time for Spoke to adjust, he wasn't used to being like this. Every few minute he'd shift again, searching for a position that didn't feel awkward. Planet would let out some quiet complaints, but his words were slurred.
Spoke tried to relax to the touch, finally deciding to cuddle Planet back. It was surprisingly even more comfortable like this, like finally finding the right sleeping position after tossing and turning for hours.
Spoke then slowly started to drift to sleep, his breath finally evening out. He was finally asleep. Unfortunately, being asleep did not stop Spoke from moving..
Planet felt Spoke bump their knees together in an unexpectedly strong force. It startled him, he instinctively let out a small sound. He opened one of his eyes, peeking at the now sleeping Spoke. Planet just sighed at the sight beneath him, running his fingers through Spoke's hair. Carefully, Planet pulled the blanket a little higher over both of them.
He closed his eyes, finally catching some rest. If he woke up later to Spoke accidentally starting a fight while unconscious, then so be it. He'd already accepted his fate anyway!