Chapter Text
Mike finally arrived in his dorm room. He was extremely tired and wanted to go to bed, but the only thing stopping him was the lack of anything on said bed. No sheets, no blankets, no pillows, nothing. In fact, his whole side of the dorm was a barren wasteland. The empty walls served only to remind him of how far he was from home. His dad had told him to pack lightly. He told him that Mike needed to leave his childhood behind and become a man. Mike regreted listening to him because now he was finally here and deeply missing his old bedroom decor.
Nancy walked into the room and set the last of his move in boxes on the floor. One of the four small boxes he had. Around 90% of which were clothes. To Mike, it was kind of pathetic.
“I’d help you unpack, but there really isn't anything to help with,” She said with a bittersweet smile teetering on the edge of pity.
“Well, at least it won't take long,” Mike said. “Do you remember which box had the bed stuff?”
“Nope,” she said, popping the ‘p’ at the end.
“Great,” he said sarcastically. “It won't take long. It's not like I have a lot to go through.”
“That's the spirit.”
She placed her hand on Mike's shoulder and the two said their goodbyes, leaving Mike alone in his new dorm.
The other side of the room was a lot different than Mike's: There were posters on the walls, pictures on the desk, and actual bedding on the bed. It looked like someone actually lived there. Mike hoped his mom would ask him to visit soon. He was already planning on raiding his room and bringing his stuff back.
His phone buzzed with a notification from the group chat he had with his only current friends.
Max- Is everybody done packing? We need to meet up and compare schedules. I need to know when people are free. I need a real taste of college life, guys. I'm going to parties, and I'm not going alone. I know for a fact you're done, Wheeler. You had the saddest packing list I have ever seen.
Lucas- Yeah. I'm just about done. Where do you wanna meet?
Jane- We're thinking the cafe not far from here, I'll send the address in a minute.
Mike- that was unnecessary Max, but yes, I am finished.
Max- It was very necessary, Wheeler. Anyway, me and Jane will meet you guys there
Mike- *Jane and I.
Max- Shut the fuck up.
He chuckled as he slipped his phone in his pocket. Max was one of his closest friends, but it was far too easy getting her mad. It was a wonderful pastime for Mike. The only problem was she did the same in return.
His phone buzzed again as Jane sent the address of the cafe. Mike didn't have a car, so he would have to do a lot of walking these next four years. It was good, he supposed; he's gonna get his steps in. Maybe he should invest in stronger shoes. His current ones had seen better days.
Somehow he had perfect timing and opened the door at the same time as someone else did, resulting in a head on collision. Mike jumped back and quickly mumbled a ‘sorry’. The other guy said nothing and just pushed past Mike, giving him a look. So much for good first impressions. It seems his roommate already hated him. Mike hoped he could get on his good side later. For now. He had to focus on not giving Max a reason to kill him. He could not be late.
He walked down the stairs and saw Lucas ahead of him in the hallway. Mike called out, and Lucas stopped to let him catch up.
“Oh sweet, are we in the same building?” Lucas said, putting an arm around Mike's shoulder in a casual embrace.
“Yeah, I'm about two floors up. How about you?” Mike said with a smile forming on his face.
“I’m at this one end of the hallway behind us. Have you met your roommate yet? I met mine. He's certainly a character, but we share some interests, so I think we'll get along.”
“He plays basketball too?”
“Nah, not those interests. He played DnD in highschool. Just like us, so that's cool.”
“Just what we need, another nerd," Mike said with feigned disappointment.
Lucas just started laughing at Mike's terrible attempt at a joke. It thrilled Mike that they all went to school together. Max, Lucas, and him had been friends since middle school. Max met Jane when she moved to town a couple of months early to get a feel for the campus. They became fast friends, and they happily added Jane to their little group.
Mike was just glad he wasn't alone. He'd always have people to be around. People who he knew wanted him there. It was nice.
He and Lucas talked a little more. Mike mentioned his roommate, who may or may not hate him. He still wasn't sure, and Lucas mentioned his trip over and how his little sister, who said she wouldn't cry when he moved out, cried when he was finally gone. At least, according to his mom; his sister would never admit it.
The city the school was based in was nice. It had a nice ratio of tall skyscrapers to more manageable business buildings. It had a great park with a pond not far from the campus and lots of things to do. On their way to the cafe, they passed a quaint little bookstore, which reminded Mike he had bought none of the textbooks he supposedly needed for his classes. He would have to visit that bookstore, surely one so close to campus sold textbooks, at least he hoped.
The cafe was small but charming. Mike held open the door for Lucas and was greeted by the lovely smell of coffee and chocolate. He saw Jane excitedly waving at them from a corner booth, Max sitting next to her, glaring at her cup of coffee.
Lucas sat down first and Mike followed shortly afterwards, sitting directly across from Jane, who took a sip from her mug.
“Don't let the charm fool you. This coffee tastes like shit,” Max grumbled. “Overpriced shit too. The hell do you mean this was 8 bucks?!”
Jane turned to her and gave a disapproving shake of her head. “Max. You just don't like coffee. You say this about every cup you've ever had. Try something else next time we're here. Because I quite like what I got and I will definitely come back.”
“Whatever.” She pushed the cup away from her. “Okay, now let's get back to the purpose of this. How late do your lectures go? Please tell me you don't have very many Friday nights. I have plans.”
“I have nothing later than 5,” Mike said.
“I've got stuff until about 6,” Lucas said. He had taken Max’s coffee, and it seemed like he was enjoying it. Mike had repeatedly told Max that she should stop getting coffee every time they went places. She had never liked it. Did she ever listen to him? No. Was he surprised? Also no. It was Max.
“Okay, good. I made sure to not schedule any classes Friday or Saturday, neither did Jane.” Max said.
“Ugh, who would even do that? It sounds awful. Weekends are for rest.” Said Lucas, finishing the coffee in his hands.
“And parties,” Jane said, happily.
“I didn't really take you for the party type, Jane.” Mike said. To him, she had always seemed like the stay-at-home-Friday-night type. She had a warm atmosphere and very calming vibes. Mike doesn't think he could imagine her drunk at a college party.
“Well, I am. I loved going out and about in highschool, I always had to drag my brother by the ear because I never wanted to go alone.” Jane also took the last sip out of her drink, sighing happily.
“I didn't know you had a brother,” Max said incredulously.
“Twin brother.” Jane corrected.
“You learn something new every day.” Max mumbled, slouching back in her chair.
For the next hour or two, Mike wasn't really keeping track. The group talked. Mostly about nothing. It had only been about a month since they had seen each other, so there wasn't really anything new. Max told them about the campus and around town, things she had seen and places she had been with Jane. The town sounded pretty nice.
They all said their goodbyes and the two pairs went their separate ways. Max and Jane were rooming together in a different building near the other side of campus, so Mike and Lucas went in the opposite direction, back toward their shared building.
“Ya’know? We really should have roomed together. Why didn't we do that?” Lucas said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and his breath let out a wisp of white in the air. “Would've saved you from your roommate.”
“Yeah, I don't know, man. For being called nerds our whole lives, we don't seem to be very smart," Mike replied, shaking his head jokingly.
At that, Lucas just laughed, and they walked the rest of the way in relative, comfortable silence. They bid their farewells, and Mike started climbing the staircase up to the third floor. He unlocked his dorm room and found it empty. Thank God he could avoid his roommate just a little longer. He stared down at his measly four boxes and began to unpack. Throwing his clothes in the provided dresser on his side of the room. And finally, at the bottom of the last box, was the bedding: a single pillow, sheets, and a thin blanket.
By the time he was finished, it was around 6 and Mike was hungry. His roommate, whose name he still didn't know, hadn't come back yet. Mike was tempted to ask Lucas if he wanted to go get dinner, but didn't because he was going to let everybody get settled first. Maybe tomorrow then.
He exited his building to a wall of bitter cold. The sun was setting and storm clouds could be seen on the horizon. Compared to his hometown in the fall, it was a little cold, but he'd done his own research into the climate of this place and it doesn't get much colder in the winter, just stormier. He walked down the sidewalk with his phone in hand, map open, searching the streets for a destination. One hand stuffed in the pocket of his jacket hiding away from the cold. The streets were far too quiet for how young the evening was. But it was cold and most people don't love being out-and-about when the world's like that. He finally secured an ending location for his walk and promptly crossed the street.
He found some local Mexican restaurant that had promising reviews and fairly low prices, so it seemed a good option. He walked in, ordered his food, and left to go back to campus. He stepped into his building and scoped out a table to sit at. In the room, there were a couple of couches and chairs and a short row of tables up close to the window. Behind him, there was a group of people playing a loud game of ping-pong, and Mike could hear the sounds of beer bottles clinking.
The laughter from the group filled the room. Mike was honestly regretting not inviting Lucas. Those guys probably think he’s a loser eating his takeout alone in a dimly lit room. In reality, they probably didn't even notice he was there, but you never know, do you?
He made his way back to his room and unlocked the door. Inside, his roommate was finally back and sitting at his desk on his phone. He didn't seem to notice Mike walking in. If he did, he just didn't care enough to have some kind of reaction. Mike tossed his jacket on the back of his desk chair and threw himself into his mattress. The springs squeaked, and he dragged his hand down his face. He would have to deal with that all year, just wonderful. He sat up and moved to the edge, feet flat on the floor. He awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Umm, hi. My name is Mike. How are you doing?”
His roommate turned his head and looked at him with an uncomfortable expression. After a long pause, he spoke.
“Hi.” He said with a nod and an already-done-with-this tight-lipped semi smile. "I’m… Ben."
“So… how's your first kind-of day been?” Mike asked, sort of hating himself for even trying to start a conversation.
“Fine,” Ben replied. He said it almost like a question, like he was asking why the hell Mike of all people was talking to him.
“Cool, that's good.” Why is he dragging this on? “What are you majoring in?”
“Does it matter?” he had set his phone down, giving Mike his full attention and mildly disturbed face.
“I guess not.” With that, Mike stood up and went to the bathroom. He overheard Ben mutter ‘fucking weirdo’ under his breath as he closed the door.
Mike stared at himself in the mirror, thankful to be out of that situation he put himself in. He, unfortunately, wouldn't like to sleep in the bathtub, so he would have to go back out, eventually. He opened up his phone and momentarily hesitated to type because he had a feeling Max was in a mean mood tonight.
Mike- got confirmation, roommate hates me.
Max- huh, I’d have no idea why.
Jane- That isn't very nice Max, what did you do Mike?
Lucas- Oh yeah, he was telling me about this earlier. Dude just ran straight into him and didn't say a word.
Mike- I started up a conversation, ya'know to try and be friendly. He was looking at me like I just ate a worm.
Max- what is that descriptor?
Max- either way, that was your first mistake. I can guarantee it would have been better if you just pretended he didn't exist.
Jane- I don't know about that. What did you talk about?
Mike- I asked him for his name (Ben btw) and asked what he was majoring in. Normal fucking questions to ask a roommate btw!
Lucas- He's not wrong, though. That's how I started talking to my roommate.
Max- yeah but it's Mike, how could you not kinda hate him
Jane- Max!
Mike- ouch, damn Mayfield, I thought we were friends
Max- yeah sure
Lucas- I don't think he hates you, Mike, he's probably just tired. Most people just moved in today if not only a few days prior, give him the benefit of the doubt, he’ll come around, eventually.
Mike- he called me a fucking weirdo
Max- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Jane- Maxine. Was that necessary?
Mike- oooh full name. You're in trouble.
Jane- You too Micheal.
Lucas- you two need to grow up.
Mike- whatever Sinclair.
The conversation ended, and Mike gathered the courage to go back into the room. But when he left the bathroom, Ben was nowhere to be seen. Thank God. The time was nearing 10, so he threw on his pajamas and sat back down on his bed and turned in for the night.
. . . . . .-.. .-.. - - - / …. - - - .- -. . / ..- / .-.. .. -.- .
Mike woke up, and Ben wasn't there. Mike can't even tell if he came back at all last night. At least the hope for avoidance was mutual. Mike got dressed and checked his messages. There was one from the group chat, Jane inviting everybody back to the cafe for breakfast in 20 minutes. The message was sent about 15 minutes ago so he sent back ‘cool, gonna be late’ getting a thumbs up from Jane in response.
Mike really wished he packed a few thicker coats. It had rained last night, so the whole town had a dreary feel to it. The sky was overcast and your breath could be seen when you released it. It was the kind of cold that sank deep below your skin if you weren't prepared enough. And Mike was unfortunately not prepared enough.
The little bells on the door chimed as he opened it and stepped into the crowded cafe. He wasn't even going to try for a drink unless he wanted to be standing in line for an hour. Being close to a college campus would definitely provide a steady flow of customers. He spotted Lucas waving him over to the booth they had sat in yesterday.
“I see Max has a cup. Is she still trying to gaslight herself into thinking she likes coffee?” He raised a brow and smirked while Max stuck her tongue out at him.
Lucas chuckled, “Nah, Jane made her get hot chocolate.”
“Yup. And now she's changed her mind and likes this place.” Jane bumped shoulders with Max as she rolled her eyes and took a sip. “Oh, by the way, Mike, I got you one too. Figured the line wouldn't be reasonable by the time you got here.”
She pushed a steaming mug at him and smiled. Mike was touched. That's one thing he really liked about Jane. She was really considerate and always thought ahead. She never left anyone out.
“Thanks.” He took it in his hands and brought it to his mouth, already feeling the warmth through the steam grazing his face.
“So, we should do a little exploring today, aka me and Jane are going to show you two around on our final day before classes start,” Said Max, pushing the empty mug against the wall.
“I'm down. I have nothing better to do," Lucas mimicked her mug placement.
“Yeah, me neither,” Mike said.
“Great, this is gonna be fun!” Said Jane.
They let Mike finish his drink and then they set off. Max and Jane led them to all their favorite places. The park by the pond, the arcade, a few cute stores, and some restaurants. He was beginning to view it more as a city than a town as he got to see more and more of it. By the end of their tour, Mike was tired. They had gotten lunch and dinner together and had plans to meet at a certain location every day for lunch. But tomorrow marked the official first day of college for the four of them.
Mike had a wonderful mix of excitement and utter fear. He didn't truly think he was ready for all of this and he was scared tomorrow if going to prove him right. He was majoring in English and creative writing with the dream of becoming a famous published author one day. His family members all had different reactions. His mom had been a little confused, but she came around in the end telling him she'd buy all his books. Nancy had been happy for him, giving him a pat on the back, saying she was glad he was actually pursuing his goals. His little sister Holly didn't care.
His dad, on the other hand, was immensely disappointed. He probably spoke more words to Mike then than he had in all of Mike's 18 years of life. All words about how this was one of the worst options he could have picked. How this was a fool's dream, and he has to wake up and realize it's pointless and never going to get him anywhere. That's when Mike finally realized he would never win. He would never actually be enough for his dad. He would never live up to the standards placed for him, never make his dad proud. But yet, he still wanted to. He still wanted that pat on the back, words telling him he'd done good. But that wasn't an option for Mike. It never would be.
He opened the door to his room. Ben was already there, sitting at his desk on his laptop. Mike knew better than to try and talk to him. So instead, he just grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom. He came back out in his PJs and grabbed his own laptop and a pair of headphones. He turned on some dumb reality TV show and sat in his bed. About halfway through his second episode, Ben turned in for the night. After his fourth, Mike decided he was done. He set an alarm on his phone. His first lecture was at 9:00 tomorrow morning and he really hoped he wasn't going to be late.
—-------------------------------------------------
Mike nearly fell out of bed when his alarm startled him awake. His phone was buzzing on his nightstand so much it was slowly inching off the edge. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light breaking through the window, the phone fell off the side with an alarming thunk. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and picked it up off the floor. The screen had cracked. How? Mike did not know. The desk was like 3 feet off the ground. He'd dropped this thing down the stairs before and it hadn't cracked. But of course it did this time, just his luck. He was already quite scared of what the rest of the day could bring.
Across the room, Ben's bed was empty. The sheer effort this man was taking to avoid any kind of interaction with Mike was truly astounding. It was 6:30 in the morning. How early had this guy woken up? Mike had realized his alarm was set a little early for how late in the morning his class actually was. But forgive him for being paranoid; he had enough tardies in high school to show him an hour isn't enough for him to wake up and get ready.
He got dressed and gathered his belongings, momentarily debated on trying to go down to the cafe to get some kind of breakfast sandwich, decided against it, then left. He made his way to the dining hall with his mind set on some kind of bagel. The room was relatively quiet when he entered. Few people gathered this morning. It was the first official day of classes. Most people had been hanging around the campus for a week just touring and finding out where to go. Mike sort of wished he had shown up earlier. He'd only been here for about three days and was realizing he didn't really know where he was going when it came to his lectures.
He pulled out his phone and pulled up the provided map on the website. His first class this cool September morning was statistics, one of the required math classes he could take. He had hoped to get it later in the day. He knew from his junior year of high school that early morning and math didn't work well for him. He really hoped he could pull his shit together and not fail this class like he almost did in 11th grade.
He found what he was looking for and found a table, bagel in hand. He sat down at a tall table by the window and pulled out his laptop. He wasn't really sure what he was going to do for the next hour. He had woken up way too early and was honestly regretting his choices.
So he sat there for said hour clicking through a bunch of different apps, just killing time. At about 8:40, he packed up his things and found where he was supposed to be going and made his way there.
—------------------------------------------------------------
Mike tossed his bag on his bed and sank into the mattress face down. Would it be sad to admit he was tired? Because he was. His first week of college had been completed, and he was already wishing it was over. That was a little pathetic, right?
At lunch today, he had gotten a similar vibe from his friends. Most of their classes, like Mike's, had just reviewed the syllabus. But a few had already assigned projects. Max had two, Lucas, Jane, and Mike all had one. Mike's was over the course of the semester project in his creative writing class, half a portfolio for the whole year. It needed four short stories, all about 20-25 pages long. Mike was expecting something like this, but he was upset they introduced it so early, because that means the professor expected them to start working on it this early.
The group had all agreed to meet for dinner at the Mexican place Mike had gone to a few days ago. But that was in about an hour, so Mike had time to kill. He reviewed the syllabus for each of his classes and uploaded due dates and test days to his calendar. Did he ever really use said calendar? No, not really, but putting this in and forgetting about them had become a bad habit he'd developed. Maybe this year would be different. Probably not, but whatever.
He got in the shower and washed his hair after deciding that he probably should. He exited the bathroom into a still empty dorm room. He was honestly curious about Ben's whereabouts. He had barely seen the man all week. He always woke up earlier and came back late, so Mike was usually in bed or completely asleep when he gets back. If he gets back at all, Mike can't tell. But honestly, barely having a roommate isn't that bad.
He just sat around on his phone until it was time to go, savoring these last few days he would get to spend without homework and projects to do. The door clicked behind Mike when he closed it. He checked his pockets to ensure he did in fact have his keys on him and then left down the hall. Lucas had said he'd wait for him in the lobby and there he was, sitting at one of the window tables.
“Hey,” Mike said, coming up behind him. “You ready?”
“Yup, let's go.” With that, Lucas hopped up from the table and started out the door, holding it open for Mike.
What followed was casual conversation. Lucas had talked to his roommate a little, saying that they all totally would have gotten along if they knew each other in high school.
“I should introduce him to the group. I don't really think he has many friends.” He added that last part a little quieter, as if the guy was about to walk past and hear him.
“I don't know. Max barely tolerates me when I talk about quote unquote ‘nerdy stuff’. You think she'll be nice to this guy who sounds like a bigger nerd than me?” Said Mike.
“No offence dude, but the stuff Max makes fun of you for is mostly just because it's you doing it, not because she thinks it's dumb.”
Mike put a hand to his chest in mock offence, “I would have never guessed. She really does just hate me.”
“Come on, man, she doesn't hate you. You're just, ya'know, easy to get riled up.”
“Nope, she just hates me, end of story.”
“Whatever man.” Lucas laughed as he slung an arm around Mike's shoulders.
They walked into the restaurant to find Max sitting in a booth in the back, with no Jane in sight. Which was weird. The two seem joined at the hip these days. Max had finally found a girl friend to hang out with and do girl stuff with like shopping and makeovers and stuff. Stuff that Lucas and Mike wouldn't be caught dead doing. Even though Max is Lucas's girlfriend.
“Hey girl, you come here often?” Lucas asked, in an attempt at flirting.
Max just put her hand under her chin with a smug look. “Wouldn't you like to know, stalker?”
Lucas just kissed her on the head as he sat down next to her with an arm around her shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah, you're dating. Where's Jane?” Mike asked.
Max cupped her hand to her mouth and whispered to Lucas, “You think he would've asked about me if I was late?”
“Probably not,” they both did so exaggeratedly with the clear intent of Mike overhearing.
“Why so interested Wheeler?” Max gave him an over the top questioning look while tapping her finger on her chin.
“Because she's never late and you guys are roommates, so I assumed you'd show up together.” Mike said, deadpan.
“Ya'know Wheeler, when you assume, you make an ass out of you,” she pointed at him. “And me.” She pointed at herself.
“Oh, shut the hell up," Mike said.
“She just had stuff to finish and told me to go ahead early and snag a table. This place gets busier when the college kids arrive,” Max said.
“Hope she gets here soon. I don't know how long I can last third wheeling you two.”
“Come on, man, we're not that bad,” Lucas said.
“Yeah, we could be a lot worse,” said Max, grinning like a maniac. With that, she grabbed both sides of Lucas's head and started kissing him repeatedly. Mike sank deeper into his seat, covered his face with his hands and let out an annoyed groan. Jane couldn't get here any slower, could she?
After a solid minute of Max kissing Lucas, she stopped and leaned against his arm, laughing hysterically while Lucas looked flustered out of his mind. Mike couldn't help but laugh along with her. Lucas just sat there dazed with his mouth hanging open, and Max moved on like nothing happened. They were certainly a table to behold.
“Did I miss something? Lucas, are you okay?” The voice held genuine concern, so Mike knew who it belonged to. Jane had finally made her appearance. She sat down next to Mike and mouthed ‘what happened’, concern still clear in her features. ‘Nothing really,’ Mike mouthed back.
More laughter and jokes filled the evening as they talked and ate. Each person did a recap of what their week was like and what they expected in the future. Each talked about their classes, new people they've met and places they've been. According to Lucas, the campus had a bowling alley. So that was added to the list of things the group was going to do over the weekend. Mike mentioned how his ghost of a roommate had been avoiding him, and Lucas mentioned how he wanted his own roommate to meet everyone, talking about how well he would fit in with the rest of them.
“You know I don't think you've said his name yet,” Mike said, sipping from his third refill of the night.
“Oh really? It's Dustin Henderson,” Lucas said after swallowing a bite of his dinner.
Jane tapped the table with her right hand while she covered his mouth with her left, while she quickly finished her bite.
“Oh, I know him. He's really sweet. He's my brother’s closest friend,” She said with a shy smile and a faint blush.
Max gave her a look while Lucas said, “I keep forgetting you have a brother. Does he go to school here too?”
“Yeah, he does. He's been wanting to meet all of you since I talk about you guys a lot,” Jane said with a laugh.
“Well, why not tomorrow at lunch? Does that sound good to everyone?” Said Max. “I've been wanting to meet him, too.”
“I'll invite Dustin as well! Get everybody to meet, grow the party,” Lucas said.
“Cool! I'll let him know,” Said Jane
“Sounds good,” said Max.
“Sure,” said Mike. He wasn't so sure about all this. It's not like he didn't want to meet the guys, he just didn't want it to change. He loved the group they had here, and he wasn't sure if adding two more people is the right thing to do. But who knows, maybe he'll change his mind when he actually meets them. Maybe they'll be super cool and nice and some of the best people he's ever met. He'd figure it all out tomorrow.