Housemates (boyxboy)

Chapter 24

The sound of the front door opening caused the three of us in the kitchen to focus our attention on our incoming housemate. We listened as Alec's voice sounded from the doorway, saying goodbye to his girlfriend who must have been on the other line before he appeared in the kitchen.

"Fancy seeing you all here," Alec said as he dropped his bags by the table. "We don't eat dinner together very often."

"I figured I'd try to from now on since I'll be leaving soon," Vincent told him, mindlessly swirling his spoon around in his bowl of soup.

Alec walked over to the red-haired boy and slung an arm around his shoulders. "It's alright, Vinny. You can come have dinner with us whenever you want."

"Thanks," Vincent replied as Alec pulled away, taking a seat beside me at the table.

I felt Alec's eyes on me and turned my head, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it?" I asked him as he leaned closer to me, a grin spread across his lips.

"Did you tell them about the pen?" he asked, his excitement showing through the gleam in his eyes.

"What pen?" Vincent asked, dropping his spoon in his bowl. "Don't tell me you joined the Pen 15 club."

I shook my head. "I'm not stupid enough to fall for that, Vinny."

"Then what pen is he talking about?" Zion asked as he stared across the table at me having finished his ramen.

"The limited-edition Percy Jackson pen from the book that lights up and shit," Alec replied, nudging me. "Come on, show them."

I brought a hand to my head and breathed out. "It's not a big deal."

"What do you mean it's not a big deal?" Vincent asked. "Are you dumb? There's only like three of those in the world."

"It's not mine," I told him. "That's why it doesn't matter to me."

Slowly lifting his eyes from the table, Zion met my gaze again. "Who's is it?"

"Arlen's," I said without further explanation.

"Um, who is Arlen?" Vincent asked. "And why did he give you such a rare pen?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "He's a classmate of mine and he lent it to me when he realized I forgot my own pen."

Zion's eyes never left my face but I couldn't bring myself to look at him because of how intense I was sure he was staring.

"I wouldn't even lend it to my girlfriend," Vincent replied, then quickly glancing over at Zion said, "Not that I have one."

Pushing myself up from the table, I cleaned up my area and turned back to my three housemates.

"I'm giving it back to him tomorrow," I told them. "You guys don't have to keep making a big deal out of it."

I hadn't waited for their responses and headed upstairs to my bedroom, exhausted after the long day. Without checking the notifications on my phone, I placed it on the nightstand beside my bed and collapsed on the soft mattress, closing my eyes.

Of course, I was never able to get much sleep around here when I desperately needed it due to the fact it seemed there was always a visitor looking to interrupt my slumber.

I shouldn't have been surprised when I heard someone knock twice on my door before pushing it open without awaiting approval to join me. I groaned and peered over at the door, neglecting to push myself up in bed as I continued to lay on my side.

"Who is it?" I asked, squinting my eyes in the darkness that consumed my room upon the door being closed behind my housemate.

He didn't answer me though, and silently slipped underneath the sheets beside me, wrapping a warm arm around my back, pulling me into his chest. He released a deep sigh and I immediately relaxed into his body.

"Zion," I said, closing my eyes.

"I'm not here for you to go to sleep on me," he replied, causing me to open my eyes.

"Then why are you in my bed right now?" I asked.

"I'm curious about something," he said, releasing me as the warmth he provided began to subside.

"Which is?" I questioned.

"Arlen," he said simply.

I rolled over on my back as Zion followed suit, the two of us staring at the ceiling.

"I don't really know him," I said. "I just met him for the first time."

"Hmmm," Zion said, moving his long hair out of his face. "Are you sure?"

I frowned despite his inability to see me. "Yes."

"I cannot think of a single reason why he would give you that stupid pen out of everyone," he told me.

"Jeez, thanks," I said, a laugh escaping my lips. "But he probably didn't have any other pen to give."

"That may be true," he said. "But still, nobody would give away that pen if that was the case. They'd just pretend they didn't have one to spare."

I breathed out. "I don't know."

Then, rolling over on his side with his back to me, his voice sounded quietly.

"He must be interested in you," he said.

Turning toward his back, I pushed him softly. "Repeat that."

"No," he said.

"Why?" I asked, pulling on his shoulder. "Is someone jealous that I got a limited-edition pen?"

In an instant, Zion turned his body to face me once more and narrowed his eyes. "I don't give a damn about that stupid pen."

When I didn't say anything, he spoke up again. "I'm not jealous of the pen, you idiot."

"Then...?" I said, my voice trailing off as Zion slowly moved closer to me, placing his forehead against mine.

"It's obvious Arlo is," he started to say.

"Arlen," I interjected, correcting him as my eyes dropped to his lips.

"Whatever his name is," he said. "It's obvious he's interested in you."

"And?" I said.

Without saying anything, he angled his head and pressed his lips to mine softly before pulling away.

"And you're mine."

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thx for reading, y'all keep me motivated (,: