Roommates // DNF

15

Niki pulled George into a hug as soon as he was close enough, and he wrapped his arms around her with a smile, saying, "hi Niki."

When she pulled back into her own space, George noticed the small group of people sitting at a picnic table behind her.

There were three guys seated there; one with dark hair covered mostly by a blue beanie, one with fluffy brown hair falling over his eyes, and another with short brown hair who was wearing a black hat.

George's eyes flashed over to them, and he noticed that only the one wearing the beanie was paying him any attention, his dark eyes on George while he waited for Niki to introduce them. The other two were fixated on the screen of the fluffy haired boy's phone; the boy with the black hat had his arm draped over the other's shoulders as they laughed quietly together.

Niki's eyes followed George's gaze, settling on the group as she gently grabbed George's wrist and led him over. She motioned to the guy who was wearing the beanie as she said, "George, this is Quackity."

Quackity's face broke into a smile as he waved at George and said, "ay, Jorge! Nice to meet you!"

He seemed full of energy and George could tell instantly that they were going to get along well.

He laughed as he answered, "nice to meet you, Quackity."

Niki looked to the other two, who were still completely wrapped up in whatever was happening on the screen of the phone. Quackity finally brought his hand down loudly on the table, grabbing their attention as he yelled, "hey, quit flirting with each other!"

The two retracted into their own spaces, eyes lifting in confusion as they finally realized George had joined the group.

"Sorry about that," the one with the black hat mumbled, "I'm Sapnap and this is Karl."

George introduced himself and sat down with Niki at the table, fitting himself easily into the conversation. He felt at ease with the group almost immediately, and realized this was the first group of friends he had made at the new school. It would be nice to have people other than Dream to hang out with.

As the group chattered around him, George noticed Karl narrow his eyes slightly, leaning forward as he asked, "do you live in the really old building on the other side of campus? The one covered with ivy?"

George nodded and answered, "yeah, first floor. Why?"

Karl's face lit up in recognition as he responded, "I knew you looked familiar. Sapnap and I are roommates, we live on the first floor too. What room are you in?"

"Room 104."

As soon as he said his room number, Sapnap looked over and said, "oh, so you're one of our neighbors then. You guys are kinda noisy."

George's face flushed in embarrassment as he mumbled a quiet apology, Karl nudging Sapnap in the ribs and giving him a quick look that George only just managed to catch.

Sapnap only shrugged, quietly muttering, "what, dude? It's true."

George dropped his eyes down, unsure of how to respond, but luckily Sapnap checked the time on his watch then turned to Karl, groaning in annoyance as he said, "come on, Karl, we gotta go to class."

Karl rolled his eyes but pushed up from the table anyway, linking his arm with Sapnap's as he playfully responded, "fine, let's go, my beloved."

They said their goodbyes then turned to leave, weaving their way through the crowds of students, arms still linked. George watched them leave, then turned to Niki and asked, "are they...like, dating or something?"