The End Zone

Chapter 1

There are three types of songs I deem worthy of singing in the shower:

2000s Taylor Swift songs

Kpop songs I don't know the lyrics to

The song "Shower" by Becky G

Today, I've settled on option two, which means mumbling along to the parts I don't know and belting out the choruses.

When I used to sing around the house, Daniel would shout some crude comment like "what cat just died" or "what the hell is that noise" or- my personal favorite- "shut up or I'll rip out your jugular."

Maybe I'm not the best singer but with the shower acoustics, my voice sounds pretty damn good to me. I'm in the middle of the high note when the door swings open and someone races to the sink.

"Fucking hell. It sounds like a goat's dying in here."

Hair half full of shampoo suds, I grab at the shower curtain and peep my head out.

"Zack!" I shout. "Get out! I'm showering!"

Zack doesn't even spare me a glance as he proceeds to brush his teeth while hovering over the sink to stare at his reflection. One hand does the brushing while the other grips the edge.

"Relax, you princess," he says, taking the brush out of his mouth to speak. "There's a curtain for a reason."

I yank the shower curtain shut and start rinsing out my hair with vigor. "We need to get a lock on that door," I mutter loud enough for him to hear.

He turns on the faucet and spits. "Maybe don't hog the bathroom first thing in the morning."

I glare at his silhouette through the curtain. "Get out!"

He merely laughs. "Relax, Amelia. It's nothing I haven't seen before."

My head pops out of the curtain again. "Don't remind me."

"Why not?" he asks, taking his sweet time drying his hands. "From the sounds you made, it seems like you enjoyed-"

"Zack!" I shut off the shower.

"Okay, okay," he says, putting his arms up in mock surrender as he strolls to the door. "I'm leaving."

Before he can get to it, the door swings open, and our housemate, Raj, steps in.

"Seriously?" Raj says. "Are you guys fighting again? I swear- Woah, Amelia's naked."

I flip Zack off, raising my hand over the shower so they can see.

"Sorry!" Raj calls out. Zack only cackles as they walk out with Raj closing the door behind them.

I guess this is what I get for agreeing to live with my ex. Is it so preposterous that I expected working locks on the bathroom and an amicable relationship with Zack?

I've been so used to being his soft spot that I forgot what a menace he is. It's barely been a couple of weeks since we moved in and I'm contemplating attaching a bell so I know when he's coming.

My shower is effectively ruined so I do a quick rinse and get out. I toss on some sweats and throw my hair up into a towel to dry it. When I walk into our living room, everyone's seated at the table for breakfast.

Mia and Dominique, Mia's girlfriend-who-isn't-her-girlfriend, are caught up in their own world as they feed each other toaster waffles. Beside Mia, Raj scrolls on his phone, smirking slightly at something Zack says. He's replaced Marcus as our fifth roommate and is already five million times more likable than Marcus ever was. He and Zack are like bread and butter so that leaves me as a fifth wheel.

Just how I like it.

My eyes flicker to the ranch bottle by Zack's plate as I take the empty seat.

"Can you pass the ranch?" I ask, grabbing a plate of waffles.

Zack glances away from Raj to say, "What's the magic word?"

I don't even look at him. "Raj?" I request.

Raj sighs deeply, reaches forward, and passes the ranch bottle to me without a word.

"Who eats waffles with ranch anyway?" Zack says, frowning as I squeeze a dollop onto my plate.

In response, I slather my waffles in an absurd amount of ranch and stuff them into my mouth with a sweet smile. He makes a disgusted expression then turns back to Raj.

Their conversation only lasts a moment before he asks, "Are you an ice cream cone?"

"What?"

He lifts his chin towards my hair. I reach my hands up and am met with the coarse material of my towel.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm trying a new method of drying my hair," I say.

"What look are you going for?" he asks. "Princess of the Trolls?"

I roll my eyes. "You must be tired, Zack. Your insults are even lamer than usual."

He places a hand over his heart in mock pain. "Hurtful."

Raj shakes his head at us. "These two really used to date?" he asks Mia.

"You get used to it," she replies with a shrug. "This is their foreplay."

"Mia!" I exclaim at the same time Zack mutters, "Fuck off."

"Well, I think your hair is cool, Amelia," Raj says. "Zack, tell her her hair's cool."

Zack merely smirks as I say, "Forget it, Raj. What he thinks of my hair is the least of my concerns."

Raj smiles at me warmly. "Why the new look?" he asks. "Trying to look nice for your date tomorrow?"

"Third date with the guy and you're already playing into his soft-serve fetish?" Zack says.

"At least I can get past the first date," I reply.

"Guys, let's be nice," Raj says. "I'm trying to finish my oatmeal."

"I'm done anyway," Zack says, getting up and shaking his hair out of his eyes. It's longer than he used to keep it so he does that a lot. I just want to reach out and yank it until he screams.

He has the audacity to yawn as I glare up at him before striding out.

"Just ignore him," Raj says now that he's gone. His big, brown eyes are soft.

"He's being immature," I say. "There was a reason we didn't see each other all summer. To be cordial when we returned."

"He'll get better," Raj assures me as he stands and takes the empty plates. "In the end, we're all living together so try to work it out."

He pats my back as he leaves so I force a smile for him. Inside my head, I wonder how we even got back to this point.

As I finish my breakfast in silence, I can't help but think it might've been a good thing that we broke up.