The Study Group

Chapter 1: Move-In| Zach

I set down the final box and stretched. Finally. After an hour of running boxes up and down five flights of stairs, I was finally moved into my dorm room. My sophomore year was ready to begin. After the boxes were unpacked of course.

"Well," I said to myself as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. "No rest for the wicked."

I knelt down and opened the box I had just brought up. That's when I felt ice-cold metal on the back of my neck.

"Holy Shit!" I yelped as the shiver ran down my spine. I turned around. "What the fuck, dude?"

Standing behind me, holding two cans of soda and snickering at my reaction, was Quintin Renaldi. My childhood best friend. My quasi-brother. The one who took me in after the incident.

"Sorry man," he chuckled, handing me the soda. "I couldn't help myself."

"Whatever," I scoffed as I swiped the soda from him.

"Nice digs," he said, climbing up and onto my mattress. "Comfy mattress, too. Perfect for a nap."

"Are you really gonna nap, Quinn?" I asked.

"'Course," he replied smugly. "What else would I do?"

"Oh, I don't know," I gestured to all the boxes that needed to be unpacked still. "Maybe... help?"

"Hmm," He sat up and observed the boxes. He laid onto the mattress again. "Nope. Don't think so. I'm too tired for that shit."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Typical," I sighed. I continued unpacking the box in my hands. The box was mostly clothes but it was still tedious work sorting the clothing into the proper drawers and putting them where they were supposed to in the closet. I worked quietly as Quinn laid up on the mattress. I hummed the tune of a song I had stuck in my head for the last few days as I worked. It wasn't difficult work, but what was difficult was staying conscious whilst I did it. I could feel my vigilance ebbing as the fatigue from my day of work began to set in.

One more box, I thought through the haze of drowsiness in my mind. I need to get one more box done before I take a break. But I can't sleep until the boxes are unpacked. If I don't do it now, then it'll never get done.

"Yo, Z," he called down from the lofted mattress.

"What do you want now?" I sighed, feigning annoyance.

"You gotta try this mattress," he said. "It's perfect for midday naps."

"Unfortunately for me," I replied. "I don't have time for midday naps. What with being a college student and all."

"What are you talking about?" he whined. "Every college student has time for midday naps!"

"Yeah," I laughed. "If you sleep in class. Not all of us can do what you do, Quinn."

"Whatever do you mean, Z?"

"Quinn, I have never slept in a single class and I still get B's and C's. You have slept through half of your academic career and gotten straight A's for every single class."

"What can I say," he shrugged. "I need my beauty sleep."

Do you really? I thought to myself.

I couldn't help but look up at him. His well-built frame that was complimented and well displayed by his black tank top and shorts. The strong, shredded arms. The scar on his arm that randomly appeared five years ago. The long and fluffy black hair that cascaded around his head, forming a sort of halo around his head. His perfectly chiseled jaw line.

He turned to make eye contact with me. His dark brown eyes, soulful and beautiful, stared back at me. Two wells that beckoned me further in, calling me deeper into them. He smiled. A smile that danced on the line of sly and smug.

Everything about him was perfect. Any girl would be lucky to have him as their boyfriend. Which is why it was confusing as to why he could never keep a girlfriend.

"C'mon," he smiled, nodding his head towards the bed. "You know you're tired after bringing all these boxes up here."

I didn't want to admit it. I had been fighting it for the last few minutes. The impending drowsiness. The extra weight in my limbs that dramatically slowed my movements. The difficulty I had with keeping my eyes open. I couldn't give in, though. I still had to finish unpacking.

"Quinn," I sighed, looking down at the boxes. I looked back at him. "I have to finish unpacking--,"

"Later," Quinn whispered, as if seeing into my thoughts. "Worry about it later, Z."

I guess that's what happens when you've known someone for long enough. They can practically read you like an open book.

"A midday nap sounds nice," I sighed in concession.

"Yes it does," he murmured as I walked over to the ladder up to the mattress.

"Scoot over," I climbed up.

"What?!" he yelped in what sounded like panic and shock.

"What?" I asked drowsily. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean 'scoot over?" Don't you want to take a nap?"

"I do," my brow furrowed in sleepy confusion. "And I am. But you also wanted to take a nap. So that's what we'll do."

"Are you sure this bed can hold both of us?" He sputtered.

"I'm sure," I said as I laid down next to him.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep on the other bed?"

"You're the one that insisted I tried this mattress."

"That's--That's not--," he seemed to be at a loss for words. "Are you sure?"

"Why not? It's not like we never did this at home."

"Y--Yeah but--but that was--,"

"Shh," I snuggled up to him. "No more talking. I wanna sleep."

His arms wrapped around my shoulders instinctively, closing the already narrow gap between us. He was so much taller than me, I could feel his whole body curling around me. My head rested right next to his chest. I could feel the heat radiating off his body. Feel every rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Hear the beating of his heart in his chest. Though it was fast initially, it slowed to a steady rhythmic thump that lulled me to sleep with each passing moment. My hands went out on a mission, wrapping themselves around his waist and crawling under his tank top and up his back, seeking more warmth from him. I felt a slight hum in my throat as I subconsciously found the most comfortable position. Before I knew it, reality slipped from my grasp as I fell asleep in my best friend's arms.