The Kiss Bet July 2022 Ship Challenge

#17 Graduate

A/N: This Story includes underage drinking. I in no way endorse or encourage underage drinking. This is only included for the sake of the story in a fictional world of fictional characters. If you're of age and choose to drink, please make sure you do so in a safe way. I honestly feel kind of guilty including underage drinking, but I feel like it was a necessary movement for the story.

Part 2 to #13 Future

"I'm home!" Sara-Lin yelled as she walked through the door. Oliver's classes should've ended by now and his shoes were by the door, so she figured he must be in his room.
His door opened and he shuffled out looking as exhausted as she felt. "Hey. How was work?" He said in a sleep rough voice.
"Ah! I'm so sorry! Did I wake you up from a nap?" Sara-Lin felt terrible, she knew how hard he pushed himself and how badly he could use the rest.
"It's fine, it was about time for me to get back up anyways. I have homework to finish." He yawned as he finished speaking.

Sara-Lin looked at him and thought about how cute a sleepy, freshly woken, Oliver was. 'Stop that! We have to live together! No being in love with your roommate!' She chided herself mentally. It was rough, and she was definitely kidding herself if she thought it was working, but she had to at least try. She couldn't risk making things awkward and them both having to find new living arrangements because she couldn't handle her feelings.

"What do you want for dinner? I think we have ground beef defrosted, I could make tacos or spaghetti?" She asked, avoiding his question about work.
She'd had a terrible day, but he had enough stress and she didn't want to burden him. He'd only been in college for a year and she could already see the weight of it on him. He was so smart and she knew he was going to do great things, but the road to get there was obviously a tough one.
"What's our takeout fund look like? I could honestly use some Thai food right now." Oliver looked at her.
He was smart enough, but low income enough with a one parent household, that he had gotten scholarships that contributed to living funds which helped greatly. However Sara-Lin working part-time as a housekeeper at a very nice hotel is what paid most of the bills. She got good pay and fantastic tips, especially in the busy season. The job itself sucked, but it allowed her to have time to continue to work towards pursuing a career in writing, which was her true goal.
Since she was the main income she was in charge of budgeting their money, seeing as they'd decided on communal funds. She still wasn't great at math, but she didn't need anything complex to understand money so it wasn't an issue. And when it came time for taxes, Oliver was there to help.
"I think we should be fine to eat out tonight as long as we don't go to crazy. Just dinner, no extra appetizers, ok?" She felt bad limiting him when he worked so hard at school, but they still had to be careful with money. The car they shared was going to need an oil change and she had to keep that in mind, plus Oliver's shoes sitting by the door were starting to look a little ratty and, though she knew he'd never say anything, he definitely needed a new pair soon.
"Yeah, no problem. That sounds just fine to me." Oliver gave her a reassuring smile and walked over to the kitchen where they kept the takeout menus. "I want you to know I appreciate you taking care of us. I know you worry I'll resent you for "saying no" but you have no idea how much it means that you work so hard not just for yourself, but for me too. You don't have to do that and you choose to anyways. I didn't plan for it to be so stressful on you when I first suggested this. To be fair, I guess I don't know what else I should've expected. But I think you're amazing and you're doing a great job." He fiddled with the menu and looked over at her, a blush staining his cheeks.
As he finished speaking Sara-Lin thought about what he'd said and the conversation that had led them to be where they were today...

---2.5 Years before---

"I can't believe I'm actually graduating!" Sara-Lin excitingly yelled into the sky.
Oliver laughed at the girl's enthusiasm, rolling his eyes. "I told you I wouldn't let you fail."
"And you are absolutely the only reason I didn't, you amazing boy!" Sara-Lin grinned so widely at the boy he had to imagine her face hurt.
Oliver's heart started to pound and he blushed as she called him "amazing". He'd never NOT internally freak out when she complimented him. SHE was the one who was amazing and he was head over heels for her. But he wasn't ready to let her know that.
Her grin faltered as she looked away, starting to pick at her nails.
"What's wrong?" Oliver asked noticing the shift in mood.
"I know we talked about the future when I had that assignment awhile ago, and you inspired me then. But the future is here now. And I still don't REALLY know what I'm doing. I have a general idea of what I want, but no actual plan. I need a job, and somewhere to live. I mean I can stay here for now, but I can't live with my dad forever."
"Live with me." Oliver opened his mouth and spoke before his brain knew what it was saying.
Sara-Lin whipped her head around to look at him so fast she was vaguely worried about the possibility of whiplash. "What?" She said with obvious confusion.
Oliver was mortified that he'd actually said that out loud, but it was something he'd daydreamt about for awhile. 'I already made a fool of myself. Might as well keep going and explain.' He reasoned to himself.
"I graduate in a year right? I don't really want to live in a dorm and a couple of the scholarships I'm looking at that I'm eligible for would help cover living expenses off campus. If you wanted to, you could live at home for the next year working and getting some savings and then we could rent a place together when I go to college. We'd share expenses, I'd go to school and you could work part time and start trying to get going with your writing." He took a deep breath, facing her but not meeting her eyes.
"That... could actually work. Did you just come up with that on the spot? You're not really the sort of person to offer your whole future in a whim..." She said suspiciously.
"Ummm... I've actually been considering it for a bit. I just wasn't sure if you would be interested or when the right time to bring it up would be." Oliver said deciding to play it cool, as if it had been a totally normal thing to think about as a friend and not him pining after a future besides his crush.
"I wish you'd brought it up sooner! It would've saved me a bunch of stress." Sara-Lin said chuckling. "I honestly love the idea. I mean, to be fair having an extra year to figure it out is definitely a plus. But I think we could really make that work!"
Oliver smiled. Was platonicly sharing a home with the girl he loved his BEST idea? Probably not. But he had an entire year to change the state of their relationship right? Who knows maybe by this time next year it won't be platonic anymore.