reattachment - matt sturniolo

chapter one

"i swear to fucking god, if i see dirty dishes in this sink one more time, i'm reinstating public executions via guillotine, and the entire complex will be cordially invited to your long, tortuous ends."

"noted. and good morning to you as well," i replied, tugging on one of scarlett's frizzy tresses as i passed behind her. i could feel her scathing scowl burn into my back as i continued into the kitchen to grab a granola bar. our collective cooking skills as an apartment didn't awaken until lunchtime, so breakfast was whatever we could grab in a cabinet or the laughable broom closet that labeled itself as a pantry on the online listing.

when i agreed to split rent with two other girls on a small three bedroom/ one bath after a sheer three days of talking and going through details, i had been incredibly nervous. i wasn't the most polite person around, and getting along with others and being a team player was notably not my forte. but my roommates were a bonafide godsend. iris (who was still fast asleep) was a somehow comforting phantasm presence. you could never hear her padding across the hardwood floors or making her daily cups of earl gray, but somehow she'd be sitting next to you when you turned around as if she were there all along, flipping through a tattered paperback or sending a quick text to her dads. scarlett, however, was somehow even more abrasive than me, with her displays of affection usually showing as her stomping to clean up whatever messes we left behind and chucking snacks from the local gas station at us whenever we were feeling down. i was somewhere in the middle, comfortable enough to not be as brittle as i usually was, but still quick with a dry comment nine times out of ten.  we had struck up a routine almost instantaneously, which took at least one area of stress off of our backs. with classes staggered between the three of us, we had plenty enough on our plates already.

"have we introduced ourselves to the new residents yet?" iris's raspy morning voice questioned from my side. i jumped a little at her sudden appearance, and turned to fix her with a glare. she gave me nothing but a serene smile before facing scarlett to silently ask her the same thing.

"no." she replied shortly. iris frowned and looked to me for an explanation.

"oh, please. pleasantries? small talk? awkward shuffling when we go to get mail or do laundry? i'd take scarlett up on her barbaric death penalties twenty times over before i subjected myself to that." i heard said law enforcer give a derisive snort. iris frowned deeper and i felt a small pang of guilt. having iris be disappointed in you was not the best thing to be first thing in the morning.

"well, you're going to have to do it sooner or later," iris chided me, reaching overtop of me to grab a bowl. "maybe i'll make them some cookies," she mumbled.

scarlett and i snapped our heads up in unison. "browned butter and cardamom?" we asked at the same time. iris sighed heavily, but i saw the tilt of her smile.

"browned butter and cardamom. a double batch," she promised, and scarlett and i high-fived as i sat down with my freshly attained granola bar. i munched absentmindedly, trying to let myself wake up naturally.

"has anybody else said anything about the new neighbors?" scarlett asked through a mouthful of corn flakes. i grimaced but focused on iris's answer.

"not that i know of," she replied, with a steaming cup of tea in her hands, a bowl of yogurt topped with blueberries on the counter (lord knows when she had managed to do that).

"well, they better be quiet neighbors. that's all i care about," i muttered, and scarlett hummed in agreement. the last tenants of the apartment across from us had been downright awful, blasting music at unholy hours of the night, leaving garbage bags that reeked of pizza and beer out for anyone to trip on, and even badgering iris for her number in the elevator. scarlett had fixed herself up to go kick down their door, but iris and i managed to calm her down.

"i'm sure they'll be fine." iris said, sipping at her tea. i stood up and threw my wrapper away, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder before issuing a hasty goodbye and leaving. i had a full day of classes ahead, and i liked to be early.

boston was charming in its own way, with its perpetual ceiling of partly cloudy skies and its mix of federal and brutalist buildings. i walked briskly, hoping to snag a seat and set my laptop and headphones up so whoever sat next to me would take the hint to not strike up a conversation.

i was trying my hardest to not be my usual blunt self, and the way i was going about it was to nix the idea of an unwanted talk in the first place.

as i was walking down the sidewalk, i scrolled through my phone, promising my dad that i would call him later tonight. in my peripheral, i saw a pair of converse heading my way and i sidestepped them easily, tilting my head up to give the person an apologetic glance.

but by the time i looked up, they were well past me, moving at a fast pace, like they were late for something. i caught a flash of emerald green and dark hair before the person rounded a corner and walked out of sight.

my heart plummeted to my stomach and my skin flushed with a sudden chill. over a year without talking or even seeing each other, and just the color of a jacket he happened to wear once had me struggling for breath in the lukewarm air of an autumn morning.

my hand twitched to the phone that lay like a burning coal in my pocket. i knew the words that would dance across the screen. they hadn't changed in months.

i'm really sorry we haven't been able to talk much. i miss you.

i swallowed past the lump in my throat and walked ahead, shoving those words to the back of my mind.

i was the one moving on this time. i was in a new city, at a new school with fresh faces all the time, and actual friends that i felt safe around. i had a stable relationship with my father and i wasn't afraid of anyone leaving me anytime soon.

i was better, damn it.

but that flash of green stuck with me throughout the entire day, and i couldn't squash the small thread of hope that tangled my heart and mind long after i came home, ate dinner, and went to bed.

------

(a/n: some face claims for scarlett and iris! scarlett is on the top, iris on the bottom <3)