"Are you sure you have everything? I'd hate for you to turn around and drive all the way back," your mom said, stepping outside with yet another box. It read KITCHEN STUFF in big black letters, like all the others now jammed into your backseat.
"I think so," you said with a grin. "If not, I guess you'll just have to mail it to me."
She rolled her eyes and pulled you into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. You wrapped your arms around her tightly.
"I'm excited for you," she said, her voice muffled by your shoulder, "but I'm going to miss you so much. Who am I going to talk to all day?"
You laughed as she sniffled dramatically. "You've got Dad, dummy."
At the sound of the door clicking shut behind you, you turned to see your dad carrying the last box. He shoved it into the car and slammed the door closed.
"What about me?" he said with mock offense.
"Mom says you're boring," you teased.
He gasped. Your mom gave you a playful smack on the arm.
"I'm just not ready for my baby to leave the nest!" she said.
"Let her live, woman!" Dad fired back.
You couldn't help but laugh as you hugged them both one last time before climbing into your car.
"Alright, you two. If I don't leave now, I won't make it before the housing office closes."
"Be safe, baby. Call us if you need anything," your dad said, wrapping an arm around your mom's shoulder.
"Text me when you get there and get your key," she added.
You nodded, shifted into reverse, and waved. Then, as you drove off, you gave a final honk and yelled out the window, "Bye! Love you guys!"
And just like that, you were on the road, finally an independent adult, heading toward your new life in a college dorm a couple of hours away.
~ ~ ~
You noticed him on maybe the second day of classes.
He always sat in the back, no bookbag, no laptop, not even a notebook. Just... sitting there. Listening.
He wore dark jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Sometimes he added a jacket, but usually not. His thick eyebrows and sideburns framed a face that seemed serious but not unkind. You didn't realize how tall he was until he stood up.
On day three, you sat next to him. You took notes obsessively, both typing and scribbling by hand. When class ended, you slid your handwritten notes across the desk to him.
"I noticed you didn't bring any paper, so I wrote these down for you. I've got a typed version, so you can keep these."
He blinked, clearly confused, but accepted the papers with a small nod. "Thanks."
"I-" you began, but glanced at the clock. "Ah, sorry! I've got a class across campus in ten minutes. If anything's wrong or confusing, let me know next time, okay?"
You dashed out, heart pounding from both the interaction and the sprint across campus. Note to self: buy a bike.
Your next class dragged on, so you opened your laptop and started submitting job applications to nearby places. Hopefully, someone would hire you despite your limited night availability. It was a college town, after all.
Your schedule was light, luckily. Tuesdays and Thursdays started with beginner astronomy at 9:00, followed by world history at 10:30, a break at 11:50, and fantasy literature at 1:30. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were just finance at 11:30 and government at 1:30. Perfect for knocking out your gen eds while you figured out what you wanted to major in.
After history, you stretched and slung your backpack over one shoulder, torn between heading to your dorm or the café. A nap sounded heavenly, but... You should probably try to be social. You chose the café.
Good call.
Right as you stepped out of the building, you spotted him, that guy, walking out of the science hall. You raised your hand in a wave and jogged to catch up.
"Hi again!" you called. "Sorry for running out earlier. Still figuring out campus, and my professor's strict about attendance, so I had to bolt."
He shrugged. "No worries. Thanks again for the notes, but... why?"
Your face flushed. "A-ah, well. I know what it's like to show up unprepared. I figured I'd do what I wish someone would've done for me. I lucked out and had a leftover notebook from last year, so I didn't have to buy one, though I mostly type now, but you never know when your battery might die, ugh, sorry. I'm rambling."
He gave a small chuckle. "It's fine. Just wanted to thank you. I owe you one."
He slowed his pace, clearly inviting you to walk with him.
"Well, when I'm sick and miss class, you'd better have my back," you joked. "Still haven't bought the textbook."
"First semester?" he asked, looking down at you.
"Yeah! How'd you know?"
He gestured for your laptop. You handed it over, unlocking it as requested. He opened your class portal.
"Each professor uploads their syllabus here. If you read it, some of them include links to free PDFs of the textbook."
He handed it back. You scrolled, and sure enough, there it was. A free download link.
"Oh my god." You facepalmed. "I feel so dumb."
He laughed. "The professor said this on the first day. Were you even paying attention?"
"Honestly? Probably not." You hadn't slept well that night. Being so far from home, alone in a tiny dorm, felt unsettling. You'd spent the lecture scrolling through dorm decor on Amazon, trying to make your space feel less like a hospital room and more like your bedroom at home.
"Well, at least your notes are good," he said. "Well done."
Your face lit up. "Thank you! I take pride in my note-taking. Want to know my secret?" You dropped your voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
He nodded, amused.
"I type everything the professor says. Then, when they go off-topic, I go back, bold the important stuff, and write it all down by hand. You know, for the muscle memory."
He shook his head, smiling. "That sounds like a terrible way to take notes."
You gasped, placing a hand over your chest. "It is not! It works for me!"
"What happens if your computer dies? Or if the professor never goes off-topic?"
"Then..." you leaned back with a dramatic sigh, arms crossed, "fuck it, we ball."
He paused. "What?"
You grinned. "Fuck it, we ball."
"What the hell does that even mean?"
"Dude."
----
heheh first chapter. I write a draft of all of my chapters before I actually write the chapter (make sense?) so do y'all want me to just put the preview at the bottom of every chapter? let me know. Chapter will be longer than this but this is just an appetizer to the entree of chapters.
So, who is our mystery guy? Any guesses?
Also first creepypasta story, I'm not super knowledgable so this may seem weird and wrong so just lmk! I take constructive criticism.
Also also if anything is misspelled or grammar is wrong, please comment. I write these in a word document and then copy and paste it but I may have missed some errors.
Also also also, '~ ~ ~' means time skips. I am sure you figured it out but yeah.
Feb 18. 23
grammar edited aug. 7. 25
YOU ARE READING
how did this happen. . ?
FanfictionY/n knew that she should've stayed home for school. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe she would've had a normal college experience. Not befriending a group of hit men that have decided to use your dorm room as a hangout spot. Started: 01...
