Crestwood University. One of the most prestigious universities out there, with top notch students, incredibly attentive and disciplined teachers, and an overall atmosphere that makes one thing obvious: Nothing ever goes unnoticed. The principal, who...
Following the meeting with his professor from earlier, Eros walked home by himself, listening to music and enjoying the rainy scenery. The streets were mostly empty except for a few people that were seeking shelter from the weather. The brunette never understood how someone could run away from such comforting surroundings; the quiet rain that trickled down the rooftops of buildings, the water that was flowing peacefully along the streets, the silence provided by the lack of people that chose to stay inside and enjoy a hot cup of tea instead of staying outside and chit-chatting away about nonsense. The bottom of his black, loose jeans were wet from the rain that made its way down from his umbrella and the sleeves of his sweater were also slightly damp, thus making him a bit chilly. The wind wasn't as merciful as he would've liked, but he didn't fully come to terms with that as his mind wandered everywhere else but in the present. Eros only snapped back to reality when he reached the door of his home. A worn out, shabby wooden door that looked like it was about to fall off its hinges at any point. He sighed as he opened it, squeeking behind him.
"I'm home." The young man stated drily. He despised everythng about this place; from the people that were living in it, the trauma that blossomed in it, to the actual place itself. It was were the harsh reality dawned on him, making him understand his position in the world; making him realize that he was nothing more than a shitty excuse of a student who had no real future.
"What took you so long, you piece of shit? Your sister and I have been starving for hours!!" A female's bitchy voice echoed through the room, strident and harsh.
"We quite literally have instant soup of every kind, shape and form. I'm not your fucking slave, mom." Eros took his time responding to her, snapping back when he did. Toneless yet spitefull.
As it turned out, the woman was Eros's mother, and she could be judged simply based off of her initial interaction with her son. For some reason that the young man wished he knew, she absolutely despised him. Treating him like some kind of a lowlife, making him do everything around the house despite him not being an only child, yelling and cussing him out every chance she got. He was the result of an unwanted pregnancy, but even if he wasn't, his mom always wanted a girl, therefore the unfair difference between the two Nikolaou siblings was inevitable.
"Answer my question, dickhead! Where were you until now??"
"Calling me every name in the book won't make me more interested in telling you. I'm an adult. The only reason I still live here is because I don't have enough money to move out. What I do and who I do it with is none of your business. Now tell me what you want to eat or else I'm going to bed and you both can keep starving."
"Make us some fucking pasta already and bring your sister her food when it's already. She's exhausted from school. Poor baby must've worked so hard today."
"Yeah. I'm sure sucking off every professor on the first day of school to make sure she has even the slightest chance of passing is just so exhausting."
Okay. He had that one coming. Eros's right cheek turned a bright red after his mom had slapped him hard across it. Although he tried his best to avoid conflict, his mom praising his sister for something that was so unreal that it was simply painful to listen to, it was a tad bit too much to ignore. The brunette walked away from his hysteric mother, getting the stuff ready for the food. Of course, he would've loved to come home to a warm meal and a clean house, a comfortable bed and a peaceful atmosphere, but he was stuck with whatever this shitty excuse of a family was. His mom had finally finished her cigarette and left the kitchen, allowing Eros to take a deep breath and enjoy the few moments of silence he had.
Eros got used to the hectic, loud, chaotic and toxic household he had to live in. He tried his best to save up money and move out but ultimately it was either moving out and keeping his shitty paying job (that he enjoyed, but the pay was simply too small), or applying to college and paying for it by himself for as long as his savings allowed him to. Of course, the first option would've been better in the long run; getting his own place, going to therapy and finding a better job, and living peacefully without two crazy bitches nagging him around all day. But without a proper education, a higher paying job was close to impossible, inflation would eventually get to a point where it would become impossible for him to keep paying his rent, and then what? So, after a few years of hard work and a nice manager that appreciated and rewarded him, Eros managed to save up enough money to continue his education. It was painfully obvious that there was no way he would be able to learn effectively with his family around, so he planned on going to the school library or coffee shops around town in order to have some alone time. However, his professor unknowingly saved him all of that trouble by offering him the opportunity to practice with him after hours. After around 20 minutes of spacing out in the kitchen while the spaghetti boiled quietly on the stove, he plated the food for his sister and brought it to her room. He knocked loudly before entering. Eros placed the plate on her desk without saying a word and walked out as fast as he could, praying that she wouldn't say anything about him coming home late. Luckily, she was too busy painting her nails to notice him. This time he would get away with it.
After cleaning up in the kitchen, the brunette walked over to his room and threw his backpack across the room, dropping face first into his soft sheets. Exhausted beyond words, Eros sighed deeply and turned to face the black ceiling that was beautifully decorated with a few glow in the dark star stickers the previous owner of the appartment had left. He would always count them over and over again at night when he couldn't sleep, distracting himself with them when it got dark outisde and his mind was clouded by thoughts that should've gone away, but didn't. Eros grabbed his phone from next to him and pressed play on one of his favorite playlists before returning to his (almost) daily ceiling-watching.
On the other side of the town, professor Felix was coincidentaly listening to the same song, at the same time as his student. After his coffee talk with Artemis and Achilles, he wasted no time driving home and changing in his most comfortable clothes, finally resting his whole body on the elegant, soft and fluffy white covers that decorated his bed. He kept his earphones in as he closed his eyes and smiled slightly, recalling the events that occured during his first day back to work. The meeting with Eros definitely stood out, and it provided him a strong feeling of hope; hope that this year would be one of the greatest ones he's had so far.
Who's to say professors can't doomscroll on social media as much as students do when they've got the time? That's right. No one. So, that's exactly what Felix did. He picked up his phone and started scrolling through his instagram feed, liking random posts that his friends had posted, entering a rabbit hole of a certain aesthetic he simply couldn't identify the name of, until he eventually stumbled over an account that immediately caught his attention. The pictures, the description, the overall vibes of it...he looked over it once again and noticed the username, then the profile picture, and in the matter of a few seconds, it all clicked. It was Eros's account.
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The picture of him, however, stood out the most to him. The way he looked in that picture made him feel...strange. Mr.Felix was a big fan of art and everything beautiful, and that picture counted as both and beyond. He also couldn't help but notice that he was a literature fan, which was to be expected, had a good eye for aesthetics, and they had pretty similar tastes overall. Something told him that it would be a good idea, however, to wait for a bit before following him or sending him a message. It wouldn't be weird, though, would it? It would just be an easier way for them to communicate about their meetings and whatnot! Yeah, that's it. An easier way to communicate. But for the remainder of the night, Felix could not get that picture of Eros out of his head. There was nothing weird about that, right?
On the other hand, Eros fell asleep quite quickly, with the meeting from earlier replaying in his mind. He had a smile on his face throughout the whole night, but there was nothing weird about that either, right?
