Roommates with Benefits [18+ only]

37. There's something you should know

"Wow, so it is real." Sean mused, looking flabbergasted as I walked over to our usual spot in class.

"You thought I was lying?" I frowned, eyeing him up and down.

He shrugged. "I mean, who falls in the bathtub? That's straight out of The Bing Bang Theory."

I laughed. "Does that mean you see me as a Penny?"

"If it's a penny I can pick up, sure." He winked. Seeing me unfazed, or rather, noticing my sarcastic look, Sean grinned sheepishly, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Ok, ok, that was lame."

"Very."

"To be fair, everything and everyone must look lame to you." He sent me a side glance as we sat down, just as the professor was arriving. "Living with a god does that."

"Technically, Thor is a demigod." I pointed out. "Frigga is a mortal, Odin is a god."

Sean sent me the outraged nerd look I knew he'd give me. "Ok, first of all, Asgardians aren't exactly like Earthlings." He held up a finger. "Secondly, in the Norse mythology Frigga is a legit goddess."

"But in the Norse mythology, technically she is Thor's stepmom." I chuckled. "Since Odin had him from a previous marriage."

He rolled his eyes, albeit amused. "You know what I'm saying."

I laughed. "I do." I placed my recorder on my desk as well as my tablet – I can't take notes, but the speech to text system can do it for me. Normally, I avoid it because if I write things down myself, there's a better chance I'll remember them, but desperate times call for desperate measures. "But I think you need to actively talk to my roommate a bit," I added, although more focused on making sure I was all set for my notes.

Sean gave me a sardonic look. "Are you really asking me to be friends with the enemy?"

"He's not your enemy." I chuckled. "And he's ... more than what the eye meets." I don't know why I said that, to Sean even, but I just couldn't help myself.

Sean stared at me, speechless for the first time since I know him. Eventually, just as the professor was about to start talking, he turned back to the front of the class. "Yeah, I guess it won't hurt ... we could hang out sometime." He didn't seem convinced, but I took his word for it. But maybe, first of all I need to make it clear to Sean that we're just friends.

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"So, uh ..." I bit my lips once we were out of class, "I think we left something-uh ... hanging?" That came out as a question. Ugh, I really suck at talking to people. As long as there's a thick veil of sarcasm and jokes, like with Sean, I'm good, but more serious things make me feel awkward.

"Nah." Sean shrugged. "I had time to think this weekend, when I wallowed in my pity party, thinking you stood me up."

"I'm sorry, I should have texted, I-"

He held up a hand. "It's fine. You couldn't." He hinted at the sling covering most of my left arm. "But I had time to think, and ... we should just be friends." I tried my best not to look relieved, but traces of that feeling probably slipped through – my face just talks by itself. "It's probably easier that way. You have a lot on your plate, it seems." I didn't exactly understand for a moment, but then he hinted behind me, and upon turning, I spotted Lukas coming our way.

"Oh, no, that's ... I mean ..." my cheeks flushed as I tried to think of a good justification, but words once again failed me. I sighed. "It's not what it looks like."

"Look, I know something about ... situations with ... certain people." Sean mentioned, I'd dare say blushing a bit and avoiding my gaze. "They can get tricky," he said, once he'd cleared his throat, "you get carried away, one moment you're chilling, the other you're-" He cut himself off when he noticed I wasn't following his train of thought. He cleared his throat again. "What I'm saying is, you've got Thor over there, I've still got Veronique being a nightmare ... it's just easier to be friends."