Freckled Love (a JeanMarco AU)

Chapter Two

"So, do you want to come in?" Marco asked him.

Jean bit his lower lip, holding back a snarky reply. Of course I'd like to come in, it's my dorm now, too.

"Yeah, thanks. I have some boxes in my truck, but I can get them later," Jean responded, stepping into the dorm.

Marco immediately spoke up. "Oh! I'll help!"

Jean couldn't help but chuckle at his immediate desire to assist him. "That'd be great. So, you're a sophomore, too?"

"That's right. What's your major?"

"Photography." Jean began to look around the dorm. It was small, like he expected, with cerulean blue walls and clean white curtains. On Marco's half, there were pictures taped to the walls, and several books on his desk; a very small portion of them looked like they were college textbooks. Jean wanted to say his half of the dorm would look just as cool and personalized as Marco's, but... It would be a lie. "What's yours?"

"Interior design..." Marco's cheeks grew pink, and he looked around the dorm. "It may not look like it, but I think I'm pretty good at decorating homes."

Jean raised an eyebrow, looking around the dorm one last time. "You're kidding, right? This dorm looks ten times better than any others I've seen."

"Ah, thanks..." Marco replied, looking embarrassed. "You remember what the café looked like, don't you?"

"Yeah. Did you decorate it?"

"Mhm," Marco nodded. "But enough about me. Should we go and get your things?"

"Oh, sure. Thanks."

It didn't take very long to move Jean's boxes into the room, but it was really tiring. Not only was there a short walk from the parking lot to the actual building, but their dorm was also on the third floor.

"Sorry," Marco laughed slightly after regaining his breath, sitting on his bed. "I'm sure there's an easier way to pack things all of the way up here."

"It's no problem," Jean replied, looking at the unpacked boxes. He decided he'd only make his bed tonight, and unpack tomorrow since it was the weekend. "It's not like I'll be carrying heavy things with me all of the time."

"True." Marco was smiling widely, and it made Jean wonder if he ever stopped smiling. He also wasn't sure if he liked Marco's happy-go-lucky attitude, or if it would grow to be annoying. Currently, whenever Marco smiled, it made Jean want to smile, too. But who knows how irritating it could get after a while?

"You hungry?" Marco asked.

Jean recalled the terribly-made PB&J he made himself this morning before leaving, just in case he didn't have a chance to get dinner today. "Not really," he said.

"Okay. I think I'll head over to the cafeteria." He smiled then as he stood up. "I love that this dorm building is so close to it. Don't you?"

Jean returned his smile, deciding to take Marco's word on how close it was. "Yeah. I'll see you later, Marco."

"See you!"

And so Marco left, leaving Jean alone. That kid must have a lot of trust in him, to leave someone he just met alone with all of his possessions.

It didn't matter much to Jean, though. After resting a few more moments, he began to unpack his bedding. Soon he got his flannel sheets down, and his grey duvet over them. His bed looked so dull. It never bothered him before now, but he was suddenly realizing that he no longer wanted to have a dull life. Because, of course, having dull bedding means you have a dull life.