Just Roommates

And the Story Begins

Breath. Just breath. He's only human.

     "Hey, man. You must be Gerard!" Frank strolled up to me with an outstretched hand. Oh, wow. This man was short. And he had a lot of tattoos. Fuck, I had no idea what I was expecting but it was not someone that looked so intimidating. Let's not forget short. He was intimidating and short.

     "Oh, hey. Yeah, but you can call me Gee if you want. I don't really mind either name." I took his hand and shook slightly. How the fuck can someone look like such a badass, yet still have really soft hands? Didn't he say he played guitar? How can someone look like such a badass, play guitar, and have really soft hands. Sure, the badass and guitar thing make sense; it's just the soft hands that threw me off.

     There was an awkward pause. I looked around at the crowded city around us. It looked abnormally busy. I look at my watch, 5:13, rush hour. People were walking around us in business-casual attire, others in full on suits, and others in everyday garb. The ambiance of car horns honking, people talking, and construction workers building rang through the air. The sidewalks were covered in feet, dirt, and trash. The brick buildings surrounding us were still on the outside; however, there was no doubt that the inside was restless. I wonder how many people were fucking inside of them. Gerard! You are 24 years old, calm yourself. It's not like you've fucked anyone yourself. 

     "Do you wanna go inside?"  His voice caught me by surprise and I jumped. I guess he noticed because he chuckled slightly. 

     "Yeah, that sounds good." 

     Oh, wowie. As soon as you walked in was the living room. To the right of that is the kitchenette and one of the two bedrooms. On the other side was the other bedroom and the bathroom. The Living room smelt of incense and lavender. How the fuck do I not even smell a hint of B.O.? There were little decorations. Just the bare minimum. Maybe a couple of band posters here and there. The place was modest, to say the least. It wasn't dirty in any way, and all the furniture was in good shape. It was just modest. 

    Frank watched me scan the room and spoke up when he saw I was done, "When you move in- if  you move in- you can put some decor up and bring in furniture if you want. I know I don't have much." His reaction to his home and his actual home matched - modest. "Uh, the room is that one to the right. I have all the vents in there closed to save on heating, so it might be cold." 

     I nodded my head a little to acknowledge him. I started towards the bedroom and looked around some more. Frank was standing at the end of the tiny foyer with his hands in his pockets. His lips were sucked in and his eyes were focusing on random things. I could tell he felt a little awkward. I opened the creme door to look at the room. It was about the size of the living room. There was a large window parallel to the mirrored closet. Everything was cleaned well. I couldn't find a single blemish on any of the glass. The carpet was a cloud, fluffy and white. Frank was right, the room was well lit with natural light. 

     I heard Frank approach behind me. "The window is facing north, so you wont be blinded in the morning or the afternoon."

      "Nice. Out of curiosity, how many others are looking at this place?" I really don't like competition.

     "Just you. You did reply only an hour after I posted that ad." Frank's voiced wavered a little. I wonder why he's nervous, I'm not really anything to make a fuss about. 

     "Oh, wow. I'm not usually that fast."

     "Do you have a girlfriend or anything at the moment? I'm worried about fucking." The idea of me being romantically involved with another human being made me want to laugh.

     "Nope, I don't think you'll ever have to worry about that. Not much of a romancer."

     He chucked softly and replied, "It's cool, man, me neither. I've only slept with two girls."

     "I haven't even slept with one human." An odd thing to admit when looking at an apartment. 

    "Oh, man." Frank's eyes held a spark of disbelief.

    "I'm gonna go check out the bathroom." When I was examining the shower I noticed there was a bend in the railing. "What happened here?"

     "I don't want to know and, frankly, I don't want to. My last roommate, Ryan, did that with his boyfriend. What they did in here was really fucking weird. Brendon, his boyfriend, would leave; Ryan would go to sleep, and I'd come in here and find empty milk cartons," as frank was telling me his antidote he looked like he was experiencing a 'Nam flashback. 

     "Well, then. I swear I won't do anything like that." 

     "Good."

    "So, can I move in?"

    "Sure. I'll help you with the lease and everything."