Roommates

Chapter 1

It started when I saw a sad man at a bar. His face was in his arms, his medium brown hair messily strewn across his shoulders, illuminated by a blonde highlight that popped against the rest of the darker scenery. He looked so familiar, and I guessed right away who he might be. It could just be sheer coincidence, however, so I didn't jump to conclusions right away.
I saw the depressed figure shake as he sobbed loudly, clearly not caring if anyone overheard him. His voice, too, sounded familiar. Whoever he was, I didn't care, I still felt bad for him either way. I ultimately decided to approach the man, and hopefully help him out.
"Hello? Um, are you okay?" I asked, not sure if he heard me over the babble of others around us who were having a great time, a stark contrast to me and him.
"Go away," the figure's voice sounded raspy and sore, as if he had been crying for hours. His voice was muffled, as he didn't look up from the table he leaned his head on. Nonetheless, I recognized his voice immediately.
"Arin?" I asked, hoping to have my thoughts denied. Why would he be so upset?
"Please. Go," he begged, a certain desperate and slightly whiny tone added to his voice.
"Arin, is that you?" I asked again, wondering if he would answer me at all.
He didn't say a word, and he didn't look up, but he simply nodded. The motion was barely visible. I could hardly believe that this was him, with the state he was in.
"What's wrong?" I put my hand on his shoulder, which was shivering about.
"Go away!" He yelled, whipping his head upwards sharply to meet my gaze with his own glaring eyes, his voice booming above all the chatter around us for a brief few seconds. His face was tear-covered and red, his eyes still crying.
"I'm not going away," I kept my calm demeanor because I knew he wouldn't do this under normal circumstances, and that he was probably going through something, I just didn't know what.
"Jon?" Arin whimpered back, "Is that you?"
"Yep, it's me," I confirmed to him, nodding slightly, "Are you okay, buddy?"
"I don't know," he shrugged, his voice calming down and becoming less shaky, although it was still gravelly and quiet.
"Okay, okay," I pondered to myself what I should do and say, "Do you want to go home?"
"Yeah," he nodded in case I didn't hear his near-silent voice.
"Alright," I smiled at Arin to reassure him, "You'll be okay, okay?"
"I don't know," he mumbled in response, avoiding the sight of me.
"Which home?" I asked, unsure of what Arin meant when he said 'home.'
"Your home," he leaned against me tiredly as he said this.
"Um," I was a bit confused, "Okay, but do you want to tell me why?" I prompted.
"No," he answered, turning towards me, holding his arms outstretched, "Carry me?" He finally smiled a bit, though it was still very obvious that he had been crying only moments before.
"Okay," I agreed. I barely had a choice, anyways. He was finally cheering himself up a bit, so I picked him up like you would with a small child, his arms clinging onto my neck, and his legs wrapped around my torso. He was barely off the ground, so I moved him up a bit. His head was leaning on top of mine, his arms around the top of my head.
"What about my car?" Arin didn't seem too worried, but that could just be because he was exhausted.
"I'll worry about that in the morning," I responded quickly.
"Oh," Arin shrugged grimly, and he started to avoid my gaze again, making me worry.
"Hey, don't worry about your car," I held him a bit closer, attempting to have him look back at me.
"I'm not," he mumbled back, "I just don't know what the others will say."
"Aw, about what?" I said, trying to speak with a bit of happiness in my voice.
"About me disappearing on them, and th-the crying," his voice faltered, and I could tell he was really forcing away the tears.
"Don't worry about them. You'll be home soon. You can call them, if you want," I suggested.
"I don't know. What if they make me come home?"
"They won't," I promised, "Why would they?"
He just shrugged, looking away from me with tearful eyes glistening still. He whimpered quietly.
"You're going to be okay," I assured him.
"I want to be okay," he relaxed, seemingly very comfortable. I blushed a bit.
We walked to the car silently, and I placed him down in the passenger seat. He sighed contently, and I smiled at him. He was almost asleep. I waited a little while before starting the car, so Arin could fall asleep. We quickly arrived back home.
"Arin," I whispered to him, "We're here, wake up."
"Huh..." He groaned, looking up at me, his eyes filling with tears again.
"Arin? Arin, come on. You're going to be okay," I held onto his hand. Arin didn't let go of it.
"Jon," he mumbled, "I want you to stay with me."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't want you to leave my sight," he clung onto my arm.
"Whatever you say," I smiled a little bit.
"Let's go," Arin said. He didn't cry, and he looked very slightly happy. He seemed almost distant.
"Arin," I settled him down on the couch, "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"I don't know," he responded quietly.
"Take your time."
"Okay," Arin took a deep breath before continuing, "I've just been under so much stress," he started.
"Arin! Come here, buddy," I held my arms out to embrace him, which Arin was quick to accept.
"I just can't do it," he choked out, crying again.
"No, no, Arin. I think you can do it," I encouraged him.
"Jon, I don't have anywhere to go," Arin cried out.
"What do you mean?" I started to get really worried.
"My house- Suzy got mad at me and now I don't have my house."
"Hey, Arin," I held him still, "You can just stay with me. You should sleep now," I suggested, "Stay here for as long as you need."
"You're the best," Arin whimpered to me, trudging off to bed.