Roommates

Midnight

Tris 
End of December

I sigh, glancing at the clock for the tenth time in the past hour, as I bus tables following the last rush of customers. Lauren will be here in twenty minutes to work the closing shift. Tobias said he would meet me here after he finishes work across the street—we're off at the same time today. I smile thinking of him.

Tobias has stayed here in Chicago almost the whole winter break. He didn't want to go home and see Marcus, for obvious reasons, so he had preemptively pitched an idea to Amar: day camps. It has worked out perfectly, both for Tobias, who now had a valid work-related excuse to stay here in Chicago during his school holiday, and for Amar, who is boosting his profits by providing a safe, educational place for parents to leave their kids during the school holiday. Tobias went home only long enough to attend a Christmas Day dinner at Marcus's coworkers; I spent that day with Tori and her family. Tobias and I watched movies together on Christmas Eve, not even really acknowledging the holiday. It was easier for me to just pretend it wasn't Christmas, that I wasn't spending another holiday without my family.

Finals ended two weeks ago, and, thankfully, I finished my classes with a grade point average high enough to easily maintain my scholarships. As soon as the term was complete, I was finally assigned a new dorm room. Tobias was assigned a new apartment-dorm at the same time, so he first helped me move out of Tori's place, then I helped him to move out of the apartment he had shared with Eric that evening, when we knew Eric would be at work and we wouldn't have any awkward encounters. Neither of us have met our roommates yet—they must have gone home for winter break.

Ten minutes left, and the café is slow now. I spend my last few minutes of work restocking the fridge under the counter with more milk, checking our supplies of syrups, making fresh house coffee, and so on. When Lauren walks in five minutes before her shift, I quickly prepare the till, stowing the extra cash that has accumulated in the time-delay safe that I punched the code into a few minutes earlier. Just as Lauren comes back to the counter wearing her apron and telling me I'm free to punch out for the day, the door chimes.

Tobias smiles at me as he approaches the counter. "Good timing," I tell him. "I'm about to clock out. I'll just be a second."

"Hurry up, will ya?" Tobias teases. I just roll my eyes.

Five minutes later, I have punched out to end my shift, tossed my apron in the laundry bin, and changed into the fresh clothes I brought along in my backpack. "Ready?" I ask Tobias.

"Absolutely," he agrees, and guides me out to his truck with his hand at the small of my back, and my pulse quickens. Though we are only friends, more intimate gestures like this have become commonplace between us. Tobias never presses for more than that, and I don't want to be with anyone else anyway, so I don't mind.

Over the past few weeks, Tobias and I have grown closer than ever. With everyone else home for the holidays, we've hung out more evenings than not, and we've been going to the dormitory building's gym together most mornings. We both miss our runs, and spending time outdoors.

"So, what do you wanna do?" I ask as Tobias starts his truck.

He smirks. It makes me a little nervous when he smirks... "Wait and see."

"Come on, please?"

Tobias laughs. "It's cute that you think I'll answer you." I groan, but quickly give in and return to our usual banter. We move quickly through topics, as always, discussing music, the upcoming turn, and finally landing on a debate about which of the Super Mario Bros. would win in a fight.

"Luigi?!" Tobias exclaims, outraged. "No way. Mario may be shorter, but he's braver and bulkier. I bet he's got 50 pounds of muscle on Luigi."

"I disagree," I begin, pleading my case. "You're underestimating his will to win. Mario has it all. He's got the princess, the castle, they, as a pair, are even named after him. Super Mario Bros.?" I shake my head dramatically. "Luigi doesn't get the attention he's due. So, even aside from the fact that Luigi is taller, leaner and faster than Mario, just imagine the depth of his resentment. He won't give up, he's determined to beat the piss out of that fat little asshole."