"C'mon in, bro. I gotta shower real quick, so you can just get comfy." Nick told him, tossing his keys on the counter. "Thanks." Devin nodded, looking around as he reclined on the couch. It was a nice place, he noted. Small, a little cluttered, but clean. He picked up a book from the shelf, glancing up as he heard the steady tattoo of water as the shower turned on. Devin skimmed the back cover, growing bored. Placing it back on the shelf, he decided to explore.
Peeking into Nick's room, he was surprised to see how orderly it was. The books were on a shelf, coins in a bowl, bed reasonably made. He next explored the kitchen, which had mostly snack stuff. Grabbing a granola bar, he glanced around to see that there was only one door left. Must be Nick's roommate, he guessed. Not having seen another car outside, he figured that they weren't home. Easing the door open, he realized how incredibly wrong he was.
A woman with short purple hair, clad only in bikini bottoms and a tee, lay on the messy bed, absently tracing designs on her bare leg as she watched something on her phone. Devin froze, unable to tear his eyes away from her even as he realized that he should most definitely not be there. Perhaps sensing that he was there, she looked up. The glare she sent his way was chilling. She uttered but one word, yet it was enough to send him fumbling for the doorknob. "Out."
~Quinn's POV~
The idiot hadn't even knocked. She rolled her eyes, putting her phone down as she got up to slip on a pair of cargo shorts. She would need to have a word with Nick about letting his guests wander around, again. Sighing, she ran a hand through her violet locks as she stepped out of her room. Taking the key from around her neck, she locked it. Stupid door only locked from the outside, though it was rarely a problem with Nick. He actually respected her space, unlike whatever-his-face.
Turning around, she heard the click of a door being opened. "Quinn?" Nick asked, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. "Hey Nick." She threw an arm around his shoulders, throwing him a meaningful look. "Y'know, Nicky, we talked about guests wandering around here." He glanced at the man who had barged in earlier, who was now sitting on the couch, staring at his knees. "Devin went in your room, didn't he?" Nick guessed with a sigh. "Bingo. He's lucky I didn't nail him with one of the knives under my bed." She threw Devin a dirty look, who had looked up in shock at the mention of knives.
"Quinn, you can't stab everyone that bothers you. The death rate would be too high." He joked, poking her cheek. She rolled her eyes, a small grin adorning her lips. "Well, I gotta get going, I promised Kathy a ride on Bumblebee." He raised an eyebrow. "Keep her safe, okay?" Quinn scoffed. "Like I would let her get hurt. Have a little faith." He shrugged. "Remember how many times you fell when you were learning to ride that thing?" She inclined her head, acknowledging that he spoke the truth. "Regardless, I'll protect her."
"Well, have fun." Nick smiled, booping her nose. She stuck out her tongue like a five year old. Grabbing her keys, she slung her violet leather jacket over her shoulder. Turning, she asked, "Oh, can I borrow yours too? Kathy will need one." "Yeah, sure." Nick disappeared into his room for a moment, reappearing with a black version of hers. He handed it to her, ignoring her chuckle and the whisper of, "Coulda just thrown it."
~Devin's POV~
Once the door clicked shut behind Quinn, he stared at Nick like he was crazy. "What?" Nick asked, glancing down at his clothes as if might've forgotten something important. "That's your roommate?" Devin demanded in disbelief. "Uh, duh." He replied, relieved that he hadn't forgotten to put on pants or anything. "How do you stand it?" Nick frowned. "Stand what?" "She's hot!" Devin practically yelled." "Yeah." He replied in that same 'duh' tone. "And you two aren't together?" Nick's brow furrowed, unsure where this was going. "Obviously not. She's seeing Liza." Devin groaned, burying his head in his hands. "What's your deal, Dev?"
"How does a man like you, stand living with a hot lesbian?!" Nick held up his hands, starting to get irritated. "First of all, I'm ace, so I don't know what you mean by 'a man like me'. Secondly, way to be a jerk and assume things! Quinn is pan, not lesbian. And I respect her privacy." It was clear than Devin understood only about 25% of what had been said. Sighing, Nick sat on the couch beside him to explain. "Ace is short for asexual, which means I'm not particularly interested in having sex. Pan is short for pansexual, which Quinn described to me as attraction based on personality, regardless of gender or lack thereof."
Devin was struggling to process this information, as it seemed to go against everything he'd ever known. "So you don't like sex?" It was Nick's turn to bury his head in his hands, exasperated that that was the part he had chosen to fixate on. "Yes." He replied simply. "And Quinn likes to have sex with everybody?" The hope buried under the incredulous tone made Nick see red. This was what often happened, was guys thought Quinn was easy or slutty because they didn't understand the real meaning of pan. "No!" He practically yelled, slamming a hand on the coffee table. Devin jumped, shocked. "Being pan does not make Quinn easy, she has a girlfriend, and I doubt she would ever date someone of so little class."
~Nick's POV~
He ran his hands through his hair, trying to work off the anger before he did something stupid. "How about we postpone our movie, I think I need some fresh air." Devin nodded, still a little shocked at the outburst. "I-I'll" he cleared his throat, uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere. " Uh, call you next week, okay? So we can figure out what we want to watch." Nick nodded, folding his hands together and propping his chin on them.
As Devin gathered his things and opened the door, Nick repeated to himself, like a mantra, ignorance is not a crime, ignorance is not a crime, ignorance is not a crime. The sharp click of the front door shutting penetrated the air, startling him out of his reverie. Sighing, he picked up his phone to text Devin. 'Look, I'm sorry I yelled, it just makes me angry to have people misunderstand crucial things about people like us. I've had to explain it too many times, to too many ignorant people.' He hit send, then added, 'I'd still like to go see that movie with you, if you're up for it.'
Minutes later, his phone dinged. 'I'd like that. Sorry I made assumptions earlier.' Nick smiled and leaned back on the couch, happy that he hadn't lost another friend over the issue. Maybe the world was wising up after all.
