Bookworms | ✔

six

Nicholas slowly shut the door behind him, slipping his shoes off at the door. He flipped the lock and shrugged his black jacket off. The familiar scent of coffee hit his nostrils and he knew that his roommate was home. The television was streaming a movie, the volume low. Nicholas walked into his kitchen, dropping his keys on the counter as he pulled out a mug from the dishwasher. 

"Hey, man," greeted Elijah, his roommate. 

Elijah and Nicholas were both similar in many ways. They were friends in high school and both extreme nerds. They spent nights of nonstop gaming and movie marathons. Elijah was African-American, so he was a very active member of the community trying to debunk black stereotypes. Nicholas joined him at times, even though he was mostly quiet at rallies or protests.

Nicholas was a lost soul while Elijah had the word of God on his tongue on a daily basis. Not only was Elijah an activist, but he was religious. He was the typical church boy, who enjoyed giving sermons to the Christian youth or being a director of church programs. He had attempted to bring Nicholas with him one Sunday, but Nicholas always refused. Religion wasn't his thing. 

"Hey," said Nicholas. 

Elijah sipped his mug of coffee as he leaned against the counter, carefully watching Nicholas with his dark brown eyes. "You alright? You seem tense," he observed.

Nicholas shrugged, "It's been an annoying day."

"I heard about Anthony and his group of friends at the library."

Nicholas stayed silent, waiting for Elijah to continue. 

"At work he kept complaining about that Muslim girl bad mouthing him," he chuckled. "I thought it was funny to see how worked up he got."

Nicholas forgot that Elijah and Anthony had the same job at Pizza Hut. Of course, Anthony would go around telling people lies about Dina. He didn't like her, that much was obvious. 

"She didn't bad mouth him," defended Nicholas as he poured the steaming hot liquid into his mug. "She only told him off because he called us 'nerds.' I guess it is pretty funny."

Elijah raised his brow at him. "Man, this girl got guts," he grinned. 

A faint smile played on Nicholas's lips as he thought about her, "Yeah she does."

Elijah pushed himself off the counter, placing his mug in the sink before he turned around to open the fridge. He pulled out some ingredients and placed them besides Nicholas, who simply watched. Elijah turned on the stove and boiled some water. 

"Pasta sound good for dinner?" he asked Nicholas.

"Sure. Let me help," offered Nicholas when he put his mug down. 

Nicolas prepared the meatballs while Elijah added the spices to the pot, the water bubbled. They made small talk here and there. Elijah told Nicholas how he was meeting his girlfriend's parents soon and how he was nervous. Nicholas couldn't believe Elijah would ever be nervous about anything so the confession came as a shock. 

"I don't know," he said. "I really like this girl, but her parents are extremely strict. Any advice?"

Nicholas chuckled, "I think you're asking the wrong person. Girls hate me."

Nudging his shoulder against Nicholas, he rolled his eyes. "Don't say that. There were definitely some girls that liked you in high school and freshmen year of college."

"Right. They also ditched me as soon as they found a guy that was better looking and more muscular than me," Nicholas reminded him. 

"Screw them, Nick. I'd go for that lean body of yours," he winked. 

"Dear God help me," muttered Nicholas. 

"Oh come on. Nerds are hot," he laughed. 

"That applies to females."

"Lies," he denied.

"Nope, it's the facts."

"If girl nerds are attractive, that means you and I are considered attractive too," he stated as if it were the most logical thing in the world. 

Nicholas shook his head and continued to ball up the meat chunks. "College girls are into guys with the bulky muscles and motorcycles."

"You mean bad boys?" questioned Elijah. 

"Precisely."

Elijah gave Nicholas a disgusted expression. "Gross," he cringed. 

Nicholas chuckled, "Elijah, you have a girlfriend. You're fine."

Elijah fondly smiled downwards, deep in thought. His eyes had glazed over as if he were remembering the girl who was able to make his heart beat faster than normal. Nicholas envied Elijah. He wanted to feel that sense of comfort that came from finding your soulmate. Nicholas wanted to fill the void in his heart, but that was an impossible task. 

Years of loneliness and darkness took a toll on him. Nicholas wasn't capable of love, in fact he was scared of it. Whenever he loved something or someone it slipped past his fingers. Elijah was the only one who managed to still stick by him. Then again he only met Elijah senior year of high school, after the horrible accident. Although, Elijah was his best friend, there were times where Nicholas believed that Elijah wouldn't understand him. 

The boys decided to retreat to their living room while they waited for their food to cook. Their apartment was small, but it was perfect for two college seniors. Elijah pulled out his Pokemon card collection, handing one deck of cards to Nicholas. He quickly shuffled his deck and placed it beside his leg. Nicholas did the same, drawing some cards in his hand. 

"I can't believe that we're still playing Pokemon at our age," laughed Elijah. 

Nicholas shrugged, placing his Charizard card down, successfully destroying the electric type card.

"No fair! Pikachu wasn't ready for that!" exclaimed Elijah. 

Nicholas smirked, "Like I care."

As the game continued, Nicholas couldn't help but think about one girl. He wondered if she played Pokemon as well. She shared most of his interests; maybe she shared this one too. 

Nicholas had never felt this way before about anyone, he didn't know how to feel to begin with, yet that quirky Muslim girl had somehow found her way into the depths of his mind. For some reason, Nicholas didn't mind it at all. 

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I don't care what anyone says, you're never too old for Pokemon. It is my life. But hey guys, we're slowly making our way to top of the spiritual category. Let's keep it up!

Don't forget to vote, comment, and fan! Tell me what you think of Nicholas and Elijah.