Homework was a chore, no way around it. Whether y/n was reviewing flash cards or typing up pages worth of essays, studies simply did not apply to any of her interests. She always felt strained while doing her work outside of the classroom, and so most nights when she had loads to complete, she was easily agitated.
Right then y/n was filling through her math pages, scribbling in as much as she knew. Sure, she was fairly smart and good in school, but when it came to calculations and numbers she struggled some. The fact of homework combined with the subject of math screamed tension to y/n.
Grumbling, she punched her pen to the notebook she had out, writing down the equations from her textbook for the third time. Y/n fell back to work, cycling through the steps her professor had gone over that day in his course. Her tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth, her entire brow furrowed in concentration. In y/n's head, she could compute most of the calculations, but after a few rows of solving the equation, she fell back into her pattern. Not being able to remember what step came next, and how to solve the problem further, y/n let her head plunk against the wooden desk, feeling hopeless and stuck in a rut.
The sounds of cars rolling off into streets could be heard just beyond the walls of the small house, and y/n's annoyance grew tighter upon her. Everyone else was out having fun, she assumed, and that she must've been the only possible person to ever be indoors on a Friday night like that. Not even her roommate was home, and the thought made y/n sink.
She'd been sharing a small place with the son of her mom's good friend, Joy, and they had always been quite friendly to each other. As kids, y/n and Joy's son, Calum, were commonly spotted playing together, and as teens still being rather well-aquatinted. Y/n had nothing wrong with Calum, and when his mom offered her to stay with him while y/n attended the local college, it felt obvious to accept.
All of y/n's friends from high school were jealous of her, claiming, "he's literally a God"; "how did you manage to room with a boy like that?"; and, "where do I sign up?" Of course, y/n had only ever been friends with Calum, and while he was admittedly good looking, y/n never really pictured their relationship being taken to a different level.
Besides, y/n figured being good friends with Calum was just too fun on its own. The duo would often pull all-nighters and go on crazy adventures when they got the chance, driving off into the night and living off of adrenaline and whatever could keep them awake. He'd even managed to get them into one of the wildest night clubs in town, and y/n absolutely loved those times too much to possibly lose them by ruining hers and Calum's friendship.
The idea of partying made y/n sigh, knowing she wasn't anywhere near the activity that night. Sitting up slightly, y/n felt a strain in her spine, slightly above her right shoulder. A tinge of pain knocked on her muscles when she rested back upright in her chair, and groaning, y/n tried her best to soothe the knot in her shoulder. When it didn't work, y/n griped, pushing her fingers as much as she could at the tension in her muscles. The soreness still remained, and almost yelling in frustration, y/n continued to work at her math and the knot.
Behind her, she heard her bedroom door click open, and she didn't even care as to who it was from the irritation of the evening already. Footsteps padded across the carpet, meeting up behind her chair. Then a voice, quiet and subtle, rumbled up. "Y/n?"
She recognized the voice immediately, trying her best to calm down as she replied, "hey, Calum."
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice a little raspy and tense, as if he were clenching his jaw. Y/n shifted in her seat, rubbing the sore in a failed attempt to put the brisk pain at ease. She sighed, trying to pay attention to her homework again as she replied, "just studying." A silence settled between the two of them, spare for the mindless wandering of y/n's pen on paper. Her shoulder remained tense, and she hoped that its strain would release on its own soon enough. Heat rose up behind her, just off of her neck and frame, and y/n wasn't sure how to respond when Calum spoke lowly, "here."
