Everything about Ever.

One.

Ever placed her crumpled  cardboard boxes down onto the ground as she dug into her pocket for her key. She awkwardly shuffled into the small room, trying not to drop anything of importance, only to trip over her own feet. Today was not really her day. It was all too new, too real. University was never Ever's plan, neither was living in student accommodation with a stranger as a roommate. But apparently she had to get used to it.

Before Ever could even pick herself back up, a small hearty chuckle echoed from the back of the room. This made her frantically shuffle back, towards the door. She couldn't quite make out who it was, or even if they were supposed to be here. In an act of desperation, she grabbed the only thing near her, a book and held it at arm's length, shaking slightly.
" Who the fuck are you?" Ever shouted.
" Do you speak to your mother with that mouth?" The deep voice answered.
"I'll hurt you..." She warned breathlessly.
" I highly doubt Pride and Prejudice will hurt me, something by Dickens will work much better in my opinion." The voice chuckles.

Ever gasped, unsure what to say next. The fact that the stranger knew literature puzzled the young girl, and quite frankly startled her. What kind of intruder studied literature?  Ever thought. She put the book down on the floor and shifted so her back was against the front panel of the door. "Who are you?" She asked again.
" Now that's more like it," the figure stepped forwards, into view, "I'm Noah."
"Well Noah, what are you exactly doing in my room?"
"Well," he mimicked,"you happen to share a room with someone, which is who I'm waiting for."

Noah wore tight black jeans with holes ripped at the knees. Ever saw the milky skin peeping through the strings of denim. His white tee, a little discoloured, clung to his chest, to give him the kind of bad  boy look. And his hair, it was black and thick, styles in a crazy birds nest like concoction. Weirdly he had no jacket, it was the middle of September, too cold to have no jacket. Unlike everything else, Noah's shoes were clean and tidy, professional looking. They were black leather shoes, that  looked like they were used for dancing. It made him look good, Ever thought.

Ever made an o shape with a mouth,the realisation hit her. She nodded and went back to bringing her boxes inside, forgetting the awkward encounter even happened. Quietly, the young girl made several trips to and from the hallway, bringing in all her belongings, then setting them on the table.

The boy was still there.

Ever ignored his presence whilst she started to unpack. She was not one to be rude but she didn't want to make bad terms with her new roommate, so she decided avoiding the boy would be the best option. But the dirty white tee kept on  grabbing her attention. She chose to ignore as best she could. First she unpacked her clothes, storing them in the fake wood drawers next to the free bed. She desperately hoped her roommate wouldn't mind. Next her laptop which she placed on the desk near the door. Then, her photographs: one of her and her dad, another of her and Sawyer, both she put next to her laptop, wishing she'd have stayed in New York with them.

Once she finished, Ever sat calmly on her bed, debating whether she should talk to the boy or not.
"Are you just going to sit there and ignore me, then?" He beated her to it.
" I don't make a habit of talking to strangers!"
"But isn't everyone a stranger?"
"Well.. yes." She said.
"So you are going to spend four whole years here and not talk to a single stranger unless you have to?" He exclaimed.
All Ever could do was nod. She didn't want to talk him. In fact she didn't want to talk to anyone.  The thought of even interacting with others, made her skin crawl. She couldn't… just couldn't do it. Ever just sat on her bed and waited for the problem to go away.

Hours past, Ever sat there listening to her Spotify playlist staring blankly at the plain walls of her small dorm room, whilst the boy sat there stealing a few glances at her, here and there. And just as she thought the boy had given up, a tropical storm worked it's way into the dorm room in the form of a bubbly blonde girl, Ever's roommate.

The girl was slim, too slim with tightly fitted clothes. The exact opposite of Ever. She had baby blue eyes that complimented her place skin and ash hair, nothing like Ever at all. Her smile beamed from cheek to cheek, flashing her white pearly teeth. Ever could see why the boy was with her. The girl had it all. Full breasts, Ever's sagged a little. She had a round bum, Ever's was too big. She was confident, Ever hid beneath layers of clothes.

Ever just smiled.

"Hi!" The girl beamed.
"Uh... Hi.." Ever mumbled.
"I'm Stacey" Even her name suits her Ever thought.
"Uh.. I'm Ever."
"Cool name."
"Thanks." That seemed to be the extent of their conversation, something which Ever was thankful of. She didn't want to deal with that girls happiness day in, day out. It would only depress her further. The lack of interest, Stacey had for Ever, made her smile a little to herself. She put in one headphone and continued to listen to her playlist, ignoring the two strangers.

Stacey turned towards the boy... Noah, Ever recollected, "'c'mon babe, the girls are having that party, remember?"
Noah got up silently, he swiveled towards Ever,"You coming?"
"Party's aren't really my scene." She muttered. No part of Ever wanted to leave the room. She had no desire to drink cheap alcohol in a place full of strangers, who were probably already drunk, or worse high. She had no time for that.
" Shame, heard it's gonna be a good one." He gave her a small smile, a reassuring one.
Stacey grabbed his hand, "She doesn't wanna go, leave it babe.” She twirled to go fetch her belongings.

Stacey crossed the room several times, putting  items into her little pink bag. She was not coming back tonight. Well that's what Ever secretly wished for. It didn't take long for Stacey to get ready and she left without a meer goodbye. Noah nodded, but his girlfriend swayed her hips and flicked her hair as she exited the dingy dorm room, for hopefully the whole night.

After they left Ever was at peace, curled up on her bed reading a Dickens book. Great Expectations, one of her favourites. Ever delved into the whole of Victorian Britain and poor pip.

It was a lot heavier than Austen. She smiled.