Weathered Love

HOUSEMATES

"We have to pick up Maria in an hour. What's taking you so long?" Ivan asked from the other side of the bathroom door. I had been inside trying to get my hair into some tamable form that was more than just a ponytail or a bun, but to no avail. I finally decided to just tuck my hair under a baseball cap. I started to get insecure about my weight again and stopped dressing up, instead opting for over-sized t-shirts and sweatpants, yoga pants, and leggings to hide my recurring curves. A baseball cap was the perfect way to round out my completely dressed down look anyway.

"Sorry," I responded to Ivan as I finally walked out of the bathroom. "Shall we?" I gestured to the door.

"Well now I have to pee," Ivan huffed, stomping into the bathroom and slamming the door. They say never live with your friends, and never go into business with them. I understood this was meant more for the Ivan types. Minimal in everything, from stuff to mess to time in the bathroom. The only excess he had was food, but that didn't bother me much. My only issue was the increased temptation.

I, on the other hand, was a slob by comparison. I usually kept the mess contained in my room, but Ivan pointed out all the times I left a bowl on the kitchen table for more than five minutes and even got a little out of sorts if I left dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher. It's not that I never intended to. And I always put things away, with or without his prompting. But he wanted things put away immediately. I suddenly wondered how he had dealt with me living in his cramped dorm room with him and Grayson for such a long time. I wasn't any different then. Maybe it was because I had less stuff.

We had arrived at the house just three days prior and it was just the two of us for those three days. Maria was coming that day and everyone else was arriving the next day. When we first arrived, Ivan and I had gotten to work, bringing in and arranging some furniture we had managed to bring with us in a trailer, claiming our bedrooms, and getting some kitchenware into the house. We had arranged everything so that it was ready for everyone else's arrival. It was exciting to have a place that was our own and wasn't a dorm room.

Once Ivan had finished with the bathroom, we went to the airport to pick up my cousin. "Ivan, can you promise me something?" I inquired while we traveled to the airport.

"Always with the promises," he joked. I knew it was his way of confirming the promise.

"Be nice to Maria," I asked. "She's had it a little bit rough with meeting new people. She's extremely shy. She comes off very outgoing but then becomes a recluse for days on end to recuperate. She knows how to be charming but it takes a lot out of her and I'd appreciate if you helped take the pressure off, you know?" I requested.

"So she's you when she's outgoing and then she's Ella and wants to be left alone. So I'm essentially going to have an Ivy overdose all year," he teased.

"Are you sassing me?" I scolded. We both chuckled.

"I promise to try to ease the tension as best as I can," Ivan pledged.

"Thanks," I responded in relief. I sat back in my seat and committed the mortal sin in Ivan's car: I changed the radio station.

"You're messing with me, right?" he demanded.

"As your music partner, I now have radio station privileges. It was a commercial anyway. I hate commercials," I pouted.

"In this car, we listen to my station and only my station. In this car, we are not music partners. You're the passenger in my car and I'm the driver, therefore I dictate the radio station," Ivan insisted.

I sighed and went straight for the jugular. "You used to be fun," I murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. His expression darkened.

"Is this your way of trying to test your limits?" he questioned.