BOOK 1: The Bad Boy's Roommate - EDITING

8. Sharing

I haven't edited this chapter so just ignore any mistakes, I'll go back over them when I'm in the mood to change things. Enjoy!

I make my way back to campus with Brianna just after 6:00am when we are finally thrown out of Starbucks. I decide that I have to go back to the apartment at some point, despite my attempts to persuade Brianna that I would be better off staying at her's for a little while before I feel as though I can face Reagan again, but she just protests and says that I need to get over things, as it was only a dream. After considering everything, I realise that she's right. If I put off going home now, I'll never want to go back there again.

I wave goodbye to Brianna after she unlocks the door to her apartment that's directly opposite mine and smiles at me, reassuring me that I'll be okay. Brianna watches me as I fiddle with my keys and slip the door open. I hesitate and poke my head around the door, then turn back to see that Brianna has disappeared into her flat, probably glad to be away from me and my constant whining about Reagan. I chuckle to myself as I imagine her leaning against the door laughing at me for being so overdramatic.

I step into the flat and peer around the Living Room. Regan must have gone out with his friends or is in his bedroom, as so far, he is no where to be seen. I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't know I was holding in and drop my bag to the floor beside where I kick off my boots. I flick on the lights and stride lazily across the wooden floor in the direction of my bedroom, needing some rest.

I open the door to my bedroom, not paying attention to what I'm doing and scream as I look up to find Reagan sitting on my bed. He smirks over at me from across the room and leans his back up against the magnolia wall where my bed is placed. My face drops and I feel light headed for a few seconds as I re-adjust to the bright lighting in my room. I furrow my eyebrows at him and consider rushing out of the room and pleading Brianna to stay at hers for the night at least.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?!" I try to sqeual, but my dry throat prevents me from shouting. Reagan raises his eyebrow at me and hangs his feet off the edge of my bed and begins to swing his feet. I notice the dirt on his jeans and my fists ball up as the dirt rubs off his trousers onto my clean sheets.

"Just checking my new room," Reagan smiles casually, choosing not to elaborate on what he's just said in order to wind me up. I put my hands on my hips and laugh sarcastically, thinking that he's making some crude joke about us like he usually does when he's bored and is in need of some sort of entertainment.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I stare at him, attempting to come across as intimidating, but Reagan just seems to find this whole thing hilarious. He knows that I'm not the sort of girl to get into fist fights and is probably waiting for me to give up. I feel the steam coming out of my ears, my face slowly turning a dark shade of purple from the anger and adreneline that pulses through my veins.

"We've got to share a room as we've got two new tennants coming next week, so I thought I'd check the place out," Reagan reels off the information, pretending to be interested in the stuff in my room as his eyes wander over my furniture and the books that are piled up neatly on my desk.

I clentch my jaw, picking up a few of my dirty clothes off the floor. My cheeks burn a light red colour as I hold the thin material of my underwear in my hand.

"Well isn't there a girl coming? Why can't I share with her?"

"Princess, there is no girl coming,"

I shake my head, releasing my fingers from the fists that they've been in. I drop the dirty clothes into the washing basket at the bottom of my bed and throw some of the rubbish on my desk into the small paper bin. I turn back to Reagan, who's watching me now and is still choosing to sit on my clean(ish) bed.

"Reagan, we both know this isn't going to work. You can't stay in here. You'll just have to tell the tennants that there's no room for them here. We only have three--."

"Sorry, no can do. They're coming next week. And anyway, it's nothing to do with me; if you've got a problem you'll have to speak to the Student Housing Agency,"

I roll my eyes and stare up at the ceiling. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, Reagan decides that he wants to invade the one place where I can get away from him.

"Why can't they share then? That way we can keep our own bedrooms," I suggest. Reagan shakes his head again, which is really beginning to annoy me. How is it possible that he has an answer for everything. He's like that one kid in class that has come back for everything when the teacher tries to tell them off.

"They don't wanna share, which is why they've been sent here. All the other apartments in this block already have students sharing rooms. We're the only apartment that have any spare rooms. They called me today and told me that we'd have to share from now on,"

I resist the urge to scream in his face.

"Fine," I hold my hands up to him and he grins. "But if I find you going through any of my stuff, you're out,"

Reagan nods like an excited child.

"I'll start sorting my things out, shall I?" he stands up from the bed at once and brushes past me, making his way down the hall to where his bedroom is. He shuts the door behind him and I hear quiet laughter coming from the inside of his room.

Reagan 2, Eloise 1.

***

The day of the move comes around quickly, but it's fair to say that I'm excited to meet the new students. At least now, I can finally shake off the identity of the 'new girl'.

Reagan heads into my bedroom with a crazy amount of boxes, which makes me wonder how he's going to get all of this stuff into my bedroom. He moved his bed in here a few days ago, which means that he's already been sleeping in here, which has been extremely awkward as I now have to change in the bathroom as opposed to the comfort of my own room, where it's actually warm.

"Just a few more boxes, Princess, and then we're done." Reagan dumps more of his things by the door and I eye them up. The boxes are overflowing with things that he probably doesn't even need, but I don't say anything.

I nod and watch as he leaves the room in order to collect the last few boxes from the hall. I sigh and sit down on the edge of my bed, swinging my feet in the air where they don't quite touch the ground.

Reagan returns a few minutes later and grins at me, which almost makes me want to throw up. So now it's official, Reagan Parish and I are sharing a bedroom. Any other girl would be doing cartwheels in excitement, but I can think of so many other people that I'd rather share a bedroom with. When I suggested sharing with one of the new students, he simply claimed that they were 'fussy' and didn't want anyone in their rooms for the first few weeks of their stay here, which I thought was probably a pack of lies. Everything that comes out of Reagan's mouth seems to be full of bullshit.

Reagan takes a seat on the floor and begins sifting through the boxes. He looks like he's searching for something in particular, bit is probably doing it just to annoy me, as he seems to be making a lot of noise while doing it. I pull my feet up onto the bed and start my new book, ignoring him as best as I can.

After a while, I feel like I'm being stared at. When I look up, Reagan is watching me, not even bothering to pretend like he's not.

"What?" I ask, paranoid that there's something on my face.

Reagan shakes his head and laughs under his breath. For the first time ever, he actually looks... embarrassed. "Nothing, it's just... you're such a nerd,"

I furrow my brow. A nerd? I'd not heard that one before.

"I'm a nerd because I read?" I ask, slightly offended.

"Yeah... well, no. It's just, most of the girls I hang around with don't really read, that's all. It's... nice,"

My stomach lurches. Nice? Well I suppose that's better than being called a nerd.

"Oh... thanks," I say awkwardly, diverting my attention back to the small font on the page I'd just been reading. I can't concentrate now that I know Reagan was watching me, and it makes me feel more paranoid than I've ever felt before. I can't shake the feeling that he's still staring at me, but I'm too afraid to call Reagan out on it again, just incase he dares to compliment me.

"I think I'm done here," Reagan states. When I put the book I was reading down beside me, I notice everything's been cleared out of the boxes and is now sitting in an appropriate place. The empty boxes sit by the door where Reagan is seated next to them, folding them up.

"Oh, okay," I reply. I blink nervously at him, not really knowing what to say. Does he want me to congratulate him for doing something that's actually productive?

"I'm going out in a bit, so let the new students know who I am, would you?" he questions with assertiveness. I nod, gulping back my nerves. I don't bother speaking as I don't trust my voice.

Reagan crosses the room and slowly brushes a piece of my hair out of my eyes, then stares at me again. I hold my breath in anticipation, and I realise that I'm waiting for him to kiss me.

The blonde boy stares at my lips for a few seconds, then leans over and plants a delicate kiss on my left cheek. My whole body feels like it's on fire when Reagan finally pulls his face away from mine, tracing my cheek with his soft, pink lips as he stops the contact between us.

"Okay," I breathe in response to Reagan's initial speech. My eyes flit up to his eyes and back down to his lips, then back to his eyes again. He nods in confirmation of something and takes a step back, looking a little flustered. All of a sudden, he leaves the room and I'm left on my bed, listening to the sounds that the thick soles on his Vans make as he heads down the hallway and into the Living Room, where he shuts the front door behind him.