Chapter Text
“Where should I put this one?” Rebecca called out from behind a box.
“Anywhere’s fine.” Simon replied.
He looked around the small room, filled with nerves and excitement. His roommate hadn’t arrived yet, but Simon knew his name from an introductory letter: Raphael Santiago. Very religious.
“Oh I just can’t believe you’re getting so big! I remember when you were just a bubba…” Elaine pinched his cheeks.
“Mom, please-” Simon started as he noticed a boy walking through the door. He freed himself from his mom’s grip and walked over to the boy.
He was shorter than Simon, with dark hair and thick eyebrows set in a frown. His eyes were a deep chocolate colour and coated with dark, fluttery eyelashes. And he was wearing a… suit? It was black and well fitted, complimenting his honey-coloured skin. Far too formal for university, thought Simon with a frown. Simon had thought his own uniform of jeans and a geeky t-shirt was appropriate, but now he was second guessing himself.
“You must be Raphael, I’m Simon - which you probably already knew.” Simon grinned, “Nice to meet you.” He put out his hand, which the other boy took, hesitantly.
“Yeah…” Raphael’s eyes drifted over to Simon’s side of the room with a look of disdain.
“Oh don’t worry I’ll make sure to keep to my side once everything’s unpacked.” Simon said hastily, noticing Raphael's unimpressed expression, “Everything’s a bit hectic right now, I promise I’m not usually so messy-”
“That’s a lie!” Rebecca cuts in, coming up behind Simon, “Hi, I’m Rebecca, his sister.” She put out her hand. Raphael just shook it and nodded distractedly.
“Right, well, I need to go. I’ll be back later, probably. Please move your stuff.” Raphael said curtly, before turning to leave.
The door closed and Simon sighed.
“He seems… nice?” Rebecca tried.
“He hates me already, doesn’t he?” Simon groaned.
“No he doesn’t, he doesn’t even know you.” Rebecca rolled her eyes.
“He could hardly be around me for two minutes!”
“Ah, he’ll warm up, don’t worry about it.” Rebecca goes back to the boxes, leaving Simon to stare at the door defeatedly.
---
“Okay that’s the last of it.” Elaine stood up, “Oh, my baby, I’m going to miss you! Make sure to call every day-”
“-week-”
“And tell me if anything happens.” She clasped Simon’s hands.
“Yes mom, I can look after myself, I am an adult you know.” Simon smiled at her fretting.
“I know darling, but you’re still my baby boy.” She smiled softly, pulling him into a tight hug to hide the tears threatening to fall.
“Bye little bro, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Rebecca winked at Simon, then hugged him, “Call me if you need anything,” Rebecca murmured, “And I mean anything.” She emphasised.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.” Simon smiled fondly at his mom and sister, “I love you both, so much” He opened the door and watched them leave. Just as he turned around to close it, Simon heard footsteps and saw Raphael walking down the corridor, carrying some boxes.
“Hey, do you need help with that?” Simon called.
Raphael stopped and peered out from behind the boxes. “Sure,” he grunted, “You can take the top one.”
Simon grinned and rushed over to help Raphael. “Ok my mom and sister just left, so the room’s a bit tidier now. I mean, I’m not completely unpacked, but I’ll be finished by tomorrow so don’t worry. Is this all of your stuff? It’s so little!” Simon rambled.
“This is most of it. I’ve got a couple more boxes in my friend’s car, buts that’s it”
“Oh, ok, that’s cool. So what do you study?”
“Photography.”
“That’s so cool! I bet you’re really good, you look like the artsy type. You should show me some stuff - I-I mean, if that’s okay with you of course. I do economics,” Raphael raised an eyebrow, “Yeah… It’s mostly for my mom, you know ‘job stability’ and all that. It’s not too bad, really, but definitely not my passion. I’m actually in a band, we’re hoping to make it big. We actually have a gig this Friday, you should come - like, if you’re free or whatever...”
“Yeah, maybe.”
They got to the room and put down the boxes.
“Thanks for the help,” Raphael said, “I’m going out for a bit.”
Simon frowned, “O-oh, ok. See you then.” He stuttered.
He watched Raphael leave and shook his head. Man, this guy was weird.