Chapter 2: Trainwreck

It’s Complicated

 

Chapter 2: Trainwreck

 

It was with slight trepidation in the pit of her stomach that she found herself walking down the long hallway and to the room where she would sleep and live for the remainder of her college life. She didn't know what to expect and the thought that something could go wrong at any possible moment kept replaying in the back of her mind right next to the mental images of her father’s own horror stories.  

 

Hopefully things had changed since the 1800's.

 

Squaring back her shoulders and standing tall Seele stopped as she reached a black painted wooden door the room number E 110 written in bold gold lettering. She briefly debated on knocking before changing her mind. It was her room and she couldn’t be expected to knock every time she wanted to enter.

 

Taking one last long breath to calm down her nerves she wrapped tiny slim tanned hands around the door handle and twisted it then proceeded to push the door open. She almost screamed at the sight that greeted her. Seele closed her eyes and grabbed her messenger bag straps and squeezed them until they were crunched together in her palms and her nails where digging into the flesh of her hands. The small dorm room was a disaster, and that was probably putting it nicely. Seele was almost certain Japan was in better shape than the room and it hadn't even been a month since they'd gotten hit by the earth quake and the tsunami.

 

"Um…" The questioned died on her lips as she let out a swear word instead and she tripped and fell forward into the room. She threw her arms out as her hand grabbed the wall and she stopped herself from eating the carpet. Blue eyes glared angrily at an empty box lying innocently in front of the door. She gave it a swift vicious kick and felt a little better as it rolled across the floor. She tried to speak again. "Anyone… here?" She questioned.

 

"Morgan!" Seele grabbed at her chest and tried to not jump in surprise as a man walked up beside her a surprised look on his face as he took in the room. A hand seemed to flop out from underneath a pile of books and hit the floor helplessly making the man laugh a loud as he moved over to the pile and grabbed it and tug upwards. The books seemed to shift all at once and fall to the ground as a head of long black hair emerge from underneath the pile. It was a few seconds after that that Seele wondered if maybe she should help the poor man trying to unearth the girl but by the time her feet caught up with her brain the person was free and dusting off their knees. "Traumatizing the new roommate?" The man asked curiously.

 

"… Uh… sure, if that makes it look like less of a… well… stupid accident" Morgan said barely paying attention to the man as she glanced around the room and frowned. "I was looking for a book…"

 

"Good luck." Seele muttered under her breath at the same time that the man asked which one. He seemed to hear what Seele said as his grin grew impossibly wider and his head turned slightly toward her enough that she could see his green eyes shining in silent mirth.

 

"...and the shelves accidently decided to fall over and before I knew it I was swimming in books." The girl, Morgan, plopped back onto the ground into a kneeling position as she riffled through the books. Seele closed her eyes and once again found she was taking deep breaths. She was pretty sure if she believed in god she'd of been asking for strength at that moment, and patients. Lots of patients.

 

"Meanwhile you're being totally rude to your roommate." The man chastised as he turned to Seele and held out a hand. She grabbed it and squeezed hard as they shook. "Hi, I'm Suoh and the really rude one on the floor is Morgan." He told her not batting an eyelash at the pressure grip on his hand.

 

"… Seele…" She breathed out. "Is she normally this messy?" She whispered under her breath hoping she wasn't overheard by the girl though the way she was absorbed in the search she highly doubted it. Suoh laughed as he slung an arm over her shoulder and turned her around seeming to steer her toward the door. Seele couldn't do anything but walk with him as she grabbed her bag straps one again. Suoh kicked the door shut as they passed through it.

 

"No," He answered. "But she is on a search and when Morgan is on a search nothing will stop her, not even a mess. It's why her last roommate put in for a new room." He explained casually as he let go of Seele and slipped his hands behind his head.

 

"… And where are you taking me?" Seele asked curiously as it hit her that she was following a complete stranger down a hallway and carrying on a conversation with him. The rational part of her brain assured her she was stupid for not noticing this sooner and for going with the flow but she didn't think the rational part realized that Suoh seemed to have this air about him. He was friendly and highly talkative and before you know it you found yourself following him into the lion’s den and were getting ready to be eaten alive.

 

And he knew her roommate; chances are he’d be around a lot so they might as well get to know each other.

 

“I’m taking you to my room to have my wicked, wicked way with you!” He said with a mischievous grin on his face. Seele choked in surprise as she tried to scramble backwards and away from Suoh. “Come on, I promise you’ll enjoy it” As quick as lightening he was upon her, hands grabbing at her arm and head and trying to hold her in place all the while laughing loudly. Seele struggled and squirmed until she managed to break free but his hands grabbed the straps of her bag and held on tight stopping her from running away.

 

His joking grin seemed to stop her in her tracks even as she opened her mouth to scream at the top of her lungs for help, the word rape dying on her lips before she could even get it out. She could have kicked him.

 

"You're not serious are you?"

 

"Not at all, I'm going to the cafeteria. They have a subway down there and I want me a cordon blue." He glanced at her as if to make sure she was still there. "I'll buy a sandwich if you want to join. It'll give Morgan time to clean up the mess and it’ll be my apology for joking around like I did.”

 

"… Sure." Seele agreed warily. If nothing else she reasoned she might make a friend.

 

---

 

"Morgan?" Liam called out tentatively as he stepped into the small dorm room and looked at the pile of books on the center of the floor, along with the papers scattered to his the left and was that a trash can tipped over on its side in the corner. He squinted at it but still couldn't tell and thought maybe that was for the better.  Said girl however poked her head out from behind a wall that separate the living room area from the bedrooms, a grin of victory on her face as she held out a book triumphantly.

 

"I found it!" She squealed in glee as she bounced up to Liam and handed him the book. "I remember you said you wanted to… um…" She stopped and looked around the room with a frown.

 

"You did it again."

 

"Help me clean up?" She asked with a small smile ignoring the accusation. She was already going to get it from Suoh later on for traumatizing the innocent bystander, or maybe it  was roommate. Morgan thought that might have been the roommate she hadn’t gotten a good look at her at the time. She’d been too caught up on the search for the elusive Good Omens book.

 

"… Ya, I don't have that life-time to help you clean this up," Liam said as he slipped the book into the back pocket of his cargo’s, unworried about denting or injuring it. He didn't think it was possible to put any more rips or tears in it what with the cover itself being held together by duct-tape on the inside of the spine. The pages itself were torn and frayed and died yellow from a highlighter. The book was one that was passed around the circle of friends and it was like a bible to them. One more dent meant a little bit of history had been put into it.

 

"You want to go and start reading the book don't you."

 

"Not so much that as…”

 

"Got a hot date?"

 

"So there this girl in admissions…" Liam said grinning as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms against his chest, a smug sort of smile tugging at his lips. Morgan laughed loudly as she kneeled on the ground and started to put all the books in stacks, picking up and throwing away loose bits of papers as she went. "Hey you laugh but I have a parking ticket and it's almost 75 bucks."

 

"Have you thought about parking in the right spot and possibly investing in a parking permit for the school?" Morgan asked curiously as she pushed her first pile of books over toward the bookshelf against the right wall.  

 

"How would I ask the cute girl out?"

 

"Like a normal person." Morgan suggested dryly.

 

"Oh… Hey Morgan?" Liam started casually. "Want to go out?" Morgan looked up startled as she opened and closed her mouth words she wanted to say suddenly failing her. She didn’t think it was any big secret that she liked Liam aside from maybe Liam himself. It was hard to tell when he was joking. “Did I render you speechless?”

 

"Wha? Uh…" Liam grin couldn't get any wider it just wasn't humanly possible. Morgan scowled at him in annoyance as she scooped a pile of books into her arms and shook her head. "No offense I'm flattered and whatnot but you have a horrible track record with woman and frankly it's kind of insulting that you're asking me out when you already got a date set up for tonight.”

 

“I’ll cancel.”

 

“What about that parking ticket?” Morgan asked with a laugh.

 

“Come on Morgan, what could it hurt.” Her feelings, she thought to herself but she didn’t voice her own concerns.

 

“Tell you what Liam you show me you can be serious and not use a person and I’ll go out on a date with you but otherwise I’m not looking to be a trophy.”

 

“Deal.”

 

“Seriously?” Morgan asked skeptically.

 

“Sure, I’ll prove to you I seriously want a date with you.”

 

“After tonight date right?”

 

“Er… well…” Liam coughed into his hand as he looked away from Morgan on the floor. “I worked hard to set up the date and I’d be out 75 bucks otherwise…”

 

‘… This should prove to be entertaining.’

 

End Chapter 2

 

 

Author's Note

I realize this chapter sucks, be gentle