ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｔｗｏ

Sitting in his 300 level criminology class, Jasper just wanted to be pigging out on his mother's homemade pot pie. His stomach was growling from missing lunch, his one class went over and he had to do his laundry, then he forgot to eat. There were days where he did that, but once he got back to his dorm it felt like he ate all the food in the room.

Although Jasper lived on campus for college, his house was a ten minute drive away. He chose to live on campus so he had the college experience, but as the years went on he liked living with someone else beside his family. So, now, Jasper was living in an apartment owned by the college with two other guys. They found a rhythm of living together and it was all simple.

Jasper's role as a roommate was to keep the Netflix account, Hulu account, and Disney+ he sponged on his parents. He didn't have to worry about buying groceries, so he was okay with paying whatever subscription amount he would have to pay.

His mind rolled back around to his class when his professor clapped their hands for everyone's attention. All the students were put into groups to finish the small in-class assignment for the remaining fifteen minutes. Jasper helped as best as he could, letting the 'scriber' of the group write down all the answers the group was giving out.

In his pocket, Jasper's phone was vibrating from a text. Instantly his mind went to his best friend, and Jasper quickly reprimanded himself for that. Sure they were best friends who occasionally had benefits tied in, he didn't want to ruin their friendship anymore with feelings. So, he ignored the text and forced himself to participate more in the group.

After class he pulled the phone out and read the message from the home screen.

👕

I will literally murder my manager here soon. She's such a bitch to everyone, and if she tries to come at me again you'll be my lawyer at the trial 😹

Jasper smiled at his best friend's text and walked to his apartment. He took the short cut that was behind the science building, leisurely taking the many steps, and rounded the corner to the apartment door. He swiped in with his student ID card, tossing it at the scanner, then went to his room. He unlocked the door and immediately called out for his roommates. No answer came, so he shrugged and walked to his room to put away his shoes and book bag.

He made himself an Ellio's pizza and ate it on the couch while watching Netflix. He answered Mikey's text, reminding him that he isn't going to college to become a lawyer. The conversation made him chuckle and his attention went from the TV in front of him, to his phone where his best friend was being an idiot.

.

..

...

After getting off an hour later than supposed to, Mikey found himself walking around town to destress. He walked into a frozen yogurt parlor, making himself a medium cup of the decadent dessert. Then, he continued walking down the sidewalk with his dessert.

He took in the city view, all the shops around him, the sheer amount of people that were still out when it was around eight p.m., and sounds that came with the bustling city. Mikey has the sudden urge to be a great photographer and capture the moment—the sky was dark but not black with stars, the neon lights from the shops shining brightly, and the trees on the edge of the sidewalk were aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Mikey tried his best with his phone camera, but it was subpar. But, he kept it in his camera roll and continued walking. As he finished his frozen yogurt he threw the cup away, reading the back of someone's jean jacket. The colorful letters ironed on spelled 'hug me' in uppercase, and recognition blinded Mikey; he knew that jacket because he was the one who bought it for his best friend from the Goodwill down the street from where he was at the moment.

Jasper was with two other guys, each had plastic bags in their hands, but Mikey didn't care about that. He grinned and started running up to Jasper. He swung his arms around his friend's neck and leaned all his weight into the twenty-one year old.

As Jasper stands up, a confused look on his face, he rolled his eyes when he recognized the smirking face looking at him. He kept walking, Mikey throwing an arm around his neck, and asked him what he was doing.

Mikey answered, "I got off work not too long ago, was mad so I walked around here and got fro-yo."

The older of the two frowned when he realized Mikey had said 'not too long ago', implying he just got off. Jasper knew his best friend's work schedule and he usually got off around seven because he started at eight every morning. But with his sentence the times were wrong.

So, Jasper questioned in a telling way, "I thought you get off at seven?"

He could feel his roommates' eyes on him, but he ignored them for now. Jasper repositioned the sort of heavy bags in his hands, and listened as Mikey complained about his job. Sometime the hand that was around his neck would hit his face and the two would laugh, but Mikey would go back to his story. He told Jasper about his manager keeping him past his initial time, wanting the young adult to do mundane tasks that could've been done the next day.

Towards the end of his rant Mikey referred to his text: "That's why I was saying you'd need to be my lawyer. This was all day, and everyone was getting fed up with her."

Mikey followed his best friend and his roommates to their apartment, the two other boys walking in front of them while Mikey and Jasper trailed behind. At the apartment Jasper put away the groceries in the bag, then balled it up and shoved it in the bottom drawer near the fridge, alongside all the other plastic bags.

Then, the two disappeared to Jasper's room—he didn't have to share since he called dibs on the single room. Mikey fiddled with some of the trinkets before asking for a shirt so he wasn't stuck with the button down he needed to wear for work.

Jasper threw a t-shirt with the faces of anime characters to his best friend and went on his phone. But, his eyes found themselves staring at Mikey's back. He had freckles scattered on his shoulders, some muscles lining his shoulders as well, and a small dip for his waist. Jasper appreciated his best friend's back for a couple more seconds before looking away with a small flush on his cheeks.

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I really enjoy writing this book. This is the second chapter in one day that I pre-wrote; these boys are 👌🏻.

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