"The early simply do not take their time to enjoy the view like the tardy do."

⛓

⛓

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A hand slams down upon the insufferable device, angered by its rude interruption on this early morning. The woman attached to the hand groans in exhaustion, her head falling back into the pillow with protest.

"Why must I awaken at such an ungodly hour?" She moans through a mouthful of hair.

Then it hits her.

"Oh, shoot!" She scrambles out of bed, feet getting caught in the duvet as she leaps, resulting in a painful collision with the hardwood floor. "Ow."

Dragging herself to her feet, she throws open the closet and tosses an AC/DC shirt and a pair of jeans on the bed, quickly changing into the daywear. Her hands find the handle of her hairbrush on the dresser and she gets about running the bristles through her black hair as she wanders into the kitchen. She doesn't even manage to acknowledge the man poking his head out of his room.

Skylar goes about her usual morning routine, popping bread in the toaster, chucking binders in her bag before adding in a pencil case, buttering her toast and munching on it while she finishes brushing her hair. She ensures the presence of the necessities in her bag before disappearing back into her room to acquire her usual cream-coloured beanie and denim hoodie.

With a toothbrush stuck in her mouth, she preens in the bathroom mirror, tucking her long locks into the hat. She spits out the toothpaste and swishes a mouthful of water, sending herself a toothy smile afterwards.

"What are you doing?"

A surprised squeak escapes her at the unexpected voice, and she jumps at least a foot in the air. As she clutches her chest, feeling her heart pound through her ribs, she shoots a tiny glare at her intruding roommate.

"I'm getting ready for uni," she mutters, slipping past him into the main space.

He crosses his arms, a brow raised in question, "At six thirty in the morning?"

Skylar tries not to think about how cute he is in pyjamas, plaid pants and a white T-shirt, and instead leans on the kitchen counter as she puts her converse on, "Initiation is at seven thirty and it takes a half hour to get there."

"That still leaves you with thirty minutes to spare."

She sighs in slight annoyance, though doesn't let him see her thinning patience, "Thirty minutes to actually find the place."

At this, Rae seems to have lost interest, or just fails to understand the 'required' time frame for entering the building, as he backs off, awkwardly retreating to his bedroom.

"Have a good day?" The words come out quiet and strange, making the young woman cringe at her own awkwardness.

But she has to catch the bus, so without another word, she slips out the door, locking it behind her.

The lock clicks as the key turns and a hand appears through the crack, snatching the backpack slouched on the floor and pulling it through.

⛓

Honestly, she shouldn't have expected anything less.

Once again, for the second time in three days, Skylar Heavens is lost. Lost on her own university campus. Specifically in an undecorated building with no people present.

She sighs in defeat, dropping her hands to her sides with the paper map scrunched uselessly in a fist. Maybe with her family she'd be able to actually find the confounded lecture hall.

The woman pauses before allowing herself to be struck by homesickness. Only two days away and she already misses the constant banter between her elder siblings and the lighthearted arguments that occupy her parents' time. Even the way Damien whines when he feels attention starved, or how her mother criticises her ability to only cook ramen.

Saddened by her thoughts of home, Skylar slides down the wall, her head hung low as she settles on the ground. She pulls her knees to her chest as she stares at the black and white map in her hand, failing to make any sense of it.

"I shouldn't have left home," she murmurs, hiding her failure by pulling her hood over her head and nestling in her jacket.

Tears don't come, but the sense of unbelonging remains in the pit of her stomach, growing with each moment of loneliness.

"Skylar?"

Normally, she'd freeze up at a sudden voice, or bury herself deeper in her hoodie to make herself smaller. But, exhausted and hopeless, she just sighs, lifting her hood up enough to meet the bright blue eyes of her roommate.

"Are you... are you alright?" He drops into a crouch, brows furrowed in concern and a hand hovering over her own, unsure of her comfort given such an unconsented action.

Skylar sighs, sliding the hood off her head. "No," she admits quietly, turning away from his gaze.

"Do you mind telling me what's wrong?" He slowly lowers his hand onto hers, ensuring her comfort with it.

"I—" she swallows the lump in her throat, "—I miss them. My family."

He nods sympathetically, gently touching her shoulder to express his understanding, "You're homesick."

"Yeah..."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he gives her a small smile, one that leaves her wide-eyed and wordless. "We all get a little homesick at times. I'm homesick."

"You are?" Skylar questions in a meek voice, almost losing the words themselves.

Again, he nods, his smile faltering a bit, "But I can't go home."

"You get kicked out?"

"In a way, I suppose," Rae hums with a little amusement.

The woman goes quiet, eyes flickering down to her crumbled map. Catching her shift in attention, he follows her gaze, smiling a little. Now he understands why she needed the extra time. Sure, he had come looking for her after arriving himself, but he hadn't quite believed that she needed thirty spare minutes.

"Here," he offers his hand to her. "I'll help you get there."

She stares at him for a second, slightly unsure still, but takes his hand anyways, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Thank you."

"I'm here to help," he shrugs stiffly, like it's not something he'd naturally do. "Now, let's get you to the initiation."

Skylar smiles softly at him, barely noticeable, but it's there. Maybe she will be able to find her feet in this new world.

⛓

Three weeks later

"Kill me," she bangs her head on the open textbook, fed up with its ridiculous riddling.

The week following the start of semester, Skylar's courses dropped the delicate act of easing students into the subjects, resulting in her immense mass of homework.

She groans, resting her head on her arm as she scans the question again. It's certainly a stumper, and requires quite a lot of thought.

With a concentrated frown, she scribbles down answer and criticises it intensely. For a moment it seems as though she's got it, only for the pencil marks to be viciously erased from the paper.

The woman groans again, slumping into the crook of her arm.

Tap, tap, tap.

She taps the page with her pencil, deep in frustrated thought.

Tap, tap, tap.

A scowl creases on her expression, and she halts her mindless tapping, annoyed by the echoing noise.

Knock, knock, knock.

Skylar sits up, turning to face her closed door with slight confusion. Despite her roommate's assistance a few weeks prior, they still tend to avoid interacting.

The door creaks open, and Rae's head pokes through, mild concern written on his expression. He frowns at her disheveled self, eyes lingering on the monstrous pile of homework sat upon her desk.

"Yes?"

At her voice, the young man clears his throat awkwardly, also clearing whatever lingering thoughts cloud his mind. He opens the door further and enters the room, placing a bowl of steaming stew on a relatively empty spot on her desk.

"Stop," he commands, looking her in the eyes with frightening sternness. "You've been working since you came in."

"I can't," Skylar confesses, glaring coldly at her notebook. "I've got too much to do."

"Yes, you can," he presses, carefully closing her textbook after sticking a stray piece of paper in it. "You'll overwork yourself before you even reach the end of term."

She frowns at him, but does nothing to stop him as he clears a space on her desk. Her brain is too tired to really process what he's doing anyways.

"Besides, you missed dinner," Rae moves the bowl in front of her, silently demanding that she eat. "You need nutrients."

The woman sighs in defeat, seeing as there's not much else she can do, and picks up the spoon, scooping up a mouthful. She stares blankly at it for a moment, briefly forgetting what she was doing before blinking tiredly and giving her roommate an appreciative smile.

"Thank you," she says quietly, turning back to enjoy the meal gifted to her.

Seeing that his job is done, Rae makes his exit, patting her gently on the shoulder as he passes. He can only pray that this won't be a common occurrence, especially if he's going to wind up taking care of her all the time.

Truly, one can only hope.

⛓

There's probably going to be more frequent chapters than I thought.

Enjoy!