Patrick sat shirtless on the bed in his dorm, face scrunched on pain as Frank tended to the cuts and bruises that covered his body.

"I'll bandage you up after you get out of the shower." Frank said as he poured more disinfectant onto the washrag he had been swiping over Patrick's wounds. "Some of those bricks really did a number."

Patrick muttered a 'thanks', really trying to focus on anything else as the chilled liquid seeped into his cuts, making them sting on impact.

"You really had that guy hooked." Frank commented as he used his free hand to twist the lid of the disinfectant back onto the bottle he held between his legs, "I almost thought one had finally got you. You should have majored in theater with a performance like that."

"Hard to major in anything with stunts like this every night." Patrick muttered before yelping as the disinfectant found a new wound.

"Hey, it's not every night." Frank argued, "Just the ones we get lucky with the tracking."

Patrick pursed his lips together. It felt like every night. So many mornings he was left scrambling to finish half nonsense assignments because the night before they had been trying to stop something supernatural from doing something bad. Mostly vampires. Sometimes demons. All because he had to come to this school. All because his random roommate assignment was a guy who specialized in that kind of thing.

"You should be good to go." Frank lightly tapped Patrick's shoulder. He began to scoot back on the raised bed, shaking the mattress as he descended to the floor.

"Until the next one." Patrick sighed. He adjusted himself slowly, trying to move in a way that would cause the least amount of pain.

"Hey, I can be bait next time." Frank offered, "Then we can get even on the 'saved your ass' chart now that I'm back to winning."

Patrick was partway off the bed when he froze. His hand curled into a fist where it gripped his bedding. "Even? How many times have I had to save your ass because you decided to run out without notice?" Patrick snapped. He slid fully off of the bed, suppressing an inhale of air from the pain as he glared at Frank. "How many classes and-and moments with my friends have I had to miss due to 'family emergencies' because I get a text message that your in a bind and need back-up?"

Frank rolled his eyes. "I see you're not in the mood for jokes." He spoke flatly as he turned away from Patrick and crawled onto his own bed.

"I don't want to do this forever, Frank, I do want to have a life eventually." Patrick exclaimed with frustration, "I-I didn't waste all that time putting in for scholarships that I barely won just to hunt creatures that most people don't even believe exist!"

"Chill, dude. It doesn't have to be your forever. You probably couldn't handle it anyway." Frank's tone was indifferent as he laid across his dark blanket. He shrugged, not bothering to turn his head towards Patrick with the motion.

"Couldn't handle it?" Patrick's eyes widened as he stared at Frank. More frustration bubbled inside him as Frank refused to look away from the ceiling. "I've saved your life how many times, but I can't handle it?"

"Where would you have been tonight without my roof shot?" Frank snapped, finally snapping his eyes towards Patrick.

"Probably in bed! Like a normal person after midnight!" Patrick threw his hands in the air, "Maybe actually having a social life!"

Frank shot upright. "You and I both know that last one is a lie." He said, pointing at Patrick.

"Maybe I could have had something." Patrick dropped his hands to his side. "I'll never know."

"You don't have to answer my texts." Frank slid himself off of his bed and stepped towards Patrick. "You don't have to answer my calls. You make that choice every single time, so it's on you." He smirked as he stopped just inches from Patrick's face. "You're too much of a good person to let me die when you know how to help."

Patrick stared back at him, biting the inside of his lip. Sometimes I wish I wasn't. He wanted to snap in response, but his heart wouldn't let him. Instead, he muttered an almost unintelligible "fuck off" before spinning on his heel to move towards door of their dorm room. He grabbed a towel from the top of the hamper by the door and swiftly left.

Heat filled his cheeks as he made his way down the quiet hall, muttering to himself. He hated how right Frank had been. It wasn't like he could just leave Frank to die if it was avoidable... but couldn't Frank try to not get into those situations so frequently by himself? He had shown Patrick the basics of hunting less than a week into knowing each other, yet he sometimes ignored his own rules.

Patrick slipped into the boys shower area and sighed with relief to find it empty. He moved slowly to take off his remaining articles of clothing, trying and failing to avoid the pain that moved through him. He then moved into the shower, turning the knob to the hottest setting. He turned his back to the nozzle, letting the heating water run over him. It stung, but in a good way that distracted him from the soreness.

What would his life have been without this roommate assignment? He had always been one to keep his head low, but would something have ripped him away one night never to be seen again? Could he have found himself in puppy love with someone he could afford time to without always having to run based on a message from a guy named Frank? There really was no way to know. The past couldn't be changed. All he had was the now, and the now was a reality where he hunted monsters on campus with his roommate that had above average knowledge on them.

It wasn't until the water temperature began to shift to ice that Patrick turned off the water. He dried himself off, able to move with a bit range without feeling as much pain, and slipped back into his clothing. He draped his towel around his neck and exited the shower area, yawning as he did.

Frank was asleep when Patrick returned to the room. His mouth hung open as he slept soundly on his stomach.

Patrick dropped his towel back into the hamper and moved quietly across the room to his bed. He yawned again as he maneuvered himself under the covers, turning on his side to face the wall.  He couldn't help but continue to let the what if thoughts run through his head as he stared at the wall in front of him.

Would he be a different person?

Would he be a better person?

Why didn't he try to switch out dorm mates when he had the chance?

A snore from Frank pulled him back to the present moment. He couldn't put someone else in his shoes. Why should someone else have to pause their life when Patrick was already stuck in the position?.. At least, despite their arguments, Patrick and Frank were friends. As much as he came to Frank's rescue, Frank just as equally had his back.

Patrick shut his eyes. He already felt an urge to apologize to Frank, despite his frustration being real. He hated to leave conversations bitter, especially now that he knew just how quickly something or someone could be snatched away. At least there was a small comfort in that Frank could take care of himself...

Patrick sighed as he began to drift into sleep. He'd apologize in the morning.