Every girl has that guy she'll always have a crush on.

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"He texted you weeks ago that his name was Ron and it didn't occur to you that he might be a guy?"

"My name is Tyler. I'm not one to judge." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I thought Ron was short for Veronica, not Ronald. Or whatever his actual name is. Anyway, I forgot what was his name was. I have his number saved as Roommate so I didn't even think to question it."

I chewed on my lip as all the obvious clues I had somehow missed flashed through my mind. I couldn't not cringe. There had actually been enough clues to set off a warning bell. I had just been wilfully obtuse.

I winced.

"Don't laugh," I muttered, scowling as Josh's lips began to spread open.

'Anymore' would've been the accurate way to end the sentence seeing as he had laughing at me since I started filling him in on my latest mishaps but my best friend was too busy ignoring my order and laughing his head off to pay any attention to my grammar.

My eyes narrowed in annoyance as he bent over, clutching his stomach with one hand and supporting himself with the other pressed against the wall. Deep belly guffaws escaped his lips making a few curious heads turn our way.

"You're making a scene," I informed him, irritation clear in my tone.

"And you're living in a male dorm," he countered, straightening himself as the guffaws reduced to manageable chuckles.

"I'm so glad my situation is comic relief to you. At least one of us is getting something out of this," I muttered petulantly, annoyed to find that only a tiny part of me meant that sarcastically.

The whole accommodation mix-up was annoying, draining and inconvenient. I honestly couldn't think of a single thing about it that I didn't hate. There were no upsides whatsoever. For starters, my roommate was terrified of me and quite possibly scarred for life thanks to my thoughtless joke. I couldn't unpack and settle down because I would have to do the exact opposite in a day or two when the administration finally managed to sort out this issue, then move all my stuff to my new hostel only to unpack again. Not to mention, communal bathrooms. I honestly couldn't bring myself to picture that or think about the urinals.

It was a horrible mess no matter how I looked at it. I couldn't begrudge Josh finding humour in it. I would've done the same if this was happening to him.

Well, probably not.

I'd be too busy worrying about getting my heart broken because since distance would no longer be an issue with him living literally next door to girls, hooking up with would become so much easier for him. My stupid heart wouldn't be able to take it.

"Oh, stop pouting." He snapped his fingers just inches from my face. "It could be worse."

I knew he was only trying to make me feel better and I wanted him to do exactly that, just in a less obvious way. His attempt was so patronizing it only made matters worse. It was a very much like the way mothers usually cooed sweet nothings to their kids right after having the kid's candy taken away. It was only annoying me.

I shot him a flat look.

"How exactly could being stuck in the wrong hostel with a roommate who probably thinks you're the devil's spawn get any worse?" I inquired, my tone unamused.

"You could've been stuck with me," he answered on a shrug as if it should have been obvious.

My flat look became even flatter.

"Yes, crashing with my best friend whom I have had a million sleepovers with would've been such a horrible fate." My voice was drenched in sarcasm.

I would've considered it a blessing to be stuck in the wrong dorm if Josh was my roommate or even in the same dorm. I never would've even bothered filing a report if that had been the case but no, I was stuck in the wrong dorm and Josh was a few miles away in a completely different dorm.

"It's different when you're actively living with someone. I never put my laundry in the laundry bag, that's what the chair is for. My cleats have to be arranged exactly the way I want it. And I never clean up until I absolutely have to. I prefer it that way."

My expression very clearly said, 'So?'

"My point is," he rolled his eyes, "I have my little annoying things that according to my mum, apparently no one can stand."

I arched an eyebrow, wordlessly communicating that his argument had failed. I could live with those terms.

He shrugged and stuffed his hands into the pocket of his low slung jeans. A move that has never failed to make my heart flutter.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"I would still one hundred times over pick you as my false roommate," I stated.

Even if he was the type to practice for an imaginary opera career in the middle of the night, I would still be grateful to have a reason to spend every night with him.

I was that much of a whipped loser.

"Enough about me. How's your roommate?" I tried to change the subject and more importantly, the direction of my thoughts.

Josh had refused to reach out to his roommate because he wanted to be 'surprised' unlike stupid old me who had texted on and off with mine without once guessing he was a boy.

It was irony at it's best. Not only did I end up being the surprised one, I was also the one stuck with a roommate who would probably never get along with me thanks to one silly comment despite my pre-resumption texting efforts. He was probably buying a rape whistle at the moment.

"He's great. You'll like him. Dude's on the volleyball team and plays basketball on the side. He can't wait to meet you, by the way. I'm pretty sure he's more excited to meet my awesome best friend than he was to meet me," Josh revealed, face flushing from both excitement and the sting of the night's chill.

Hearing him admit he was already talking me up to what would no doubt be his new crew did funny things to my stomach. I beamed like a three year old on a playground.

"So basically everything is right with the world?" I replied.

He rolled his eyes and lightly shoved my shoulder. "Why do all my friends like you more?"

'Why don't you?' I instantly wanted to ask but I knew better.

"Like you said, I'm awesome." I shrugged halfheartedly.

His brows furrowed as he adopted his problem solving expression. It went without saying that he had seen through my fake smile.

Le sigh.

It was one of the dangers of having a best friend who knew you better than everyone but I was also confident in my secret keeping abilities. After all, I had kept my crush a secret for what felt like forever.

"If it bothers you so much, you can crash at mine," he offered as the expression slid off his face. A mischievous smile replaced it. "We could cuddle."

Tempt me not was my first thought.

My thoughtful but oblivious best friend clearly thought I was still hung up on my accommodation issues. I most definitely wasn't going to correct him.

I mulled over his offer, chewing on my lower lip.

"Nah. I would definitely rather crash with you than someone who thinks I'm going to rape him in his slee--"

Laughter bubbled out of his mouth, interrupting my train of thought.

"Don't start." I scowled. "As I was saying, it's our first night in college and I don't know... I don't want to be late for classes tomorrow or find out I forgot something important in my room. Plus, I don't want the administration to think I have alternate housing. I want this fixed as soon as possible and that means I have to make everyone as uncomfortable with having me there as I am with being there."

Never had doing the right thing ever felt like such a loss.

"So you're crashing at yours," he summed, sighing.

"Yeah but I might sleep at yours tomorrow so heads-up." I shrugged, reluctant to let the opportunity go so easily.

He nodded.

We walked in silence for a while until I spotted a diner in a distance and began dragging him toward it.

I hadn't eaten anything all day. I didn't eat before leaving home because I didn't want to risk throwing up on the journey. Then, the accommodation thing had messed me up enough that I completely forgot to fill my stomach afterwards but now that I finally remembered, I was suddenly intensely hungry.

"I need food," I stated, pulling him behind me as I hurried toward the neon sign advertising Tripp's Diner.

"I could eat." He shrugged, picking up the pace.

I scoffed.

Josh was always, always in the mood to eat. Never in all our years as friends and then subsequently, best friends had he ever turned down the idea of a meal without a legit reason and usually that was only because players weren't meant eat right before a match. If he wasn't so invested in sports which ensured that he burned off all the calories he ate, he would be infinitely obese.

"Save it for someone who hasn't seen you tuck in five extra larges," I sniped.

"Good times."

He flashed me my favourite of his smiles; the boyish grin. It made the green of his irises twinkle and revealed to his 'rabbit' front teeth in the most cute way possible.

I was so irrevocably whipped.

A horde of butterflies took up temporary residence in my stomach.

I hurriedly looked away, worried my eyes had 'I love you' clearly stamped on them.

A bell jingled as he pushed the door open, holding it until I was also safely inside the cozy diner.

I pretended not to notice the girls who took the opportunity to check him out as he scanned the room for an empty booth. A light blush stained my cheeks as their eyes wandered from him to me after they had completed their perusal. The only thing they all had common, because the girls checking him out ranged from regular to Gothic to sorority pledges, was an appreciative leer directed at my best friend and a 'what's he doing with her?' frown directed at me.

I knew I wasn't exactly right-off-the-runway pretty but for heaven's sake, it was past ten on a Sunday night and considering all I had dealt with today, I had every right to look as disparaged as I wanted. Sure, none of them might ever be caught in fuzzy socks, sweatpants and oversized tee in public but I was more of a comfort-oriented dresser than a presentable dresser.

Also, I didn't go around scrunching my nose up at them for being -in my opinion- overdressed. It was common courtesy that they return the favour.

I made a face, sticking my tongue out at no one in particular but they all got the message and looked away.

Josh picked a table and we placed our orders.

I grinned, my face contorting into a 'would you look at that' expression as the server walked away with our orders. "She didn't even blink."

"That was a first," Josh agreed.

We were used to getting interesting reactions whenever we order for the first time at a new place. Josh, on a normal day, could eat the portions of three people and I could eat two so whenever we place orders at a new restaurant, there is always a bit of gaping, followed by 'will more people be joining you? Should I get more chairs?' The answer has always been 'no' but watching complete strangers worry about our weird appetites was half the fun.

"Well, she is the first person who didn't give me the 'you're a girl, eat like one' look so I definitely like her," I declared.

"Do you remember the very first time at Ravi's? God, she was going to blow a fuse." He chuckled.

I did remember. The maître d' thought we were lying about our order just to stress her out and kept shouting about how kids of nowadays had no shame. She almost kicked us out even because Josh couldn't control himself and kept laughing. He got a face full of spaghetti for all his troubles.

It was honestly impossible to forget the look of surprise on his face as spaghetti fell onto his dress shirt and the look of utter horror on the maître d'. She was actually more worried about the fact that she had been involved in a scene than she was about Josh's spaghetti stained face.

It was funny at the time because Josh proceeded to blackmail her into giving us free food because of it. She turned so red I honestly thought she would explode but that didn't stop either of us from enjoying our meal.

I heard the telltale jingle of the door being opened but didn't bother glancing at the newcomer(s) until I noticed Josh glaring frigidly at the counter.

"What?" I asked, craning my neck to see the object of his uncharacteristic display of hostility.

Josh was a very laid back guy. He got along with everyone. I had only seen him get this way about one person so I was extra curious. What idiot had managed to piss off my best friend and how? I wanted to know.