Peter was nowhere to be found. He wasn't on the couch. He wasn't in the kitchen. Actually, he wasn't anywhere Colin searched that morning after he had woken up. Colin would have concluded that the guy had run away, or something relating to that, but that the boxes he had brought along were still on the living room floor, told him otherwise.

He picked up one of the boxes and took it to Peter's door, knocking three times. He waited for a while, knocked two more times, and waited again. Colin was beginning to get impatient and with his head resting against the door, yelled, "Hey, are you in there?"

He didn't get an answer.

Running out of patience, he turned the doorknob and strutted into the room. It was still like he left it---except the backpacks Peter had no doubt left on the made bed.

He put the box down and fetched the other one which seemed much heavier than he remembered. As soon as he set it inside the room, he noticed something peeking out at one end of the box.

It was the headstock of an acoustic guitar. Colin took it out for a closer inspection, feeling its weight in his hands. He ran his hands around the neck and over the burnt sienna coloured wood of the fretboard. The tips of his fingers plucked the first three strings and a mellow sound was produced. He was about to do it again when Peter's voice startled him, making him turn abruptly. He almost dropped the instrument.

"Dude, don't touch that." Peter said in a tight voice and snatched the guitar from Colin's hands. He looked at Colin whose face showed no guilty expression despite him being caught going through Peter's stuff.

He only muttered that he was sorry even though it didn't seem like it. But he spoke again in a more enthusiastic tone. "You play the guitar?"

"Actually no. I just decided to buy it and then spent money on lessons because I use it as a prop in my non-existent acting career." Peter's hands went across his chest as soon as he placed the guitar back into the box from where it came.

Colin had only asked because he hadn't particularly noticed the instrument on the previous night when Peter had moved in. But Peter was proving to be stubborn with the sarcastic reply he gave and the stance that followed.

"Oh-kay, lemme help you practice your acting," Colin started, taking a tentative step forward. "Let's pretend you're Bart, right," He gestures at Peter, speaking slowly, making the gaze he held more imposing. "And I'm Homer Simpson. And this is the part where I hold you up by the throat and strangle you for being such a---"

Colin wasn't done speaking when Peter started backing up, eyes darting behind him. In the next instance, he was bolting out the door and Colin took to his heels too.

"Why you little-" Colin grunted with a raised fist. He was hot on Peter's heels even as he meandered around the furniture in the living room.

Peter ran as fast as his legs could carry him. His lungs burned with the effort he exerted when he had to jump over the centre table and then land without stumbling. The footsteps of his pursuer echoed so much he couldn't tell if Colin was near him or even right behind him.

He had to find out for himself, so just after he got through the doorway that lead from the living room to the hallway, he snatched a look behind him.

"Oh shit," Peter gasped. At that moment, he wished he hadn't looked behind him because seeing how close Colin was to him brought an unexpected reaction. His heart was pounding harder than the ringing in his ears and faster than the sound of footsteps slapping on the floor. It's because he's chasing me. No other reason. My heart only skipped a beat because he's still after me.

Peter could hear Colin's heavy breaths behind him and he wished he could run faster. The slides he was wearing slowed him down too much. He knew he wouldn't be able to outrun Colin so he devised another strategy. He was glad he had thought of what do do because Colin's hand grabbed his shoulder and he shrugged him off just as quickly as the contact happened.

Peter held himself up by the wall and pushed himself forward, using the smooth soles of the slides to his advantage. An elevator door was right ahead and he pressed the open button as soon as he was close enough.

Peter didn't turn till he was inside, the doors already starting to close shut. But before that tiny crack where light seeped through disappeared completely, he heard Colin say something that sounded an awful lot like "I'm going to smash it."

Smash what? Him?

It finally clicked in Peter's mind that Colin was talking about the guitar and not him. With cheeks that were inflamed from his self-induced embarrassment and hands that shook unsteadily, he pressed continuously on the button that opened the elevator and darted out.

Colin was halfway to the front door of their shared apartment when he was barely out. He took his slides off and held them in his hand, feet pounding hard against the floor. Colin turned, saw him closing in, and started running with renewed strength.

The skinny boy knew he couldn't catch up in time so he did the only thing he could think of when he got as close as he could to Colin.

He threw himself at his roommate.

They both toppled to the floor and fell with a perceptible thud, Colin positioned underneath Peter's slumped body.

They were both breathing hard, and when Peter finally gathered enough strength, he lifted his head the same time Colin flipped himself to lie on his back.

Colin's chest heaved with every breath as he raked his hand through his hair, licking his lips. "Damn, you're fast, Pikachu."

"You threatened to smash my guitar," Peter said in reply. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat and his shirt was soaked. His mouth still hung open even after he spoke-- an attempt to allow as much air as he could into his system.

Colin began to laugh and Peter could feel the vibrations that erupted from his chest underneath his own body. It was then that he registered that he and Colin were practically glued to each other, the fabrics of their shirts the only thing preventing their bodies from touching.

He lifted his torso, holding himself up by his hands which he placed on either side of Colin's shoulders. He tried as much as he could to lift the rest of his body from Colin's but his body refused to obey him, giving in to a bigger impulse. His eyes too, refused to look anywhere else than at Colin's face.

They caught every bob of his adam's apple beneath the skin of his neck, every blink of his brown eyes, every puff of air that left his slightly parted lips.

"Only because you were trying to be a smart-ass," Colin stated, laughing once more. "You should have seen your face when I said I'd strangle you, damn priceless." His hand covered his face after he imitated the dumbfounded expression Peter had made, right before he burst out into laughter again.

The only thing Peter wanted to do at that point in time was to hit Colin in the face with his elbow. But how could he do such a thing when his body seemed much too comfortable to even attempt to move, let alone attack the person whose body he was currently caging.

Colin tucked his bottom lip between his teeth to hold in the laughter but the more Peter's lips turned down, the more his own lips widened.

"You should see your face right now," Peter muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"As handsome as ever?"

Colin was not wrong on that part. The messy hair and sweat-speckled skin were a good look for him. But Peter had no intention of admitting that.

"More like never."

"You sure act all smart-assy when you're not tired," Colin observed.

Peter opened his mouth to counter Colin's words when a squeal cut through the air. It belonged to a girl, a very tall girl who was beginning to approach the spot where Colin was still pinned under Peter.

Peter's body chose that moment to function properly and he lifted himself off Colin, who also stood up not a second later.

"Oh, I didn't know you've extended your boundaries to the hallways now," she giggled. She tucked a stray strand of her blonde hair, which reached her shoulders, behind her ear.

"We weren't doing-"

"I don't like boys-"

Colin and Peter both said at the same time. Dakota merely smiled, lifting her eyebrows suggestively.

"Whatever you say, but I know what I saw." She cocked her head in Peter's direction with a big smile on her face.

"You must be the new roommate. I'm Dakota."

She extended her hand and Peter took it shyly, embarrassed that his first encounter with this pretty girl had involved him laying on top of a guy and she walking in on them. Not that there was anything going on.

"Peter."

Her smile was infectious and it had Peter's own lips turning up too. Colin only rolled his eyes.

"Remember this moment well, Pikachu. It's the only time she's going to be nice to you," Colin said, rubbing at his eyebrows with the pads of his fingers.

Dakota ignored his comment. "Don't listen to him, he's only grumpy because he hasn't been laid in a while."

At this, Peter's eyes widened. He fucks girls too?

Dakota deciphered the confused look on his face and started to laugh. "Oh no, I don't mean me. Believe me, if Colin had a thing for girls, I'd have bagged him long ago." She playfully hit Colin's shoulder with a fist before she turned to Peter. "You weren't jealous, were you?"

Jealous? How could she ask him that?