Callan looked at his watch with a sigh. 9:38 P.M.

He had ordered in a variety of foods from different origins, ranging from Chinese food to spicy Thai, all for him and his new roommate to share.

And here Ollivander was. Late.

He waited a couple more minutes, before giving up. Perhaps this dude wasn't as cool as Jared made him seem. Definitely as scary, though.
He stood up, grabbing two containers of food, just as the door opened. Callan's head shot up, seeing Ollivander shuffle in as he ran a hand over his exhausted expression.

"Hey!" Callan exclaimed, going over to meet him at the door. Ollivander looked up at him, eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. He stayed quiet for a moment, lips taught in silent thought.

"Uh... Hey," Ollivander responded lowly, hanging up his coat on the coat rack and taking off his sleek black dress shoes. If Callan hadn't known better, he would have believed that the man in front of him was in his late 20s, early 30s, with his narrow face shaded with experience, eyes dark and penetrating, but extremely intelligent in depth.

"I still have some food left over- want some? We can turn on the TV or something." Callan offered with a friendly grin, gesturing towards the living room.

Ollivander made a sound of hesitation, a small grunt that seemed to be the only sound he made. "I... I suppose..." Ollivander finally responded, running a hand through his hair, a few strands sticking up in random places.

Callan grinned, turning back towards the living room. Ollivander followed, eyes shifting to take in the almost completely unpacked living room, and a new coffee table in place of the cardboard box from that morning.

"So, I didn't know what kind of food you'd like, so I got a little of everything... Oh, and don't worry, my family is friends with all the nearby restaurant owners so the food was basically free. But you might want to heat it up again because everything's cold now." Callan rambled, gesturing wildly to the containers of take out strewn across the table.

Ollivander opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again when no words came out. After a couple beats, he simply nodded. He grabbed a random container with colorful peppers printed on the sides, disappearing into the kitchen as Callan collapsed on the couch in exhaustion.

Callan would relate holding a conversation with Ollivander, to pulling teeth: Excruciatingly painful and uncomfortable for both parties. He pulled a container of fried rice onto his lap, shoveling the room temperature food into his mouth as he listened to Ollivander's stiff, awkward shuffling steps.

"That man is.... different," Callan mumbled to himself, grimacing as he remembered Brad's description of him a week or so prior.

"So he comes off as kinda distant, ya know? And a bit moody, but that's just cause he's socially awkward, he's actually the biggest teddy bear!" Jared had exclaimed animatedly, arms waving enthusiastically.

Sophia, Brad's girlfriend, made a sound of agreement.

"I wouldn't say he's a teddy bear, I don't know him that well, but there was this one time after Brad and I had a disagreement," She flicked a playfully bitter expression at Jared, "and I was at a bar, mind you, at this point I had never met him, and I was ridiculously drunk, and basically flung myself at him-"

Jared gasped, pointing an accusing finger at Sophia as his other hand moved to clasp his chest as if in pain. "What? I was never told of this!"

She shushed him and said they'd discuss it later.

"Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, I was at a club, super drunk, and I saw him sitting at the bar looking depressed as hell, so I figured we could both use some cheering up. I don't know whether he recognized me or not, but he didn't go for any of my attempts, and simply asked if I had someone he could call to get a ride for me. I was persistent though," Jared made a weird sound at that, "and continued trying to get him to sleep with me. Eventually, he offered for us to walk back to his dorm, and I agreed, so we left.

"I hadn't even considered that he might've been a kidnapper, because I didn't even care at that point. But, when we got home, he simply made me food to settle my stomach, and called Jared about where I was and how I was safe. He took care of me while I was drunk, never once making a move on me, and asked before he helped me change into more comfortable clothes. Even doing that, he was one of the most respectful guys I've ever interacted with.

"He's scary at first, I'll tell you that, but he is a really good guy." Sophia finally finished, leaning into Jared.

Jared frowned, looking at Sophia. "He only told me that you were tired so you crashed at his house, he never told me about you being drunk or anything like that."

Sophia shrugged, "I think he's one of the few people that would do shit like that and not say anything."

Callan had stayed quiet throughout the story, finding himself slightly nervous at the idea of meeting this King Arthur like person.

"It's not the first time I would've been in his debt, he always seems to help without letting you acknowledge it." Jared admitted with a shrug. "Anyway, he's a really good guy who's been through a lot, go easy on him."

Callan flinched as the Ollivander waved an annoyed hand in front of his face, and rapidly reminded himself of the present.

"Uh, sorry. Zoned out there for a second." Callan blinked as if just realizing he wasn't paying attention.

"Yeah, I noticed."

Callan bit back a snarky reply at Ollivander's tone, instead stuffing another bite into his mouth.
"So... how was work?" He attempted after a couple minutes of awkward silence.

Ollivander shrugged, continuing to eat. 'I appreciate the attempt, asshole.' Callan's jaw ticked, but, once again, he let it go.

"What kind of work do you do? How do you juggle school work and work-work? I don't think I'd be able to do that, I enjoy my free time, thank you very much." Callan tried again, chuckling.

"I work at a nearby corporation, have been for a couple years. And I don't know, by keeping to a schedule? Not partying like most incapable college students do."

Callan felt his annoyance rise, and a fist clenched at his side. He sighed, relaxing.
"I suppose you're right, not partying does leave some room for working. Do you normally get home this late?

Ollivander nodded. "Usually later, actually. I have early morning classes, then go to work after and stay until sometimes midnight."

"When do you sleep?"

"I don't."

"Oh." Callan took a second look at Ollivander, seeing the now noticeable bags under his eyes. "I don't think that's particularly healthy."

Ollivander didn't respond, pinching the bridge of his nose with a tired sigh. There were a couple of beats, and then he let go to look at Callan, who still gazed at the man.

"What? Something on my face?" Ollivander rubbed the stubble along his jaw, tilting his head slightly at Callan.

"Er- no. Sorry, you just kind of remind me of a cactus." Callan said bluntly, not knowing what else to say.

One of Ollivander's eyebrows arched as he leaned back against the couch slightly, setting his food on his lap.
"And how do I remind you of a, uh, cactus?"

"Because this entire day you've been somewhat of a prick," Callan laughed slightly at his pun, "but I think- Wait, where are you going?"
Callan watched in bewilderment as Ollivander all but stormed upstairs, taking his container of food with him.

"You didn't let me finish." He muttered angrily, stabbing his fork into the rice. Can't the dude take a joke? It's not like Callan was being blatantly rude, he was just trying to have an actual conversation with that stuck-up, rude, roommate of his.

To be honest, Callan expected Ollivander to be quiet in the "humble hero" kind of way after Sophia's description of him, but in reality, he's quiet in the "complete jackass, too-cool-for-you," way. He didn't know how long he could stand being that asshole's roommate.

Callan took a deep breath, calming himself down. Who knows, he thought to himself, maybe he's just shy. He just needs time, that's all.

After a couple minutes of reassuring himself, Callan put away all of the food, straightened up the living, and went upstairs to bed.
Just give him a couple days, Callan, he'll warm up to you!

In the end, the two roommates ended up avoided each other for the next long, awkward, week.

——————
A/N
Is this better you guys? Hopefully... anyway, I know I updated the first chapter earlier today, but I wanted to add this one in to get more people interested. The third chapter will most likely be posted later today/tomorrow.

Have a good day, stay safe!

Word count (excluding author's note): 1480 words